Gainsborough, 1035 ADThe roads were impassable, due to the wintry climes that transformed them at best into a slippery river of mud and at worst, a limb-sucking quagmire. The swiftest but not the safest way to travel from Winchester to Gainsborough was by ship. I had to wait for calm weather, not easily found around these Isles in November, but arrive intact I did.
Benefitting from the same spell of serene conditions, Aelfgifu sailed to the same destination in a trading vessel. Sorrowfully, she brought with her the corpse of her elder son, Sweyn. As yet, she knew not of the death of her husband and I chose to be the bearer of this sad news.
Before her arrival, I had encountered her son Harold, already informed of the King"s demise. All the churches of the country had tolled the death kne
