[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (27 page)

Alan gave a small sigh on hearing the loss of his friend, one of the few remaining influential Englishmen and who, as confirmed by his actions, had been loyal to his oath to the
new
king. “So we’re likely to be having the Irish continue to raid the west coast,” he commented.

“
T
hat won’t affect us much up here,” replied Warren. “They’re unlikely to go up the Wye past Gloucester.”

The bulk of Alan’s men
departed
east several days later, one of the three carts
previously
brought
west w
ith them returning under escort carrying the armour and heavier equipment. Thirty of the archers and infantrymen
now
rode ponies, and the twenty Wolves rode their chargers. To avoid attention they split into four groups, one of which included the wagon. Three groups were o
n
horse
back
and one o
n
foot. No danger was expected but they took to the road with weapons handy.

Alan spent another week checking the progress of training of the fyrdmen and was well satisfied with the work that Robert, Warren, Leofwin
e
and Ledmer had achieved
,
and was confident that if the occasion arose that his men would be equal to the challenge. He also spent time visiting each of the manors, talking to the head-cheorls at Monnington, Bobury, Staunton and Norton Canon, visiting each to inspect the repair of damage from the Welsh invasion the previous summer and how the c
urrent harvest was progressing.

The grain was standing high and thick and, absent any heavy rain or high winds, the harvest promised to be good. As most of the livestock that had been stolen had been replaced when Alan
had
in his turn raided the Welsh, full granaries would restore his manors to relative affluence
-
although most of the re
mainder
of western Herefordshire would not be so lucky and shortage of livestock and grain would continue to cause hunger in most of the shire during the coming year.
The suffering of the other villages on the border meant that Alan’s manors would receive a high price for any produce
they
sold.
The fishery at Bobury had been repaired and dried fish were being sold to the merchants in Hereford. The repairs to the water-mill at Monnington would be completed in time for it to be used for grinding grain after the harvest.

Satisfied that all was as well as could be, Alan rode east for home with Edric
, the
six remaining
Wolves
and his servant Leof.

As he rode past the fortifications and through the gate at Thorrington Hall Alan felt conflicting emotions.
He was g
lad to be home, but heavy-hearted that four men who had ridden out with him did not ride back. Three would not be returning, and the fourth was
now
a cripple who would return when fit enough to travel. The men had been young and only one was married, with one child. Alan didn’t look forward to visiting the widow and telling her the lie that her man had died painlessly and easily, for he had died screaming in agony and trying to push slippery entrails back in place after he had been disemboweled by a spear. At least the men who had
returned
the
previous
week had brought the news and Alan didn’t have to watch a welcoming face turn to fear at the absence of a loved one. The widow would be given employment in the Hall kitchen, at least until she found herself another man
-
and longer still if she wished. Hugh had
already
trained
a reserve of
additional men and the Wolf troop would be brought back to strength by the end of tomorrow, although they would need to train together for several weeks to build th
e
instinctive movement and trust that is needed in battle.

For the four miles from Wivenhoe to Thorrington their passage had been welcomed with smiles and waves from the workers in the fields and the villagers. The manors were abuzz with activity. Alan had timed his return so as to be
present
for Midsummer Day
on
24
th
June
,
in three days time. Apart from being a Feast Day dedicated to St John the Baptist it was a day when the manor lord was expected to provide food and drink for all. It was also a Quarter Day when rent and taxes were due
, and a traditional festival for all the people
.

The folk of the Hall, both those who dwelled there
in
and those who came daily from the village, were gathered in the forecourt, warned of his approach by word racing ahead of his arrival. In the front row were Anne, now significantly larger of bell
y, Osmund the clerk, Faran the s
teward and Brother Wacian the priest. Behind were Otha the cook, wiping her hands on her apron, Teon the stablemaster, Brand the huscarle and half a dozen of the lesser servants and maids. Alan dismounted, handing the
rein
s to a
stable boy
who led the
charger
away to be rubbed down, fed and watered, and took several stiff steps towards his wife. He bent to embrace and kiss her
,
then with his arm around her shoulders he greeted the others and they entered the Hall. It was only mid-afternoon as Alan and his men had taken a fairly leisurely three days to ride from Staunton.

At the table in the Hall, while eating a small repast of bread, butter and cheese, Alan and Edric gave a brief account of the time in Wales. Brand and
Ainulf sought details, but Alan put them off by saying that he’d have a more detailed discussion another day with
the two Englishmen
, together with
Hugh and Roger. Alan gave the servants instructions to ensure that the water in the bath-house was hot.

No wanting to put off something unpleasant, Alan, Edric and Anne walked to the small but neat village cottage where Lufian, the wife of the dead soldier Leng, lived with her baby daughter. The young woman was quiet and sad but resigned to her situation. Anne had already visited her and offered a position at the Hall when
the
news had been received the week before.
Lufian and her child would not want for food or shelter.

Once b
ack at the Hall in the late afternoon Alan and Anne soaked in the bathwater piped in from a nearby spring and heated by the fires in the kitchen. The bath was a tun barrel cut in half, with steps and several internal benches set at different heights, and
now
held warm water. Both stretched in pleasure as the
hot water
loosened sore back muscles, and in Alan’s case shoulders and legs. Alan had a jug of fine Bordeaux and a cup on the floor next to him. The sight of the water lapping at his wife’s breasts soon made him forget most of his aches and he took her into his arms.

As a result dinner was eaten somewhat late. Being a Saturday there were no dietary restrictions and Otha the cook had gone out of her way to create a series of dishes to tempt the palates of those who had eaten roughly-cooked meals for nigh on a month. A thick and creamy chicken and leek soup was followed by boiled beef with green garlic sauce, quails braised in white wine, grilled honeyed pork chops with ginger, three types of vegetables-
carrot
, peas and beans- carefully cooked and spiced, apple pie with thickened cream and the piquant cheeses that Alan favoured- Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Neufchatel, Parmigiano and Romano. All were accompanied by fresh bread and fresh
ly
-
churned butter, and ale, wine, herb tea or fruit juice according to taste and inclination.

The returned soldiers and their families attended Mass the next day en masse, the service being held in the Old Hall due to occasional showers sweeping in from the sea and the size of the congregation being too large for the small wooden church.
The Tithe Barn was often used in such instances but was currently unavailable due to the quantity of goods gathered for payment of taxes, rents and tithes.
Brother Wacian gave thanks for those returning safely and
said
prayers for the souls of the three
men
who would not return.

Alan, Anne and the household attended Mass again on Tuesday, Midsummer Day and the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.
On this occasion
the congregation squeezed into the small church.
Following the service, a
s the smoke from the cattle, swine and sheep roasting over open fires and the steam of boiling cauldrons containing joints of the same animals drifted past, Alan discussed with Brother Wacian and head-cheorl Toland whether a larger church should be considered, and the expense and difficulty of using stone. The matter was left unresolved for further discussion by the village
moot
.

Faran and Osmund were
kept
busy collecting and recording the rent and taxes, the latter then
dispatched
to Colchester under guard, partly in cash and partly in kind
- mainly sacks of grain or salt.

Anne’s business manager
Jacob the Jew
arrived
from London as
previously
instructed several days later. He and Anne were closeted together for
two
days as Anne checked through the books and ledgers
,
carefully calculating profit margins, examining alternative suppliers and trying to anticipate market trends based on the information that Jacob drew from his large network. Alan spent some time listening in and was interested to hear that trouble was expected from the Danes resuming raiding in the autumn, King Swein
of Denmark
having given
his
permission for this
activity
. This would impact the voyages of the s
hips
Birgitta
and
Stormsvale
between Ipswich, Norway, the Netherlands and London, the two ships effectively running a shuttle service back and forth to their respective trading ports every two weeks.
Zeelandt’s
very profitable but longer and less frequent voyages to Aquitaine wouldn’t be affected.

“And what do you intend to do about the northern voyages? Do you intend to halt them, based on this information?” asked Alan.

Anne sighed and replied
,
“It’s all a hypothetical risk at the moment. As far as I’m aware there’s been no increase in attacks on merchant ships
- yet
. Each voyage brings in more in profit than the ship
itself
is worth. I don’t see any reason to halt the trading based on rumour and s
peculation
. We’ll consider the information and warn the crews to be more careful. If and when the risk eventuates
we
can review the policy. There are a number of ships trading on these routes, so it’s unlikely the first attacks will be on our ships.”

“We could put some trained soldiers and ballistae on the cogs so they can protect themselves, as we did with
Zeeland
,
” suggested Alan.

“We’ll wait and see,” replied Anne with finality
in her procrastination
, before turning back to the Jew. “Anything else?”

“Yes, my lady. There is the issue of the outstanding loans,” said Jacob, pulling out a ledger from amongst a pile of others. “You made
twenty-three loans to thegns, interest-
free
for a period of
twelve
months
.
”
H
ere his face took on a slightly pained expression
at such largess
. “Th
at
was so that they could pay the Redemption Heriot charged by King William on all English landholders to retain their land. The money was due
six
months ago.
Of the loans, nine
have
been
paid in full. As instructed by you, I gave the others an additional
six
month grace period and warned them clearly that their land would be forfeit if they did not pay. Ten have made part payment, not less than one-third of the due amount. Four have paid nothing, despite being given a
nother
reminder a month ago. Under the terms of the agreements you could foreclose on all of the fourteen
manors
and seize their lands for your own.”

“What do you think, Alan?” asked Anne.

“It’s your money. You made the loans and it’s your decision,” replied Alan. “As they’re not paying interest, there’s little reason for them to reduce what they owe. They risk losing the land, but maybe they’re gambling you won’t foreclose. Maybe they simply can’t pay, in which case they should never have made the arrangement.” He paused and then asked Jacob
,
“What interest rate would the Jews have charged had they made the loans?”