“Look at that, Dismas,” said Aldred to his pony. “Wouldn’t you like something so grand?”

Ragna noticed that Dismas had a white marking on his forehead that was more or less cross-shaped. That seemed appropriate for a monk’s mount.

Louis said: “Dismas?”

Ragna said: “That was the name of one of the thieves crucified with Jesus.”

“I know that,” said Louis heavily, and Ragna told herself not to be so clever.

Aldred said: “This Dismas also steals, especially food.”

“Huh.” Louis clearly did not think such a name should be used in a jokey way, but he said no more, and turned away to saddle his gelding.

They rode out of the castle compound. As they made their way down the hill, Ragna cast an expert eye over the ships in the harbor. She had been raised in a port and she could identify different styles of vessel. Fishing boats and coastal craft predominated today, but at the dockside she noticed an English trader that must be the one Aldred planned to sail in; and no one could mistake the menacing profile of the Viking warships anchored offshore.

They turned south, and a few minutes later were leaving the houses of the small town behind. The flat landscape was swept by sea breezes. Ragna followed a familiar path beside cow pastures and apple orchards. She said: “Now that you’ve got to know our country, Brother Aldred, how do you like it?”

“I notice that noblemen here seem to have one wife and no concubines, at least officially. In England, concubinage and even polygamy are tolerated, despite the clear teaching of the Church.”

“Such things may be hidden,” Ragna said. “Norman noblemen aren’t saints.”

“I’m sure, but at least people here know what’s sinful and what’s not. The other thing is that I’ve seen no slaves anywhere in Normandy.”

“There’s a slave market in Rouen, but the buyers are foreigners. Slavery has been almost completely abolished here. Our clergy condemn it, mainly because so many slaves are used for fornication and sodomy.”

Louis made a startled noise. Perhaps he was not used to young women talking about fornication and sodomy. Ragna realized with a sinking heart that she had made another mistake.

Aldred was not shocked. He continued the discussion without pause. “On the other hand,” he said, “your peasants are serfs, who need the permission of their lord to marry, change their way of making a living, or move to another village. By contrast, English peasants are free.”

Ragna reflected on that. She had not realized that the Norman system was not universal.

They came to a hamlet called Les Chênes. The grass was growing tall in the meadows, Ragna saw. The villagers would reap it in a week or two, she guessed, and make hay to feed livestock in the winter.

The men and women working in the fields stopped what they were doing and waved. “Deborah!” they called. “Deborah!” Ragna waved back.

Louis said: “Did I hear them call you Deborah?”