World Without End
Chapter One
Gwenda was eight years old, but she was not afraid of the dark.
When she opened her eyes she could see nothing, but that was not what scared her.
She knew where she was. She was at Kingsbridge Priory, in the long stone building they
called the hospital, lying on the floor in a bed of straw. Her mother lay next to her, and
Gwenda could tell, by the warm milky smell, that Ma was feeding the new baby, who did not
yet have a name. Beside Ma was Pa, and next to him Gwenda's older brother, Philemon, who
was twelve.
The hospital was crowded, and though she could not see the other families lying along
the floor, squashed together like sheep in a pen, she could smell the rank odor of their warm
bodies. When dawn broke it would be All Hallows', a Sunday this year and therefore an
especially holy day. By the same token the night before was All Hallows Eve, a dangerous
time when evil spirits roamed freely. Hundreds of people had come to Kingsbridge from the
surrounding villages, as Gwenda's family had, to spend Halloween in the sanctified precincts
of the priory, and to attend the All Hallows' service at daybreak.
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