Sigefrith loses his temper

Ordinarily Sigefrith did not appreciate being disturbed after supper, when he allowed himself an hour or two with his family before the children went to bed and he returned to his study to work a while longer. But he was growing increasingly annoyed with his wife’s willingness to give in to her young son’s every fit of temper, and he thought that a spat with an angry Theobald—so had the steward described him—would be just the thing to work off his own frustrations. If only he knew what Theobald had to be angry about!

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Ana's sister gets away

“Ana! Come with me!” Affrais gasped and clutched her sister’s arm.

“What? Oh! Where are we going?”

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Ethelmund misses dinner

Ethelmund had only just sat down to his dinner when they heard the knock. He had not even taken a bite.

“Now who’s that?” he sighed.

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Alwy is late for dinner

“Whew!” Wynna gasped as she ran into the kitchen. She had only been down into the cellar, but that brief spell of wind had been enough to leave her breathless.

“That’s what we get for praying for rain,” Gunnilda muttered over the stove.

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Haakon asks for help

Leofric could barely repress a laugh. Haakon was bouncing on his bed while tunelessly singing a battle song, albeit in perfect time to his jumps. It appeared that he had inherited his father’s singing voice, which thought brought tears to Leofric’s eyes that more effectively stilled his urge to laugh than did his desire to prolong his and Haakon’s fun.

Sigefrith had only been six years old when Leofric had been taken prisoner, and they had not met again until his son was fifteen. Although Haakon looked more like his Norse namesake than he did his father, he had so many of Sigefrith’s childish manners. He resembled Sigefrith in spirit far more than did Leofric’s other sons.

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Affrais has a new groom

Angharat’s pretty mare was already saddled and waiting outside for her, but Affrais’s horse was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s this?” she cried to no one in particular. “Why isn’t my horse saddled?”

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Egelric asks for a nurse

“Good day, seat!” Alred cried. “Have an old man!”

“Good lord! And how are you, my morning?” Egelric grinned.

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Wynflaed is kissed

Wynflaed had left the door open to the cool air.

The shadows of the room had already been dancing wildly with the lamp’s flicker in the breeze, but at least those shadows danced in place. The moth’s shadow swooped and skimmed across the ceiling and the walls and her face, and she cringed away from it like one of the little field mice who squeaked and shuddered in terror as the shadow of the hawk passed over them. But she was too lonely to blow out the lamp, too tired to shoo the moth away.

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Haakon sees a scene

“Sigefrith! Where’s my horse?”

Haakon dropped his wooden knights in dismay. If his Mama came in shrieking in Norse, it usually meant an unpleasant scene between her and his Papa.

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Alwy gets a namesake

“Oh, Gunnie! You’re home!”

Alwy was surprised to find his wife in bed when he came in from the barns. When he had gone out, shortly before dawn, she had not yet returned.

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