“Impatient!” she said, and then she blushed.
Aldred thought: So that’s all right, then. “I expect Wilf is impatient, too,” he said.
“He wants a son,” Ragna said.
Aldred changed the subject to save her blushes. “I imagine Wigelm was displeased to be ousted from his house.”
“He could hardly claim priority over the ealdorman’s bride,” Ragna said. “Besides, he’s on his own—his wife is still at Combe—so he doesn’t really need it.”
Aldred looked around. The house was a high-quality timber construction, but not as comfortable as it might have been. Wooden houses needed major repairs after about twenty years and fell apart completely after fifty. He could see a misaligned shutter at the window, a bench with a broken leg, and a leak in the roof. “You need a carpenter in here,” he said.
She sighed. “They’re all busy making benches and tables for the wedding. And the head carpenter, Dunnere, is usually drunk by afternoon.”
Aldred frowned. The ealdorman’s bride surely ought to have priority. “Can’t you get rid of Dunnere?”
“He’s Gytha’s nephew. But yes, shaking up the maintenance crew here is high on my list.”
“There was a boy at Dreng’s Ferry who seemed to be a good craftsman: Edgar.”
“I remember him. Could I ask him to fix up this house?”
“You don’t need to ask when you can command. Edgar’s master is Dreng, Wilwulf’s cousin. Just order Dreng to send his servant to you.”
She smiled. “I’m still not sure what I’m entitled to here. But I’ll take your advice.”
A vague thought was nagging at Aldred. He had the sense thatRagna had said something important, but he had missed its significance. Now he could not recall it.
He said: “How do you like Wilwulf’s family?”
“I’ve talked to Gytha, and she has accepted that I’m to be mistress here; but I have a lot to learn and I wish I could depend on her help.”
“I feel sure you’ll win everyone’s affection. I’ve seen you do it.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She was wary, but nevertheless Aldred was not sure she fully understood what she had let herself in for. He said: “It’s unusual for two brothers to be bishop and ealdorman in the same territory. It gives a great deal of power to one family.”
“It makes sense. Wilf needs someone he can trust as bishop.”
Aldred hesitated. “I wouldn’t say he exactly trusts Wynstan.”
Ragna looked interested.
Aldred had to be careful of his words. To him, Wilwulf and his family were wild cats in a cage, always on the brink of attacking one another, kept from violence only by self-interest; but he did not want to say so bluntly to Ragna, for fear of demoralizing her. He needed to warn her without scaring her. “I’d say his brothers are less likely to surprise him, that’s all.”
“The king must like the family, to have given them such power.”
“Perhaps he did, once.”
“What do you mean?”
She did not know, Aldred realized. “Wilwulf is out of favor with King Ethelred because of the treaty with your father. He should have asked the king’s permission.”
“He told us that permission would be readily forthcoming.”
“It wasn’t.”
“My father was worried about that. Was Wilf punished?”
