Chapter 3

Stepping between them, he ran into me and bounced off. “She belongs to me, and you will not touch her,” I growled menacingly.

“She is a runaway slave,” he bellowed to the increasing number of Knights who were showing up.

“Will you swear that?” I asked him.

“I swear an oath that the woman with you is a runaway slave,” he answered angrily.

“Do you know her name?” I asked.

“Hilda,” he answered even more angrily. I noticed the Duke had arrived behind him.

“You just swore an oath that my slave Hilda is a runaway. I swear an oath that I purchased her legally from a slave merchant,” I answered calmly.

“Liar!” he shouted accusingly.

Handing my receipt to Tohrwulf I said, “This is the receipt from when I bought Hilda.” Then I handed him the other receipt the slave merchant gave me. “This is the receipt the slave merchant received when he bought Hilda. Please note the Baron’s signet seal on the receipt. That means the Baron knowingly swore a false oath and called me a liar knowing I told the truth. For that, I challenge him to a duel,” I said.

“Fine, I’ll have my Champion meet you,” he answered flippantly.

“No, you knowingly accused a sworn Knight falsely. That means I can insist that you personally meet the challenge and I do,” I growled at him.

“He is correct,” the Duke finally spoke up, startling the Baron. If anything, the Baron paled further.

“Fine, one hour from now,” he huffed and stormed off.

“I’ll make sure he shows up,” Tohrwulf said, grinning. Several Knights went with him. The Duke had Hilda repeat her accusation.

“I, too, thought it smelled of treachery but had no proof,” he said sadly. He promised to see that the Baroness’ son was returned safely and cared for so Hilda told him where she had left him. Having seen the Baron send one of his men off, I asked the remaining Knights to personally find all of the Baron’s soldiers and make sure they didn’t try anything.

The Baron looked a lot more self-assured an hour later when we met on the Castle grounds where the troops normally practiced with their swords. I noted that two or more Knights escorted each of the soldiers who wore the Baron’s colors.

My initial blow stunned the Baron, almost tearing his sword from his hands. His grip for the next two blows was tighter, but it affected his effectiveness. I saw when he glanced over my left shoulder, his worried look becoming a triumphant smirk.

Realizing that there must still be one archer unescorted, I dove beneath the Baron’s half-hearted swing, my sword leaving a deep gash across his stomach. I heard the impact of the arrow as it hit him right before he toppled. Turning to where the arrow came from, I saw several soldiers wrestling with the archer who was dressed like a peasant.

The Baron was writhing on the ground, moaning. I kicked his sword out of his reach. “I see that your foul deeds have finally caught up with you,” the Duke commented from behind me, startling the crap out of me. I’d been so intent on the Baron that I hadn’t even heard him approach.

“Sir Knight, would you please do the Duchy of Westphalia a favor and see that his body is removed to the middens?” the Duke asked dismissively, then turned and walked away in disgust.

“Gladly, Your Grace,” I replied to his back. The Barons eyes were closed as he continued writhing in pain and he didn’t see my blade descend to end his miserable life. I asked my farm boy squires to follow the Duke’s orders and haul the body to the middens.

“All he said was the body. Anything else, including his fine clothing is yours to share among the squires from town here. I do need to return the signet ring, though,” I whispered to them as I knelt and removed it.

Realizing what I was saying, and looking at the fine clothing he was wearing the boys quickly had a horse saddled and a travois attached. From somewhere, the other of my farm boy squires suddenly appeared and loaded the body on the travois, then set off solemnly for the middens. I was glad they were waiting until they were out of sight to strip the body.

“You continue to amaze me, Sir Edward. Those boys will split more than their family would earn in a year,” Tohrwulf commented.

“And they will share their largesse with their extended families, hopefully keeping any of them from starving for a few years,” I replied.

“Well done,” he said as he slapped my shoulder approvingly. “I definitely insist that you visit Soest. My Earl will want to thank you personally,” he insisted. I promised we would visit after stopping in Dortmund.

That night, after her mother left, Matilda came to me with her friend Gytha, the servant girl who had watched me so intently earlier in the week. Gytha wanted me to be her first, knowing she was now old enough that any number of men from the castle would soon poke and prod her. When we finished, my women taught Gytha how to pleasure Matilda. Surprisingly, Matilda insisted on returning the favor.

We stayed in town until Monday, personally attending church with the Duke, who was also the Archbishop. Each night I serviced the Duchess twice before Matilda stopped by. She laughed about Gytha having trouble walking properly the morning after I deflowered her. Gytha’s mother had been upset, thinking that one of the soldiers had done it, but Gytha assured her mother that she had asked me to do it.

Sunday night, the Duke handed me a pouch. “This is ONLY for dealing with Baron Otto since I know it would be pointless to offer you payment for anything else,” he told me solemnly. He also asked me to accompany the new Baron to his home. I warned that I needed to stop in Dortmund to buy a horse and he was fine with it. He also gave us written permission for Hilda to find the weapons that had been taken from her if she could. The pouch held two hundred Gold Florins, a reasonably new coin from Florence that was becoming widely accepted throughout Europe. Those two hundred coins contained more than a pound and a half of gold.

Gytha returned with Matilda Sunday night for a farewell night of sex, shortly after the Duchess claimed her due and left.

We left shortly after sunrise, a bedraggled Alfwold in our wake. In addition to his six squires, he had two female slaves who cooked his food and cared for his other needs.

Surprisingly, the new Baron Spelling was ready to go with the small retinue of eight soldiers who had accompanied the former Baron. Each of the soldiers thanked me for what I’d done. Evidently, the deceased Baron had not been well liked by anyone but himself.

The Duke had given me a proclamation, allowing me to hunt in any forest in Westphalia and I made good use of it. Each night I returned with a deer or a boar. We jury-rigged two hooks on the back of our travel carriage where we could hang the animals to bleed out during the day. Draca would scavenge what firewood he could find, and would use one of the horses to drag back a dead tree so some of Alfwold’s squires could help cut it up. Each night there was a big fire where the deer or boar was spit roasted. The best parts that remained after we ate ended up in a stew that was left heating all night over the brazier in our travel carriage for breakfast. The rest of the meat went to the dogs, and they ate well. Occasionally, Hilda traded all or part of an animal for more produce.

The Baron had a young female slave to tend to his needs. She also helped with the cooking. I could see that she took a liking to Draca and made a mental note to ask the Baron about possibly buying her when we dropped him off. He evidently didn’t abuse her, as she appeared happy all the time.

The skins from the game I brought back were carefully stretched, cured, and hung from the sides of our travel carriage to dry. When they were done, they were rolled up and stored inside until they were traded or sold in the small towns and villages we passed through. I insisted that we keep the rabbit pelts. They would make warm socks and gloves for us this coming winter.

With the days growing longer, we made good time on the old Roman road. We’d reached Herdecke early the third day and got everyone ferried across the Ruhr River fairly quickly. We arrived in Dortmund just before lunch on the fourth day. Alfwold eagerly introduced us to his father, who had already heard the details from the two Knights who had returned earlier.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t upset at his son for losing the horse, but he was excited that he defeated two other Knights during the Melee a Pied. He also thanked me for taking his son under my wing at the Tourney. He knew his son was weak in the joust, but hoped the horse would change that. Since it didn’t, he wouldn’t pressure his son about it anymore and would accept that he could hold his own with a sword. He even gave me a remarkable price on two destrier mares, letting me buy the pair for only £150. Each one could have gone for £100.

Saturday afternoon, we reached Soest where Tohrwulf and four other Knights greeted me warmly. The Earl thanked me for dealing with the unpleasant Baron Otto, and welcomed Baron Spelling. They had served together previously in the military and were good friends.

After church the next day, our retinue grew as the Earl insisted on accompanying us. Tohrwulf and three other guards came as well. Hell, I almost felt like we were a military force headed to battle. Late that day we reached the Manor House. We slept in the travel coach after the feast while everyone else slept inside the Manor House.

They talked me into staying an extra day, and the Baron bought one of the silk dresses for his wife. The women altered it to fit one of the servants the Baron said was the same size as his wife. Hilda found her two swords and her crossbow in the armory. She asked the swordsmith if he could make “claws” on her Saracen swords at the ends of the quillion. He spent all day on the job, with Hilda standing over his shoulder. I made sure he was well paid for his time and effort. That evening, Hilda was already swinging her old swords, getting used to the feel of them again. Excited about getting them back, well, let’s just say that she rewarded me multiple times, not that I’m complaining.

I also asked the Baron about the girl accompanying him, explaining that Draca seemed to fancy her. He’d seen the attraction, too, and had intended to give her to me. As we were getting ready to leave the next morning, he brought her to me. Draca’s eyes almost popped out of his head.

I spoke with Draca later, explaining that she belonged to me, and I intended to use her occasionally, but I intended her to be primarily with him. She would spend tonight with him, and the first part of tomorrow night with me. After that, she would rejoin him for the rest of the night. I’d always let him know ahead of time if I intended to borrow her for part of the night. I also warned him that he had to get enough sleep and have enough energy left each morning to get his chores done. Since we would be alone again, it fell on him to gather firewood, dig the latrine, care for the dogs, and tend the fire. In addition, he was now helping to drive the extra wagon.

The slave’s name was Aebbe, and I told her the same thing. I also explained what I intended to do tomorrow night. I would make sure that she knew what things a man could do to make sex more enjoyable for her. Once she knew, it would fall to her to teach Draca.

When I was the same age as Draca, my mother had explained that a man who is gentle and considerate of the women in his life will have happier women and hence a happier life. She appointed two of the serving girls, Avril and Gaelle, to make sure I was thoroughly trained. They continued my training right up until I left home, sometimes individually, sometimes both together, and several times they brought another of the girls in with them. They never let me see who the other girl was, but I think it was Sylvie, one of the serving girls training my older brother.

My sleep that night was interrupted frequently as an exuberant Draca seemed intent to fuck every hour on the hour. I had to chuckle quietly to myself, remembering my own first night of sexual excess. I knew Draca would be dragging in the morning but would push himself to make sure he accomplished his assigned tasks. By the time I finished with Aebbe tomorrow night, he’d probably be sound asleep.

Four more days of travel brought us to Brunswick where I found another travel carriage for sale. It was even larger and of heavier construction than the one we used now. I felt we could move into the new carriage and let Draca and Aebbe use the one we had now. The bigger carriage had been used by a salt merchant who bought salt several miles outside of the small town of Verpstedt, which we had passed just this morning. I considered going back to buy salt, but the man I bought the wagon from told me there was another town to the south where we could buy salt.

The women restocked our food, ale, and supplies while I sold several of the gems my Earl had brought over to use to pay for mercenaries. I also asked about the roads leading from town. I realized that we’d been headed northeast since leaving Cologne, rather than due east. This far north would mean much colder winters, something I preferred to avoid.

Eschewing the old Roman road in favor of a well-traveled trade road, we headed southeast towards Magdeburg. Hilda finally asked where we were headed, mostly to offer her knowledge of the area from the many trips she’d taken with her former Mistress. I finally told them everything that evening, and spent most of the night unable to sleep, my mind racing again, and my emotions swinging wildly. When I finally woke up, I realized that it was daylight and we were moving. The women had left me sleeping, breaking camp, and starting the day’s travel as I slept. I made sure to thank them.

Three days of uneventful travel brought us to Magdeburg, one of the biggest cities in the Holy Roman Empire. Here, I sold the rest of the jewels the Earl brought over, getting gold bars, silver bars, and more of the gold Florins. I noticed that we had to buy less coal, even though we now had two carriages to heat. The days and nights were getting warmer and I noticed the plowed fields we passed were mostly green. Even untended ground was covered with a layer of green.

We headed south when we left town, using yet another well-travelled trade road. The afternoon of the third day of travel brought us to the town of Halle. They had small amounts of salt for sale to everyday people. To buy bulk quantities required purchasing just over twelve hundred pounds, what the locals called a Chor. The cost was three hundred Marks, a Mark being the equivalent of eight Troy ounces of silver. I opened the secret compartment of my travel coach and reviewed what we had available. Gratefully, gold held a 30:1 value advantage to silver so the three hundred Marks was the equivalent of eighty Troy ounces of gold, something I definitely had. Taking out what I needed to purchase two Chors of salt, plus a little extra gold (just in case), I closed the compartment.

It took a full day for the villagers to load two Chors of salt. They split the weight evenly between the wagon and two travel carriages.

Two hours after leaving the village the next day, and after attending church in Halle, I was hunting with the Lymer when I heard Hilda’s shrill whistle. Rushing back, I saw her grinning, standing over six bandits. She had been inside cleaning up the carriage when the men attacked, stopping the carriages. Her shrill whistle signaled the two mastiffs into action. The Mastiffs’ attack caused the men’s horses to shy, dislodging three of the riders. Two crossbow bolts from Hilda dealt with two more mounted bowmen. The last man managed to stay on his horse, but carried only a sword. When Hilda bolted from the carriage with her swords, none of the men took her seriously until they had all been disarmed.

We took the men and bodies back to Halle where the villagers were mortified that six of their own would do something like that, doubly so on the Sabbath. By the end of the day, the three men still alive had been heard, and were executed at dawn Monday. Since the men were all single, we were given their horses and weapons.

We reached Leipzig near dusk the next day, making camp a couple of miles outside the city walls in a small copse of trees. When we arrived the next morning, the city gates were already open, and the market sellers were setting out their wares. My women were going from stall to stall perusing the items for sale. I knew they were looking for herbs and spices, as well as fresh vegetables.

After the attack, I was looking for more weapons, specifically short daggers specially designed for a woman to hide in her bodice. I was bumped from the left, and looked down to see a young girl about nine grinning up at me. At the same instant, my belt suddenly got about four pounds lighter on the right side.

Both of my hands shot out, my left hand grabbing the arm of the girl, my right hand reaching back to my right and grabbing whatever I could. Simultaneous squawks of surprise confirmed that I had both culprits. Pulling the one from behind me, I saw what looked to be the girl’s mother. She was trying to switch her knife to the hand I wasn’t gripping. Jerking her roughly into the air, I threw her to the ground in front of me and stepped on the hand with the knife.