“An interesting choice of site,” Amaury said as they left the keep behind.
“Why would they choose such a distant location for the mill?”Quinn asked.“I had thought it would be much closer to the keep.”Sayerne’s mill was in the village itself.
“I would, as well,” Amaury agreed.“I will guess that the river flows faster and more reliably where the mill is located.”
“The stream that flows into Annossy’s moat and around the village is on flatter ground,” Quinn said, thinking of the one at Sayerne.“And it might freeze during some winters.”
“Aye, if the ice is not broken.On the other hand, the land might be too rocky and the site of the mill too far from the main road to make a good location for the keep.”Amaury shrugged.“If naught else, the placement of the mill at such a distance hints that the valley has been free of brigands in the past.”
“True enough,” Quinn said.He studied the forest as they went, noting how the path from keep to mill was wide enough for a cart.The trees grew close to the road, and their growth was dense, leaving the forest full of shadows.He glanced back and was glad the road was straight, at least.A party would be able to see trouble along its length, but not to anticipate bandits hidden in the forest close beside the road.“I think I will have the way widened in the summer,” he said.“If the trees were cut back for even three paces on either side, the road would be safer.”
“And there would be firewood aplenty,” Amaury agreed.
“How would you see it done?”Quinn asked.
Amaury pursed his lips.“It is a good length of road and will require a fair measure of labor.I would wish for the villeins to see the merit of the task and undertake it willingly.”
“Aye,” Quinn agreed.“I expect it would be best to wait until the crops were planted in the spring and the fields tilled.”
“Indeed.Then I would declare my desire to see the way widened and explain that it is for the safety of all, and invite those villeins who help in the endeavor to keep a share of the wood.”Amaury nodded.“I would keep perhaps a third of it, for construction, repairs and firewood in the keep, then let them share the rest.”He gave Quinn a nod.“With winters this cold, I would wager that they will be glad of such a store of fuel.”
“Where would they get it now?”Quinn asked.
“They must forage for dead wood in the forest.The new wood will have to be left to dry for a year or two, but it will be welcome, all the same.”
Quinn nodded agreement.
“It is good to verify tradition in a holding that is unfamiliar,” Amaury advised.“Ask before you act.People can have curious customs, and tend to be most offended when they are not respected, even if it is inadvertent.”
“You speak aright.I will ask Louis for his counsel.”
Amaury gave him a quelling glance.“You have a closer source of local custom than that,” he said and Quinn realized he had not considered asking Melissande.
“I do not wish to trouble my lady wife with such matters.It is my responsibility, is it not?”
Amaury shook his head.“But your lady is skilled in matters of administration, Quinn, and I have to think that she enjoys the challenge.If you do not join ways with her, she may feel slighted.I would not surrender such an ally readily.”
Quinn recalled how Melissande had been surprised and then interested when they had speculated upon Gaultier’s response to his own arrival.Was it possible that there was another path to her heart, through conversation about Annossy?Quinn was more than prepared to discover the truth of it.
They reached the mill quickly for it was not overly distant and the horses were well-rested.
Annossy’s mill was a prosperous one, the building sufficiently extensive to reveal that truth.Its location was ideal for its work, for the stream that flowed down the mountain to join the Helva was lively, even at this time of year.The water splashed and raced, a fine mist rising above the water.
The forest was thick on both sides of the stream and Quinn eyed the imposing face of the mountain from which the water originated.The peaks were wreathed in mist from this vantage but what he could discern was still white with snow.There was a ford just downstream from the mill, where rocks were scattered across the river’s width.The dividing of the waters for the mill widened the river and tamed it somewhat, making it more shallow.The forest, Quinn was certain, provided a haven for the bandits.
He surveyed the course down the stream to the Helva and the major road that could be found there.It would be difficult for the bandits to hide in the valley itself.He pivoted and looked at the mountain again, wondering if there was a path.
The men-at-arms assigned to defend the mill greeted Quinn and his party first.Jean and Robert they were, both dark-haired and dark-eyed, a little older and a little more plump that Quinn might have thought ideal.There was a complacency about them that displeased him, but he strove to overcome his first impression.
They told of how the bandits had assaulted them before the dawn, overcome them both in the stables and bound them.When they continued to battle, they were each struck on the head and left unconscious.By the time they awakened and freed themselves, the thieves were gone.
Quinn was skeptical of this tale and he saw a similar response in Bayard’s eyes.Though his companion appeared to be impassive, his eyes flicked in a familiar way.“Kudon,” he said to Quinn beneath his breath and Quinn nodded.
He had been reminded of that very deception.Kudon was a small village they had been assigned to defend in the Latin Kingdoms, one plagued by thieves that were said to have come from outside—perhaps even from the Saracen enemy—but had proven to be knights charged with defending the village themselves.
When the horses had been tethered, Quinn proceeded to the mill itself, his companions fast behind him.The miller and his wife stood before the portal, and bowed deeply before him.They were older, their faces lined from sun and years, and clearly robust.The miller was a large man and muscled, while his wife was sturdy.The boy with them looked to be ten summers of age, though Quinn was not certain he could be their son given the wife’s age.There was an integrity about them that Quinn recognized and welcomed.
“Our grandson,” the miller’s wife said, giving him a nudge so that he bowed before the new lord.“We had two sons, my lord, and the younger apprenticed to the smith in Annossy.”She touched the boy’s shoulder.“Our older son was injured in the first attack by the brigands and died of his wounds.”
