Belisarius felt outraged that people who had treated him with such hospitality should be treated this way. Were human lives worth no more than this? But anger was useless. He tried to stay calm, to think.

He beckoned to Macson. ‘Come. If we hurry we can still reach the monastery before the raiders get there.’

‘Good plan,’ Macson growled, sarcastic. But he followed Belisarius’s lead.

They reached the monastery. There was nobody to be seen. No doubt the monks were all in the church, engaged in one of their interminable services. They probably didn’t even know that the raiders had come.

For the first time Belisarius looked at the monastery as a warrior might. The low earthen bank which surrounded it would keep out stray cattle, but would not impede the raiders. The buildings, even the wooden church, would be no use as shelters. Only the monks’ squat beehive cells, built of stone, might withstand a raiders’ torching. And so unusual was their shape that perhaps there was a chance the raiders might dismiss them as food stores and ignore them altogether.

He hurried to the cells, offering up a silent prayer that similar thoughts had occurred to the sensible Aelfric.

At Boniface’s cell he pushed at the wooden door. It felt as if it had been blocked from behind. He rapped on the wood. ‘Aelfric, Boniface? Are you in there? It’s me, Belisarius.’

There was a scraping. Then the door opened, to reveal Aelfric’s oval face. A lamp flickered in the darkness behind her, and she blinked in the bright daylight. ‘Belisarius, thank God.’

‘Is Boniface with you?’

‘Yes. We went first to the library - we have the Menologium, the oldest copy.’

A thin voice called querulously from the darkness. ‘Is that you, Roman? Let me go to the church.’

‘There are men here,’ Belisarius said heavily, ‘intent on killing you, old man.’

‘That’s no good reason to abandon God’s worship.’

Aelfric said unsteadily, ‘I had to drag him in here, to stop him going to the service. God forgive me.’

Belisarius touched her shoulder. ‘You did the right thing.’

Boniface came shuffling to the door. ‘If you won’t let me go to the church, then at least we must warn the abbot.’

‘No. The raiders will concentrate on the church, the library. They may not touch these cells at all. We will wait until the danger is past. And in the meantime - well, we will pray for deliverance. We are different breeds of Christian, but we must all seek the mercy of the same God. Aelfric, show me how you blocked the door—’

‘No,’ Boniface cried. Aelfric tried to soothe him, but he shrugged her off. ‘We have to warn the abbot.’

‘Please, Domnus,’ Belisarius said. ‘Stay and lead us in prayer—’

‘Let me go.’

Belisarius had rarely heard such authority.

Macson shrugged. ‘Let the old fool go. What does it matter? One more dead monk—’