After a time the King made a slight movement with his shoulders.
"I should have remembered," he said, "that your father was ruined by
rebellion."
In a flash the rebel's son had forgotten boyish embarrassment. "Whoso told you
that, royal lord, told you lies. My father stood upon his right. Steel to turn
against the Danes, Ethelred had a right to require; and steel my father was
ready to pay. But Ethelred demanded gold, and the Lord of Ivarsdale would not
stoop to bribe. Nor has it been proven that his policy was wrong," he added
under his breath.
Then there was no longer any doubt concerning the position of Ethelred's son.
He said with deliberate emphasis, "The only policy which concerns those of
your station is obedience."
If there was enough of the old free blood left in the King's thanes to redden
their cheeks, that was all there was. But while they stood in silence, a
mutter ran like a growl through the ranks of yeomen; the gaze they bent upon
their leader had in it almost the force of a command.
He was young, their chief, too young for impassivity. Despite himself, his
hands trembled with excitement. But there was no tremor in his words.
"We of Ivarsdale do not profess such obedience, King Edmund. That is for
thanes and for the unfree, who owe their all to your generosity. Our land we
hold as our fathers held it--from God's bounty and the might of our swords.
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