The Evening and the Morning

It is the day of the hundred court, an event that occurs every four weeks. The oaths are administered with a pyx, a silver box that contains a consecrated wafer. People from five villages come to see the legal proceedings. Today, there is a murder accusation: Edgar against Dreng in the matter of Blod’s baby.

Edgar suggests that the headman of Bathford should preside, in light of Degbert’s potential bias towards Dreng. He calls Ma as a witness. She supports Edgar, but Dreng denies her accusations under oath.

Edgar tells the story of the Viking raid, to remind the community that they are not savages like the Vikings. The crowd seems to approve. Dreng says that the baby was dead when he found it. Edgar could not have heard it crying because Leaf was screaming so loudly. Agatha says the baby wasn’t quite dead when she found it.

Leaf buckles under the pressure and says that she might have been wrong; perhaps the baby was dead already when Dreng took it. Degbert says Dreng is guilty of improper burial and fined six pence. Blod screams and leaves. Afterwards, the villagers’ attitudes towards Dreng grow sour. The alehouse is sparsely attended. Agatha tells Edgar he did the right thing, but Dreng soon grows more abusive with his women.

Two men ask for help with the ferry. They talk about the Welsh raiders. Some people want Wilf to take care of the threat before he marries. The raiders are at Trench, which is only two days away. After he takes them across the river, Edgar finds Blod in the brewhouse he is building.

She is crying because the two men paid to have sex with her, and she is in pain. Now she wants to kill Dreng. Edgar suggests running away. After everyone is asleep, he and Blod go outside. Blod walks to her child’s grave then says goodbye, thanks Edgar, and heads towards Trench. At the riverbank, he unties the ferry. He stashes the boat in a tangle of vegetation, hoping that it looks like Blod took it, then lost control and got the boat stuck.

It takes Edgar almost three hours to get home. Ethel, one of Dreng’s wives, wakes him. She agrees to help him keep the secret. Then Dreng wakes. His dagger is missing because Blod took it. Edgar shouts that the boat is gone. Dreng will raise the hue and cry—a group of citizens required to help find a missing fugitive— and get everyone looking for Blod. Dreng thinks she will go to Combe. As they search, they find the boat tangled in the vegetation. They return home, and Edgar believes he has succeeded.

Brother Wigferth of Canterbury arrives. Aldred knows Wynstan will be angry. Aldred talks with Abbot Osmund. Treasurer Hildred is there. Wigferth and Aldred were novices together.

Wigferth is a rent collector. He has a letter from Elfric, the archbishop of Canterbury. Osmund reads aloud from Aldred’s report on the situation in Dreng’s Ferry, including Degbert’s two wives. Aldred recommends replacing them all with monks. Wigferth will deliver the verdict to Wynstan. He and Aldred deliver the letter to Ithamar, Wynstan’s secretary.

Aldred visits Ragna and recommends that Edgar come to fix her house. He tells her that King Ethelred is unhappy with Wilwulf because of the treaty with Ragna’s father. Wilf hasn’t paid the fine. Ethelred installed a sheriff named Denewald who goes by Den. Because sheriffs collect money, they need armed men, which gives them power.

Wigferth tells Aldred that Wynstan said he would read the letter later. During the monks’ service, Ithamar enters. Wynstan summons Wigferth. Aldred says they have to finish prayers. Soon, Wynstan arrives with Cnebba, a man-at-arms. Wynstan tells Osmund that he will not allow him to take over at Dreng’s Ferry.

Aldred does not understand why Wynstan is willing to fight over something so ostensibly unimportant. Osmund says he will consider it, but for Wynstan, the decision is already made. He demands that Osmund tell Elfric he has changed his mind. Aldred believes that Wynstan will get what he wants.

Ragna and Wilf marry. She knows him better now, but he dislikes answering questions. He resists her inquiries about him and King Ethelred. On the morning of the wedding, Wynstan and Cnebba arrive for her dowry. She says he still cannot have it until she is married. They leave, and Wigelm arrives with his wife, Milly. Gytha visits and offers to help with Ragna’s hair. Then Dreng comes, just as Wilf enters and kicks them all out.

The wedding is a success, and the couple receives Wynstan’s blessing. Ragna gives Wilf a sword as a gift. She then gives Wynstan her dowry, and Wilf gives her the Vale of Outhen.

Wigelm protests. He says the Vale of Outhen belongs to their family, but Wilf silences him. Ragna is confused; Wigelm must have known that Wynstan would refuse his public protest. She does not understand why he would speak out in public, knowing that he would be publicly denied. Finally, Wilf gives the village of Wigleigh to the church.

After the wedding, Ragna meets many people, including Sheriff Denewald. Later, Wynstan asks what they were speaking about. Instead, she asks him about the Vale of Outhen. Edgar approaches and tells her that he will return home the following day. He says that he did not enjoy the wedding, because he is jealous of anyone who marries their love. He apologizes for sad stories on her wedding day and leaves. She goes to Wilf’s door, cheered by a procession of onlookers. Inside, they quickly consummate the marriage.

Most of Ragna’s servants return to Normandy, but Cat and Bern stay. She soon misses her parents and her people. Agnes says she is in love with Offa and wants to stay. Ragna consents to their marriage. Then she sees a woman with red shoes. The woman is Milly’s sister, Inge. Then she sees Wilf kiss a 16-year-old boy with more familiarity and affection than makes sense to her. Ragna tells Gytha that Inge can stay in the house her servants left. That afternoon, she makes love with Wilf. Later, she sees him talking to Inge again. They look intimate. The boy Wilf kissed joins them. She decides to ask Gytha about the boy. Gytha tells her that the boy is Garulf, Wilf’s son. Inge is his first wife. Horrified, Ragna wonders if they are still having sexual relations.