Pit of Vipers (Sons of Kings Book 2) by Millie Thom Page B

didn’t get here at all.’
    Aethelswith nodded bleakly, but her eyes brightened as she looked up at Alfred. ‘You’ve grown so much this last year, little brother.’
    ‘He has indeed. I never thought he’d end up taller than me.’ Aethelred smiled. ‘But Alfred’s right, Aethelswith. You’ve no cause to feel guilty for not saying farewell to Aethelberht. All leaders must put the welfare of their people before personal issues, no matter how difficult that may be. Burgred is doing just that.’
    ‘I know,’Aethelswith said with a sigh. ‘I’ve been a king’s wife for long enough.’
    The pain clouding her eyes did not escape Alfred. But it was Aethelred who spoke as they left the church. ‘How is our pretty little niece keeping?’
    ‘Mildrede is growing fast,’ Aethelswith replied, smiling at the compliment. ‘She’s almost seven now, and very bright; probably bombarding her nurse with questions as we speak.’ She sighed, suddenly crestfallen. ‘I just wish–’
    ‘It’s a pity her father pays her so little attention,’ Alfred interpreted the unvoiced longing, earning him a dig in the ribs from his brother. 
    ‘Father loved this manor,’ Aethelred murmured, changing the subject as he gazed across the willow-lined river. ‘It’s undeniably located in a beautiful spot; so peaceful.’ He turned and gestured toward the solid, stone building with its squat, square tower. ‘It’s such a shame he never saw his little church completed. Do you remember the time we came here after you’d returned from Rome, Alfred? Bishop Ealhstan was here then, too. I remember how you quite disconcerted him by just looking at him.’
    ‘Our young brother has a habit of doing that,’ Aethelswith agreed. ‘Burgred still feels most uncomfortable in his presence.’
    Shamefaced, Alfred averted his eyes. ‘Then I’ll attempt to be pleasant next time we meet. I wouldn’t wish the two of you to be at odds because of me.’
    ‘Perhaps you should have thought about that some years ago, brother.’
    Aethelred’s raised eyebrows suggested his comment was not entirely reproof, and Alfred merely nodded as they walked slowly back to the hall to face the grim task of arranging for the journey to Sherborne on the morrow.
    *****
    The funeral service was conducted five days later by Ealhstan, Bishop of Sherborne; a sober affair in the presence of many of the kingdom’s elite, as befitted a king of Wessex. Alfred endured the service in reserved solemnity, closing his ears to the words of the bishop he deemed repugnant and scheming; saying his own silent prayers and thinking his own thoughts. Aethelberht would soon be laid to rest beneath the floor of Sherborne Abbey, beside the grave of his brother, Aethelbald.
    At Alfred’s side Aethelred’s face contorted in grief as the wood-carved coffin was lowered into the waiting grave, the bishop intoning prayers for Aethelberht’s immortal soul. Beside them, Aethelswith was pale-faced and dry-eyed, fresh tears held in abeyance for the while, her sombre clothing and absence of adornment tallying with the rest of the congregation. Choking in his own misery Alfred dared not contemplate the implications of the merciless illness that had claimed the lives of Aethelwulf’s three eldest sons. As yet, none of the surviving siblings displayed symptoms of this ailment. Alfred prayed they never would.
    He contemplated how Aethelberht’s five-year reign had started and ended with Danish raids – that of Hampshire and Berkshire in 860, and the raids across Kent during the previous year. Between those years the kingdom had enjoyed a comfortable peace, in part due to Aethelberht’s steady government, in part to the suspension of Danish attacks. Alfred wondered whether Aethelred’s reign would be as fortunate.
    *****
    As the location for his coronation Aethelred chose the town of Kingston-upon-Thames, sited on the southern side of the great river in the Wessex shire of Surrey. Alfred would