The Earl's ManChapter 9 free porn video

Both King Edward and his Queen were practically glowing in the morning--as were my wives and me. After breakfast, both Kings and I retired to the main hall to begin sorting out and dealing with the procession of nobles from Normandy and the new territory we just captured. First, however, King Edward gave me the notice pardoning the former Iberian troops and their families, officially removing their designation as slaves and making them freemen. I had scribes make copies and sent to every location where I currently had the Iberian troops stationed, including Lancaster.

There were already fifteen nobles waiting when we arrived downstairs. Those nobles from the captured areas east of the Epte River who hadn’t been involved were turned over to King Philip--sans the majority of their valuables. Those from West of the Epte or from Normandy proper were gathered in small groups. I told them what I had planned, how I expected my nobles to conduct themselves, and what the consequences would be if they didn’t. Then they were given a choice of retaining their lands and the influx of people by agreeing to my terms and swearing an oath of fealty to King Edward, or of returning with their family and personal belongings to Paris with King Philip.

By the end of the three-day session, twenty-five of twenty-nine nobles decided to stay. I temporarily appointed bailiffs to govern in the stead of the four who chose to leave and gave the vacating nobles a week to gather their belongings and leave for Paris. Nobody but immediate family was allowed to leave with them, and they were not to take money or jewels with the exception of one article of jewelry for every female family member and the equivalent of £100. I asked the remaining nobles how many, if any, people I should send them, and if they needed any particular skills.

The seventy-nine bishops didn’t fare nearly as well. Twenty-two refused to abide by my conditions and found themselves bound for Paris the next day via boat--after we searched them for valuables. I was amazed at just how much wealth the twenty-two bishops had collected, but realized it was similar to what the bishops in Paris had tried to smuggle out of the city.

All twelve men who were both bishop and Baron chose to keep the title of Baron and forfeit their position in the church. Even with my regulations that their charges be treated fairly, the men all saw increased wealth in their future due to the sudden growth of Rouen and the influx of people to the other manors, towns, and cities throughout Normandy.

I sent a list of the thirty-four voluntarily vacated positions, and the eight positions forcibly vacated for being involved in the attack on Rouen, to Archbishop Clairvaux.

A list of the four jailed bishops from the area we planned to return to King Philip was sent by courier to the Archbishop of Reims with a demand to have the four men removed from their offices. I told him that we had demolished the cathedral in Beauvais since they had used it as an instrument of war. We would remove everything from the other cathedrals and churches, sending it to Rouen, but would not damage the cathedrals. I would return all clergy who were not involved in the uprising to Paris. To secure the items we removed from the churches and cathedrals, I would require three things.

First, I wanted the letter removing the four men from their office as bishop, priest, or any position in the church. Second, I wanted a letter containing a sworn oath from the Archbishop promising there would be no further trouble from the church in the areas under his jurisdiction. Finally, a payment of £50,000 in coin, ingots of precious metal, and jewels was required as reparations for the attack.

If I received the first two items within three weeks, we would leave the rest of the churches and cathedrals in the areas we captured undamaged. Otherwise, they would meet the same fate as the Cathedral in Beauvais. The remnants of the churches and cathedrals would be added to our growing pile of rocks to be used for new building projects in Rouen. The money could be sent in three monthly payments of £15,000, £15,000, and £20,000. Upon receipt of the final payment, he could come and get the items--which I would store carefully until then. He could also send someone immediately to oversee the storage of the items if he so chose.

All told, we ended up only having to replace eleven nobles. Barons Rand and Bentley both asked to come to Normandy and received the King’s blessing. Rand was made Earl of Eu, which was now part of Normandy. Bentley found himself Earl of Caen, the former capital city of William the Conqueror when he was Duke of Normandy. Rutledge, Radley, and Leigh all ended up as Barons, as would Reyes if he decided to come over.

Two of the former French Barons who decided to stay offered an adult son to fill a position. King Philip agreed that both would be a good choice and they were sent for. One position would probably go to the son of the former Count of Eu, and the final two positions would be filled by distant relatives of the King.

The same day, I received a messenger from the Archbishop of Reims. Our messengers had met on the road and exchanged messages. The Archbishop demanded the immediate return of the imprisoned clergy and the items and money that we had removed from the churches and cathedrals. It would be interesting to see his reaction to my demands. Both Kings had a good chuckle at his demands.

“I think I will enjoy seeing the Archbishop put in his place. He has wielded too much political power for too long,” said King Philip with a wicked grin.

The family of the former Count of Eu finally arrived, as did Duke de Melun, his wife, two sons, and younger daughter. The Duke also escorted King Philip’s Queen. King Philip had sent for her knowing that she would want to be here to see her sister, niece, and nephew.

The Duke and I made peace with each other, a process simplified by the fact that nobody had been injured in the capture of his troops, and the restraint my men had shown when they proceeded to take everything I instructed them to take. King Philip and Antoinette both assured him that nobody from Melun had been mistreated.

Adrienne, the Countess of Eu, and her daughter Renee were nervous wrecks when they arrived. Despite continued assurances to the contrary by Rand’s men, both were sure they were coming to Rouen to face execution. Even the fact that my troops had packed and transported their personal belongings did nothing to allay their fears. When they arrived, King Philip and his wife spent part of the afternoon with them in my study, reassuring them they were in no danger, and explaining the agreed upon arrangements.

Finally assured that they truly were safe, the two women took some time to compose and freshen themselves before presenting themselves to their husbands-to-be. King Edward and his Queen needed no introductions, having met the Countess several times over the years.

Both Adrienne and Renee checked me out carefully when King Philip introduced me. “Personally, I think you are getting the better deal,” King Philip told Renee, grinning at King Edward and his mock indignation at the comment.

Renee blushed when I took her hand, and marveled as I introduced my wives. I noted her trying to count them as I rattled off their names. When they took off with her, giggling, to get to know her better Adrienne commented, “I have never known a man to have so many wives, and the few men I know of with two were usually busy settling arguments between them. Yet your wives seem genuinely happy.”

“They are genuinely happy, as your daughter will soon be,” the Queen interjected. “It was because I found out how happy they really are and how they manage to stay happy, that I suggested my husband accept you as his second wife,” she continued.

“This was your idea?” Adrienne asked incredulously. When the Queen nodded, Adrienne curtsied. “Then I owe you a debt of gratitude,” she told the Queen.

She was surprised when the Queen pulled her back up and hugged her since touching the King or Queen was forbidden unless they initiated it--and they rarely did. “From now on, we will be sisters, co-wives of equal status both in private and in public,” she told Adrienne as she put an arm around her waist. “Does that meet with our husband’s approval?” the Queen asked. Not quite sure what to make of the situation, King Edward wisely voiced his agreement as he looked to me, near panic in his eyes.

On the way to the Manor Hall to perform the fealty ceremony for Jean, the son, the Queen kept Adrienne wedged between her and the King, pulling his arm around Adrienne’s waist like hers was. Once the ceremony was over, the Queen and Adrienne disappeared to get to know each other better. I wondered quietly just how well they would get to know each other this evening.

King Edward managed to get me alone for a short time. “You may consider yourself my official advisor on how to deal with two wives,” he chuckled.

“It’s extremely simple,” I told him. “Just do exactly what they tell you to do and everything will be fine. Leave it to them to figure out the finer points of the relationship, but I sense that the Queen doesn’t intend to stand on formality by requiring your second wife to follow her in public. I’m sure you’ve noticed my wives just do whatever they want in public. Only in formal situations do they bother with the formal requirement of entering in their order of marriage--and then it’s only for the sake of decorum.

“Otherwise, when they reach a door, it’s just as likely to be Gisela who enters first as it is Margaret. The others all show Margaret respect in their own way, and in turn, she shows each of them respect by not flaunting her position. Like the Queen said, in many ways, they’re like sisters, and Margaret is simply the eldest sister.”

“So you put them in charge of the relationship and do whatever they want?” he clarified.

“I do. They appreciate being able to do things like wear men’s pants, ride a horse like a man, and help with planning and overseeing the daily functions of our lands. In return, they make sure never to do anything in front of a peer or superior to embarrass me. Plus, they keep me as happy as I make them,” I offered suggestively. “Just follow their lead, no matter how surprising or shocking it is, and I promise you will be a very happy husband and King. You might even get your first surprise tonight,” I commented, wondering if Adrienne would spend the night before the wedding in their bed as Antoinette had ours for the last few days.

She did, and I could tell by the way the three of them acted in the morning that the Queen had been a quick study during the afternoon she spent with Grace and Rachel. “The women in His Majesty’s life seem quite happy this morning,” I teased him quietly.

“And I now understand why your wives are always so happy. I will have to find a way to thank them for being so honest with my wife about their relationship as well as the instruction they provided her,” he whispered back.

That afternoon, King Philip, his Queen, the visiting nobles, newly appointed nobles, and hundreds of ordinary citizens packed the cathedral. The new Archbishop of Rouen performed the marriage of King Edward to the Countess of Eu, and then performed the marriages of Antoinette, Renee, and me. The undercurrent of excitement, which had been building in the city since shortly after my return from Paris, exploded afterwards into a citywide celebration, pockets of which lasted well past noon the next day. The King and his two queens held their own all-night celebration. My wives carried on all night, too, but I had to watch from the sidelines much of the night so as not to re-aggravate my injury. I finally fell asleep snuggled between my two newest wives.

When everyone finally woke up in the morning, preparations were being made for the departure of both Monarchs. King Philip left first with King Edward sailing later to miss the evening tidal flow as it roiled upriver. Before leaving, he signed documents designating all family members of the nobles involved in the attack as my personal slaves, and an execution order for Leffingwell, to be carried out within a week.

The next day I finally managed to get on my horse again. I made the rounds of the city to see the many projects I had underway. All around the city, there was evidence of the work being planned or done. There were piles of stone, trenches for footings, men laying out roads to the proposed sites of gates in the far wall we would build, scaffolding, cranes, and ladders being built, workers swarming over the current city walls making the changes I wanted, and thousands of tents housing the people we had brought here. In addition, there were already new streets being laid out to the north, west, and east. Aside from the large stone buildings being started to help house the influx of citizens this winter, there were hundreds of wattle and daub buildings going up to provide more immediate shelter should the weather turn cold.

The last of the people from Paris finally arrived, with the last of my troops from Paris accompanying them. Most of the troops in Paris had gone to meet Rand to assist as he evacuated the manors belonging to nobles and towns serviced by the clergy who had been involved. They had started in the area we would return to King Philip. Many of the wagons here that we had confiscated in Paris had departed empty to assist Rand. Full wagons from there had already began rolling in with families, their belongings, stone, and food. Evidently, the crops were ready to harvest, and Rand was having them harvested and brought here. I wondered what he thought when my messenger told him he would be the new Earl of Eu.

Leffingwell’s troops were paid their due and sent home. Five hundred of my troops also returned home to gather their families. Every week, another group went home for a two-week leave to gather their families and then to return. The few troops who chose to stay in Lancaster would be among the last to leave, after the others were back to replace them.

As a reward for their service, each of my men received a dispensation allowing him to take another wife--assuming their first wife agreed. The additional wife didn’t have to be a widow or former personal slave of mine. The men who made the stealthy raid into Paris while the burning ships distracted the French troops each received a promotion, too.

Henry Rolt, Dorothy’s brother, had not only participated in the raid, but led the raid since it was his idea. I had given him permission to join my troops and he excelled. When I began an elite group called the Hunters, he was one of the first to begin training. Well more than half of my troops initially began the rigorous training, and to date not quite three hundred have qualified. Each member must prove themselves an outstanding archer, swordsman, and rider. In addition, they had to track and then creep within thirty feet of a deer, and show prowess with a knife.

Adam declined my offer to serve with my troops, but loved taking them out and teaching them hunting and tracking skills. He also gave them a better understanding of forests and meadows--as well as constantly repeating to each group of trainees the story of my muddy crawl across the open field. In Lancashire and Yorkshire, the Hunter’s insignia of a stag head on a black background sewn on the breast of their uniforms brought more esteem than anything but a title of nobility. For his great idea and the fact that the men were willing to follow him into Paris in the dangerous attack, I promoted Henry to captain of the Hunters.

With Leffingwell’s troops gone, his execution was carried out quietly in the dungeon, witnessed only by the twenty-five prisoners involved in the attack against us. Afterwards, we returned each to their own cell so they couldn’t collaborate to concoct a story to tell me when I started questioning them.

I rode through the camp of new arrivals today to make sure they had everything they needed. Eventually I found the unofficial leaders of the refugees and formally assigned them the task of choosing groups to send to the other nobles throughout Normandy. After making sure someone could read it, I gave them a list of how many people each noble requested, as well as any specific skills he needed. I suggested they first talk with Mayor Bayard to see what and who he wanted kept here. I figured that while talking to him, they would get his perspective on working for me which might help ease their nerves.

Eduardo Reyes and his wife Camilla arrived that afternoon excited by their pardon as slaves and about the prospect of him becoming a Baron--although he made sure we knew that he harbored no desire to progress much beyond that. When he learned that he would be the new Baron of Caux, he immediately asked for and got permission to start a new city, instead. On the way here, he’d seen what he considered an excellent spot for a new city at the tip of the peninsula on the north shore of the Bay of the Seine. He felt it would be an excellent position for a port, one able to support a sizeable fishing fleet, as well as guarding the entrance to the Seine. I suggested New Aragon or New Barcelona as city names. With tears of emotion in his eyes, he chose New Aragon.

At the urging of Bayard, the original Rouennaise troops I had sent to York to keep them out of our way were returned to their families and to their positions as troops in Rouen if they wanted. Most accepted, but a few chose to leave Rouen and Normandy. The former Duke of Normandy was returned to Paris, along with his wife, sons, and daughters.

I was quite pleased with the way things were progressing. As new refugees arrived, they were re-directed elsewhere or assigned work here. The castle wall remodel was nearly halfway done and new grain silos were sprouting up seemingly every day. Five were complete or almost complete, and five more were well underway. The wheat from the first manor that Rand had stripped was already in one; oats, corn, barley, and rye were in the others.

Everywhere I looked, people were bustling about. The newcomers seemed to be calming down, realizing we would care for them, and the original inhabitants of the city always seemed in a good mood. A few came up to me each day with a question or minor issue. The issues were so minor that I had the distinct feeling they were mainly testing me to see how I reacted.

Eight days after sending my ultimatum to the Archbishop of Reims, a scout rushed in with word that the Archbishop would arrive shortly. I sent word to Archbishop Clairvaux.

My first impression of the Archbishop of Reims was not favorable. I pegged him as a pompous, self-indulgent, strutting peacock. Gilded with gold, his coach seemed intended to beg highwaymen to stop it. The uniforms of his small cadre of guards were so fancy that I wondered about their ability to fight effectively.

Having witnessed his arrival, I retired to the Great Hall to await him. Had he been less pretentious, I would have waited and greeted him in the courtyard. Now I intended to take him down a few notches.

He was stunned when my guards only referred to him as “the Archbishop of Reims” when they announced him, refusing any of the more elegant superlatives he expected. The battle of wills began as he approached, expecting me to bow to him since he was a religious leader. He forgot that he wasn’t the leader of my church. Finally, he grudgingly made a tiny motion, which could almost be considered a bow, and I motioned for him to approach.

His list of demands had grown from the previous list and I listened patiently. When he finished ranting, I motioned to one of my pages. “Send a message to Rand telling him to destroy the biggest church or Cathedral in whatever town or manor he is currently in and send the stone here for us to use,” I said calmly.

The Archbishop exploded, sputtering and warning me of the dire consequences in the afterlife for my actions as the page left to carry out my orders. I sat calmly, watching him make an ass out of himself until he simply ran out of steam. In the silence, he stood there sheepishly, unsure of what to say or do.

“Are you quite finished?” I asked sarcastically.

“Yes,” he answered curtly, glowering at me.

“Do you intend to remove the four men from their office of bishop?” I asked.

“I will not,” he answered defiantly.

I stood and motioned the other page over. “Tell Rand to destroy every building owned by the Catholic Church in the captured area and have the stone sent here to build with,” I ordered as I stood and strode from the room.

“Please escort the Archbishop back to his carriage and then out of the city,” I told the guards at the door as I left, leaving him standing nearly alone in the room, teeth and fists clenched in rage.

I went to find my kids since I hadn’t seen much of them lately. A short time later, a messenger came and told me the Archbishop was willing to sign the documents I wanted. “Good, have him sign them and then bring them here to me,” I instructed the messenger. It took quite a while before he showed back up. I was in the middle of helping my wives feed the little ones--well, the ones not still completely attached to their mother for meals.

I let the Archbishop cool his heels for little longer until John finally decided he’d had enough. Only then did I turn my attention to the fuming Archbishop and read the documents he signed and had brought to me. Satisfied, I dispatched one of the guards to counter the orders I just issued a while ago. Prior to the arrival of the Archbishop, I warned everyone in the hall not to do anything I said unless I added “immediately.” They were, however, to act just like they were doing it, including going to find a messenger to dispatch just for show.

“I would like to see everything that was removed from the cathedrals,” he said in a tone and manner meant to make you feel as if you were someone beneath his position.

“No. You came to my home, yelled at me, spoke to me as if I was a commoner, and challenged me in front of my men. For that, you may not see them.”

“I won’t pay £50,000 unless I see them,” he challenged.

“First, your rude behavior has caused the price to go up to £80,000 plus your carriage. Secondly, you will have to take the word of Archbishop Clairvaux or one of your guards about the condition of everything. Of course, I’m sure the Anglican bishops would love to have everything to adorn their cathedrals,” I taunted.

“How can I afford £80,000? The poor in the parishes will suffer this winter,” he whined. I was impressed--he could actually sound like he cared.

“Send me your widows, your orphans, and your indigent. I will gladly see that their needs are met. In addition to food, shelter, and clothing, we will provide husbands for the widows, parents for the orphans, and jobs for the poor.”

“How am I supposed to get home if I leave you my carriage?”

“If you leave a guard here to look after everything we have in storage, there will be an extra horse you can ride,” I answered coolly.

“Fine, £80,000 and my carriage,” he huffed, almost glaring at me. “I will leave Jacques to watch everything,” he said, motioning to one of his men who bowed in acceptance. “Since I have agreed to your terms, might I be allowed to at least stand in the open door and look inside the warehouse?” he asked, almost sounding desperate to verify that we really had saved everything.

“Since you asked politely, I will accompany you there myself and let you look,” I answered. After hugging the kids and kissing my wives, we took our leave and rode over to the large warehouse. It was nearly impossible not to laugh at the Archbishop as he rode over on a horse. I could only guess that it had been years since he had ridden a horse, and I had to stifle laughter every time I thought about him riding back to Reims. His ass would hurt for a week--at least.

My two guards at the warehouse handed me the book listing each church and what we had brought here from that church. It also listed which section of the warehouse it was in, which row, and the item number we had assigned to it. When I let the Archbishop see it, he hurriedly skimmed through to the pages with the items from the cathedral in Beauvais. He quickly found what he was looking for and his finger halted at the entry, “1 large leather-bound and illustrated bible with gilded edges.” A deep breath of relief escaped his lips.

“If you wish, I will have the men bring the bible out and you may take it with you as a good-faith gesture,” I told him.

“I would appreciate that very much,” he said excitedly. I went in with one of the guards to get the bible. In reality, I wanted to see what was so special about this bible. I thought there might be a hiding place for money or jewels in the book, so I leafed through it quickly. It was an impressive book, nearly two feet by three feet and a foot thick. The most impressive thing, though, was a single, handwritten note on a separate sheet near the back of the book. In two columns was a list of the names of every noble and member of the clergy in northern France. They were listed either in a column supporting King Philip or supporting the Church. The list also had a count of how many troops each noble had at his disposal.

“I’m going to send someone to copy this list. When he’s done, have the book and the original list delivered to the Archbishop and have the copy brought to me,” I quietly told the guard with me.

“I’m afraid they will have to move some of the things to get to the book. I’ll send men over right away to do it, and will have the book delivered to you as soon as they retrieve it,” I explained to the Archbishop when the guard and I got back to the door. Grudgingly he accepted my explanation and offer and left for Archbishop Clairvaux’s residence to spend the night.

“Bring my scribe here immediately and have him copy the list in the back of the bible,” I told one of the men who had arrived with me. “Get twenty more men to help guard the building tonight,” I told another.

A lone guard and I made our way back to the castle. I had left the rest of my entourage to help guard the warehouse. My scribe brought me a copy of the list sometime later. I had him make yet another copy, and sent one to King Philip with a note:

Your Majesty--

Archbishop Breillat arrived in Rouen today and was extremely anxious to get his hands on a specific bible, one we had removed from the Cathedral in Beauvais. While studying the book before letting him see it, I found the list accompanying this document. This is a copy. We copied the list, returning the original to the bible, which we returned to the Archbishop this evening.

I note the names of all involved in the attack against us are on the list as supporting the church, as well as the names of two nobles who gave up their baronies in Normandy and returned to Paris.

Duke Miller

I instructed the messenger to dress like a fisherman, and to go by fishing boat up the Seine just in case we were being watched.

The Archbishop and his entourage left early the next day, leaving Lt. Jacques Boiteaux to supervise the items arriving and being stored. I permanently replaced the guards who had been there last night so they couldn’t accidently slip and let him know anything about us finding the list. I gave the Archbishop a small cart they could pull behind one of their horses to carry his luggage and the bible. He thanked me again for letting him have the bible before they left. I snickered behind his back as they rode away, watching him shift uncomfortably in the saddle.

Pease, my purchasing agent finally caught up with me today, congratulating me on my new acquisition. He had a sword he was sure I would want. “I know how fond you are of innovation and new ideas or improvements,” he said as my guard handed me the strange-looking sword.

It was as long as my father’s sword, but not nearly as wide. Rather than a straight blade, it was curved slightly, but not nearly as much as the swords the Iberian troops preferred. The handle was long enough to grasp with both hands and the entire sword weighed less than half what my father’s did. “It was purchased from a trader in China. It originally came from a small country off the coast of China known as Japan. Even though it’s thinner and lighter, the blade is actually stronger than the ones we use,” he explained.

I was definitely intrigued, enough to pay the £20 he was asking. “Would it be possible to get more of these, or would it be possible to acquire a few of the weaponsmiths who know how to make them? I am willing to pay them handsomely to come here and work for me.”

He agreed to try, and I gave him a £2,000 deposit in addition to paying for all the silk thread he had managed to get this trip.

His next offering was far better. After riding well away from town, he demonstrated a powder that had been invented in China. It was packed inside a strange wooden tube about six inches long and four inches in diameter; the explosion blew dirt and small rocks a hundred feet away and left me shaking.

“I found a very interesting group of Chinese expatriates in Alexandria. Several families paid to escape China and the advancing Mongols. They didn’t realize that the Mongol Empire had spread clear to the Mediterranean, and were out of money well before they were safe. To save the rest of the family, they sold their older daughters to the caravan master to raise enough money to get them all the way to Damascus.