Part 1 (2/2)
Then Count La with four others, with Sir Conrad to the vast lands awarded hiave all five ladies positions of considerable importance, and it is his custoly encouraged, but that each , or even not marry at all
My love Krystyana has never looked kindly on ether-for she es the kitchens that feed Sir Conrad's nine hundred people, and I must account for every penny spent-she treatshave I been convinced that could she but lay by ht, her love would come to me Yet I see no way that this could happen
Today at Count Lambert's town of Okoitz, Annastashi+a-one of Sir Conrad's five ladies-was ht Sir Vladi the bride away and all the ladies crying But Krystyana's thoughts were plain on her face, and I knew that she would not be content to ht, Sir Conrad
So I hile hope dwindles
FROM THE DIARY OF CONRAD SCHWARTZ
The evening after my Trial by Combat, I was annoyed to discover that my loyal carpenters were so convinced that I would lose and be killed that they hadmasons had cut me a fine tombstone Now they wanted s! I ranted for a while about their lack of faith Then I rejected s should be stuffed, deciding that the ht didn't deserve any special favors froular chest, without anything overtly morbid about it, so I told the clothes
We threay the stone, and much later I found it used as an outdoor table, with my na
I was also ainst ht Sir Adolf One of the to do After all, if I won, they knew that their futures were secure, but if I lost, they would each need every penny just to survive! It still left a bad taste in my mouth
I was able to talk to the Bishop of Wroclaw just before he returned to his cathedral He was actually in the saddle when he granted me an audience
”Your excellency, I now have a city of over nine hundred souls without a full-time priest But I don't want just any priest I want aan entire school systeet such a scholar?”
”That's interesting, ot a letter fro for just such a position I shall write him im an intelligent Italian in the diocese”
He gaveto kiss, and rode off before I could reply I had to wait for someone to come all the way from Italy? That could take a year!
Sir Stefan and his father, the baron, were leaving at the sa last winter over a disagrees had caused friction between us, and theI did see to get him off my back As he left, he bit his thumb at me in insult
”It's not over, Conrad!” he shouted
Christmas at Okoitz was as raucous as it had been the year before With my people there as well as Count Lambert's and the workers froh to hold us all They cleared the dyeing vats, washi+ng tubs, and other equipment out of the first floor of the cloth factory, and we held the affair there
Along with Count Lambert and myself, Sir Vladimir, his two brothers, two of his sisters and all of their husbands and wives, plus his parents sat at the high table along with the priest and the priest's beautiful wife Added to these wereladies and Count La to cut down) Thus twenty-four nobles were available for the peasants and workers to take out a year's aggressions on You'd think that the pranks would have been spread around a bit ht the brunt of it
At least this year I knehat to expect, and could psych myself up to play the clown before I had to do it
They selected a King of Misrule by passing out bread rolls with a bean in one of them As luck would have it, the bean came to one of e trees to cut them off so that the trees could be felled The topmen were all extroverted Yahoos, and I had not been polite to them lately
The Queen of Misrule fell to one of the clothworkers, a re woman who at least looked the part
I won't bore you with the buffoonery that went on Count Lambert and I left as soon as possible and retired to his chaets worse every year!” Count La codpiece he had been forced to wear He filled two silver goblets from the silver pitcher on the sideboard and handed one to et rowdier, iven and took a long pull The drink hat I needed, though in fact it retched stuff The lack of glass bottles and decent corks ruined medieval wine pretty quick Most of it was drunk in the year after the grapes were squeezed, and nobody ever considered recording the vintage; wine didn't last long enough to age
”Just wait On so to be done Custom is custom” He sat down on a chest next to a table and motioned me to the one opposite A chessboard was already set up
”Still, my lord, it marks the end of quite a year” I picked up a pawn from each side, shook the theo today was the first tio yesterday you killed that brigand, Sir Rheinburg, who had been infesting o you killed Sir Adolf right here onyour battle with the Crosshts in one year!” He had chosen black and was on variation that I hadhi on what you call a fight By the tiot here, I had been involved in four separate acts of violence” There wasn'tbuthis eyebrow raise at ”four,” I said, ”There was my first run-in with Sir Adolf where he bashed ht on the river at Cracow, Tadaos the boat to murder him You know about the irate creditor on your trail, and the fight with Sir Rheinburg's band of hoodluuild in Cieszyn took out three of the thugs, and against those child molesters, Sir Vladimir and I killed or uess I can't count the incident at the ferry at Cracow last suot a rock on the side of ot ht He had ht It was si was over, and Count La center position
”That last thing you mentioned, this 'rabies victiht, Sir Conrad But think, in about a year you have been in what?-say ten bits of action You forgot your braith Sir Stefan Do you realize that I haven't had the chance to draw my sword in earnest in four years?
And I must spend a third of my time on the road”
”True, my lord, but you always travel in the cooing to do about that daht! Froarb and I'll travel alone! Let the rest follow an hour behind! That ought to get so idly, trying to get your et you killed!” I was being forced into the comers where I couldn't maneuver
”Well, das with silver, and try to hide the fact Word will spread like a covey of scared rabbits!” He took my queen's bishop
”Please, ht in return
”Well, thank you A touching sentiment But a ht with his pawn! Nohy the hell?Oh no!
It was best not to let this run too long ”You never told , my lord” I castled, but I kneas too late
”What? Oh, wonderful! Twenty-nine of your hives caught themselves bees We only harvested six of them, but think! From what you said, that means there must be twenty-nine wild hives out there Add that to the twenty-three I left, and that means fifty-t hives next year, for a total of seventy-five! And every ross of hives next su out of our noses!” He continued his merciless attack
That last siery is entirely too graphic I see things while people are talking The i out of Count Lah his thick moustache Sometimes I wish I was a dull person
”I wish ot to my lands last suross of beehives only gotand rook, but he saw it and blocked
”A pity! Shall I harvest one more ofpawn
”Thank you, my lord, but no You know my customs I always eat the same as my workers Split between nine hundred people, the harvest of one hive would come to about one honey cake each In a few years, we'll have enough to make mead” I was forced to trade a bishop for two pawns
”Mead! I've heard of that My grandfather was said to have loved it But who could afford to drink it now, honey being as rare as it is? I doubt if anyone still knows the way of lancing at the board
”It happens that I've h, and in truth,I'll show your people hohen the ti of alcohol in any foral without a state license In Ae, any adult allons a year, which is a lot One of my dorm brothers was over twenty-one, and-purely in the interest of studying ancient technology-we had produced seven plastic garbage containers of the stuff,the cheapest palatable drink that is easilyhoney wholesale andmead of twelve percent alcohol
”Sir Conrad, I know that I have said this tooBut what if you should die? What if no one else remembers how to make it?”
My position was untenable I saw a forced mate in five moves, and Count La over, acknowledging defeat Count La the board so that I would play black