“They need weapons. It might have been your sword that attracted them. And Adelaide’s pendant.”

“If you know these men are in the forest, why don’t you capture them?” Odo’s tone was challenging, almost as if he thought Edgar condoned the thieves.

Edgar pretended not to notice the veiled accusation. “We’ve tried, believe me. We’ve searched every yard of the south bank. But they disappear into the undergrowth like weasels.”

“They had a boat. I saw it just before they attacked us.”

Edgar was startled. “What kind?”

“Just a small rowboat.”

“I didn’t know that.” Everyone had always assumed that Ironface hid out on the south bank, as he always robbed there; but if he had a boat then his hidey-hole could just as easily be on the north bank.

“Have you ever seen him?” Odo asked.

“I put an ax into his arm one night when he tried to steal our pig, but he got away. Here we are.” Edgar beached the raft on Leper Island and stood holding the rope while Odo stepped off, still holding Adelaide.

He carried her to the nunnery door, and Mother Agatha opened it. She ignored his nakedness and looked at the wounded woman.

Odo said: “My wife . . .”

“Poor woman,” said Agatha. “I will try to help her.” She reached for the unconscious form.

“I’ll bring her in.”

Agatha just shook her head silently.

Odo let her lift Adelaide from his arms. Agatha took the weight effortlessly and went back inside. An invisible hand closed the door.

Odo stood staring at the door for several moments, then turned away.

They boarded the raft. “I’d better go to the alehouse,” Odo said.

“You won’t be welcome there, with no money,” Edgar said. “But the monastery will take you in. Prior Aldred will give you a monk’s robe and some shoes, and clean your wounds, and feed you for as long as you need it.”

“Thank God for monks.”

Edgar poled across to the bank and tied up. “Come with me,” he said.

Odo stumbled as he disembarked, and went down on his knees. “Sorry,” he said. “My legs feel weak. I carried her a long way.”

Edgar hauled him up. “Just a bit farther.” He walked Odo to the building that had been the priests’ house and was now the monastery. He lifted the latch and half carried Odo inside. The monks were at dinner around the table, all but Aldred, who stood at the lectern Edgar had made, reading aloud.

He stopped when Edgar and Odo came in. “What happened?” he said.

“On his way home to Cherbourg Odo and his wife were beaten, robbed, stripped, and left for dead,” Edgar said.

Aldred closed the book and took Odo’s arm gently. “Come over here and lie down near the fire,” he said. “Brother Godleof, bring me some wine to clean his wounds.” He helped Odo lie down.

Godleof brought a bowl of wine and a clean rag, and Aldred began to wash the injured man’s bloody face.

Edgar said to Odo: “I’ll leave you. You’re in good hands.”

Odo said: “Thank you, neighbor.”

Edgar smiled.

* * *

Ragna named the elder twin Hubert, after her father, and called the younger Colinan. They were not identical, and it was easy to tell which was which because one was big and fair and the other small and dark. Ragna had enough milk to feed them both: her breasts felt swollen and heavy.

She had no shortage of help looking after them. Cat had been present at the birth and doted on them from the start. Cat had married Bern the Giant, and had a baby of her own the same age as Ragna’s Osbert. She seemed happy with Bern, although she had told the other women that his belly was so big that she always had to get on top. They had all giggled, and Ragna had wondered how men would feel if they knew the way women talked about them.

The seamstress Agnes was equally fond of the twins. She had married an Englishman, Offa, the reeve of Mudeford, but they had no children, and all her frustrated maternal feelings were focused on Ragna’s babies.

Ragna left the twins for the first time when she heard what had happened to Odo and Adelaide.

She was terribly worried. The couriers had come to England on a mission for Ragna’s benefit, and she felt responsible. The fact that they were Normans, as she was, made her sympathy sharper. She had to see them and find out how badly they were hurt and whether she could do anything for them.

She put Cat in charge of the children, with two wet nurses to make sure they did not go hungry. She took Agnes as her maid and Bern as her bodyguard. She packed clothes for Odo and Adelaide, having been told that they had been left naked. She rode out of the compound with a heavy heart: how could she leave her little ones behind? But she had her duty.

She missed them every minute of the two-day journey to Dreng’s Ferry.

She arrived late in the afternoon and immediately took the ferry to Leper Island, leaving Bern at the alehouse. Mother Agatha welcomed her with a kiss and a bony hug.

Without preamble Ragna said: “How is Adelaide?”

“Recovering fast,” Agatha said. “She’s going to be fine.”

Ragna slumped with relief. “Thank God.”

“Amen.”

“What injuries does she have?”

“She suffered a nasty blow to the head, but she’s young and strong, and it seems there are no long-term effects.”

“I’d like to speak to her.”

“Of course.”

Adelaide was in the dormitory. She had a clean rag tied over her blond head, and she was dressed in a drab nun’s shift, but she was sitting upright in bed, and she smiled happily when she saw Ragna. “My lady! You shouldn’t have troubled to come all this way.”

“I had to be sure you were recovering.”

“But your babies!”

“I’ll hurry back to them now that I’ve seen you’re all right. But who else would have brought you fresh clothes?”

“You’re so kind.”

“Nonsense. How is Odo? They told me he wasn’t hurt as badly as you.”

“Apparently he’s fine, but I haven’t seen him—men aren’t allowed here.”

“I’m going to have Bern the Giant escort you to Combe, whenever you both feel well enough to go.”

“I can go tomorrow. I don’t even feel ill.”

“All the same I’m going to lend you a horse.”

“Thank you.”

“You can ride Bern’s mount, and he can ride it back to Shiring after he’s seen you off on a ship to Cherbourg.”

Ragna gave Adelaide money and a few feminine necessities: a comb, a small jar of oil for cleaning her hands, and a linen loincloth. Then she took her leave—with another kiss from Agatha—and returned to the mainland.

Odo was at the priory with Aldred. His face was bruised, and he favored his left leg when he stood up and bowed to her, but he looked cheerful. She handed him the men’s clothes she had brought from Shiring. “Adelaide wants to leave tomorrow,” Ragna told him. “How do you feel?”

“I think I’m fully recovered.”

“Be guided by Mother Agatha. She has taken care of many sick people.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Ragna left the monastery and returned to the waterfront. She would take the ferry back to the island and spend the night in the nunnery.

Edgar was outside the alehouse. “I’m very sorry that this has happened to your couriers,” he said, although it obviously was not his fault.

Ragna said: “Do you think they were attacked by the same thieves who stole the wedding present I had for Wilf three years ago?”

“I’m sure of it. Odo described a man in an iron helmet.”

“And I gather that all efforts to catch him have failed.” Ragna frowned. “When he steals livestock he and his gang just eat it; and they keep weapons and money; but they must turn clothes and jewelry into cash. I wonder how they manage that?”

Edgar said thoughtfully: “Perhaps Ironface takes the stuff to Combe. There are several dealers in secondhand clothes there, and two or three jewelers. The jewelry can be melted down, or at least altered so that it’s not easily recognizable, and any distinctive clothes can be remade.”

“But outlaws look disreputable.”

“There must be people willing to buy things without asking too many questions.”

Ragna frowned. “I just think outlaws would be noticed. On the few occasions when I’ve seen such men they looked ragged and unhealthy and dirty. You lived in Combe. Do you recall men who looked as if they lived rough in the forest coming into town to sell things?”

“No. And I don’t remember people talking about such visitors, either. Do you think Ironface might use a go-between?”

“Yes. Someone respectable who has a reason for visiting Combe.”

“But that includes hundreds of people. It’s a big town. They go there to buy and sell.”

“Anyone you’d suspect, Edgar?”

“Dreng, the tavern keeper here, is evil enough, but he doesn’t like to travel.”

Ragna nodded. “This wants thinking about,” she said. “I’d like to put a stop to this lawlessness, and Sheriff Den feels the same way.”

“Don’t we all,” said Edgar.

* * *