“Renée,” said Gerbert immediately. “She uses ewes’ milk.”

Some of the others shook their heads. Ragna turned to them. “What do the rest of you think?”

Two or three people said: “Torquil.”

“Come with me, then, all of you, and I’ll taste them both.”

The serfs followed happily. They generally welcomed any change in the tedium of their days, and they were rarely reluctant to stop work.

Louis said with a touch of irritation: “You didn’t ride all this way to taste cheese, did you? Aren’t you here to settle a dispute?”

“Yes. This is my way. Be patient.”

Louis grunted crabbily.

Ragna did not get back on her horse, but walked into the village, following a dusty track between fields golden with grain. On foot she could more easily talk to people on the way. She paid particular attention to the women, who would give her gossipy information that a man might not bother with. On the walk she learned that Renée was the wife of Gerbert; that Renée’s brother Bernard had a herd of sheep; and that Bernard was involved in a dispute with Gaston, the one who was refusing to pay his rent.

She always tried hard to remember names. It made them feel cared for. Every time she heard a name in casual conversation she would make a mental note.

As they walked, more people joined them. When they reached the village, they found more waiting. There was some mystical communication across fields, Ragna knew: she could never understand it, but men and women working a mile or more away seemed to find out that visitors were arriving.

There was a small, elegant stone church with round-arched windows in neat rows. Ragna knew that the priest, Odo, served this and three other villages, visiting a different one every Sunday; but he was here in Saint-Martin today—that magical rural communication again.

Aldred went immediately to talk to Father Odo. Louis did not: perhaps he felt it was beneath his dignity to converse with a village priest.

Ragna tasted Renée’s cheese and Torquil’s, pronouncing them both so good that she could not pick a winner; and she bought a wheel of each, pleasing everyone.

She walked around the village, going into every house and barn, making sure she spoke a few words to each adult and many of the children; then, when she felt she had assured them all of her goodwill, she was ready to hold court.

Much of Ragna’s strategy came from her father. He enjoyed meeting people and was good at making them his friends. Later, perhaps, some would become enemies—no ruler could please everyone all the time—but they would oppose him reluctantly. He had taught Ragna a lot and she had learned more just by watching him.

Gerbert brought a chair and placed it outside the west front of the church, and Ragna sat while everyone else stood around. Gerbert then presented Gaston, a big, strong peasant of about thirty with a shock of black hair. His face showed indignation, but she guessed he was normally an amiable type.