The months slipped by, seasons came and went while the boy grew into a youth. Fate granted his father’s silent wish that the Norsemen leave the kingdom in peace. From traders’ accounts, it seemed that the Vikings were concentrating their activity around the Seine and in Frisia. Raedulf busied himself dragging timber for the carpenters and delighted in the development of his muscles. His love of seafaring grew apace with the completion of each longship. The launching of the beautiful, sleek vessels touched something inside him, in a way it never did in Ealdorman Asculf, whose attachment to the land was overriding.
Whilst Raedulf took every opportunity to participate in the trials of the new ships, his father concentrated on cultivating his apples and brewing cider. His son, far from despis
