Ma set off to walk between the marsh and the rising ground, and the others followed.

Degbert said: “As you see, there’s a nice crop of oats coming up.”

Edgar did not know oats from any other grain, and he had thought the shoots were plain grass.

Ma said: “There’s as much weeds as there is oats.”

They walked for less than half a mile and came to a pair of buildings at the crest of a rise. Beyond the buildings, the cleared land came to an end and the woods went down to the bank of the river.

Degbert said: “There’s a useful little orchard.”

It was not really an orchard. There were a few small apple trees and a cluster of medlar shrubs. The medlar was a winter-ripening fruit that was hardly palatable to humans, and was sometimes fed to pigs. The flesh was tart and hard, though it could be softened either by frost or by overripening.

“The rent is four fat piglets, payable at Michaelmas,” Degbert said.

That was it, Edgar realized; they had seen the whole farm.

“It’s thirty acres, all right,” said Ma, “but they’re very poor acres.”

“That’s why the rent is low.”

Ma was negotiating, Edgar knew. He had seen her do this many times with customers and suppliers. She was good at it, but this was a challenge. What did she have to offer? Degbert would prefer the farm to be tenanted, of course, and he might want to please his cousin the bishop; but on the other hand he was clearly not much in need of the small rent, and he could easily tell Wynstan that Ma had refused to take on such an unpromising prospect. Ma was bargaining from a weak position.

They inspected the house. Edgar noted that it had earth-set timber posts with wattle-and-daub walls between the posts. The reeds on the floor were moldy and smelled bad. Cwenburg had been right; there were holes in the thatched roof, but they could be patched.

Ma said: “The place is a dump.”

“A few simple repairs.”

“It looks like a lot of work to me. We’ll have to take timber from the forest.”

“Yes, yes,” said Degbert impatiently.

Despite the peevish tone Degbert had made an important concession. They could fell trees, and there was no mention of payment. Free timber was worth a lot.

The smaller building was in worse condition than the house. Ma said: “The barn is practically falling down.”

Degbert said: “At the moment you have no need of a barn. You have nothing to store there.”

“You’re right, we’re broke,” Ma said. “So we won’t be able to pay the rent come Michaelmas.”

Degbert looked foolish. He could hardly argue. “You can owe me,” he said. “Five piglets at Michaelmas next year.”

“How can I buy a sow? These oats will be barely enough to feed my sons this winter. I won’t have anything left over to trade.”

“Are you refusing to take the farm?”