Page 258 of The Evening and the Morning

“I’m penniless because you stole my money. By the way, a widow is entitled to the return of her dowry. Mine was twenty pounds of silver. You stole Wilf’s treasury, too, so you owe me twenty pounds from that. How soon can you let me have the money?”

Wigelm said: “If you marry me you can have it all.”

“And lose my soul. No, thank you, I’ll just take my money.”

He shook his head as if saddened. “Why do you have to be such a bitch? What’s wrong with being nice to a man?”

“Wigelm, why have you come here?”

He sighed theatrically. “I made you a good offer. I will marry you—”

“So condescending!”

“—and together we will ask the king to appoint us to rule Shiring. I was hoping that by now you might have seen the sense of accepting my proposal.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“You won’t get a better one.” He grasped her upper arm with a strong hand. “Come, now, you can’t pretend to find me unattractive.”

“Pretend? Let go of me.”

“I promise you, after one shag with me you’ll be begging for more.”

She wrenched her arm from his grasp and stood up. “Never!”

To Ragna’s surprise he went to the door and tapped on it, then turned back to her. “Never is a long time,” he said. The guard opened the door and Wigelm went out.

“Thank God,” said Ragna as the door closed.

“A lucky escape,” said Cat. She returned to the bench and sat beside Ragna.

Ragna said: “He doesn’t usually give up that easily.”

“You’re still worried.”

“Actually, I think Wigelm is worried. Why do you think he’s so keen to marry me?”

“Who wouldn’t be?”

Ragna shook her head. “He doesn’t really want me for a wife. I’m too much trouble. He’d rather sleep with someone who will never stand up to him.”

“What, then?”

“They’re worried about the king. They’ve got control of Shiring,and of me, for now, but they’ve done a lot to antagonize Ethelred in the process, and the time may come when he decides to teach them who rules England.”

“Or it may not,” said Cat. “Kings like a quiet life.”

“True. But Wynstan and Wigelm can’t predict which way Ethelred will jump. However, they’d have a better chance of getting the result they want if I married Wigelm. And that’s why they keep trying.”

The door opened, and Wigelm came back in.

This time he was accompanied by four men-at-arms whom Ragna did not recognize. He must have brought them with him. They looked like ruffians.

Cat screamed.

Two men grabbed each woman, threw them to the floor, and held them down.

All the children cried.