An Honourable Estate Read Online Free PDF Page B

was still falling beyond
the window.  All through the springtime she had looked forward to a better
summer than the last.  She had waited for the warm dry days to come and
lift her spirits, but without any change in the weather the summer had come and
gone unnoticed.  The days were becoming darker again and the nights
colder.  God had sent no summer again and she wondered what sins had been
committed that they should all have been so punished.
    “Have you the key to the coffer?” asked William.  “I will
go to count out what we owe ready for tomorrow.”  Mabel unhooked the iron
key from the belt that circled her waist and watched as he went into the
bedchamber where they kept their heavy oak coffer with its valuable contents at
the foot of their bed for safety.  She listened to the chink of the
coinage as he took out what would have to be paid to Holland’s bailiff the next
day, hoping that there would be enough left to buy leather for new boots and
some thick woollen cloth to sew warm cloaks for the girls.
    It was still early when the bailiff arrived.  He was a
surly man, dressed in a hood and mantle that were both darkened by the drizzle,
who appeared to resent having to leave his comfortable hearth.  He rode a
well fed black stallion and was accompanied by around a half a dozen armed
henchmen who looked as if they expected trouble.
    Both Bella and Amelia looked alarmed as this stranger stomped
into the hall.  The dogs appeared to cower and even Calab only gave a
half-hearted growl at the sight of him.
    “Go to help Edith in the kitchen,” said Mabel, ushering her
little daughters towards the door.  “I think she intends to preserve some
fruit today and I daresay she would welcome your help.”
    The man sat down uninvited in William’s chair, took off the
hood to reveal an almost entirely bald head, and pushed the wet cloak from his
shoulders.  Then he pulled a roll of parchment from the large pouch
fastened onto his leather belt and consulted it closely.  In the tense
silence Mabel watched her husband as he stood on the far side of the hearth,
only his restless hands betraying his annoyance at the intrusion.
    “Bradshaw,” said the bailiff at last, his fat finger pausing
above the neatly written figures. “You owe us twenty shillings.” 
    “Surely not?” burst out William, staring at the man as if he
was sure he had misread the amount.  “We paid less than half that last
time, and I have performed knight’s service for the Earl of Lancaster.”
    The bailiff regarded him for a long moment with an enigmatic
expression.  “Times are hard,” he said at length.  “The price of
wheat has more than doubled since last year and so rents and taxes have had to
be increased.”
    “But the king has ordered the price of basic foodstuffs to be
brought down!”  William’s fist met the table as his anger burst out,
though the man didn’t move or even flinch, merely held up a hand to silence
him.
    “Sir William, the king deceives the common people.  The
fruitfulness of living things is in the power of God alone and it is His will,
not the will of man, that must determine the price.  If you are in
financial difficulty then I am sure that some arrangement can be agreed. 
For the payment of a small fee I may be able to negotiate a reduction...”
    William stared at him in silence and Mabel watched as a slow
smile twitched at the man’s lips.  They all knew what he was
offering.  For a sweetener or a bribe he would take what was probably the
correct amount.  Mabel was about to tell the man exactly what she thought
of him, but a glance from William bade her hold her tongue.  And when she
saw him glance towards the door where two of the henchmen were standing guard
she understood why.  Any reluctance to pay would only result in more being
taken by force. 
    The bailiff smiled and gestured to William to sit down. 
“I’m sure we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement,” he said.