Meet the Village Gossip

 You know the sort of person who always seems to turn up when she is least welcome? In Courting Trouble that person is Tidburg. She has a nose for news and an ear for a good story, and both of those are more important to her than accuracy. We first see Tidburg in action when a villager recounts a salacious story about the queen.

The village gossip Tidburg, quick to sniff out a story, slithered into the group right next to the speaker . . . .

Meet Abbess Cynethrith

 When we first meet Cynthrith she is the Abbess of Whitburh. She' a little cranky and lets us know pretty quickly that she probably isn't entirely holy. From Courting Trouble

You’ve heard my story already. Or rather, you think you have. I’ve heard it myself a few times on visits to my grandchildren, bellowed out in the hall by some whelp too green to know a thing about it—and too dim to realize that the source of his fable is sitting right in front of him. I think that’s why the old die in the end: we get so disgusted with young people.

Speaking of disgusting young people, did I tell you about the bishop’s visit last week?. . . .