What Aethelflaed had in mind, I had no idea. That it involved something important became clear as she hurried about the Royal Palace with a determined air and no time for me. When three Wealisc kings arrived with their retinues, banners streaming, I felt compelled to ask everyone close to the Lady what was happening. Nobody, not counsellors, maids, Athelstan, or bishops, knew what she planned. From the north came the kings of Strathclyde, Bernicia, and the Scottas with their followers. The overcrowded town, teeming with people whose weird way of talking remained incomprehensible to me, no longer seemed like home.
Luckily, I did not have long to wait in these circumstances before Aethelflaed called me to a witan. All would become clear at the council meeting. The crowded hall made this so
