If anyone could help him cope with his loss it was his mother, the Prioress of Minster. So, he crossed the Swale with the idea of unburdening his grief and discussing with her the mysterious disappearance of his wife and son. Tumultuous waves of nostalgia swept over him as the new boatman pulled, muscles bulging, against the channel current. He could not help but think of his old friend, Heorstan, the boatman’s predecessor, another victim of the Vikings. Behind him on the bank he was leaving, the Sea Wolves had accounted also for his dear friend, Eadlac. Thoroughly miserable, he struggled to give the boatman a slight smile in exchange for his expansive one. Thinking about the deaths of his old friends inevitably led to speculation about the fate of his family, thoughts that caused gripes i
