Chapter 10Wimborne Abbey, winter 706-707 AD
Rain set in during Aethelheard's convalescence and spoilt the harvest but the wet weather did nothing to dampen Cynethryth's cheerful mood. She delighted in tending to her son and assisting his steady recovery. Each passing day brought a twofold benefit: firstly, Aethelheard's visage returned to its former handsome state as the bruising faded and the swelling disappeared. When his mother gazed upon the leonine features, heightened by the long blond hair, a sign of nobility, she might have been looking at her departed husband. Small gestures and smiles made her heart quicken and ache for the man she had lost and who she had now, in a sense, regained. Secondly, their exchanged confidences grew into trust and the settled familiarity that they had b
