Chapter 31: Altha

Summary

• The chapter is set outside a castle in Lancaster, where the main character, Altha, is released into a bustling crowd.
• Altha is initially disoriented and fears recognition amidst the chaos of people reacting to news of Queen Anne's death.
• She reflects on her own near-execution and the oddity of her survival when a sympathetic juror approaches her.
• The juror, whose wife's life was once saved by a wise woman, gives Altha a velvet pouch filled with gold coins.
• Realizing that the memory of the wise woman influenced her verdict, Altha accepts a ride from a pedlar in exchange for one gold coin.
• She travels back to her village, Crows Beck, and falls asleep in the pedlar's cart, comforted by the surrounding blankets.
• When Altha arrives at her cottage, she finds it vandalized, with various items broken or destroyed.
• Despite the damage, she's relieved to find her goat unharmed and still has one surviving chicken for eggs.
• Altha uses remaining food sources to sustain herself, including vegetables from her garden, and finds ways to stay warm without the destroyed shutters.
• After putting her cottage in order, Altha begins to write down her story, fearing the villagers may still harm her despite being acquitted.
• She expresses a desire to write her account as a form of comfort and potential legacy, though she fears a future outside her home.
• The story then flashes back to an event from the previous year involving her friend Grace, hinting at a significant past occurrence.
• Altha hints at a broader history of women like her, dubbing them "Weyward," and struggles to decide where her story truly begins.