The village gossip Tidburg, quick to sniff out a story, slithered into the group right next to the speaker . . . .
The villagers had assembled under the yew trees, and the royals were the hot topic. One of the women had apparently heard a good one about the queen.
. . . the group included 30 warriors, many of them famous heroes like Unferth, Werwulf and Erpwald, whose reputations spread before them like road dust before horses’ hooves. One of the priests traveling with the group had told . . . the latest story about Werwulf.“He had a beautiful lady friend at their last encampment whom he treated very well. He gave her gold rings and a jeweled belt. He brought her to court—everyone knew her. The night before they were to leave Werwulf visited the lady in her bower and made love to her.“ ‘I must leave you, my lady,’ he said. ‘And how will you fare without me?’“The lady wept. Then she said, as they must part and there was no help for it, she hoped she would find a younger lover. Werwulf took her in his arms, embraced her tenderly, and bit off her nose.”
I entered the chamber. The light was dim and the first thing I noticed was the smell. The sour breath of the sleeping monarch hung in the air like the still fog of a summer morning. I set down the pitcher and turned to look at Beorhtric. He was lying on his back on the bed, his legs apart. His tunic had worked its way up above his waist, and his penis was practically lost in a great mass of gray and black pubic hair made even more eye-catching by the pale white of his skin. A linen sheet, intricately embroidered along one end with colorful interlocking beasts, covered only his chest and then trailed onto the floor. There was a pillow under his neck, and his head fell back, diminishing the effect of the great wattles of flesh beneath his chin. His mouth was open. He snored loudly and with great inventiveness.
In Courting Trouble a young warrior is eager to prove himself. He goes in search of conquest. Along the way, he is directed to an encha...
