Page 303 of The Evening and the Morning

Aldred hurried down the hill to meet them, and Ragna and Blod followed.

The monks dismounted and Aldred embraced them both. “You’ve come safely home,” he said. “Praise God.”

“Amen,” said William.

“Did you find Edgar?”

“Yes, though it took a long time.”

Ragna hardly dared to hope.

Aldred said: “And what did he say to our proposal?”

“He declined the invitation,” William said.

Ragna put her hands over her mouth to stop herself moaning in despair.

Aldred said: “Did he give a reason?”

“No.”

Ragna found her voice. “Is he married?”

“No...”

She heard the hesitation. “What, then?”

“People in the town where he’s living say he will marry the daughter of the master mason and eventually become master himself.”

Ragna began to cry. They were all looking at her now, but she cared nothing for her dignity. “He’s made a new life for himself there, then?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“And he doesn’t want to leave it.”

“So it seems. I’m sorry.”

Ragna could not contain herself. She burst into sobs. She turned away and hurried up the slope, finding her way through a blur oftears to her house. Inside, she threw herself down in the straw and cried her heart out.

“I’ll go back to Cherbourg,” Ragna said firmly to Blod a week later.

It was a warm day, and the children were splashing in the shallows at the edge of the river. Ragna was sitting on the bench outside the alehouse, watching them and thirstily drinking a cup of Blod’s ale. On the pasture alongside the alehouse, a well-trained dog was watching over a small flock of sheep. The shepherd, Theodberht Clubfoot, was inside.

Blod was standing beside Ragna, having served her the drink then stayed to chat. “That’s a shame, my lady,” Blod said.

“Not necessarily.” Ragna was determined not to feel defeated. True, nothing had gone the way she planned, but she was going to make the best of things. She still had most of her life ahead of her, and she was going live it to the fullest.

Blod said: “When would you go?”

“Not yet. I need to spend time at Outhenham before I leave. Long term, my idea is to have two good houses, one here and one at Outhenham, and return to England every year or two to keep an eye on my property.”

“Why? You might get someone else to do the work so that you can just sit back and count the money.”

“I couldn’t do that. I always thought it was my destiny to be a ruler, dispensing justice, helping to make a place more prosperous.”

“It’s usually men who rule.”

“Usually, but not always. And I’ve never enjoyed idleness.”