Egelric tells Elfleda

Egelric had spent the past week in a dreary daze of regret and indecision. Alred had sagely let him alone, and he spent most of his time sitting by the fire playing with the baby, or else riding his grey mare up and down the snow-​​covered fields, always keeping his house in sight in case someone came to bother Elfleda.

Elfleda didn’t pester him either, but she occasionally gave him an odd look, as if she wondered about – or was troubled by – what he was thinking. He had no desire to share his thoughts with her until he had his mind made up.

So had a week passed, and he knew now what he must do. He would have to tell her. And he had been poking at the fire long enough. “Elfleda, come in here,” he called softly. “I have something I need to tell you.”

“Yes?” Elfleda glided in from the kitchen, smiling wistfully at him.

His heart gave a dreadful lurch when he saw her face in the firelight. What was she planning now? She looked almost happy – that could only mean trouble.

“We’re leaving,” he said simply. 

“Leaving?”

“We cannot stay here any longer. We are going to Ireland. The Duchess will write letters for – ”

“I can’t,” she said calmly.

“The devil you can’t! You are my wife and you will follow me!”

“I can’t,” she repeated, her eyes wide and innocent. “I can’t go to Ireland.”

“Tell me why not!” he hissed.

Elfleda walked away from him and stood smiling absently down into the fire.

“I’ll tell you another day,” she said.

Egelric felt that he could almost slap her. He could have handled a fit of rage, but this insolent, smirking, unexplained refusal was more than he could bear.

“Answer me, woman,” he growled. “Now.”

Still looking into the fire, she said softly, “I can’t travel on a ship.”

“Then you shall swim!”

Elfleda shook her head slowly. Egelric noticed then that she had tears on her cheeks. When had he last seen Elfleda cry? Could she not have simply said she was unhappy to leave?

“What is it, Leda?” he asked more tenderly, almost in spite of himself.

She turned to him and laid one of her thin white hands on his shoulder, and took his hand in the other. Her eyes shone triumphantly through her tears. “Because I’m going to have a baby,” she whispered.

Egelric was struck dumb. Suddenly everything made sense – the sausages for breakfast, the odd looks, the awkward attempts at tenderness that he had shrugged off. And what else had he been too preoccupied to notice? And yet… “That’s… not possible…” he droned.

“Of course it is: don’t you remember?”

“Well – yes – ” he stammered, confused. “But that was only one time…”

“That’s enough,” she smiled.

He smiled back, dazed. What had he been talking about a minute before? “When?” he asked.

“In August.”

He stared.

“So you see, I can’t go to Ireland,” she said.

“No… no, I see you can’t.”

She moved closer to him, and for the first time in years she embraced him.

“Are you happy?” she whispered.

“Yes – yes! Are you?”

“Yes.” And for the first time in years, she kissed him.