Aldred closed the book and took Odo’s arm gently. “Come over here and lie down near the fire,” he said. “Brother Godleof, bring me some wine to clean his wounds.” He helped Odo lie down.
Godleof brought a bowl of wine and a clean rag, and Aldred began to wash the injured man’s bloody face.
Edgar said to Odo: “I’ll leave you. You’re in good hands.”
Odo said: “Thank you, neighbor.”
Edgar smiled.
Ragna named the elder twin Hubert, after her father, and called the younger Colinan. They were not identical, and it was easy to tell which was which because one was big and fair and the other small and dark. Ragna had enough milk to feed them both: her breasts felt swollen and heavy.
She had no shortage of help looking after them. Cat had been present at the birth and doted on them from the start. Cat had married Bern the Giant, and had a baby of her own the same age as Ragna’s Osbert. She seemed happy with Bern, although she had told the other women that his belly was so big that she always had to geton top. They had all giggled, and Ragna had wondered how men would feel if they knew the way women talked about them.
The seamstress Agnes was equally fond of the twins. She had married an Englishman, Offa, the reeve of Mudeford, but they had no children, and all her frustrated maternal feelings were focused on Ragna’s babies.
Ragna left the twins for the first time when she heard what had happened to Odo and Adelaide.
She was terribly worried. The couriers had come to England on a mission for Ragna’s benefit, and she felt responsible. The fact that they were Normans, as she was, made her sympathy sharper. She had to see them and find out how badly they were hurt and whether she could do anything for them.
She put Cat in charge of the children, with two wet nurses to make sure they did not go hungry. She took Agnes as her maid and Bern as her bodyguard. She packed clothes for Odo and Adelaide, having been told that they had been left naked. She rode out of the compound with a heavy heart: how could she leave her little ones behind? But she had her duty.
She missed them every minute of the two-day journey to Dreng’s Ferry.
She arrived late in the afternoon and immediately took the ferry to Leper Island, leaving Bern at the alehouse. Mother Agatha welcomed her with a kiss and a bony hug.
Without preamble Ragna said: “How is Adelaide?”
“Recovering fast,” Agatha said. “She’s going to be fine.”
Ragna slumped with relief. “Thank God.”
“Amen.”
“What injuries does she have?”
“She suffered a nasty blow to the head, but she’s young and strong, and it seems there are no long-term effects.”
“I’d like to speak to her.”
“Of course.”
Adelaide was in the dormitory. She had a clean rag tied over her blond head, and she was dressed in a drab nun’s shift, but she was sitting upright in bed, and she smiled happily when she saw Ragna. “My lady! You shouldn’t have troubled to come all this way.”
“I had to be sure you were recovering.”
“But your babies!”
“I’ll hurry back to them now that I’ve seen you’re all right. But who else would have brought you fresh clothes?”
“You’re so kind.”
“Nonsense. How is Odo? They told me he wasn’t hurt as badly as you.”
“Apparently he’s fine, but I haven’t seen him—men aren’t allowed here.”
“I’m going to have Bern the Giant escort you to Combe, whenever you both feel well enough to go.”
“I can go tomorrow. I don’t even feel ill.”
