Three return

Theobald burst into the hall. “My lord,” he panted. “I have men outside – our men, home from Ely. I brought them right away.”

Cenwulf rose. “Bid them enter!”

Theobald ushered three grimy peasants into the hall. They looked around with wide and admiring eyes.

“These three are the Duke’s men,” Theobald said quietly to him. “I have not asked for more information. Would you like me to leave you with them?”

“No, Theobald, no – stay with me, please.”

Cenwulf stepped up to the most likely looking of the three and asked, “What news do you bring?”

The man bowed awkwardly and said, “Well, as far as I know, we three is all that’s left. They didn’t kill all on us, but we was the only three that got out with our hands, I think. We got out with some Danish lord and his men.”

“What about your lord?”

The man shrugged. “He was real sick. He was alive for the battle but I guess he must be dead by now, if they didn’t kill him when they captured him. Him was dying, sure. He could barely sit his horse.”

Cenwulf’s heart sank at the thought of telling Matilda this news. “And His Majesty your king?”

“I guess he must be killed too.”

“Now, wait,” another one of the peasants interrupted. “We didn’t see him get killed. We didn’t see nothing – we just ran. You better tell the truth, Herewen! There was hundreds of ‘em, all on horses. I don’t know how they got through the fen, but they did. They killed our master’s horse, and he fell, and then I don’t know, we just ran.”

“I guess that’s so,” the first peasant admitted.

“And you didn’t see your king?”

The three agreed that they had not.

“But they killed all the lords they caught, and they cut of the hands of all the others they caught, and let ‘em go – them what survived the cutting. That’s all we know. But we was with the Dane, and we got to keep our hands, because we run first.”

Cenwulf turned away. Surely there was no hope now. They had brought no definite news, other than news of a rout. Alred unhorsed, Sigefrith unaccounted for, and all of the noble prisoners executed. All but Morcar! And Morcar was a traitor three times over. Might he not betray Sigefrith as well and tell of this valley?

“Leave us now, go back to your families,” Cenwulf said. “We shall speak to you again if need be.”