"This is your doing," she said to the abbot. "Am I to be left without any attendants?"
"My queen," the good man said, "we can take the sisters no further with us. They must go ashore."
The queen looked at the coast, which was plain enough now. It was certain that she had no knowledge that we were returning to England. That the ship was on another tack meant nothing to her.
"Why cannot they bide here and go on land with me? We cannot be more than an hour in reaching the harbour," and she pointed to Selsea.
"Tell her, father, I pray you," said the maiden in a low voice. "She believes that we are even now nearing her home."
Then I thought that this might come more easily from myself, seeing that Elfric had to stay with her, and I stood before her, and spoke.
"My Queen, that is not the Norman shore which you see. The Danes, into whose hands we have fallen, are taking us back to England."
As I said this, the queen's face grew white with rage, and she looked from Elfric to me, speechless. On the deck above stood Egil, and he caught my eye, and looked ruefully at us.
"What!" she said, "has Cnut bought you also? Is there no man whom I can trust?"
That was the most cruel thing that she could have said, but I knew what despair might lie behind her anger, and I answered nothing--nor did Elfric. We waited for the storm to pass.