Soon after the dawn prayers on the day after the celebrations for the new pediment, the novice set off to find Gwynedd, and Bridget set off to find Ethne. She left behind a group of anxious women, whispering and confused, pessimistic about the future, going about their daily rituals with less attention than usual.
Bridget arrived on the river steps of Aulus’ farm as the sun was lifting above the trees. She instructed the boatman to wait for her and strode determinedly up the path towards the house. The farm workers were already out in the fields, the household slaves preparing food in the kitchen. For a moment Bridget herself had a twinge of nostalgia for the time as a child when she had been part of a normal home, with chickens clucking in the yard, and her mother lovingly brushing her h
