She had arranged that upon the following day she would give out that she intended to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St.Dunstan, which lay at the edge of the forest, to thank him for her recovery from illness, and to pray for the safety of her son.
She would be carried thither in a litter, and her journey would excite no comment whatever.

She would take with her four of her most trusted retainers, and would on her arrival at the shrine send them to a distance, in order to pay her devotions undisturbed.

Cuthbert was to be near, and the moment he saw them depart, to enter.
This arrangement was carried out, and the joy of Dame Editha at again meeting her son was deep indeed.

He had left her a lad of fifteen.

He now returned a youth of nearly eighteen, stout and strong beyond his age, and looking far older than he was, from the effect of the hot sun of Syria and of the hardships through which he had gone.