In England, Henry VIII broke with Rome for supremacy, not doctrine, and, having stifled dissent and put down the Pilgrimage of Grace, kept the peace; but the Reformation instantly split France like a sword because Francis I was too weak to prevent it. Two Catholic army captains, returning from the civil war with a little discreetly acquired booty, and a few privates skilled at useful civilian trades, acquire a small estate in Périgord. The friends form a legally recognised “brotherhood”, pooling their resources, and obliging each to take care of the other’s children, legitimate and otherwise, in the event of death. The Brethren have kept their gear from the wars, and fortify their castle with the latest in military technology. They marry, though in this strongly h