Iylaine speaks
Iylaine had wandered into the bedroom where her mother was resting.
“Egelric, dear,” Elfleda called faintly. “Baby’s in here. Could you come get her?”
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Bertie tells his secret
Bertie Hogge felt like his secret was burning a hole in his mouth, he wanted to tell it so bad. He had slyly tried to mention it to his Ma, but she had given him one of those looks and said, “You know very well we don’t talk about that, young man!”
He then tried to talk about it with Egelric. “We can call him the wolf,” he had proposed. “Whenever I see him I can tell you, ‘I seen the wolf!’ and nobody will understand but you and me!”
But Egelric had looked unhappy about that and had said, “Please don’t call him that, Bertie, please don’t.” And Egelric didn’t want to talk about it any more either.
Bertie tells one secret and learns another
Bertie Hogge got up as soon as he heard his Ma working in the kitchen. He got dressed all by himself, except for asking his Da to tie his belt, and let himself out. He wanted to go see Egelric before he left. And hopefully he could even get there before Egelric opened the door and found that package. Bertie wanted to see what it was. He doubted it would be very nice, since it was the mean man who left it.
Bertie was disappointed to find the bundle already gone when he arrived at Egelric’s door. Maybe Egelric would tell him what it was if he told him who had left it.
Egelric finds another sign
Egelric hurried up the path, sorry he had not taken the mare that evening. He had walked all the way to the forge to enjoy the spring evening, and in the end had spent several hours chatting with the smith. Now it was no doubt too late to play with Iylaine before her bedtime. He would be lucky if he found Elfleda still awake.
As he stepped out of the woods, he noticed an odd, light-colored bundle lying on his doorstep.
Bertie follows a wolf
“Bertie, you leave your sister alone!” Gunnilda called from the bedroom.
“Aw, Ma!” How did she know what he was doing? Could she see through walls?
Maud waits
Queen Maud sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for one of the servants to come and help her dress that she might receive the Earl.
She was tired of doing this.
Egelric asks about a cat
“Alwy, come inside, please. Egelric wants to ask you something.”
Uh oh, Alwy thought. Gunnie didn’t just yell out the door; instead she walked all the way around the house to tell him to come in. There must be something wrong. What could he have done? He had swapped one of his piglets for a puppy that Wynna had liked, but Gunnie had already yelled at him for that. Could one of his sows have escaped and dug up Elfleda’s garden like last month? He thought he closed that pen real tight…
“I’m sorry, Egelric, what did I do?” he asked contritely as he came into the house. Egelric looked real upset.
Bertie is accused
Egelric found nothing on his porch the following night, but in the morning when he went out to see Matilda, he found a dead blackbird, its head thrown back and its wings spread in a dreadfully contorted position. Damn that cat! He didn’t want Baby picking up and playing with such things.
He bent over and picked the bird up by one of its clawed feet, but he dropped it and leapt back when he saw a bright flash under its body. He flipped it over with his foot and bent over to study it, then straightened, his face flushed with anger. No cat had done this! The bird had a long iron nail embedded in its breast. Some joke of that scamp Bertie Hogge no doubt. Well, he wasn’t laughing.
“Where’s that boy of yours?” he growled upon stepping through Gunnilda’s open door.
News from the King, and another sign
Egelric walked down through the woods from Nothelm with a light heart. Matilda had sent for him late in the evening, for one of the men who had accompanied the King and his lord had just returned as a messenger. The King and his men had managed to cross through Northumbria unmolested and had made it to the east coast! They had met Morcar there and were preparing to sail down to the Isle of Ely when the messenger had left. Perhaps they had already arrived.
Matilda’s greatest fear had been that they would be captured as they traveled to the coast. Morcar had assured them that there was a route through territories still loyal to himself, but William’s men had been installed everywhere since the north had rebelled. So the messenger had brought welcome news indeed.
Baby gets a name
The Queen’s command came in the evening, after Egelric and Elfleda had eaten their supper. He had been hoping that Her Majesty had forgotten. He couldn’t say why—perhaps even he had a faint fear that Baby would not bear the touch of holy things. What if she cried? Even that could be a bad omen.
But the Queen’s messenger came at last, and so Egelric had carried a drowsy Baby to the church, and Elfleda had walked alongside, holding a corner of Baby’s blanket in her fingers all the way.
“But I know not how the child is to be called?” Father Brandt had said suddenly, interrupting his prayer.
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ChaptersEven he, eternal optimist, knew how unsteady the crown of happiness could be. How many times had he already picked it up and shoved it back down over his head, battered and dusty as it was from falling off even so many times but one?
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