Egelric is told

“That’s fine for you, but you aren’t the one who has to tell Egelric,” Alred was saying to the King as Egelric opened the door to his lord’s study. Father Brandt was within as well.

“Tell Egelric what?” Egelric smiled. “That I’m late?”

The three looked uneasily at each other.

“What is it?” Egelric asked, his smile fading. “Has there been a death after all?” He had been to see the Duke earlier that morning, but he had been told that nothing unusual had happened during the night. They had thought that was all behind them. But now they had sent for him again.

“Not exactly,” Alred said, scratching his head and pacing across the small room.

“Well, tell Egelric what? You begin to frighten me.”

“Young Egelric,” Father Brandt began after another long moment of silence.

“No, no, let me tell him,” Alred sighed, turning back to Egelric.

“Please do,” Egelric said weakly. He did not like the look on his lord’s face.

“Egelric, it’s about your wife.”

“My wife?” he whispered, bewildered.

“Last night someone… someone took her.”

“Took her?”

“I don’t know how to say this. Someone dug her out of the ground and took her body away.”

“Took her?”

“I believe it was last night,” Father Brandt said. “I found it this morning when I came to the church from visiting my brother. But I came that way yesterday and nothing had been disturbed.”

Egelric swallowed. His mouth had suddenly gone quite dry. He wanted to say that if Father Brandt had allowed her to be buried in the churchyard, this wouldn’t have happened. But of course one didn’t know. “Who? Why?” he asked, and found that his voice trembled even more than his hands.

“We don’t know yet, Egelric,” Alred said. “But I swear to you that we will find out.”

“The trap-​​door has not been opened,” Sigefrith said. “I do not believe it was the elf.”

“My poor Leda,” he whispered. “Will you never find rest?” And he looked at Father Brandt as he said it.

“We will find her,” Alred said.

Egelric rubbed his eyes with his fingertips. “I should like to see.”

Alred glanced over at Sigefrith, and Sigefrith said, “I’m going home that way. Why don’t you walk with me?”

“Doesn’t Your Majesty have a horse?”

“I shall lead him. Come.”

Egelric gave a last look at Father Brandt, and nodded to Alred, and went.