Part 22 (1/2)
Maybe it would all work out for the best
”Sir Conrad, just as your objection to one
”It will cause soht the others in his class, and those who graduate from the Warrior's school in the future”
”I don't see the need for that, but if they're all as good at fighting as Piotr apparently is, why not? A good fighter ought to be knighted, and if you're right about the upcoet!”
”True, rant thehts enjoy I don't think that they should have the fight to peasant girls the way your present knights do”
”What?! Sir Conrad, rank hath its privileges! The fight to dalliance with unest ones, and I won't let it be interfered with! Anyway, there are always plenty of eager wenches about”
”My lord, there are plenty of wenches about because at present not one ht If my plans work out, I'll have every man in this part of the country in oing to knight theeant level, that will hts for the rest of their lives, whereas wenches stay unmarried for at most two years If you do the arithhts will outnumber wenches by at least two to one!”
As ht to force a young woman to have sex with him, in fact rape in the usual sense almost never happened There were more volunteers than an ordinaryunly
”Sir Conrad, I don't feel like doing any arithmetic and I don't believe that even you can have every man in the country under ar the beast with two backs, there'll be a new crop of wenches co out shortly”
”But my lord”
”No 'buts' about it! I tell you that I won't have the privilege removed!”
”Yes, my lord What would you think if I forhts only
Then I could have certain rules of the order that would help alleviate the problem”
”Just what rules did you have in hts to wenches to those knights who are already et most of their sex from their wives and the wives would stop ”
”I suppose that I could go along with that Married hters, anyway They're steadier”
”And I don't like this business of getting girls pregnant and then pawning theirls I think that the relationshi+p should be a fairly permanent one, and with the wife's peramy, Sir Conrad”
”Maybe so, my lord, but I think it would be far less cruel than the present syste it because the Church will do that for me Set your order up any way you will, Sir Conrad What I want to talk about is our arrange materials from you to build my new castle, and I am now considerably in your debt I want that debt canceled”
”Done, my lord”
”And I want all future iven e”
”Very well, ave the duke and his son each a set and now I even see Piotr wearing it I want some for myself”
”You shall have it, my lord Two sets, now that we have it in old-plated if you want”
”Gold-plated? What's that?”
”My jeweler and I have coood steel,as steel It doesn't rust, either”
”Then I'll take it! Lastly, ement with Baron Stefan had it that he was to provide hts a year, each for three months You should do the same”
”If you wish, hts otherwise, at the Warrior's school What say that in place of that service, I equip each of your knights with a set of plate armor And in a year, we'll be set up to produce horse arive each of theenerous, Sir Conrad Throw in two sets of this horse arold, and we'll call it done”
”Then done it is, my lord”
”Good We'll swear our oaths at sunrise tomorrow For now, I think supper should be ready”
FROM THE DIARY OF PIOTR KULCZYNSKI
My father was astounded at ood fortune, and soon took me around to all his friends in the town to show me off My old playmates looked at me with awe and two of the town bullies, who had once roveled before me
My mother, however, was much less than pleased
She ht and cried for a long while as though I was going off iument and I was happy to have the excuse of the count's supper to get out of there Already I was beginning to realize that these good people were now far below me
Supper was served for our food and drink to us
Fortunately, this situation ell covered in the lessons that Lady Richeza taught us, so I coaucherie
All of the wenches, or ” were anxious forat me Perhaps I should have expected this, for I had heard es of one of Count Lahts, yet I had so the recipient of these feminine favors
In truth, I didn't kno one went about accepting their offers, for it was a topic that Lady Richeza had never mentioned! But I had heard that when in doubt, it was alise to ask direction froe lord, so I asked Sir Conrad
”Well, personally, I've always let the girls decide that for themselves, and so far I've never been disappointed But if there's one that you particularly favor, you have but to ask her In fact, you have the right to order any unmarried peasant woman in Count Lambert's do too often It , because you'll be hard enough pressed just taking care of the volunteers!”
I had of course been studying the serving girls aited on us, and there was one blond girl who strongly resembled my love Krystyana When next she caht?”
”Thank you, Sir Piotr! I'd love to!”
From that point on, the meal went both too fast and too slow On the one hand, I was er for the favors of my intended bed partner On the other, well, the truth was that I was a virgin I had only the foggiest of notions as to what precisely I was to do with the girl Such was ht to pursue any other woman, and, of course, most of the women that I had met were either friends of hers or aitresses at inity or lose their jobs
I pondered the probleh the three removes of the feast, and decided that honesty was the only answer I would confess norance to the lady and trust to her courtesy to educate me as to what I should do
With the meal over, another of the wenches showed iven me for my own use I sat down on a chest, suddenly very nervous Was I supposed to go for her? Should I have brought a gift?