It was unlikely that the sergeant had ever heard of Petrus Bodkin. If he had, then he may have chosen a more sensible course of action.
The reeve wasn't wearing a sword; the only weapon was his staff and the sergeant incorrectly surmised that the man before him used the staff only as a walking aid and therefore didn't pose a threat.
Before the sergeant could react, the staff spun upwards in a blur and connected with the elbow of his arm that wielded the sword. It was a single hard blow and delivered so quickly the sergeant couldn't react. The nerves of the elbow were struck hard. Three things happened simultaneously; the sergeant howled in pain, his fingers opened involuntarily and his sword clattered to the ground. Reeve Petrus pushed past the stunned sergeant and entered the rectory o
