Julina is closely involved with the Assembly meeting, and then another day with some tough decisions to be made.

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Disclaimer:

The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended.
This story is copyright © 2013 - 2020 Julia Phillips. All rights reserved.

It uses some of the associated characters and situations that arise from the world called ‘Anmar’ created by Penny Lane, whose stories
are also copyright © 2010 - 2020 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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My mind was racing for a way out of this difficulty when we were all shocked (well, I, for one, was shocked, and some others' faces seemed to be as well) by Master Jepp laughing out loud. This was a surprise on two counts. Just to see him laugh was a surprise, as he was normally a very staid and … solid … citizen.

“I thoroughly approve of your sense of humour, Master Michen,” he chuckled. Then he turned to address the Steward, saying directly to him: “If I may be permitted to point out, Your Honour, that this body is not, as it happens, allowed to appoint Quadrants – that particular function has to be done by either Mylady Garia or the head of her guard, Commander Feteran. As a result of that, I have been thinking of which title we might provide for this appointment and I remember there is a word, a name at the back of my mind, which I seem to recall is of Chivan origin – I know we covered it when I was learning all this. There is another word from possibly another source that might also be appropriate. Neither word is springing easily to mind. With your permission, I shall leave the title open in the records of the meeting, to be ratified at our next occasion. I shall have had time to research it by then. As I recall, then the original Chivan word for which I am striving describes a person who was responsible for various things: for representing the folk to the lord of the land (or, as in this case, her Steward) and for representing the lord or Steward to the folk, thus allowing the Steward to concentrate on the many other aspects of governing a region. This official was responsible also for collecting taxes and rents, which would not apply in this case, unless it happens that the town imposes some, and responsible too for chasing down unpaid fines and the like. I shall look forward to researching that. This is the sort of thing that I find gives me pleasure in my quieter moments.”

All this gave M and I time to flash messages to one another, which the Steward caught – he is a VERY observant man. Which I suppose should not have surprised me as much as it did.

“Thank you, Master Jepp for your accurate observations. I regret I overstepped the line there – please mark this down, all of you, to a lack of a thorough grounding in Stewardly procedures. I have been accustomed all my life to making these decisions in a military environment and just extended that to here. I stand corrected, and rightly so. Now, before we continue, I suggest a comfort break. I remind you we have a lot to get through this evening and we must not be distracted. I myself do not require it, but I see a few of you fidgeting. We will break now and reconvene in precisely five moments, if that is sufficient for you all?” He looked around. “Good, then a hand of moments break. Perhaps, Mistress Julina you would be kind enough to show me your kitchens where you produced such a marvellous feast. It seems an appropriate use of our time whilst the others are relieving themselves. Master Michen, it is after all your house, so would you like also to accompany us?”

Oh, how very cleverly done! I admired the smooth way he had guided us into a reclusive place, where a private conversation could be had, and how he had fitted in this fact-finding moment into a busy schedule in case it threw out any of his plans.

We reached the kitchens where all activity stopped at our entrance. The girls had been busy cleaning up and tidying away, aided by Kassama and Haka. I had to catch M's eye when I saw Haka there and got a resigned shrug that said 'so be it' in reply. We had already agreed with our eye messages that I should inform the Captain.

I spoke quickly to prevent the others being dismissed.

“Your Honour, I saw that you caught the unspoken exchanges between myself and Master Michen in the other room. Please allow me to explain. Everyone here, except Haka, knows the secret. May I present Mistress Haka, a talented seamstress, mother of a lovely son called Haris, and wife of Suril, the Sheriff's deputy? Mistress Haka, may I present Mylady's Steward in these lands, his Honour the Captain Bleskin?”

The two murmured a formal and non-committal greeting as one does in those circumstances. More formal than actually meant. Haka found herself compelled into dropping a deep curtsey, from which the Captain graciously waved her up to her normal stance.

“Mistress Haka, my pleasure.”

He turned to me and said: “And you Mistress Julina are very observant. Was it so obvious I caught your exchange with Master Michen?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak just at that moment. If I agreed, it could be seen as saying that his Honour was naïve and easily read. If I disagreed, maybe I was being rude. But he himself was very observant as I reported, so I could also have come back and 'accused' him of the same thing. This was an area of uncertainty I did not wish to enter.

Haka was more than a bit flustered at the formal presentation but I could see her alive with inquisitiveness as to what everyone else knew, other than herself and the Captain. Dranakh could not have dragged her away just then.

The Captain turned to M and raised a querying eyebrow.

“I shall have to leave this to Mistress Julina, your Honour,” stammered a very uncomfortable M.

The Captain turned to me, again not saying a word.

I drew in a deep breath, being aware that M trusted me and hoping against hope that I could find the right words.

“It is a matter of honour, your Honour.” I inwardly cringed as my tongue used the word 'honour' too much. “A solemn undertaking; a promise made. Master Michen is honour-bound,” (cringe – there it was again) “not to tell anyone. However, we have discovered that the original promise was that Master Michen could not tell anyone. I discovered the facts purely by accident, and I am not therefore bound by that original promise. However, I am bound by a promise myself. I can only tell anyone with Master Michen's explicit permission.”

We all turned and looked at M, who was still crimson with embarrassment. We did hear a mumbled “Granted” from the middle of that tortured face.

All eyes turned back to me.

“Your Honour, my personal feelings are based on my disapproval that this promise was extracted from a child who was far too young to understand the decision, and I find it reprehensible in the extreme that another person's entire life has been made so very difficult by a promise extracted from a six-year old. I am quite angry with the person who insisted on the promise, and hope one day to be able to express that great dissatisfaction. However, it doesn't alter the facts. Up to about a week or two ago only three people in town knew the truth, one of them is here present, Mistress Kassama, the housemistress hereof this home. Once we started this venture, and selected the workforce for it, it was determined that those who work here would also need to know, thus my friends were also informed. Your Honour, I have extracted a solemn promise from each of them here never to repeat this information without permission from Master Michen. So before I go further, I require the same promise from yourself and from Haka. Do I have that promise?”

Haka was quick to give hers.

The Captain, however, was more cautious.

“I am unprepared to give such an undertaking at this moment. If the information you are about to reveal causes problems with my duties, or with the well-being of these lands, or anything like that, then I may have to reveal it myself without gaining permission. I ask you to trust my judgement on that, but otherwise I shall willingly make the solemn undertaking of such a promise.”

I looked at M and she looked back at me, nodding the once.

“Very well, then I shall accept that as agreement in principle, with matters of state maybe overruling.”

I paused.

Then, very formally, after I took a deep breath and exhaled some, I said: “Your Honour, I have occasion now to present to you a further person. On the one hand we have here his Honour, Captain Bleskin, Mylady Garia, Baroness of Blackstone's Steward of Blackstone lands. On the other hand I present to you, Mistress Michet, daughter of Master Morden. Mistress Michet has been a girl and woman all her life, the manly front is a mere mask.”

Haka let out a gasp to show her surprise and then, to MY surprise, she breathed “Of course! NOW it makes sense.”

We all looked at the Steward.

His reaction was even more surprising, surpassing anything I, or anyone else present, could have expected.

“And when …... ah! Master Morden is close to his pyre. You have to wait until then?”

“Exactly, Your Honour.”

“Thank you for your trust in me. And Mistress Julina, I believe you have served your friend here excellently. I commend you.”

He continued to surprise us by turning to M and saying: “So you, Mistress Michet are the one! We knew of a woman in the guard at Dekarran for years, it was an open secret, but no name was ever mentioned. I did not expect to meet her. It is my honour to do so. I have seen the reports of the action for which you were decorated. You should have a further decoration for your part up in Blackstone Vale.”

There was a pause as he thought rapidly.

“I still feel my instincts are right, and would value your involvement. I shall change my tactics in the chamber there. May I expect an affirmative to my proposal? We will find a title and a job description by the next meeting. And you may retain your secret for now. I shall not breathe a word nor make any indication that anything has changed.”

“I should be honoured, Captain.”

“So be it. Now we have a meeting to get through. Mistresses Michet and Julina, please attend.” His eyes twinkled. “Though I suspect it should at this moment be Master Michen I am ordering about.”

With that, he turned on his heel and marched back into the Salon, we two trailing in his wake.

… … …

“Thank you all for a prompt restart. We had a small unresolved matter from beforehand which has made me reconsider our progress – slightly. Most of us were round the table, not this one of course, when Mylady had her last meeting. She made a strong 'suggestion' at that meeting which I wish to address now. As usual, her 'suggestions' gain value and credence the more we think them through. Recent events in the town have also added their weight, as Master Fedren our Sheriff is only too willing to attest. Mistress Julina here is to be thanked on several happenings, but the most immediately relevant is the rescue of our valued colleague here, Master Blandel, from his depression. Another of Mistress Julina's friends, having been introduced by Mistress Julina, made a suggestion that has increased production of our coal.

“I am aware of the women's circle here in town – there's no need to be so shocked Mistresses, I would be a very slack Steward if I was not aware of it – and also that Mistress Megrozen runs businesses both up here and in Tranidor. I could go on for the whole evening about various other incidents, but will leave that to your sensible and objectively applied knowledge. In my considered opinion, we would do well to harken to Mylady's words. I have considered the matter and I have concluded that Mistress Lendra here, with her contacts and broad reach throughout the community would be the most suitable to be our first female council member. I therefore officially propose that she be voted onto our Assembly. Please use a part of your mind to consider that as I continue. We will return to this in a few moments.”

There had been some sharp intakes of breaths around the table, but, in accordance with the Captain's wishes, no words were yet spoken.

“My immediate predecessor, Master Mesulkin there, has much valuable information and experience that it would be most criminal simply to discard. He has indicated to me that the function he most misses is that of formalising marriages and so I therefore propose that he also be voted onto our Assembly, specialising in marriages, but making his vast experience available to us all on most subjects. Master Jepp and I have discussed this beforehand, and the title to be bestowed upon Master Mesulkin would be that of Alderman – this word begins with an 'A' by the way, for reasons lost to us. I am informed that the original was Elderman, with an 'E'. This is a title which is particularly appropriate here, as it was a post created for semi-retired leaders, the so-called Elders of the community, to take up. This was designed precisely so their knowledge would not be lost.

“Now I want you all to be brutally honest with yourselves. Is there any reason, other than tradition, that these appointments should not be made? I wish to make these appointments now, so that the following topics can be voted upon by us all. If so, please voice those reasons clearly and concisely. However, I will state clearly here and now that I am NOT prepared to accept any reason as valid if it is just another way of saying 'but we have never done it that way'. We need to get on, so please keep your remarks now to the minimum. Master Bezan, your views?”

“I have had the pleasure of talking and working with her Ladyship, I have also learnt to be grateful, particularly to Mistress Julina, for some ideas from the townswomen. And you are right about Master Mesulkin. I am in favour.”

“Master Yarling?”

“I agree with Bezan, although I confess the female thing leaves me uneasy, but I cannot justify that. In favour.”

Masters Fedren and Brydas also indicated they were in favour, also with unquantifiable reservations, while Master Blandel was almost over-enthusiastic in his support for having a woman – he cast a beaming smile at me as he said this.

Master Selden saw no reason to have a female just because they were female, when nearly all business decisions were made by males. However, he did agree that Mistress Lendra was a very suitable candidate if it really had to come to that.

Masters Torin and Sinidar were against having a woman in their number but failed to convince with their arguments. They both looked a little ashamed as they tried to justify their statements.

This just left Master Jepp. He pointed out that he himself had argued for women apprentices and felt that women could provide much valuable insight to their deliberations on how to develop the town for ALL its citizens. He therefore had no qualms whatsoever in supporting the motion and would “indeed, be proud so to do”.

“Thank you all. So I ask now for a show of hands. All those in favour of these appointments to the Assembly, please raise your hands now. Ah, a clear majority. Are either of you who have not raised their hands voting against the motion? No! So therefore you must be abstaining, is that correct? Thank you. Master Scribe, please note that the three appointments are now made with a vote of 8 to 0, with two abstentions. So now Mistresses and Masters Landra, Mesulkin and Michen - welcome. Your views on all are expected, and furthermore expected to be open and honest, with no other influences apart from your own thoughts. We know enough never to adjust our views according to what we think the other or others might like to hear. As of now you are entitled, and indeed fully expected, to vote on each subject that arises.

“As for myself, I shall only cast my vote from now on in the event of a tied decision. I doubt though that we will have many of those with twelve of you!

“Now, for those newcomers, I will mention the urgent things we have to discuss this evening. Essentially they all come under the heading of town developments, and Master Bezan will be able to report on most of that. There are some things that will seem strange to you, but we all know them and you will have to trust us when we say they have all been thought through and indeed discussed. Just to give you a flavour, Mylady Garia has told us, and shown us in some small ways, that it will be possible, if not in our lifetimes, certainly within the life of someone like Mistress Julina, to travel from Blackstone to Tranidor AND BACK within a single day!”

There were gasps from those who did not know – the loudest probably from me. I heard Papa breathe to himself: “Ah! Hence no sharp corners! At those speeds the curves must be gentle.” He sat on the edge of his chair, full of attention now he realised the importance of his research.

“It is therefore incumbent upon us to lay the groundworks for that to occur. Mylady has called this method of transport a 'railroad'. Most of you will have seen the mining wagons on their rails inside the mine entrance? Well, Mylady, or, more appropriately, Guildmistress Garia has told us about a giant version of this, with wagons pulled by machines, powered by steam engines. Master Brydas is working with steam engines, and correspondence from downvalley indicates that more powerful ones than just the demonstration version Brydas has here are available. Most of the development costs of this railroad will have to be funded by the extraction of coal, so we have to prioritise that. But that gives us conflicting necessities as we try to balance our resources.

“However, there is something else more important to report to you all. Some here know already, and I shall explain that. But the fact is we have today had a further disruption to our plans. The information became available when I received it only this morning. It was actually delivered at dusk last night to Master Mesulkin who passed it on to me first thing this morn since I was absent at delivery time, and we didn't meet until after we woke.

“Mylady Garia is a vassal of Duke Gilbanar whose seat as we all know is down in Dekarran. The message I received was sent from his Grace, and was countersigned by both Mylady and also Lord Trosanar of Tranidor. Mylady has been awarded ALL the land between here and almost the end of the forest. That means that WE all present here are making decisions for things that happen from here down to beyond the Chaarn Road fork. And also on the west bank of the Bray.”

Again, there was a combined hissing in of breath from those who had not been present this morning.

“Master Kordulen has recently been sent down to those regions by Master Bezan to scout the route for that possible railroad. He is here tonight to be available for questioning about his report. This morning I naturally required a quick meeting with several of us here and Master Kordulen as he knows more than anyone else about those far parts. Master Jepp was away and it occurred to me that Mistress Julina can write, so it made sense for the morning meeting to be at Master Kordulen's home. Mistress Julina is here tonight in case we have any questions arising from her notes she made. Personally, I must say that my belly as well is extremely pleased that she was here tonight!”

I tried not to be proud as the gentle laughter was accompanied by looks and gestures of thanks.

“We are unaware of exactly what the newly-awarded lands will provide, but I repeat our existence is underpinned by coal extraction. If coal is to be found in the new parts, and is found to be more easily extractable from there than from here, then all our efforts and priorities will be switched as soon as possible. However, we cannot make that decision without knowledge. So until that knowledge is acquired, we must continue on the assumption that we will be at the heart of things here in the town.

“Masters Yarling and Kordulen are leaving first thing on the morrow to make an initial survey down there. We estimate that the entire thing will take some four days, so our next meeting will be here, in this room, at the second day bell in five mornings time. Then we can know the priority of our efforts.

“Now, I believe I have set the foundations for the rest of the meeting and I can therefore hand over to Master Bezan to detail all we need to know. And to allow my tortured throat some liquid refreshment.”

Grins appeared on the faces round the table, and then Master B stood to start his discussion.

This was the first I heard of the three more street blockages that had occurred this afternoon, whilst I was busy with my cooking. Master Bezan decided to start with the traffic problems and explained how the East Street solution would solve many of these. The problem at the moment was the lack of stone to finish the road surfaces. Master Blandel explained that the demand for stone was excessively high with extra roads being built as well as water supply channels – and while he was 'ill' his senior man, Mostar, had been taken off for other duties involving the aqueduct and dam. More stone was being quarried but it takes time. He apologised for his lack of efficiency in recent weeks, but he would make up for it as soon as he could. He was also looking for other sources of stone, and apprentices to train in stonemasonry.

Papa interjected at that point, just asking people to remember this bit, he had something to say about it later.

M was encouraged by Papa's contribution so he then felt it was alright to add a little something to the discussion. It didn't stop him looking a little embarrassed whilst doing so: “In my duties with the guard, and with the wagons I started out on, I have seen many different roads. One particular one springs to mind at this moment. But first allow me to set some background and to check some facts.” He paused briefly. “Now I believe that the four cross alleys are all fully surfaced, am I correct?”

There was several nods from others.

“Good, then we solve the problem by taking up those surface stones again. Hold!” he said smiling while holding up a hand, which gesture silenced the potential clamour we could all sense was about to burst out.

“What do we need on East Street? More surfacing stones. Where do we have them? In the alleys. The alleys are not being used right now, at least not as the design requires them to be. They are designed for the one-direction system to work, so that lower buildings do not have to go all the way up to the campingplace before turning downhill. Lower buildings would simply need a short uphill journey before using the cross alleys as access routes for the new downhill one-direction road we all call East Street.

“At the moment we have two-direction traffic on Main Street. The blockages come there. So we provide East Street with a workable surface, and the traffic that is designed to use the alleys can use the Main Street as we do now in two directions, in other words, keep it exactly as it already is.

“But the bulk of the traffic will be routed downhill on East Street, making that a one-direction street. A vast diminution of the traffic on Main Street. Far fewer blockages.”

There was a moment of silence, and then everyone was wondering why they hadn't thought of that.

Until Master B said: “An elegant temporary solution, but even the alleys have insufficient stone to surface East Street – and we cannot allow traffic on there without a reliable surface. The levelling would be ruined within a few moments, and the water channels would be knocked down in a heartbeat.”

“Ah but Master Bezan, this is where my memory of a particular road type comes in. We just need two stripes of stones for the wagon wheels to run on; a third stripe in the middle would be best, one for the dranakh to walk on, but their footpads are wide and won't damage the surface too much, particularly as the traffic would be descending. As more stone becomes available, the road can be completely covered without disturbing traffic too much. Then the alleys can be redone, starting of course at the bottom end, until Main Street becomes one-direction too.”

Another silence ensued as people realised how simple a solution it was.

The Steward broke in: “Excellent. You have already proved your worth amongst us. Thank you.”

And so the meeting progressed.

I was involved in an unexpected way when I was asked about the fish I had cooked earlier, obviously a ploy by Master B to talk about the fish farm. I told them about the foti, where they were caught and how they were transported. I also mentioned we still actually had four swimming in a tank in the kitchen. Master B then suggested we travelled tomorrow down to Little Lake farm and introduce the extra fish to the lake there, to see if they would survive. That would make a good excursion and I looked to Papa before remembering he would be away early on. It just meant that I would have to think of another meal for the family for tomorrow evening. Then there was all the food left over from earlier since we had cooked an 'emergency meal' as well. Why we …

The others round the table were impressed that already extra ways of feeding the population were being considered already, and my thoughts were brought back to the subject matter by a scattering of applause. It suddenly occurred to me that Papa had invited Master Pocular to dinner, so I would have to tell him about the changed circumstances. Maybe he would still co.....

I was jerked back to the present once more though, this time a little more harshly.

Master B's next topic was more serious and more shocking.

“Master Deegrum is a splendid individual in nearly every way, and I am proud to consider him a friend. However, he is causing us a problem, which, at worst, is more drastic than anything else we could ever imagine. He does his job, for which we, that is the Town, recompense him. But he just does his job. He knows WHAT to do, but sadly does not know WHY he does it. He simply does what his father told him to do. He lacks the imagination to expand on his knowledge. And therefore there may be hidden problems awaiting us, from leaks in the aqueduct to requiring a new dam. We may be in danger of losing our water supply.

“We need to find a capable and dedicated team to thoroughly inspect what we have. Deegrum has removed bushes for example from the wall of the dam. He did this by chopping them down. But he never dug the roots out. If those are still burrowing their way unseen, there may be a huge problem. Of course, we will need to find some emergency plan and some plan for possibly replacing the existing dam. More requirements for stone work.

“And this indeed is my greatest problem. Changing priorities. We originally stated that the building of the Community Hall would be our priority, but to do that we had to remove some houses, so we had to provide new houses first, so the new houses needed new water channels and we needed access roads for the materials, so we needed to have new roads, so we needed........ and so it went on and on and on. I can do nothing on many tasks until some things settle down. I believe that Master Michen's excellent suggestion about the road surface will mean that we gain a little breathing space, and will be able to ship a little more coal as a result.

“However, we are limited in the amount of coal we can transport out, since the long incline up to the Chaarn Road junction has dictated that we cannot completely fill the wagons. This is why we sent Master Kordulen down there, to try to find another route that would remove the incline. And also scout out a possible route for the railroad. He has in fact, with one problem, found a workable route. But more than that he has made a further suggestion, which, coupled with the news out of Dekarran, means that we should be able to ship more coal than we are doing at the moment. Master Kordulen, would you explain?”

So Papa got up and gave a shortened version of the report I had now twice heard. He concentrated naturally on the route to bypass the incline and mentioned his idea about barges, which was greeted with muted enthusiasm, as barges were not going to affect us up here in the town. He did, however, conclude his report by picking up on the earlier point that he had asked everyone to remember.

“I have done now a rough survey, more details would naturally be required, but it seems to me that the route for this railroad would cause least confusion and involve the least tree-felling if it roughly hugs the eastern edge of the valley almost all the way down to the incline. It seems to me that this is a golden opportunity to re-open the ancient stone quarry in the valley wall behind Strettalm. By widening the access to that stone quarry, then that could also play a valuable part in the construction of the railroad route, if my suggestion for that route is adopted. If we make it the best we can make it now, then we have far less work to do further along in time. I would consider that to be the prudent thing to do. This would allow us to have two stone sources being productive. Some say that there must be a third one somewhere as we have never found sign of the Chivan workings for the dam stones, but at least we KNOW of the one behind Strettalm, it is just unused at the moment.” He paused at this point, before continuing with a twinkle: “But, it may upset Master Bezan's priorities again, what with yet another new road to be built.”

There were loud chuckles at this from all around, and Papa sat again with many thankful and congratulatory nods cast in his direction. I was glowing with pride for his good job.

As it happened, I was not required to expand on my notes from the morning meeting, Master Jepp congratulating me on the clarity of my writing, and that of Kords. I was offered the chance to leave but there was no way I was going! I was fascinated to learn about all the things that were discussed and considered by these people, so I sat through the entire event.

Each Assembly member had many valuable things to say and to talk about and my eyes were opened to a lot more that was going on around us, unnoticed in everyday experiences. I gained an appreciation for the giant balancing act that was going on, and how resources needed to be closely managed.

Every person there gave a report, some briefer than others, and it was all to the point. This was truly Papa's favourite saying in action - “Economy of Speech” indeed.

But looking back on the evening, the thing that astounded and fascinated us (me) most was the description of the message system that Papa had misheard as being the 'semi-four'. I asked Master Jepp after the meeting how this should be written and he kindly gave me a lesson in some of the words. It was here I learnt that I had always been spelling Milady wrong, and environment, and semaphore, and camping place and a few others. He also mentioned that my dialect use of saying “down to the Claw” was wrong, it should be “down at the Claw”, to use one example. I was very grateful for his help and corrections.

But back to the semaphore system.

Leaving aside some of the details as being irrelevant, Captain Bleskin gave us enough information to see how valuable such a service might be – and of course, why this too should have a priority. We were amazed at how it might work and the things it could be used for. Ask a question here in Blackstone, for example, and get a reply from Tranidor within a morning perhaps.

Then came the difficulties in using it, as far as they could foresee. There would need to be an active and observant team of operators. But to cope with the narrowness of the valley and the potential weather interruptions, the stations would need to be relatively close together. The more stations, the slower the message. Also, how could we construct a station on top of a peak for example, and then expect someone to go all the way up there to work, far from any supplies and human contact? So many factors to take into consideration. There were several discussions and suggestions on these topics.

Finally, the meeting was brought to an end by the Captain announcing the trial of the man who was beating his wife, Neerkel was his name. It would be held in the courtyard of the Claw at the sixth bell. He wanted some discussions before that with the Sheriff and with Master Jepp, to get some legal procedure advice.

I was sure there would be many interested observers in attendance at that trial – it being the first public one presided over by the Steward, and many would want to see the tone he set on his rule of us. He had, to behind-the-scenes approval, banished the men who had insulted Sookie, the Town and Milady Garia. That didn't need a trial as such, it was generally agreed. Those men had come here to work and had insulted their hosts. This other one was different, with many differing facets to be examined.

“I thank you all for coming, and for our two non-members, Master Kordulen and Mistress Julina, for their very valuable contributions. I believe we have found a comfortable semi-permanent home here in this room, and indeed you will notice two cupboards open. We have been allocated that as storage space for us, to save us having to carry things to and fro. Feel free to use the space as you will. We will have all our meetings here from now until we move again – but as that depends upon having the Community Hall and that in turn depends upon Master Bezan getting his priorities sorted out, then ….......”

He left it there and laughter broke out.

He signalled the end by saying: “Good night all.”

Amid the gentle-natured teasing of Master Bezan, the meeting broke up with some good laughter.

There was one more thing from that evening which was a major surprise. Uncle Brydas, I see now looking back upon it, made sure he was the first to the street door and he quietly controlled affairs from there.

He opened the door and ushered his fellow Assembly members out onto the street. There was a gasp from each as they exited.

For across the road, attached to the corner of the Forge House, was a bright flickering light casting its radiance all about, lighting the hitherto darkness, but I noticed it was also creating deep dark shadows never seen before in our town. It was shocking, fascinating, attractive and scary all at the same time.

Which feelings were reflected from the now visible faces of each and every one of the crowd gathered around and, frankly, gawping at the flickering light. It was the middle of the night, but we could see faces clearly. I saw that this was the lantern fuelled by those gases that Sethan had gathered from his coke oven.

I felt as if the starlight and moonlight had been dimmed somehow, and something made me shiver at that thought.

… … …

“Good bye little foti. Enjoy your new home.”

Sookie, Parry, Pomma and I watched as Master B released the final fish into the lake. It was obvious that the fish were near the end of their strength, having been in a small metal tank for nearly two days. We wouldn't have had any fish to release back into the wild had we waited another half day, I'm sure.

Sookie had asked me if they were different genders, but I just didn't know. All I did know was that three of the four had the same colour on the topside fin, whilst the last had a different one. I couldn't see anything else that might be a difference between them.

Our six frayen were munching gently at some of the vegetation on the banks of the lake. We had followed the only visible path which led us through the reed bank onto an obviously man-made stretch of packed earth that poked out into the water. Try as hard as I could, I could see no life in the water but I did see some late insects skimming the surface, and one or two actually walking on the water. I wondered how they managed that. It wasn't there for long though. A gaping mouth popped up, sucked and disappeared below the surface. I recognised the colour of the fin on the back, it was our singularly coloured foti. At least one of them had had a little snack, so I felt hopeful.

I had slept well for a shortened first sleep and was thankfully woken by Kords for the between-sleep period. At the time I wasn't thankful, and was distinctly grumpy. I felt like I had glue in my mouth and in my brain and it took an enormous effort to get into motion. But I forced myself to do it, and went to help with the water set up, you know, for warming it all up ready for breakfasts. It was only later that I realised that the weariness worked itself unnoticed away.

I sat down and wrote my notes of the day from which of course I have built this report for you.

The second sleep was different. It was long, it was deep and it was needed. And I awoke after everyone else. Papa was long gone by the time I emerged, bathed, fed and dressed.

My first visit of the day was to Kelly and we rehashed the previous evening, learning some lessons. We decided to call all the girls together for a talk about what had happened and what improvements could be made. We agreed to do that at this time tomorrow morning. Kelly agreed with a suggestion I made, and we would confirm with the girls.

After that, I popped into Pomma's and together we went down to the Claw for our riding excursion, going via the glassmaker's to tell him that Papa was out of town on urgent business. He declined the invitation to come anyway and welcomed my suggestion that Papa would call upon him when he returned.

Pomma and I made our way to the Claw and found that Master B had already arrived. He had explained what was required of us today, and everyone was ready when we turned up. The load was placed on another frayen, one tank, each holding two fish, on either side to keep a balance.

And so we rode down to Little Lake farm, and found the access to the lake. I dare say the spot might be beautiful on a spring, summer or early autumn day, but today was overcast and there was a cold wind blowing downvalley. We were glad of our coats.

Sookie invited us all to take a luncheon with her so we could have a good seat for the trial, and we set off back to the Claw quite smartly. It was not a day for lingering.

… … …

“Please stand to honour the president of this trial - his Honour, Captain Bleskin, Baroness Blackstone's Steward of Blackstone lands. Master Scribe Jepp will be recording. Bring forth the prisoner.”

Neerkel was brought forward accordingly, struggling and swearing all the way – until Suril caught his eye and again used his knife to clean his nails. The contrast in his behaviour could not have been greater. Uncle no longer required his considerable strength to fight the man for every inch of progress.

Soon a silence descended as the Sheriff raised his hands and brought the gathering to order.

“Please state your name for the record,” began the Captain, addressing the man directly but with a trained voice that carried.

“My name is Neerkel.” A dig in the ribs from Uncle prompted a further “Your Honour”.

“Do you have any family, Neerkel?”

“Yes Your Honour. I am married – to Vittima.”

“Will Mistress Vittima please make herself known?”

There was no movement, no call.

“It appears that your wife is not here. Why might that be, Neerkel?”

“I expect it's because I told her not to do anything without my permission.” Rib-dig. “Your Honour.”

“I see. Is this your normal behaviour to your wife? Does she obey you in all things?”

“She'd better.”

“Oh, and what might be her incentive so to do?”

“She knows better than to disobey …. your Honour. I know how to keep women in control. My belt is never far away.”

There was a murmur from the gathered audience, making a close-packed crowd that filled the Claw's courtyard. Well over half were women. Such a murmur, and some hisses were heard frequently during the following chain of events.

“I see. And is it your belief that all women should be treated in this fashion?”

“How else, your Honour? They are all the same and they need the wilfulness knocked out of them.”

“What of the notion that women are smaller and weaker than men, and thus require protection?”

“That's for other women, your Honour. A wife is a property and just does what her man tells her.”

“Why do you imagine any woman would get married, if that were the case?”

“A woman needs a strong man to survive. That's why they attach themselves to one. Her job is then to breed sons. Mine has failed in that, so she needs some encouragement. So you see your Honour, nothing untoward has happened.”

“What think you of Blackstone, Neerkel?”

“Frankly your Honour, it seems to be an out of the way backwoods town. All this activity appears to have made it lose its head. There is a lot going on, but I fail to understand why.”

“Neerkel. There is indeed a lot going on, and there is much to do before winter arrives. So we require every able-bodied worker we can have. To work properly, those men require adequate sleep and good relaxation. It is our duty to provide as well as we can such an atmosphere. The first phase of the overall project here is to provide accommodation and resources for the workforce to come. We do not need anyone who disturbs that plan. You may now keep silent, whilst we enquire of others. You might do well to recall exactly why I am here today, upon whose behalf I am acting!”

And so a string of people were all called up to publicly explain the disturbances that this man had caused. And observations of the effects he had had on his neighbours. And declarations of how terrified Vittima was of him. And some of his neighbours apparently also went in fear.

His work foreman was called to ask about his working skills and attitude and his was the only positive testament upon Neerkel's behalf.

“Neerkel. Do you have anything to say at this point?”

“Your Honour – you will have heard how I am a valued worker, a worker on your workforce, working to improve your Town. The other tales were just from women. I urge you to let me go.”

“We have heard testimony here today that even some of your male neighbours walk in fear of you. Let me ask one final question of you. Have you ever brutally attacked a woman, outside of your wife?”

“Never your Honour.”

“Are you quite sure, man?”

“Certainly, sir. It is the responsibility of other men to control their wives and daughters.”

“And that is your final word?”

“It is, your Honour.”

“I call upon Julina, daughter of Master Kordulen – she remains a minor, so the Court will treat her lightly.”

I was shocked to be called but stepped up and calmly and clearly stated the injuries suffered by the other woman. Sookie was also called and gave her description of the injuries suffered by both women.

Finally Suril was called, his credentials established, and his description of events entered into the record.

“The Court has heard all relevant witnesses and will pass judgement now unless anyone else has anything further to say?”

There was an expectant silence but no-one else had anything to add, not even Neerkel who seemed to think he didn't need to.

“Very well. It is NOT the place of this court to come between a man and a woman who are married. We have been told by many that the wife lives in terror of her husband, and that she desires to be rid of the burden placed upon her by a brute of a husband. A court such as this has no jurisdiction in marital affairs. We shall send despatches to her Ladyship and her liege, Duke Gilbanar for advice, with the recommendation that a divorce is ordered. But I repeat, this is not the function of this court here and now.”

A broad smile spread across the prisoner's face and a low hiss of disappointment spread from the crowd. The Captain held up his hand and his smile somehow conveyed a message to everyone there – Neerkel started to look worried.

“However, the prisoner has lied to the court, and has caused grievous harm to a woman to whom he is not married. We have witnesses to that event, including a sworn member of the peace-keeping force. Others have told of other assaults for which we have no witnesses, but of a regularity that cannot be overlooked. This court finds that the prisoner is a coward, a liar and a bully. He has assaulted women and caused them damage. He has disturbed fellow workers in their rest and he has therefore hindered the development of the town. For most of this latter, the punishment would be a stiff fine and a warning to behave in the future. However, to attack a woman, any woman, is unforgivable. The prisoner is therefore sentenced to be branded on the left hand and to work in his current position for one year from today, whilst shackled at the ankles. He will receive no pay for this. He will be handed over into the care of his wife. Neerkel, there is one other fact of which you need to be aware. Vittima has been offered a job with the town, and she has accepted that employment. Any attack on her, even within the privacy of a marriage, will be considered an attack upon the Town. The punishment will be severe. I strongly suggest that you obey whatever commands your wife gives you for the next year. She after all will be earning the money in your marriage. And let there be no more disturbances of your neighbours. The court will not be so lenient at any further complaint against you. Take him away and shackle him. If he resists in any way, then a further month shall be added to the year. Remove him from our sight.”

There was a surprised silence as the sentence was pronounced and then there was a current of approval that made itself felt. Some indeed laughed at the thought that the bully was now dependent upon the very person whose life he had made so dreadfully miserable. Neerkel was visibly stunned as it all sank into his brain. It was in a way amusing to watch his face as he realised that maybe it was time for him to get angry. That was exactly the moment when once again Suril went up to him and whispered in his ear. He went quietly with Suril, Fedren, Uncle (and a few more large men) up towards the Forge.

As everyone drifted away, they were of course all talking, rehashing and dissecting what had just gone on. It was an interesting opportunity, so I indulged myself by listening to the other women chatting away as they dispersed. Some took the time to actually seek me out to thank me for my statement. Others were so disgusted with what that man had done, and were upset that the Captain had been so lenient. Now THAT was a surprise. Branding and shackling for a year was being lenient?

The main theme, though, that I detected was generally that they approved of the Steward – what with this decision and the previous banishment of those men that had insulted Sookie and Milady. It appears that they were pleased at last - at long, long last - to have somewhere to live where they felt an extra degree of safety. I had the feeling that they would support many of the town's plans in the future.

… … …

I went first of all down to visit the animals, as I was already in the Claw. From there, I went out and inspected the new paddock, the plantings and the new house. It was only as I got there that I realised I had negotiated the way entirely on my own. I had to laugh at the thought that that was probably the safest time I could ever have done that.

So, as I said, I went out to the new house, which I felt I had neglected recently, and looked around at it. It was just about finished, but had no water connections. I peered up East Street and could see some of the parallel stripes of stones that M had suggested, but by then the dusk was falling rapidly so I went back up the hill to our home.

I got some strange looks from Swayga as I turned up alone, but she was wise enough to keep quiet about it.

And finally I had a family evening after a very busy day or two, and I confess it was lovely to relax with those I love.

I was questioned closely about the events of the night before, and what I had learned. There were gasps of amazement as I related all that was going on in the background. Swayga was excited about the news of the possible barge traffic starting up again, and was delighted that we had already tried to start the fish farm.

I myself was delighted to learn that the differently coloured topside fins were the only way to differentiate the boy fish from the girl fish. So we had at least one of each down there in the lake.

And it was thus that I related what had happened, what was happening with the lands, what the semaphores were, what staff would be required and they actually cheered when I told them the details of the trial.

As I lay in my bed that night, and all the things were whizzing round my head, I was shocked to realise that my entire viewpoint had changed in less than a week. Not that long ago, I was just worried about what was happening inside our four walls – at least that's how it seemed. Now I was worrying about what was happening for the 40-odd marks down the road.

And I realised that I cared.

That I think was the biggest revelation.

Mind you, no further revelations were possible.

I was fast asleep.

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