On reflection, youthful inexperience cost Edred in terms of leadership. When older followers realise that their chieftain’s desires and plans do not tally with theirs, the outcome is never favourable to the commander.
Fearful of the host Edred had gathered, I intended to avert the danger by hastening to York and alerting King Guthred. To suit my desire to see my wife and family, whom I sorely missed after a long absence, I deviated towards the moors, salving my conscience at the additional delay by assuring myself that Edred was hiding in the moorland region. The village of my wife-father where Gyda, Aella and the babe resided lay on the border of the wild land.
An undefinable sense of something amiss nagged me as we approached Cowesby and grew stronger at the entrance to the settlement.
