Rochester, Kingdom of Kent, 856 AD
Rochester, Kingdom of Kent, 856 ADThe young noblewoman gazed furtively around the room, assured herself that she was unobserved, hesitated a moment, then slipped through the door. The servant woman disappeared into the private area at the back of the low-raftered hall. Just in time, she spotted which door closed behind her quarry. She hurried up to it, put a hand on her beating chest, calmed herself by taking deep breaths, then entered the chamber.
“Lady, you should not be in here!” Mistress Linveig protested. “It is my master’s room.”
The finely dressed lady glided over to the bed and ran a delicate hand along the bolster. “So, he sleeps here.” Her smile was hard to interpret, but Linveig considered it mischievous.
“I beg you, Lady, leave this room,
