Chapter 48: New Life

Having a baby is like falling in love again, with your husband and your child. -Tina Brown

York, Great Britain. September 1076

Babies, babies everywhere; that was how Marion felt when she entered their quarters. It was mid-September, and there was overwhelming evidence of Luke’s stellar performance before he left for Egypt. Alice was the first to pop, but that was no surprise since she had twins again. Two days after Susan and Samantha were born, Gabriella added another girl named Hailey. Kukka broke the girl trend when she gave birth to Andrew.

Morning, noon, and night, the sounds of new life could be heard throughout the queen’s quarters. If it wasn’t one of the four just born, it was her nine-month-old or one of the older children. Thankfully, Marion was queen, and Luke was wealthy, so she could afford plenty of help. Since Luke wasn’t home, Marion allowed a wet nurse to feed Joshua so her breast would dry up. When Luke was home, he was more challenging to ween than the children. More help came from Mackenzie, who was ten and a half and sure of herself in only the way a ten-year-old could be.

Thankfully, Mackenzie was also very helpful in helping care for the younger children because Marion was exhausted. The war in Egypt was ongoing with no end in sight, and while the loot coming back still paid for everything, Marion knew that couldn’t last forever. Unfortunately, she was all too aware of Luke’s ongoing supply problems and his concern about the repercussions of destroying the Fatimid Caliphate.

While Marion wasn’t comfortable with Luke appointing a leader of the new nation of Egypt, she had to admit he had valid reasons for doing it. By forming a civilian government for the areas Britain controlled, it released troops Luke could use to finish the war. There was also the possibility that Egypt would prove to be a valuable trade partner and ally in the future.

Another consequence of the Egyptian war that Marion was keen to watch was what destroying the Fatimid Caliphate would mean for the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks had been pushing against the Byzantines for years, and thanks to their poor commanders and troops, the Seljuks won most of the battles. If Muslims conquered Constantinople, they would be free to enter Europe. While that wouldn’t threaten Marion, it would threaten trade and, potentially, the Holy Roman Empire. Marion didn’t want the Holy Roman Empire to fall, but she didn’t want Henry IV to have a casas belli to conquer the Balkans.

Marion believed Henry would conquer the Balkans if the Seljuks attacked. As far as her intelligence said, the Seljuks didn’t have firearms, while Germans had several years of battlefield experience with them. Under almost any circumstances, an army armed with firearms would defeat an army without them.

She would have to ponder her best course of action if Constantinople fell. There were several reasons to help them and just as many to stay out of it. The city guarded the eastern approach to Europe and, outside of York, was the richest on the continent. Additionally, the Byzantines supplied much of the silk used in Britain, and the competition with China kept the price reasonable enough for the middle class to buy. Marion’s intelligence network hadn’t yet discovered that the Italians were investigating starting a silk industry there.

Without the Byzantines, the Chinese would regain their monopoly on the silk trade, and the price would skyrocket. While rising silk prices were not serious enough to cause trouble for Marion, it would be annoying since silk clothing was so comfortable and silk bedspreads were perfect for regulating the body temperature of the sleeping person or people.

Thanks to Luke, though, Marion had another cloth to love: cotton. This wasn’t her first exposure to cotton since he came into her universe; she would wear only his cotton shirt, which he loved. Luke especially loved it when she wore his old USMC shirt and nothing else. With the gold looted from Egypt, cotton also flowed into Britain. Again, thanks to Luke, Pollyanna quickly developed the cotton gin and began producing cheap cotton that could be woven into cloth.

Marion had several shirts made of cotton, one long enough to hang to her knees; that one was her nightshirt, with the rest dyed in her trademark black and for everyday use. The problem with using cotton was the supply wasn’t nearly big enough and was unstable.

Seeds pulled from the cotton lint were sent to Jamaica to see if they would grow there. Marion didn’t think they would, but it was worth a shot. What was sent to Jamaica without thought was sugar cane. Marion knew from Luke that sugar cane and tobacco were big cash crops in the Caribbean. Tobacco was something she could do without, remembering what Luke told her about how it destroyed the body.

To avoid the issue of slavery, Marion knew Pollyanna would be busy designing machinery to harvest and process sugar cane and cotton. Cotton could make clothing cheaper and lighter, allowing even the poor to be comfortable in the summer. It would also be helpful in producing sanitary pads that would enable women to work more consistent hours and girls to spend more time in school.

Of even more interest to Marion were the vegetables and fruits sent back. While some, like dates, couldn’t be planted in the greenhouses, plenty of other fruits and vegetables could. The expanding variety would give the people a better variety of fruits and vegetables once enough greenhouses were built.

When Luke began sending fruits and vegetables back from Egypt, Marion went to Bard and asked him to build as many greenhouses as economically viable. She wanted plenty of food for the people but not at the cost of losing money. There would be some fruits and vegetables that would be more economical to grow in open fields. In contrast, others wouldn’t be able to be grown because something was lacking, usually a specialized pollinator.

Being good at business, Bard decided to build a greenhouse complex near every major city. This would help with local jobs and keep the produce fresh longer since they wouldn’t need to be shipped. Food security and variety were a couple of the reasons Marion didn’t have many revolts to suppress. People with access to year-round affordable food didn’t revolt because of food shortages, a significant reason for uprisings in other kingdoms. The British were also allowed to voice their opinion of Marion’s government without fear of punishment.

With an increasing number of greenhouses, the honey supply increased from the bees used for pollination. The British had figured out how to build bee boxes with removable slats to remove the honey without killing the bees. Most of the honey was used to brew mead, but an increasingly large amount found its way into baked goods.

Marion also had to travel back to Oxford. She wanted to ensure the money the British people paid to educate the next generation of professionals was well spent. There were already examples of what happened when universities were not kept honest, and Marion was determined not to let it continue.

Unlike the last time, Marion traveled directly to Oxford but still slipped in without notice. It helped that she already wore the typical outfit of a female university student and had her hair braided in the usual style. Gabriella walked beside her, dressed in much the fashion. Marion smirked at seeing her wife so uncomfortable; she hadn’t worn an everyday dress in over ten years.

Walking directly to a student lounge, Marion found a group of women studying and quickly joined them. Marion fit in easily with the students, although she was more conservative than they were. One of the students called for the queen’s overthrow and to replace her with a democracy. Gabriella listened carefully to determine if this was a typical student whining about something they didn’t understand or if it was more significant.

While the student, Alexis, made some excellent points, they were, at best, only half the story. Like students everywhere, she thought she knew everything but knew nothing. Marion decided to take her on without revealing who she was ... yet.

“So, tell me, Alexis,” Marion started. “How can you have a functioning democracy when only about half the population can read and write? Of course, the better question is: what do you consider a democracy? The Greeks could barely govern a city-state; York already has more people than Athens. The Romans had a republic, but only a few rich families dominated it. How can an ordinary person leave their job or business for weeks to campaign and still afford to pay their bills?”

“I support having a Greek-style democracy,” Alexis stated. “One person, one vote.”

“Then you couldn’t vote since Greek democracy only allowed men who owned property to vote. Women couldn’t own property. Here, the queen has already given women the right to hold property, sign contracts in their name, and serve in the military.” Alexis looked at Marion like Marion had peed in her soup, and it took Marion everything she had to keep from laughing at her. “In fact, if it weren’t for the queen, you wouldn’t be here. You would be married to some serf, either pregnant or waiting to become pregnant.”

“No, it wouldn’t! My father is a wealthy merchant from East Anglia.”

“Yes, you would be because the nation would have been under Norman control, and your father would have been thrown out.”

Some of the other young women at the table agreed with Marion. They could remember their parents being terrified about the Norman invasion.

“We still need to get rid of the queen,” Alexis assuredly stated. “What happens when she dies and we get a terrible ruler?”

“That’s always a good question, no matter the type of government. The problem with democracy or republics is that the type of personality needed to win elections is the opposite of the type that would make the best rulers. After all, if democracy or republics were so good, they would have replaced kings and emperors.”

One of the young women at the table finally figured out who Marion was but was silenced by a sharp glance from Gabriella. Marion waited for Alexis to make a counter, and as Luke had long predicted, she led with an emotional argument.

“So, you’re a reactionary. I should have guessed. You fear the people since you will lose your power. You need to get out, murderer. That’s all those people are: murderers and thieves. DOWN WITH THE QUEEN!”

Marion finally had enough of Alexis’s mouth. She stood and removed her hair covering to let her hair down. Marion’s golden hair flowed down her shoulders with the yellow ribbon tied in it. Next, Marion loosened the front of her dress and let it fall, revealing her black short-sleeved shirt and BDU pants. Finally, Marion flipped a £20 coin at Alexis. Alexis looked at the front of the coin and looked at Marion. Realizing who she had been talking to, the blood ran from her face, and urine trickled down her leg. Marion’s stern gaze landed on her, and Alexis began shaking. She got out of her chair and kneeled before the queen.

“What do you have to say for yourself? My sister was a murderer and a thief and many other things. For her crimes, I killed her and cut off her head before feeding her body to the hogs. I gave women the rights which you seem to take for granted. Maybe you need to go into the military so they can knock some sense into you.” Marion’s voice was cold enough to freeze the Thames.

“I am truly sorry, Your Majesty. I did not know what I was thinking.”

“No, your problem is you didn’t think. You didn’t stop to think you’re in an echo chamber, and most people do not share your thoughts or opinions. I think from now on, all students will have to complete four years in the military before they are allowed to attend a university.”

“Please, don’t do that. I couldn’t kill anyone,” protested Alexis.

“And yet, you stand there accusing me of being a murderer and a thief. Further, you advocated my being overthrown. At this point, I should also introduce you to Colonel Gabriella Smiten, commander of the Household Guard. I think she will have some questions for you.”

Alexis almost passed out hearing that. Horror stories surrounded Colonel Smiten; some parents used them to get their children to obey them. Gabriella never did anything to discourage those stories because they often proved helpful. The smile on Gabriella’s face caused Alexis to completely lose control of her bodily functions and caused the other students to move away from her.