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What wonder if he longed for a son to pass his name down to future generations? And one day Martin Lightfoot came with another letter to Hereward, which he delivered to Torfrida, who learned from him that it came from Alftruda.
"'Now, said I, 'I must know a little more about this letter Tell me, knave, who gave it thee, or I'll split thy skull. "The young man cries and blubbers; and says that it is the Countess Alftruda, who is staying in the monastery, and that he is her serving man, and that it is as much as my life is worth to touch a hair of his head, and so forth, so far so good.
Gilbert's friendship is more important to William, at this moment, than that of a dozen Gospatricks. He holds Lincoln town, and with it the key of Waltheof's earldom: and things may happen, Alftruda I tell you; but if you tell Gilbert, may Hereward's curse be on you!" "Not that! Any man's curse save yours!" said she in so passionate a voice that a thrill of fire ran through Hereward.
"You? You are divine, perfect. Dolfin is right. How could a man who had once enjoyed you live without you?" Alftruda laughed, a laugh full of meaning; but what that meaning was, Hereward could not divine.
"Doubtless. Even when he committed that great crime at Peterborough " "For which he and all his are duly excommunicated by the Bishop," said the secretary. "He did a very courteous and honorable thing." And Ascelin told how he had saved Alftruda, and instead of putting her to ransom, had sent her safe to Gilbert. "A very knightly deed. He should be rewarded for it."
Alftruda turned her head away half contemptuously; and as she did so, she let her hand drop listlessly from Dolfin's grasp, and drew back to the other ladies. A suspicion crossed Hereward's mind. Did she really love the Prince? Did those strange words of hers mean that she had not yet forgotten Hereward himself?
And in the space of three years he had become as intolerable to those same neighbours as they were intolerable to him, and he was fain to keep up at Bourne the same watch and ward that he had kept up in the forest. And Judith came to Bourne, and besought Alftruda to accompany her to Crowland, where she would visit the tomb of Waltheof, her husband.
"Torfrida prophesied," he said, "that she would betray her husband, and she had done it." "Torfrida prophesied? Did she prophesy that I should betray you likewise?" asked Alftruda, in a tone of bitter scorn. "No, you handsome fiend: will you do it?" "Yes; I am a handsome fiend, am I not?" and she bridled up her magnificent beauty, and stood over him as a snake stands over a mouse.
I foresaw it, foretold it, I believe to Alftruda herself, foretold that he would not keep his bought earldom three years. What a people we are, we English, if Gospatrick is, as he is, the shrewdest man among us, with a dash of canny Scots blood too. 'Among the one-eyed, the blind is king, says Torfrida, out of her wise ancients, and blind we are, if he is our best. No.
"But Lady Alftruda," whispered she, half-way up the church, "I never loved him." "Behave yourself before the King, or I will whip you till the blood runs." And so she would, and no one would have wondered in those days. "I will murder you if you do. But I never even saw him." "Little fool! And what are you going through, but what I went through before you?"