The Warriors Enter Winchester

In Anglo-Saxon times the king fought in the summer and over-wintered in one of his castles, which were located in the important towns of his kingdom. This excerpt from Courting Trouble describes the royal procession as it enters the town of Winchester in 801. Here's how the narrator, who is standing among the gawking townspeople, describes the part of the procession made up of warriors.

Our attention was diverted by the arrival of about forty armed warriors. They were a fearsome looking bunch. Most carried spears that were taller than a man, and all had swords a yard long encased in scabbards at their sides. Some wore the scramasax, the dagger that gave us our name, around their necks. They used to smear these with poison in the old days but they’re not used so much anymore. The warriors were clad in steel like the man I had seen in the forest. A few wore helmets—these ingenious devices extended down over their foreheads in front and ended with built-in eyebrows and nose guards. I spotted one man with a complete face mask: only his eyes were uncovered. 

The men carried broad round wooden shields with decorated iron bosses in the middle. I noticed one huge warrior whose front teeth were missing. His shield was covered with deerskin and had an iron bar across it. The dome of his boss came to a cruel looking point and had probably poked out more than one man’s eye.

From the Sketchbook: Scene 5

I'm sketching each scene of Courting Trouble in my sketchbook as I gather ideas for an illustrated version of the book. Here's Scene 5. Cynethrith goes to the nearby abbey, founded by her mother, and formulates a “plan” to sneak into the King's Court. Her best friend, the nun Athelfald, isn't too sure about this.

 “You don’t mean you’re planning on staying there?” she said.
“Yes,” I said.
“Don’t you think they’ll notice an idle woman wandering around after a while?”
“I won’t be idle,” I answered. “I’ll pretend I’m a servant.”
“You’re not serious.”
“Yeah, that’s the idea. Don’t you think I’d make a great servant?”
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?” I was offended. I tended to assume I was good at everything.
“For heaven’s sake, Cynethrith, you’ve never had to work a day in your life.”
“I beg to differ,” I said. “I work like a slave. Who feeds the dogs? Who has to fetch embroidery floss and gather dyes endlessly for the troll, and run messages to the servants until I could drop? And I’m immensely strong, you know. I ride and practice sword play and archery every day—well, almost.”
“And that’s the sort of thing you think servants do?” she asked.
“They do as little as possible,” I said. “At least that’s what ours do. Of course Waldberg never pays any attention to them so they get away with murder.”
Athelflad looked at me and smirked a little, an uncharacteristic expression for her. “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea,” she said. “How long are you planning on staying there?”
“Long enough to see what it’s like. Haven’t you ever wondered about royal life? About money and majesty? Gold, gowns, jewels, men . . .”

 

The Other Stepsister, Hilda

In the novel Courting Trouble, the villagers are planning to trick the King by pretending they are poor. They are hoping he won't demand too much from them. Cynethrith has been asked by the villagers to try to get her stepmother go along with the ruse.

“Right.[says her stepmother] That Osbert is getting too big for his britches. I don’t know why he wants us to look like a bunch of paupers. That won’t do much for our social standing, now will it?”
“Well, no, Mother,” I agreed, “but you might be a little richer at the end of the day.”
“And if no one knows I’m rich how will it help me get husbands for my daughters?” I looked at Wulfwaru and Hilda. “I understand your concern, Mother,” I said.
“Thank you very much,” said Hilda, whose eyeballs and front teeth competed to see which could protrude more. Her chin had conceded defeat and was trying to leave the field.

Meet One of The Stepsisters

The heroine, Cynethrith, taunts her daydreaming stepsister Wulwaru, a character from the novel Courting Trouble.

 . . . Wulfwaru was sitting by herself near the door. She sat very erect on a bench, her lower back pressed in and her rear end pressed out. Her head was tilted to one side, her nose in the air, and her eyes were half-closed. Her mouth was pursed in a little pout.

As I passed I stopped and peered at her. “Did you eat something sour, Wulfwaru? Your mouth is all scrunched up.”

Wulfwaru started out of her reverie and scowled at me. I smiled at her sweetly.

The Stepmother

Cynethrith's stepmother, Waldberg, a character in  Courting Trouble

[My stepmother] was sitting behind an embroidery frame, working gold thread onto a fabric strip for the bishop’s vestment. Her two daughters were with her. Hilda was standing near my stepmother reciting, with more feeling than required, a poem about the crumbling remains of a once magnificent city that had been built by giants.

Meet Egbert

The heroine, who has climbed a tree looking for her lost dog, sees a strange encampment hidden in the forest. This is her first impression of Egbert, a character in Courting Trouble.

. . . a tall warrior stepped out. I don’t know what it was about him, but I think I stopped breathing. The servants went about their tasks with increased diligence. There was nothing soft about the man. His muscular frame was covered from shoulder to waist by a shirt made of shiny metal rings. Below that you could see the points of the leather shirt he wore beneath. He wore no helmet. The angles of his cheekbones seemed to provide their own protection. Were his eyes narrow, or was he squinting in the sun? The light glinted off the gold hilt of his sword, and I sensed danger in a primordial way, like a hare smelling a fox. I wondered how many women he had ravished, how many men he had killed.

A Visit to the Abbey

The novel's heroine, Cynethrith (pronounced KIN uh trith) visits an abbey to see her best friend, Athelflad (Ath el flad), a nun. An excerpt from the novel Courting Trouble.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the incense. One of the nuns was playing a lyre. She led the sisters in singing psalms. I opened my eyes and watched them. In the choir two groups of nuns faced each other, novices in front, the others on a step behind them. There were about thirty members of the order then, and all but one were at Nones that day. Their white faces gleamed in the candlelight. They seemed transported. They radiated a purity I found both admirable and totally alien.

I spotted Athelflad. She was second in from the altar. I found her voice reedy, but she loved to sing and was completely enthralled by the music. I shut my eyes again and prayed that an atheling would fall in love with me, preferably one who wouldn’t have any connection to King Beorhtric. When the service was over I waited for Athelflad outside the church. Her dark hazel eyes sparkled when she saw me.

Meet Werwulf

Meet the characters who populate Courting Trouble. Today we'll feature Werwulf, one of King Beorhtric's (pronounced (BEE OR Tricks) feral warriors, with an excerpt from the book that describes how he treats a lover.

. . . 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.”

Meet the Troubled Court: King Beorhtric

Meet the characters who populate Courting Trouble. Today we'll feature His Majesty King Beorhtric (pronounced (BEE OR Trick), with an excerpt from the book that describes the heroine's first glimpse of the drunkard king.

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.

Meet the Troubled Court: Queen Odburh

Meet the characters who populate Courting Trouble. Today we'll feature Her Royal Highness Odburh (pronounced ODD burr), with an excerpt from the book that describes the heroine's first glimpse of this wicked queen.

I jumped. I turned around and saw a woman who could have come from the stars. I didn’t think it was possible to be so beautiful. On her head the woman was wearing the sheerest of veils. Rather than concealing it seemed to create an aura around the dark brown hair pulled back from her face and braided into labyrinthine patterns. She was about average height for a woman, but stood in so erect and commanding a posture that she seemed as tall as a man. Her head was small, and her features finely chiseled. Her gown was embroidered all over with gold thread that gleamed even in the dim light of the chamber.