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Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

The shadowy form of the wreck loomed to our left as Heca and his boy poled the boat back to Uuiremutha. Nobody spoke.

As we disembarked, Heca whispered, “Was it bad, lord?” Like many of the fishermen, Heca called any man with a sword “lord”.

There was a brief silence and I wondered whether anyone was going to answer him.

“Aye,” said Hereward, his tone bleak, “it was bad.”

It was shortly after we had left the river’s edge to make our way back to the hall when we were stopped by one of Mancas’ men who was on watch. Hereward had a brief conversation with him, before saying that Oslaf, Sygbald and Pendrad would join the men on guard as soon as they had eaten. The three warriors groaned, but did not argue.

The night was quiet and still, the only sounds the whisper of waves to the east, the rustle of the wind through the leaves of the oak trees that grew near the hall and the crunch of our weary feet on the track.

In the distance, I could see a thin light shining from beneath the door of the house Cwenswith shared with her father and three younger sisters. I had not seen her since that morning, but the thought of her, where once it would have excited me, now just filled me with sadness and regret. I saw then that I had never truly loved her. The moment I had stood before Wistan and heard her screeching calls for me to injure him, the image I’d had of her in my mind was shattered.

“You think the king will send us more men?” asked Ida, bringing me back from my memories and into the hall.

Mancas had sent a rider to Eoforwic with the news of the day’s events.

“Anything is possible,” replied Hereward, provoking a chuckle from some of the men at his use of Runolf’s favourite phrase. “But I doubt it. Æthelred is not generous when it comes to such things.”

“If nothing else,” said Gwawrddur from where he was stretched out wrapped in his cloak, “the tidings of the attack and the sacking of the minster at Gyruum will further our cause.”

“Yes, there should be no doubt now that we need to better defend the coast.” Hereward sipped his ale and nodded at me. “And a trade deal with these Norsemen, if such a thing is possible, would be preferable to these attacks.”