made me swear to him that I would wed his daughter to the mightiest and
goodliest and fairest man that was in the land. I have ever been mindful
of that oath, and now it seems that the time for keeping it has come.
Whether the man whom my niece will wed is all that the oath requires,
you shall judge; and if he is such a one, I must not stand in the way. I
do not myself know that I have ever seen one who is so fully set forth
in words as is this bridegroom in those of the oath."

Now I heard one whisper near me, "Whom has Goldberga chosen?"

And that was what Alsi would have liked to hear, for his speech seemed
to say that thus it was, and maybe that he did not altogether like the
choice.

But now Alsi said to Berthun, "Bring in the bridegroom."

"Whom shall I bring, lord?" the steward asked in blank wonder, and Alsi
whispered his answer.

At that Berthun's hands flew up, and his mouth opened, and he did not stir.

"Go, fool," said Alsi, and I thought that he would have stamped his foot.

Now I knew who was meant in a moment, and even as the steward took his
first step from off the dais to go down the hail to his own entrance, I
said to Eglaf, "Here is an end to my service with you. My time is up."

"Why, what is amiss?"

"The bridegroom is my brother--that is all; and I must be free to