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Author's Chapter Notes:
Many Many thanks to Hrolf for beating this one into submission despite the punctuation monster's attempts at eating every full stop I used.

For Tina, a chapter to cheer you up
The next morning saw the arrival of the men from Chester to raise the new hall. The songs that they sang as they walked through the muddied lane could be heard above all the noise in the community; they came through the gates and headed towards William as he stepped forward to welcome them into his holding. He was surprised to see Buffy behind him with wooden cups and jugs of ale. They were only workmen, but Buffy intended to keep the traditions of her own home: all would be welcomed properly to her hall.

‘To welcome you after your long journey,’ she said with a smile as she started serving them all. The men gratefully accepted the drinks but seemed a little unsure as it was the lady herself was serving them. They were grateful for the cool ale on such a warm day.

‘Our thanks lady,’ the work master said as he handed back the cup to Buffy with a smile. Buffy returned the smile to the older man as she took all the dirties to the bucket to rinse and left them with the refilled jug of ale and another huge pottery jug filled with the clear spring water they were lucky enough to have.

The workers quickly settled in and got busy with their crafts. William and Buffy watched over the next few days as the hall was paced out and the first designs were sketched in the dirt and orders were shouted. It was going to be a magnificent hall, with a separate hall for guests as well as outbuildings. There was going to be a dairy, as well as storage barns and animal shelters. It would be a mix of both Saxon and Norse ideas: there would be the Saxon buildings with their great roofs and the Norse ideas for keeping food fresh. Buffy was excited as she watched the stream’s course being changed to bring it closer to them and the huge hall being raised in the centre of the clearing. They all worked hard, Buffy picking up the reins and organising the ploughing and seeding of the land; she ordered the supplies they would need, sending precious silver with the messengers to buy the goods. The food was soon up to the standard she was used to, thanks to Helga and the new oven that had been built to the side of the brew house.

On her first quiet and free morning Buffy left the shelter of the hall in the sunshine to go and find eggs. She carried a small wickerwork basket that Kuddy had made her from the hazel that grew in the thicket across the stream. Eggs would supply the hall with another food source. Buffy stepped aside as a bullock made its way through the drying mud towards the far side of the pale where the wood-smiths had set up shop. She loved the way the light played amongst the leaves and she really loved the lack of flying insects. Every spring and summer her own holding had been plagued with the pesky things, and here she didn’t have to cover Nordlys’ crib with a cloth to prevent them landing on her. She picked her way past the mud piles and through the huge trunks of trees that had been brought in from where they had been cut. More were being brought in from the Chester high road. Someone had set up the small bullock in one corner to trample clay, straw and dung into the daub that would be needed to coat the walls, which were busily being woven out of stout hazel wands by anyone willing to lend a hand. Buffy had spent the whole of the previous day at the task and had the sore fingers to prove it.

The farm was heaving with labour: neither Ingimund nor Athelred had wanted to seem lacking in their generosity, each trying to out-do the other in the quality and quantity of gifts that arrived over the following weeks. Buffy was particularly pleased by the 2 cows with calves that had been sent from the town: larger than those she was used to, their white hides shone and their milk was rich and creamy.

Buffy had soon organised the building and the cleaning of a dairy room: it had a stream running under it to keep the milk, butter and cheese fresh during the hot summer and was one of the nicest ones she had ever seen. The slab of stone kept the dishes of fresh milk cool as the cream rose to the surface and the dried calves stomach hung on a hook in the roof beam. All in all Buffy was proud of her new home.

Buffy danced a little in the light spinning round and round without a care, enjoying the warmth and light. She was delighted with the amount of eggs she had found and decided she would ask Helga to bake them for everyone to share at the evening meal.

Col watched as his new lord and mistress paraded around the farm. His anger grew and the jealousy he felt burned deeply into his heart. The wench would pay for the way she looked at him, as though he was merely a serf; he had been born free and his new lord would pay for the lack of respect he had shown Col. He started shouting his mouth off to the other workers who had been on the farm when it had been handed over to William. The mutterings were starting to upset those others; William knew it was happening, but he was supposed to be above dealing with such things. However, if the man continued to bad-mouth his Buffy he would step in and sort it once and for all.

Buffy spent the rest of the morning wandering around the holding investigating every nook and cranny. William’s hall was rich in the timber they could sell over in Ireland and in Hrossey and Hjaltland. That would make up a goodly part of Connor’s cargo next year if he stopped off; then there were the woollens of far higher quality than she could normally get. She had left the Hall women warping up the loom that very morning with a fine six heddle pattern: it would fetch good silver when it was sold at the Thing at home.

She stopped to watch a dragonfly skim the surface of the pond, the light setting its jewelled colours blazing and her mind wandered back to her own home. She thought about how her own hall was doing, and how long it would take them to get this one into shape. William would have to supply an armed man to his Lord as part of his dues every year and Buffy didn’t really want to live permanently in these southern lands away from family and friends. She really missed Faith and was glad Helga had stayed with her; but she had promised William she would stay until his lands were securely managed and she would. She would always keep her promises to her soul mate.

The hall was buzzing with noise that evening. Brother Giles had arrived from Chester with the latest supplies and news that the first market would be held at the Winter Finding, as the Norse called it. Messages had been sent through to Ingimund and Athelred had wanted William to know when his services as Reeve would begin in earnest. There were more messages from friends in Chester, but the biggest news was that Brother Giles was being assigned as the priest for William’s hall.

Brother Giles had been delighted with his welcome: Buffy had made him feel a part of her family, hugging him close and giving him the best space by the fire while she oversaw the running of the hall and the preparation of the night meal that was going on around him. He had a good sheepskin under his feet and a small jug of fine ale by his side. Brother Giles felt that he could get used to the life on offer here. Buffy herself had kept his cup well filled with good ale as they waited for William to arrive back from the fields.

William arrived home just before the sun set, and pulled the stout wooden door closed behind him. He had little love of the cold night air, and didn’t want it in his house. The sight that greeted his eyes warmed his heart. Nordlys was sitting on Brother Giles’ lap playing with some toy or other. The churchman looked fit and well and happy.

‘Giles!’ he called out in delight, ‘what brings you here?’ William accepted a cup of ale and drank it down quickly. He was hungry and thirsty after a day working in the fields ploughing and was grateful to wash the dust from his throat.

‘I have messages from the Court at Shrewsbury, and news of the city at Chester.’ The man said as he rose from his seat. Nordlys complained at the movement and Buffy went to take her from the older man’s arms but William got there first. He never missed an opportunity to play with his beloved daughter: she was the apple of his eye and the true joy of his heart. William kissed her blond curls and held her close; Nordlys was trying to show his her new doll and when he didn’t pay enough attention to her she pulled his hair.

‘How’s the lady Anne?’ Buffy asked as she handed over another jug of the ale they had been brewing to the two men.

‘She’s well, missing you all and Nordlys, but she is happier now that she is safe from attacks by her other daughters.’

‘And Druscilla?’ William asked quietly. It had shocked him when Dru had lost her mind, and he was still a little uneasy with the whole mess that his brothers had caused. Buffy was the only one who knew that he lay awake at nights because of his brothers’ fates.

‘She has settled into the Abbey at Shrewsbury very well. The Mother Abbess Edith reports that her mind is still that of a child’s but she is coping with the routine. Your brother Stephen sent her dowry to the Abbey along with her inheritance from your brother’s estate. The rest will be divided between the three remaining sons: your share will be coming to you soon.’

‘I thought the estate went to the Crown after an ordeal.’

‘Yes, normally they would, however neither of them actually undertook the test, they died before they could, so technically they were innocent. Athelred and Edmund decided to keep things easy and let the three of you take your shares… Harold’s son will be raised by Stephen, away from the intrigue of court.’

‘That’s good then. We might offer him a foster place when he is a little older.’

‘Well my dear, have you settled in well enough?’ Giles asked, as he played with the rattle that had kept Nordlys’ attention away from the fire. Nordlys tried to reach it from her father’s lap, pulling on his arm as she did so.

‘This is shield training like you wouldn’t believe,’ William grinned. Buffy smiled before answering her husband’s friend.

‘We have now, there is plenty of work still to do and although the estate is a rich one, it will take some rebuilding. I think it had been left unattended for a long time.’

Giles nodded his agreement. The gift of this estate had been a two edged sword. It was a magnificent and costly gift, but it needed someone of Buffy and William’s strength to make it work. And from what he’d seen, and what he’d report back to Shrewsbury, they were fulfilling all the promise they had inspired in others.

Evening meal was a riotous affair. William and Giles had spent the night telling riddles and jokes, causing everyone to laugh at their antics: everyone except Col that is. The peasant was sitting in the shadows of the hall, nursing a bruised face and a broken nose. A couple of the other workers had heard him moaning and complaining about the work he had been set, then had listened in shock as he called their lady every name under the sun. They hadn’t wanted the wrath of their new lord to fall on them and so had dealt with the situation. Buffy, as befitting her station, had ignored the whole thing, and knew that William was doing exactly the same. No-one even let the poor man have any food that night. Buffy had heard him being told, ‘you don’t work, you don’t eat,’ and from the lack of effect his grovelling and whining had she knew that her people would support her and the Hall was theirs.





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