Leofric meets his match

Leofric, the King’s father-​in-​law and oldest friend, is a notorious womanizer. As told in “Leofric and His Doves,” the one true love of his life was Matilda, the late wife of his friend Alred, who died while giving birth to their illegitimate daughter.

No lady could be less like Matilda than shy, sensitive Hetty, Alred’s second wife, but something about her stirs Leofric’s heart again—perhaps more than ever before. And once again Leofric’s forbidden love has tragic consequences.

This storyline is ongoing. It has its moments of poignant beauty, but we wait to see whether any happiness can come out of it for any of the characters.

Theme: Adulterous love and a precarious marriage

Rating: PG (violence)

Chapters: 48
Written between October 2, 2006, and January 25, 2012.

Lili receives a birthday gift	June 17	1082
Hedwige finds a small surprise	June 17	1082
Lili finds what she didn't know she lost	December 18	1082
Lili thinks the worst	December 18	1082
Alred realizes his mistake	January 7	1083
Leofric has a wicked thought	June 19	1085
Leofric is frightened of his own desire	September 28	1085
Leofric sees the daughter	November 8	1085
Hetty's dream is dispersed	November 9	1085
Egelric asks a favor	November 12	1085
Leofric is prey to pernicious desire	November 13	1085
Hetty is taken	November 16	1085
Leofric issues his command	November 16	1085
Alred sees through a smile	November 16	1085
Alred begins to see	November 16	1085
Leofric counts the years	November 16	1085
Alred sees	November 16	1085
Leofric meets his match	November 16	1085
Cedric sees his father	November 16	1085
Cedric sees Alred	November 16	1085
Leofric tries to pass a message	November 18	1085
Affrais finds nothing	November 19	1085
Alred wields his words	November 20	1085
Sigefrith sees his father	November 26	1085
Sigefrith sees the next-to-last man	December 12	1085
Sigefrith plans a party	December 12	1085
Hetty reads the one word	December 12	1085
Hetty makes a savage reply	December 12	1085
Eadwyn sees the silent sound	December 13	1085
Haakon has the key	December 14	1085
Cedric sees what sort of trouble	December 14	1085
Cedric learns what matters	December 14	1085
Leofric says goodbye	December 14	1085
Haakon completes his mission	December 15	1085
Leofric awaits his turn	January 20	1086
Hetty gets off her feet	January 25	1086
Hetty's hope fades into the gloom	January 26	1086
Sir Eadwyn is quested by a shade	January 28	1086
Leofric falls foul of the third sort of girl	February 1	1086
Leofric learns his calling	February 1	1086
Leofric is lent an alibi	February 4	1086
Leofric and Malcolm drink from the same cup	February 4	1086
Robert is cowed by the clan	February 13	1086
The ladies have an indelicate conversation	February 16	1086
Gunnilda prescribes the appropriate remedy	February 17	1086
Gunnora comes to the crossing of seven roads	February 17	1086
Gunnora lies where love is	March 18	1086
Lasrua is the ghost of a girl	April 10	1086