'Good morning, Sigefrith.'

“Good morning, Sigefrith,” Cenwulf said as he came into the study.

“Cenwulf! Excellent!”

“Ah!” Cenwulf cried when Sigefrith had turned to him. “I see that the sleepless nights are beginning to take their toll.”

Sigefrith rubbed his eyes and glanced at his hands as if the dark circles could be wiped away. “That bad? I’m not certain a man should be having newborns at my age.”

“They should be born a year old, I always say.”

“How are your runts treating you? You’re looking damnably well-​​rested.”

'You're looking damnably well-rested.'

“I don’t complain.”

“You shouldn’t! I’ve never known a sweeter baby than your last one. Mine does nothing but growl and spit fire.”

“It’s probably only milk, Sigefrith. But that’s what you get for giving him such a name. You should have named him Lamb.”

“Don’t give Leofric any ideas. We already have a Dove and a Dragon.”

“And a Wolf,” Cenwulf added.

'And a Wolf.'

“That was Egelric’s idea.”

“True.”

“Listen, I want your opinion of this letter here.”

“Sigefrith, do you mind if I first ask a favor of you?”

“The gall! Well, so long as you don’t make a habit of it. What is it?”

“I should like to come with you, at least until I can find passage to the Rhine.”

'I should like to come with you, at least until I can find passage to the Rhine.'

“What?”

“Come with you on your journey. I should like to visit the Baroness. I had been hoping to go in a few years when Baldwin would be old enough to travel, but lately her hand has been getting shaky, and I begin to fear there won’t be time.”

“How old is she?”

“Sixty now.”

“Ah! Don’t worry. If only a woman lives to sixty, she will live to a hundred.”

'If only a woman lives to sixty, she will live to a hundred.'

“I am not so sanguine.”

“No, you are melancholic if anybody is. How old is the runt, then?”

“He will be six in September.”

“Hmm. Caedwulf and Yware were seven or close to it when they went – and I don’t think I would do that again. Five is rather small.”

“It is out of the question.”

“Edris won’t allow it?”

“Precisely.”

“Well… will you go alone? Or take Leofwine?”

“I suppose I had better take him,” Cenwulf sighed. “God and I are the only two entities he fears, and, as Alred says, while God is supposed to be everywhere, He does not seem to be in particularly high concentration wherever Leofwine finds himself.”

'He does not seem to be in particularly high concentration wherever Leofwine finds himself.'

“You might hope he falls overboard and gets lost at sea.”

“I am only half-​​laughing,” Cenwulf chuckled.

“I was only half-​​joking. But – if you go with us, that leaves whom? Aengus only?”

“Egelric.”

“Egelric will have his hands full trying to make up for Alred’s neglect of his affairs over the past six months. Or past year, even.”

“Alred is the one who should be staying behind,” Cenwulf grumbled.

“You know I can’t allow that. I only thank God he wants to come. What if he were struck with the idea of visiting Matilda’s baby in our absence? How should I explain to Eadgith that her father was killed because I was away?”

“In that case, Leofric will be here.”

“Three hours from here.”

'Three hours from here.'

“Tell him to come here.”

“Name of God! You know what happened last time he came!”

“That won’t happen again.”

“Not with my wife, God be thanked! But that leaves a fair number of fair ladies at his disposal. Including yours.”

“Sigefrith,” Cenwulf sighed. “You don’t really think he would do the same with one of them? It was different with Matilda.”

“That’s right, I forgot – you think he loved her,” Sigefrith snapped.

“Do let us talk about something else.”

“Excellent advice, as always, Cenwulf. Well! You may come if you like, but only if you make provision for preventing the decay of my kingdom in your absence, and by that I mean convince Leofric to drag his sorry self over here every day, or else come to stay. Here! I won’t have him at Bernwald chasing poor Edris around. And it goes without saying that I don’t want him setting foot at Nothelm – though I just said it anyway.”

“I think you couldn’t put him anywhere but this castle, now that he has a grandson in residence.”

'I think you couldn't put him anywhere but this castle.'

“God in heaven!” Sigefrith moaned and laid his head in his hands. “If he comes with his family, Alred is bound to see the baby.”

“I shall ask him to come a day or two after we leave.”

“And when we return?”

“I don’t know,” Cenwulf shrugged. “Send a messenger ahead? You know, Sigefrith, he will have to see the child sooner or later. I think that the longer he waits, the more she will have the look of her father.”

“So better sooner or better later?”

“Better later, I suppose, so there is no misunderstanding. But better before she is old enough to understand.”

“I don’t know,” Sigefrith said darkly. “Men are often no better than the birds when it comes to recognizing the young cuckoo in the nest.”

“Then we should tell him. Although I don’t know how long we should wait for him to guess.”

“The best time to tell him is before he grows to love her,” Sigefrith muttered. “Now, will you kindly have a look at this letter?”

'The best time to tell him is before he grows to love her.'