With hindsight, it would have been better had Eadwine kept to his original plan but a combination of circumstances induced him into error. On his second day in Nesttun, he had spent the morning studying every inch of the area around Edred’s house, noting all the nooks and crannies that might serve to conceal a would-be murderer. He was able to put some of them to the test because the last thing he wanted was to be seen prowling or lurking in the area—arousing suspicion would ruin everything. By the time he had finished his surveying, had lunch and wandered as far as the quay where he sat to observe the movement of one of the longships, it was late afternoon. It was while he was gazing at the ship, nosing up to the wharf to moor, that he failed to notice a detail of fundamental importance.
