Chapter 6

I met Melissa and Dorothy as they exited the passage where they were hiding. There were tears in both of their eyes as they hugged each other for moral support. Dorothy was shaking her head in disbelief. “I’m sorry; I never knew she was like that. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to execute me, too,” Dorothy apologized to me.

“You have nothing to apologize for except your own actions. That’s why I’m giving the women who weren’t involved and their children an option besides execution. I don’t agree with executing the whole family for one person’s misdeeds. I’ve been assured by Melissa that you and your brother had nothing to do with the rebellion. If I could, I would pardon you. However, the King didn’t offer that option. The best alternative I can offer is a life as my slave, a choice that I assure you sounds worse than it will actually be.”

“Thank you, Milord,” she replied, curtsying daintily.

I helped her up. “That won’t be necessary except in public. I intend to treat each of you as if you were a wife. In private you should simply call me Mike,” I explained.

“Your ideas are definitely ... unusual,” she said, carefully picking her words. “My father took advantage of every opportunity to force the women of the Manor to have sex with him. Most punishments for the men included time locked in the dungeon with their wife forced to stay with my father the entire time their husband was jailed. The sentence was usually long enough that the woman was often pregnant before she and her husband were released. Probably a quarter of the children in Gradelton are half-brothers or sisters of mine,” she sighed.

Dorothy spent quite a while huddled with Melissa and her brother Henry after we freed him from his cell. Like Dorothy, he was the last one in the cell after everyone else had been retrieved by their mother. He, also, worried that it didn’t bode well for him. Like Dorothy, he didn’t believe at first that his mother was capable of doing what she stood accused of. He was willing to believe anything about his father, but it took both Melissa and Dorothy to convince him of his mother’s involvement.

While Melissa, Dorothy, and Henry talked quietly and ate lunch in one of the many rooms in the Manor House, Margaret and Gemma bookended me on the sofa-like stuffed leather seat in my study, and Abby occupied my lap while they fed me lunch with their fingers. I got to hold the baby, at least until he woke up hungry and tried to nurse from me. While my lovelies fed John and me our lunches, the mothers with daughters who had reached womanhood or sons who were twelve and older brought them before me so each one could personally accept or reject my offer.

All forty-two young women accepted their position as my slaves knowing fully what it entailed. The young men were likewise obliged had I been so inclined and were grateful to find out that I wasn’t. Instead, their servitude would consist strictly of manual labor. I would leave it to Goodwin to decide if he wanted or needed an assistant, and to make the choice himself if he did. While I would need to bring in extra food to feed all the new people, the extra hands would definitely help with the work planned for this fall and winter.

Trying to help minimize the girls’ fears, my three lovelies hugged and kissed each girl as she came forward and accepted her new situation. They promised to make me behave myself, a comment that made more than one mother chuckle, and all the girls blush.

I was surprised to find Dorothy freshly bathed and beautifully groomed when I went back for them. In fact, rather than appearing apprehensive, she looked eager.

Amanda looked nervous when the four of us entered but recovered quickly and played her part as a seductress. She looked better after being allowed to clean up, at least until Dorothy slapped her silly. “You selfish cow,” she spat vehemently, spinning, and storming out of the study.

Even Henry backhanded her. “As far as Dorothy and I are concerned, you are already dead,” he growled, following his sister.

“You are the only one of the women found to have known about and been involved in the attack and the plot to overthrow the King. I hereby sentence you to death. I intend, however, to torment your mind and body mercilessly for a very long time before your execution. There will be many days when you will wish that I had simply hanged you,” I warned before Melissa and I followed the others.

Dorothy had made her way back to my wives who were comforting her when we found her. Margaret motioned me over and I nervously added my arms to the ones supporting Dorothy. I was surprised when Dorothy turned and hugged me back fiercely, crying herself out in my arms before finally collapsing. I carried her to the bedroom and laid her down to rest, but she continued to hold on to me until finally falling asleep sometime later. Several of the women looked at me oddly when I finally came back. “She’s sleeping. It’s been a rough day for her,” I told Margaret.

I was surprised that night to find Melissa and Dorothy both timidly gracing my bed. Margaret seemed to be directing things. Mindful that my top priority was keeping Margaret happy, I let her.

It was a long night as I did my duty to all the women.

Seeing Dorothy and Melissa laughing and joking with my wives when they entered the dining room for breakfast definitely caught the attention of the other new slaves. Seeing both of them turn giddily to me for a quick kiss as I held their chairs for them to be seated dropped no small number of jaws, jaws that began whispering almost as soon as everyone was seated. I’m certain that every woman at the table had at least a general idea of what had happened the previous night even before breakfast was finished.

As promised, I announced during Sunday services that our Bishop would be the new Archbishop of York and Lancaster effective immediately. Once I sat down, he introduced his replacement, and then stunned everyone with his next pronouncement.

“With so many new widows having no prospect of remarrying anytime soon, I feel that it is the Church’s obligation to see to their welfare in every way possible, including allowing them to become second wives to men of good moral character, provided that the first wife, the Bishop, and the Duke agree. The church allows nobles to have more than one wife, so it isn’t actually against our religion; it’s more a matter of maintaining stability in the home and the difficulty of balancing the needs of two wives.”

“In addition, clergy will be encouraged to take a spouse. The bible doesn’t exclude clergy when it says, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply.’” Then, he explained my offer to allow the personal slaves to marry but reminded everyone they would still be required to fulfill their obligation to me. Fortunately, everyone knew what obligation he meant so he didn’t have to elaborate. My public praise for his concern about his parishioners and his bold new stance was immediate and pronounced. He actually blushed. I wondered privately if he’d actually decided it was a good idea or had just put together something that sounded like a good argument. After church, he confided privately that, while trying to justify the new policy, he actually decided it was a good one and now supported it wholeheartedly.

Who’d’ve thunk?

Right after church Kent came over to me, obviously nervous about something. “I’m glad I didn’t tease you when you asked to court Margaret since the shoe seems to be on the other foot now. I’d like to ask your permission to take your mother as a second wife,” he said solemnly. His wife was by his side, beaming and blushing at the same time.

“I think it’s an excellent choice for everyone,” I answered as I shook his hand. I was surprised later to learn the new Bishop had suggested having their ceremony that evening so we were right back in church after dinner while Kent and my mother were married. The ceremony was surprisingly short, barely long enough to perform the marriage and to include the multitude of obligatory prayers. It set the precedent for all future second marriages.

I was surprised even more tonight than last night when I found senior Baroness Grace Neale, and junior Baroness Henna Neale, in my bed, especially since Grace had originally chosen execution. She explained how wonderful both Melissa and Dorothy said last night was and chuckled, telling me I may find Dorothy in my bed a lot more often than once a month. Worrying about what would eventually happen left Grace nearly unable to sleep last night and she decided she might as well find out now and hope it was nearly as good as Dorothy and Melissa said.

Seeing both Grace and Henna with me and happy in the morning left the rest of the women even more stunned today than they had been yesterday, especially the way Grace was hanging on me. Dorothy and Melissa also came to me for a kiss.

When I told the women at breakfast that I would let them have some fun with Amanda Rolt today there were five who wanted to help. I was surprised that Dorothy wanted to help. Later, I had Amanda restrained in my study. Surprisingly, she meekly allowed it. Only when she saw both Baronesses Fineman and both Baronesses Markham arrive did she panic. Seeing Dorothy there stunned her the most.

I stayed and watched as the women tortured her singly and as a group. They started with crops, floggers, and canes. I warned them that I didn’t want her scarred or injured. She was exceedingly beautiful, and I planned to enjoy her body, as well as letting my men enjoy it.

When they finished tormenting Amanda, the women told me that the Baronesses Neale had offered many of the suggestions, having suffered many of the indignities themselves, and having been forced to watch or participate in the others. Yet again, I was upset that Baron Neale got off so lightly. It was three days later before Amanda could move unassisted after her session, and then it was only to use the chamber pot, to eat, or to drink. That was the last time she was tortured. While she was used frequently by the guards and me for recreational sex, she changed after that day. All defiance or rebelliousness was gone. She was meek and compliant, simply disrobing and doing anything we told her to do and allowing us to do anything we wanted without complaint.

A month later, she actually apologized to me and asked to be allowed to apologize to Baronesses Fineman and Markham. When she did, everyone felt that her apology was genuine. After that, I was the only one to have sex with her, usually once or twice a month. The sex was slow and gentle since I really felt that she’d been punished enough and truly had a change of heart. I even got the feeling that she started looking forward to my visits, and she seemed happy when I was there with her, hugging me when we finished, reluctant for me to leave her alone again.

A couple of days after Amanda’s torture session, Daned arrived on horseback with two older men. The two men watched me like hawks as I approached and greeted Daned.

“Duke Miller, I would like to introduce my father Siawn and his brother, my Uncle Davis,” Daned said nervously. I could see what Daned meant about his relatives being none too fond of the English as both men looked at me as if I’d spit in my hand before we shook.

“I’m afraid they insisted on coming to see if what I told them about you was true before they would make a decision,” Daned explained.

“Feel free to look around and talk to anyone you care to. You are welcome to sleep in the Manor House as my guests, or I can arrange lodging for you in my old home if you prefer,” I told them. I could see Daned relax when he realized that I wasn’t upset.

“Daned tells us your archery skills are legendary and claims that he has never seen anyone as skilled with a bow,” Siawn growled.

“I’ve had people tell me so, but I am willing to let you test those skills,” I replied.

“How about right now?” he grunted. Jack scurried off to the Manor House and got my Welsh bow and a new silk bowstring.

Davis examined the bow and rendered his verdict “Poor workmanship--probably English made,” he almost spat.

“Which is why I asked Daned to see if he could find Welsh bowyers who actually knew what they were doing,” I replied casually as I strung my bow, completely ignoring their dirty looks.

Once we got to the butts, Siawn took a charred stick and made a black mark the size of a fist on a target where the heart would be, then stepped back two feet and motioned to the mark. I shook my head and pointed farther away. Fifty yards farther, he stopped and looked at me. I motioned him farther away much more emphatically and caught Daned’s smirk out of the corner of my eye. I could tell Siawn was getting upset, thinking that I was stalling, so I agreed on a tree at about five hundred yards. It was actually a bit more difficult than it looked since I had to avoid an overhanging branch. I also chuckled inwardly when Siawn backed off more than the original two feet. I motioned him closer to the tree and saw his reticence, but he complied. After a quick check of the wind through the trees I nocked my arrow, aimed, and let it fly.

Davis gasped when the arrow hit the black mark dead center. The way Siawn’s mouth dropped open I’m sure he did, too. Daned just laughed. “Now, perhaps, you will believe me and stop telling me I’ve been around the English too long,” he taunted Davis.

“Milord, I apologize for my offensive words and attitude. I appear to have greatly underestimated your skill,” Davis said, bowing deeply.

“No offense was taken, and I understand your distrust. Hopefully, you will allow me to gain your trust and earn your respect for reasons beyond my archery prowess,” I answered.

“Considering that Daned’s description of your prowess with a bow was possibly even understated, I have no reason to doubt further the other things he told us about you. We would be proud to work for you. How many bowyers are you interested in?” Siawn asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not afraid to admit my ignorance about what is required to make an exceptional bow. I know I would like to be able to arm five thousand archers with Welsh bows as quickly as possible. I foresee a further demand after that when the advantage they give us is noticed and others want to obtain the bows, most notably King Edward.”

The two men looked silently at each other for a few moments before Siawn turned to back to me. “Would you have enough food for nineteen families?” he asked.

“If not, I will buy it,” I answered.

He and Davis shared another look for several moments. “We will return home and gather our extended family. There were nineteen families that agreed to come here if we were satisfied,” Siawn explained.

“There might be a few more families willing to join us,” Davis warned. I told them to bring everyone who wanted to come and gave them £250 to buy sturdy wagons and anything they needed to make the move. The men were stunned. I also instructed them to buy any foodstuffs they found at a reasonable price or ones they enjoyed that weren’t readily available here.

The day after they left, I began the executions of the men involved in the planned rebellion. Each of my advisors had recommended a public hanging at noon in the marketplace. Every day for a week, except Sunday, ten participants were hanged. They were also publicly flogged the afternoon before they were to be hanged. In the privacy of the cells, several of the women even got a chance to pay back abusive husbands the night before they were hanged, and no small number of the men walked awkwardly on the way to the gallows.

Claire arrived with her father that week. Even after Margaret, Gemma, and Abby spoke privately with her to explain the sudden addition of so many women to my bed, she still wanted to marry me. She asked if I would take her hunting so she could show me that she was now able to manage away from the Manor House. She, her father, and I spent most of the next day hunting and she bagged a rabbit with her crossbow. I took down a small boar and Baron Ryland got a small buck. I knew even before we left to hunt that she had changed when she came out in pants instead of a dress. She blushed when she caught me looking at her legs. She also squealed and gave me a very unladylike kiss before we returned when I agreed to marry her. Baron Ryland was almost as happy as his daughter was. She rode next to me as close as she could all the way back to the Manor and was disappointed that she had to return home the next day to prepare for our wedding in two weeks.

Two days before the executions of the first group were finished the rest of the prisoners from London arrived. I asked the female slaves if any would volunteer to act as spies in the dungeon the way Jeffrey’s wife had done for them. Every one of them held her in the highest regard since she was personally responsible for their continuing existence. For her bravery, I had let her remain a freewoman even though her husband had been publicly whipped, and became a serf. Six of the women volunteered. I’d been concerned that I might not get even one.

Two days after we finished the executions of the traitorous nobles from Yorkshire, twenty-four families arrived from Wales. Siawn carefully handed me back £133 and started explaining how they had spent the rest. I asked him to only explain the main items, so he showed me over twelve hundred bows they had purchased as well as five hundred sheaves of arrows. The group had already owned several wagons, but still bought half of the wagons they used to carry their belongings. They filled many of the others with grain, dried and salted fish, dried fruits, and other foods they bought along the way to help feed so many new people. They even had three wagons loaded with wild elm they had gathered on the way here. After their arrival, we had three groups out constantly, scouring Yorkshire and Lancashire, gathering, and purchasing wild elm. We tried not to cut down everything close to Lancaster and even purchased green wild elm boughs from neighboring shires.

The new families were happy that we had enough empty cottages for everyone. The construction I ordered had continued nonstop ever since the first loads of rock had been gathered and the first load of slate had arrived. The weather seemed to be cooperating with us; the rain was light and infrequent; the snow nonexistent this winter. Aside from getting so much building accomplished, Godwin took advantage of the mild weather and had several more fields cleared and plowed before the ground froze. Even the rocks cleared from those new fields ended up as a part of someone’s new home.

The executions of the York women who were involved were conducted quietly in the dungeon, but not before I let any of my men who were interested have their own fun with them. Only nineteen had been involved with or agreed with the attacks. Unfortunately, between the wives and adult daughters who weren’t involved, I now had one hundred sixty female slaves to deal with. I ended up catching a few during the day, finding somewhere fairly private and fucking them throughout the day. We were caught a few times but usually by other slaves who understood. Occasionally, one or more of my troops would catch us, but quickly turned away and left.