Cumtun, Sussex, 1017 AD
The misconception that I had been condemned to a life away from the King lasted less than two months. I soon learnt his forays to Bosham, but three leagues away, under an hour by horse, would become frequent and intense. They would also include consultations with me, his friend and counsellor. I flatter myself that his preference was for an hour with me over the same time with the entire Witan.
On this first visit, he confided in me that he had ordered Uhtred, the Ealdorman of Northumbria, to come to him with a guarantee of safe-conduct; all along, he planned to have him killed.
“You see, Godwine, Uhtred grew too mighty when he wed Aethelred"s daughter. You know, he fought against us at Assandun. After our great victory, he fomented unrest in Northumbria, north o
