"True. Those are our laws," But Ragnar believed it was an incredibly weak man who harmed or worse killed someone who had no means to fight back. It said a lot about a person's character. As usual, he only sort of answered Athelstan's question, leaving the rest up to him to infer.

"I would like to believe I taught Bjorn better than that."

He turned to study Athelstan's face, his own a mask of neutrality. Finally, he gave him a single nod in acknowledgment, looking deeply thoughtful.