They discovered the old Hermitage and asked if they could live there, promising to be no threat to me or mine.' Gurney shrugged. 'So I allowed them to stay. They grow their own herbs and tend a few chickens and pigs. I went there in the early days and saw nothing untoward. They have a makeshift chapel and a communal refectory. When the weather is good, they go along the highways and beg.'

'And the villagers?'

'At first they were suspicious. The Pastoureaux, however, particularly Master Joseph and Philip Nettler, proved themselves to be honest and hard-working, so the villagers accepted them. Some of the young men and women from the village have joined the Pastoureaux and travelled on-'

'Travelled on?' Ranulf interrupted. 'My lord, why should they travel?'

Alice answered him. 'They have a vision,' she said. 'They believe Christ's return is imminent. So, when they have been purified and prepared, they travel to Hull or one of the other ports from where they take ship to Outremer. According to Master Joseph, they are to assemble near the Mount of Olives, where Christ will soon come again in a chariot of fire.'

'And they believe all that?' Ranulf mocked.

'Why shouldn't they?' Alice said. 'I believe there are similar movements all over Europe?'

'But no one questions all this?' Ranulf insisted.

'The Pastoureaux also come to me,' Dame Cecily told him. 'We give them cloth, wine and food. In return they work on our estate, in our gardens and orchards, as they do for Sir Simon. Their community is a changing one, but the young men and women seem full of hope. They stay for a few weeks at the Hermitage, for what Father Joseph calls the period of purification, then he or Master Philip takes them to the nearest port. They are given money, a warrant, a change of clothing, some food, and off they sail.' She shrugged. 'They seem honest enough. They hold everything in common and anything they earn is put into the community treasury.'