Gunnilda goes to the stable

Gunnilda Hogge was furious. Once again the cook at Nothelm had sent one of the servants to help himself to one of Alwy’s fattest pigs, conveniently “forgetting” that Alwy was a freeman and owned all of his pigs. 

And of course when Gunnilda had asked Alwy why he let the man into the pen and helped him choose the nicest pig, without even asking for payment, Alwy had just wailed, “I forgot again, Gunnie!” and went blubbering off to the outhouse to hide his shame.

“Well, they better not have slaughtered that pig yet,” Gunnilda muttered as she stormed up the path to Nothelm barn. “And once I get that pig I’m going to take care of that cook!”

Gunnilda threw open the heavy barn door and stalked inside, looking around for the pig or the butcher.

She stopped in her tracks when her eyes turned towards the goat pen. There was Egelric and – and some girl.

She had forgotten all about the pig for the moment. They hadn’t noticed her, and so she stood watching them, trying to understand.

Nothing in her little world was as she had thought, then. Egelric was not what she had thought. And – and that night was not what she had thought either. It was all nothing. Everything was nothing, and nothing meant anything, and… she was a fool, that was all.

Just then Egelric looked around and saw her standing in the barn. He jumped away from the girl and tried to think of something to say – some way to explain. What a fool he had been!

“Gunnilda – ” he began, moving towards the gate of the pen.

But Gunnilda was already gone.

“What is it?” Wecta asked. “Oh, don’t mind her,” she laughed, when she saw that he was staring after Gunnilda. “That’s just Clodhead Hogge’s old wife. She can’t do nothing.”

But Egelric wouldn’t laugh. “I must go find the Duke,” he mumbled to himself, and left without looking at her again.