Hildegard thought they would relish the exercise and perhaps afford some protection against robbers. She let the boy dance on ahead with Bermonda and Duchess while she and Edberg rode side by side on two horses Ulf had had saddled up for them. After casting about in the groves of winter woodland that lay beyond the edge of the demesne, they found the hoof prints of a pony separating from the rest of the busy traffic of horses and carts that had churned up the mud along the road between Hutton and York. Edberg at once hoisted the child on to the pommel in front of him and they struck out across the wastes in pursuit. He said he knew of an assart deep in the forest and guessed the midwife must be making for that. They proceeded briskly on beyond Hutton lands into the valley known as Heldale. It was a narrow defile that cut between chalk hills and was thickly wooded, a haven for outlaws. Hildegard imagined the midwife setting out alone through such terrain and wondered about her thoughts in such an isolated place.
