A/N: Once again, I apologize for the very long delay. My Internet has been
down for a month and only got fixed yesterday. I'm very sorry-I'll try to
update as much as I can now. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter,
I don't really have a good excuse, except that it belonged as a separate
chapter.
Thank you for understanding!
Wormy
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Terian leaned in to whisper a long series of words into Duke Bruno's ear. Tayli politely refrained from listening and focused on the Lubraniers instead. Apparently, most of them weren't talking about the calf dilemma- they were mostly casting quick looks at her before whispering furtively to their neighbors. She saw looks of contempt, disgust, and disbelief cast her way, and realized with slight disappointment that people here were exactly the same as the ones in Bast. It seemed that the Duke, Rafe and Melanie, and the knights were the most open-minded of them all. And not even all of the knights were welcoming her-mainly the older ones, and certainly Sir Jon, were still frowning at her whenever they had the chance, clearly disapproving.
But these people weren't her job-Terian was. And her job was momentarily getting to his feet, clearing his throat a little obviously. Tayli stepped a little to the side.
"Master Jackson," Terian began, "is the calf male or female of gender?" Jackson bowed a little before answering that the calf was male. Terian exchanged a quick look with the Duke.
"So, according to what I have heard, there are three problems here," Terian continued in his most suave voice. "Master Herbert needs a draft animal for his farm; Master Jackson needs a cow to replace his old one, and requires repayment for the cost. In this way, both of you have rights to the calf. Correct?"
Both farmers nodded gravely, anxiously waiting for the verdict.
"I have this suggestion to offer: that Master Herbert receives the calf when it is done suckling-" Terian raised a commanding hand to stop the tide of objections from Jackson and the Lubraniers who were siding with him, "- when it is done suckling. Presumably, the calf will be a mature bull quite soon. How long will this take?" he asked Herbert.
"It will take a year or two, Your Majesty," the farmer answered. (A/N: I'm just guessing here so don't yell at me!"
"Good. At that time, Master Jackson's young cow will be fertile. The young bull can be mated to the cow at that time, and the resulting calf will be Master Jackson's."
The two farmers looked at him with something like surprise, mingled with respect-they'd never honestly expected the young Prince to offer such a sensible suggestion.
"But, Your Majesty," Jackson said tentatively, "that means that I will be without that source of income for some time. Do I ask too much when I ask for repayment?"
"He's right," Herbert conceded, feeling generous now that he'd gotten his way-besides, he and Jackson had been friends before the argument, "It's only fair." His thick accent was laced a little with pity-Herbert obviously felt that he'd gotten the better deal.
Jackson glanced at him quickly, pleasantly surprised, and then looked back to Terian, who was just finishing a whispered conversation with Duke Bruno. When he straightened up, he said,
"While your old cow is still living, you shall receive one fourth of the income the calf would bring you. When the old cow dies, you'll receive all of the income until you have another calf." Farmer Jackson mulled it over before nodding-it seemed fair to him.
"Do you both agree?" Terian asked. "Master Herbert? Master Jackson?" Both nodded gravely. "Then that's settled. I wish you both luck, and my regards to the young bull." His swarthy face cracked into a smile as the assembled Lubraniers began clapping and laughing, both farmers bowing to the table in general before backing out of the Hall.
Tayli was slightly surprised at the verdict. She had not expected that much bargaining and speaking skill in Terian either, and she mentally revised her opinion of him. 'Liam,' suddenly popped into her head and she smiled a little. Perfect.
Thank you for understanding!
Wormy
$$$$$$$$$$$
Terian leaned in to whisper a long series of words into Duke Bruno's ear. Tayli politely refrained from listening and focused on the Lubraniers instead. Apparently, most of them weren't talking about the calf dilemma- they were mostly casting quick looks at her before whispering furtively to their neighbors. She saw looks of contempt, disgust, and disbelief cast her way, and realized with slight disappointment that people here were exactly the same as the ones in Bast. It seemed that the Duke, Rafe and Melanie, and the knights were the most open-minded of them all. And not even all of the knights were welcoming her-mainly the older ones, and certainly Sir Jon, were still frowning at her whenever they had the chance, clearly disapproving.
But these people weren't her job-Terian was. And her job was momentarily getting to his feet, clearing his throat a little obviously. Tayli stepped a little to the side.
"Master Jackson," Terian began, "is the calf male or female of gender?" Jackson bowed a little before answering that the calf was male. Terian exchanged a quick look with the Duke.
"So, according to what I have heard, there are three problems here," Terian continued in his most suave voice. "Master Herbert needs a draft animal for his farm; Master Jackson needs a cow to replace his old one, and requires repayment for the cost. In this way, both of you have rights to the calf. Correct?"
Both farmers nodded gravely, anxiously waiting for the verdict.
"I have this suggestion to offer: that Master Herbert receives the calf when it is done suckling-" Terian raised a commanding hand to stop the tide of objections from Jackson and the Lubraniers who were siding with him, "- when it is done suckling. Presumably, the calf will be a mature bull quite soon. How long will this take?" he asked Herbert.
"It will take a year or two, Your Majesty," the farmer answered. (A/N: I'm just guessing here so don't yell at me!"
"Good. At that time, Master Jackson's young cow will be fertile. The young bull can be mated to the cow at that time, and the resulting calf will be Master Jackson's."
The two farmers looked at him with something like surprise, mingled with respect-they'd never honestly expected the young Prince to offer such a sensible suggestion.
"But, Your Majesty," Jackson said tentatively, "that means that I will be without that source of income for some time. Do I ask too much when I ask for repayment?"
"He's right," Herbert conceded, feeling generous now that he'd gotten his way-besides, he and Jackson had been friends before the argument, "It's only fair." His thick accent was laced a little with pity-Herbert obviously felt that he'd gotten the better deal.
Jackson glanced at him quickly, pleasantly surprised, and then looked back to Terian, who was just finishing a whispered conversation with Duke Bruno. When he straightened up, he said,
"While your old cow is still living, you shall receive one fourth of the income the calf would bring you. When the old cow dies, you'll receive all of the income until you have another calf." Farmer Jackson mulled it over before nodding-it seemed fair to him.
"Do you both agree?" Terian asked. "Master Herbert? Master Jackson?" Both nodded gravely. "Then that's settled. I wish you both luck, and my regards to the young bull." His swarthy face cracked into a smile as the assembled Lubraniers began clapping and laughing, both farmers bowing to the table in general before backing out of the Hall.
Tayli was slightly surprised at the verdict. She had not expected that much bargaining and speaking skill in Terian either, and she mentally revised her opinion of him. 'Liam,' suddenly popped into her head and she smiled a little. Perfect.