Then she put forth her hand and closed it round his strong fingers, that
he must hold it fast by her doing, and that was all that was needed. It
was more than words could have told. And she smiled as she did it.
And at that a light came on Havelok's face, and he smiled gravely back
at her, and he said in a low voice that shook a little, "May the gods so
treat me as I treat you, my princess. Can it be that you will trust me
thus?"
She answered in no words, but I saw her hand tighten over his, and her
eyes never left his face.
Then Havelok raised his other hand, and took that of Goldberga, which
was on the cup, and faced to the people.
"Thus do I pledge her who shall be henceforward my wife through good and
ill; and may Odin, Freya, and Niord be witnesses of my oath of faith to
her in all that the word may mean."
So he drank, and I stole a glance at the king. Never saw I a man so
amazed, for to him the Danish names of the Asir had come as some sort of
a shock, seeing that he had deemed this man, with the name of Curan, a
Briton. And he looked at Berthun with a look that seemed to say more
than was likely to be pleasant by-and-by. But the steward paid no heed
to him.
Now Havelok had made his vow, and he gave the cup to the princess; and
she, too, turned a little toward the people, but still she looked on
Havelok.
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