On his arrival with Uhtred and his men, Æthelstan ended up in the care of Sihtric and his wife; he had grown up calling the couple's children brothers and referring to the woman as mother

Now, close to adulthood, Edward had claimed him as heir, which ended with Sihtric holding his wife while she cried in his arms, after his departure to Wessex; his heart breaking to hear her grieving for the loss of one of those she considered her son