The couple was to be married on the eve of Sigge"s departure from Lade. They needed that much time to invite the locals, give the chieftains enough time to gather, and to prepare the hall and the food for a wedding Sigurd hoped would live in the minds of the Tronds for generations to come. And, they felt it right that Sigge should be there for the ceremony, whether he wanted to be or not.
On the morning of the wedding, Hakon woke early and climbed from under the skins in his tent. As custom demanded, he had slept alone on the eve of the betrothal. Across the dark interior, Egbert knelt in prayer. A sliver of soft light crept from beneath the tent flaps to lie on the priest"s hooded form. Egbert heard his lord rise and turned. He removed the cowl of his gray habit to reveal his shock of or
