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Page 361
resist, ransacked the house and the buildings, loaded all the carts they could find with the contents, and drove out the animals.
Then, serious business done with, the men-at-arms were free to take their pleasure. Some scoured house and grounds for whatever small things of value had not yet been taken. Others seized those women who appealed to them, most to play with at the moment, a few, the youngest and most comely, to be dragged back to Clifford. The air rang with terrified screaming, and wails of grief and pain mixed with the shouts and laughter of the victors.
The knights, although not above disporting themselves as rudely as the men-at-arms when the spirit moved them, were not so disposed this day and still sat upon their horses, as did a small group of men-at-arms specially detailed to guard against counterattack and the squad captains who were responsible for rounding up their men when it was time to leave.
Bassett cast an eye over the young men and children of the manor, who at his order were herded before him by a few of the captains, but he saw nothing interesting enough to bother carrying away. The bailiff was dead, and the blacksmith and carpenter had already been dragged out. He turned to Siward and Walter, who had also rejected the group of serfs as worthless.
"Are they worth killing?" Bassett asked.
"I do not think so," Siward replied. "What do you think, Walter?"
"It would take too long and serve no purpose," Walter replied. "These are nothing and can be replaced so quickly that it is not worth the effort of lifting a sword to dispatch them. In fact, they may do more harm alive to Seagrave. If they are left starving, he will have to feed them or they will steal from the surrounding farms."
"Now that is a wise thought," Bassett agreed, and shouted an order to the men-at-arms to let the people go and to start burning the buildings, adding a jovial threat that those who dallied too long with the women might find themselves afire before they even got to hell.
However, Bassett and Siward were not really in any hurry. The coincidental opening of the gate had made the taking of Almondbury so easy that there was a feeling of incompleteness about the raid. They took time to douse the walls with

 
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