The last prisoners were the cattle-raiders, six of them, including Hergild, who proved to be a burly, red-faced man of middle age. They were accused of thievery and rape, they were asked if they denied the accusations, and the only response was from one man who spat on the floor. Father Oda served as translator, and, when Osferth pronounced all six guilty, the priest offered them a chance to be baptized, an offer they did not understand. “You will be washed,” the Danish priest said, “and go before the judgment seat of Almighty God.”

“You mean Thor?” Hergild asked.

Another man wanted to know whether being judged by the Christian god meant they would live. “Of course not,” the priest said, “you must die first.”

“And you want to wash us?”

“In the river,” the priest said.

I had insisted that Wynflæd, the squirrel, watch the trial, all two or three minutes of it. She was shivering. I crouched beside her. “Did they all rape you?”

“All except that one, lord.” She pointed a wavering finger at the youngest of the six men. I guessed he was about sixteen or seventeen, a broad-shouldered, straw-haired boy, who, like Wynflæd, looked close to tears.

“He didn’t touch you?”

“He was kind.”

“He tried to stop the rape?”

She shook her head. “But he gave me a coat afterward and said he was sorry and gave me something to drink.”

Osferth was impatient. “Do they wish to convert?” he demanded of the priest.

“They do not, lord,” Oda said severely.

“Then take them away. Hang them.”

I stood. “Lord!” It seemed strange to call Osferth lord, even though he was the son of a king, but as the commander of the burh he deserved the title. “I have a favor to ask.”

Osferth had also stood, but now paused, one hand on the arm of the chair he had been using. “Lord Uhtred?” He sounded suspicious.

“These men are Northumbrians. And I ask that they be put to death by Northumbrians.”

“Why?” he demanded.

“My men need the practice,” I said, which was entirely untrue.

“How?” Osferth asked.

“Just as you decreed,” I said, “by hanging.” I saw him hesitate. “You can send men to make sure we hang them all.” I could see he was fearful that I would release them. “And their crime,” I added, “was committed against a Northumbrian,” I put my arm around the squirrel’s thin shoulders. As far as I knew she was Mercian, but I doubted Osferth knew or cared where the squirrel came from. “So it is only fit,” I finished, “to allow Northumbrians to punish Northumbrians for a crime committed in Northumbria.”

“This is Mercia,” he said stiffly, “and they must suffer Mercian justice.”

“The rope will be Mercian,” I promised, “and I ask you the favor of knotting it around their necks.”

I had stressed the word “favor.” Osferth might disapprove of me, but he knew full well that I had nurtured and protected him when he was younger. He paused, then nodded. “Hang them by midday, Lord Uhtred,” he said, and, accompanied by two other priests who served as his clerks, he strode away, pausing at the door to point to Father Oda.