The Northumbrian Saga

Part 6

The service finished not long after the sun had disappeared below the horizon. Some of the women left, returning to feed their children and rest before the working day started anew. However, there were still those who chose to stay behind, sitting in the gloom of the few rush lights. Every now and then, someone would sob or sniff back tears.

The first night the fyrd spent away was always the hardest. Women who were afraid of becoming widows, young mothers and friends too anxious to sleep, took comfort in the presence of others who felt the same. Aethelwin was glad that she lived in the village. She thought of those families left behind to wait in their isolated farms, unable to travel all the way to Shepworth to seek comfort and companionship. She couldn't bear to be alone like that. At least here she had company.

Unfortunately, some evenings that company took the form of Gytha. She and Ailith would have to sit with her by the fireside and listen obediently to lessons from the bible, sermons about the deeds of all the saints in Christendom, or the well worn tales of Gytha’s childhood and how she had been thwarted in joining a nunnery.

“Your husband had once been set out for Christ. Did you know that?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“Oh!”

Gytha clenched her jaw, her eyebrows raised at the edges. “Well, God decreed him fit for another post,” she went on hastily. “Although I do not pretend to know why he so chose, I do not question it. As I say to my son, I shall say to you now. We all have a purpose, we are all set on a path by God, and though it does not always look to be the best or safest or the most logical path, we must go forward with it anyway. God knows best my dear, never question his motives.”

It was one of her favourite sayings; God knows best my dear, never question his motives. As if that one sentence was the answer to the question of life. Why were we here? Because God decreed it, don't question his motives. Why did her husband prefer the warmth of another’s bed rather than her own? Because God knows best, never question him.

There was no denying that Gytha was a smart and capable woman, but Aethelwin worried that her trust in God bordered on the fanatical. It became worse the longer Raedwald and Eadred were away from home. Every moment of every day was spent in prayer and every time Aethelwin had cause to speak with her, she noticed that Gytha’s eyes shone brighter, her speech increasingly pious and philosophical. All she could think about was God’s great plan for them all. She talked of how she had planned for Eadred to join the brothers in Ripon, how she had once begged her father to let her serve out her days in doing the Lord’s work. Her marriage to Raedwald had been the only barrier, one that she had resented all of their married life. But Gytha knew that this had been God’s doing as well, and so she had embraced it. She did not question it.

***

 “They are not coming. It has been too long, they should have been home by now.”

It had been five days since the fyrd had ridden out and everyone, not just Gytha, were impatient for their return. Aethelwin knew she should have offered some sort of reassurance, but she could not figure out why it was taking them so long herself. The battle field was supposedly only a day’s march south.

“It is a sign,” Gytha sighed, staring morosely into the fire light. “Both of my sons have gone to the Lord in heaven. My husband too, it seems. It is a sign that there is a higher purpose in play. Amongst the ashes of death, we will be re-born anew.”

“My Lady, news will come soon. We have not yet heard if the battle has been won, or by whom? All is not lost yet. Perhaps our husbands are still fighting?”

“It is God’s will. He has brought us together to share the pain of losing our men. He has taken it all from us so that we may more easily do his work.”