Never in Jacob’s fourteen years had he seen the lord so much as clear his throat in anger. Even at his most impulsive and cruel, his father spoke with humor, as though it were all a game. When news reached Villiam that a bandit had been captured and put in the pillory, he simply laughed and told the guards to have good fun at the hanging. ‘It isn’t every day that we get to play keepers of the peace.’ And he wanted to hear all the details: How big was the crowd, were people crying, did they throw any food of value? Did they go back to work right away? ‘Tell the villagers that God wants them to
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