Chapter 5: Back in Britain

“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” ― Abraham Lincoln

York, Great Britain. September 1070

The time had long passed when Gretchen was surprised by the size and scope of the British intelligence network. In the batch of messages from Norway, she learned that King Hardrada would leave for Britain on 10 September, and on 11 September, Olaf would round up and execute all the leading pagans in the kingdom. After Gretchen had read all her morning messages, it was time to see Marion. Marion loved it when foreign kings discriminated against groups of people because she would open Britain to these groups as long as they were loyal to her and didn’t make too many waves.

Walking into Marion’s office, Gretchen wasn’t surprised to see the queen buried under paperwork.

“Good morning, Marion.”

“What’s good about it?” Marion snapped, and Gretchen saw the bags under her eyes.

“Long night?”

“Yes, and early morning. Since Luke and Alice moved back in, it’s an orgy a night on top of getting up at the arse crack of dawn to do PT with the army. I’m exhausted.”

Gretchen couldn’t help but laugh. “Would you rather Luke not live with you?”

“No, that was hell. I just wish Alice would calm down some; that minx is insatiable. So, what’s today’s spook news?”

“Let’s see.” Gretchen looked down to read her notes. “Hawise of Rennes is in Cork trying to get Toirdelbach Ua Briain to unite Ireland to oppose you. Philip is dealing with an empty treasury for rebuilding France after Luke squeezed the wealth out, and Guiscard wasted so many poor freemen trying to depose you. The French grain harvest will be meager this year since they didn’t have the labor or seeds to plant their fields. I expect famine in France this winter. Henry is also running low on funds in the Holy Roman Empire, and they lack the engineering to build the infrastructure projects he is after. Otherwise, everything is calm for now; however, I think he will begin planning an invasion of Poland soon. Poland screwed up big time when they tried to invade Prussia. I’ve seen that land, and it’s nothing but thick forests and swamps with people living in non-centralized tribes who love their independence. Now, Polish troops are bogged down and sustaining heavy losses. Speaking of heavy losses, Papal troops are being slaughtered in Sicily by what Luke called “asymmetrical warfare.” It seems the remaining Normans have allied with the Muslims on the island and are slowly driving the Pope’s troops back. Byzantine forces are getting ready to strike at the overextended Papal forces on the mainland. I think they will be able to reconquer everything they lost to the Normans in recent years, and they may be able to conquer Rome. Today’s special problem, though, is Norway.”

“Norway?” Marion interrupted.

“Yes. As you know, King Hardrada is planning to visit and will leave on 10 September. According to this morning’s intel reports, on 11 September, his son Olaf intends to round up the kingdom’s leading pagans and force them to convert or execute them. By the time Hardrada can return, the pagans will be dead or in full-scale rebellion. That idiot thinks you can force people to give up the religion they grew up with by applying a little force.” Gretchen snorted.

“What do you propose we do about Norway? If we tell them, we will be tipping our hand as to our intelligence abilities, but if we do nothing, many people who could help us will die.”

“That’s above my pay, but if pressed, I would recommend not doing anything for the time being. Let things play out, and see what is left after the dust settles. What’s the saying Luke uses, ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’?”

Marion smiled at Gretchen since waiting was what Marion planned to do. Intel networks are expensive to set up and maintain, so telling the potential adversary of their existence would counter their primary goal: staying in the shadows and collecting information.

“Thank you, Gretchen. Is there anything else this morning to worry about?”

“No, ma’am.”

Marion nodded, and Gretchen left. After Gretchen left, Marion turned to talk to Gabriella.

“What do you think, Gabby?”

“I think you are making the correct choice. If we act, we might be able to save those people, but it would expose our intel network and put our employees at risk. Do that too many times, and we won’t be able to find employees.”

Gabriella and Marion smiled at each other and returned to their work. Having Luke and Alice back in their lives significantly reduced the stress of ruling the emerging British nation. They barely had time to breathe before Marion’s next appointment, which the treasury department had requested. Marion’s secretary knocked and let the head of the Department of the Treasury in.

“Hello, Wealhmær. It’s good to see you.”

Wealhmær of Carlisle was the man who kept Marion’s checkbook. He was the head of the Department of the Treasury, making him one of the most influential people in the nation. He had come into Marion’s sphere of influence when her army conquered Carlisle soon after capturing Malcolm III, where he had been a small-time wool merchant. When Marion’s army came to town, he recognized the opportunity of a lifetime and moved his operations to York, where his business grew quickly. It was also where he met Marion through Luke’s business operation. When Marion reorganized after becoming Queen of England, she offered Wealhmær a job in the treasury, where he learned quickly. He got the opportunity to shine when the old treasury boss died in the winter of 1069, and Marion awarded him the top spot due to his business acumen. So far, the decision was paying off.

“Your Majesty, it’s good to be seen.”

“Well, this is your meeting, so what do you have for me?”

“We have a problem.”

“What do you mean a problem? What kind of problem?”

“It’s not a bad problem, Your Majesty. We are running out of room to keep all the gold and silver you have accumulated since France. At the current surplus, we figure we will be out of room by this time next year.”

“And if I spend more money, inflation will rise even faster than it is now.”

“If you say so, ma’am. I don’t have enough experience with monetary policy; I only ensure the money is there when you need it.”

“I know, Wealhmær, but when there is too much money in an economy, the money decreases in value.”

“How do you know that?”

“Look at the Roman Empire during the 3^rd century. The emperors increased the money supply by decreasing the precious metal content to pay for their extravagant social spending, and that money decreased in value. That is why I’m determined to avoid social expenditures, and we publicly measure the purity of the metal in the coins. Now, what kind of space do you think you’ll need?”

“We really need a building to ourselves to not only store excess money but to house all the department offices.”

“Very well.” Marion got out of her chair and stuck her head out the door to speak with her secretary. “Please ask Generals Hall and MacDougall to report to me as soon as convenient.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Marion went back to her desk while her secretary sent the necessary messages and reported to Marion that both generals would be there within the hour. The treasury head was told to grab a chair and wait so both engineers could learn what was needed at the same time from the same person.

When Luke and Pollyanna came in, they saluted, and Marion told them to pull up a chair before turning things over to Wealhmær. Wealhmær explained what was happening and what the treasury was looking for. Marion handed over a couple of sheets of paper so Pollyanna and Luke could sketch some ideas.

Over the next few hours, the trio modified the design and, by lunch, had something to make building prints from. Marion invited everyone to lunch, so the five went down to the Basement Tavern to have lunch, which consisted of soup and sandwiches washed down by some ale. During lunch, Luke and Wealhmær discussed other treasury needs and current fiscal policy. Much of this went over Marion’s head, but she knew Luke would explain it that evening. After lunch, Pollyanna and Luke went to his corporate office to begin the design work.

It took the pair a week to work up a rough draft to present to Marion and the treasury. They came up with an imposing building 200 meters long, 75 meters wide, and three stories tall. The outside walls of the building were constructed with granite blocks, while a perimeter wall was five meters tall and a meter thick and constructed from reinforced concrete. Inside the building, all rooms had electric lighting, and all restrooms had running hot and cold water. The floors were made from polished marble, while all doors were made of solid oak. Under the building were the vaults. Each vault was 30 meters by 30 meters and opened to a central hallway. The vault doors were 20 centimeters of reinforced steel but were balanced so one person could swing them open, even though it took three people’s keys in the correct order to open each vault.

Marion and the treasury secretary were impressed and authorized the building’s construction. The treasury building was to be built just north of York to avoid the floodplain of the rivers Ouse and Foss, which put it next to the army base. The base would be expanded to add an extra layer of security for the building.

The day after Marion authorized construction for the new treasury building, King Hardrada landed on British soil again, but this time, he received a warm welcome at the docks. Magnus and Anna were there along with a company of the Household Guard to greet the king. When Hardrada sailed into the Hull Estuary, he couldn’t believe the changes from when he invaded four years before. Then, his longships were still cutting-edge technology; now, they were antiques. This point was driven home when the HMS York passed Hardrada’s longship as she returned from a training exercise. As the strange ship passed, Hardrada and his crew’s jaws were slack; for all the letters and drawings Magnus sent back, nobody could believe a ship that moved without sail or oar.

Hardrada’s jaw was still slack when his ship docked, and Magnus smiled down at him.

“Welcome to Great Britain, Father.”

“What is that thing?” Hardrada asked as he pointed at the cruiser York.

“That ship is the HMS York. The British call her a heavy cruiser, and she is the world’s first all-metal warship.”

“What do you mean all-metal?”

“Just that. There is no wood in the hull of that ship.”

“How is that possible? Metal doesn’t float.”

Magnus laughed, “You need to have General MacDougall tell you because I don’t understand it. Come on, father; we have a special train to take you to York, but we must get moving.”

King Hardrada climbed up on the dock and was shocked to see a company of British soldiers in dress uniforms standing at attention. He shot a look at Magnus, but Magnus only smiled.

“These are your honor guard, father. They are a company of the Household Guard, probably the toughest unit in the British Army, although I know the grenadiers would dispute that.”