Word reached Mindaugas before sunset. After that, neither side saw any reason to bargain further. The agreement had been made, and what remained was the work required to carry it out.
A bride price and dowry usually demanded months of preparation, sometimes longer. They had three days instead.
Mindaugas gathered whatever silver and pelts his baggage train could spare on such short notice. Batu matched the gift with horses from the escort herd and bolts of cloth that had been looted from Kolomna. The fabrics were plainer than either man would have preferred had time given better choices, but neither considered that worth delaying the marriage.
On the fourth morning, the ground beside the river had been prepared for the ceremony.
The chosen place lay where the riverbank widened into a gentle curve. It stood close enough to the water that the current could be heard whenever the wind died. A fire waited at the center, already laid but not yet lit.
