"Sebert Oswaldsson," he said slowly, "I did not feel much love toward you the
first time I saw you, and it is hard for me not to hate you now, when I see
what you are going to be the cause of. If your case had come before Canute the
man, you would have received the answer you expect. But it is your luck that
Canute the man is dead, and you stand before Canute the King. Hear then my
answer: By all the laws of war, the land belongs to Ivar's son; and had he
regained it while war ruled, I had not taken it from him, though the Witan
itself commanded me. But instead of regaining it, he lost it." He stretched a
forbidding hand toward Rothgar, feeling without seeing his angry impulse. "By
what means matters not; battles have turned on a smaller thing, and the
loyalty of those we have protected is a lawful weapon to defend ourselves
with. The kinsman of Ivar a second time lost his inheritance, and the
opportunity passed--forever. For now it is time to remember that this is not
war, but peace; and in times of peace it is not allowed to take a man's land
from him unless he has broken the law or offended honor, which no one can say
this Englishman has done. What concerns war-time is a thing by itself; as
ruler over laws and land-rights, I cannot give one man's lands to another,
though the one be a man I care little for, and the other is my foster-brother.
Pages:
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296