Army of the Wolf Read Online Free

Albert corrected him, urging his horse forward to recommence their journey.
    ‘How many farms does your lord bishop control?’ Bernhard asked Peter.
    ‘The Bishop of Roskilde has the revenues of two and a half thousand farms to maintain him in his position,’ answered Count Henry.
    ‘The office of chancellor is expensive to support,’ said Bishop Peter without irony.
    ‘I fear Livonia is far behind when it comes to wealth,’ remarked Bernhard.
    ‘But we have the Dvina’s trade,’ said Bishop Albert.
    ‘And the Gauja’s,’ added Theodoric.
    Albert turned to Count Henry. ‘My brother bishop recently spent some time among the Russians brokering a peace treaty that has opened up a new trade route through Livonia.’
    Count Henry was surprised. ‘You deal with schismatics?’
    ‘We hope to bring the followers of the Byzantine church back into the fold,’ said Bishop Albert, ‘but that must wait until Estonia has been subdued.’
    ‘Pray God that day will be soon,’ said Bishop Peter solemnly.
    Three hours after they had left the prosperous confines of Roskilde the bishop’s party reached the grandiose Dronningholm Castle. Built entirely of brick and surrounded by a wide, deep moat, it was enclosed by a great stone wall and sited on a strip of land between Roskilde Fjord and Lake Arreso. The drawbridge that spanned the moat gave access to an impressive gatehouse through which the party rode. From every tower flew the standard of King Valdemar: three blue lions surrounded by small red hearts on a yellow background. In the cobbled courtyard their horses were taken from them and taken to the stables. The constable of the castle, a thin man who appeared to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, bowed his head to the churchmen and Count Henry and asked them to accompany him into the keep. The latter stood on the opposite side of the courtyard to the gatehouse and contained the main hall where the king and queen received their guests. The count dismissed his soldiers who took their horses to the stables adjacent to the gatehouse.
    ‘Beware the queen,’ the count whispered to Bishop Albert, ‘she has a sharp tongue and is not afraid to use it.’
    Guards in yellow and blue livery stood sentry at the entrance to the main hall, around its wall and behind the dais where the monarchs sat on their high-backed thrones. From the walls hung the standards and banners captured by Valdemar and his father during their wars of conquests, though diplomatically the flag of Schwerin was not among them. The three bishops and abbot halted at the entrance as Henry and Bishop Peter approached the thrones. The count’s face was a mask of iron indifference as he strode to the dais, halted and bowed his head to Valdemar and then to the queen. Bishop Peter also bowed his head and then took up a position on the right side of the king, next to the dais.
    ‘Majesty, may I present Bishop Albert of Riga, Bishop Theodoric of Estonia and Abbot Bernhard of Dünamünde?’
    The king waved the group forward as the count moved to stand beside the chancellor. Light flooded into the hall from windows set high in the walls on each side and behind the dais. Above the latter hung a great banner displaying Valdemar’s three lions. Now nearly fifty, the king had a narrow face and a long nose that made his visage appear even more slender. Albert noticed that there was no grey in his shoulder-length hair or beard, unlike his own which was now liberally flecked with white. He and the others bowed to Valdemar.
    ‘We are pleased to meet you bishops, and you Abbot Bernhard, late Lord of Lippe and valiant warrior.’
    Bernhard bowed again to the king. ‘You are too kind, majesty.’
    The king pointed at the constable who turned and ordered a servant holding a tray of silver goblets to come forward. The boy walked to the dais, bowed his head and proffered the tray to the king, who took one of the vessels. The queen was served next, who likewise