"That should be obvious, even to you!" Dom Paulo said sharply. "We may come under attack ourselves, but unless we’re directly attacked, we’re going to stay out of it. I’ll not let this place be used by anybody as a garrison from which to launch a counterattack if the only attack is on the village itself. So in case of males able to bear arms, we’ll have to insist on a pledge-to defend the abbey under our orders. And we’ll decide in individual cases whether a pledge is trustworthy or not."