The End and a New Beginning
Copyright© 2025 by REP
Chapter 4
Evening of September 24, 1005
Captain Hood asked, “What are you going to do about it, Duke Bauer?”
“I intend to take my military contingent, the Tax Collector, and Captain Hood to Earl Hadwin’s castle and resolve this matter.”
Captain Hood asked, “You have the Tax Collector here?”
“Yes. I arrested him and his guards. I will not tolerate abuse in this Duchy of my subjects. In my mind, the Tax Collector and his guards committed the crimes of rape and unprovoked assault. After our discussion, I could add the charges of conspiracy to commit theft and possibly treason.”
Ron asked, “What are you going to do with the Tax Collector’s guards?”
“I charged them and the Tax Collector Armstrong with assault and rape, judged them, found them guilty, sentenced them to death, and executed the guards. I deferred the Tax Collector’s execution until after I resolve the situation with Earl Hadwin.”
Captain Hood asked, “Why should the Tax Collector assist you when he is sentenced to death?”
“When I deferred his execution, I made certain that he understood that his cooperation would determine if he dies a relatively painless death or if his death will be prolonged and extremely painful.”
“Do you plan to torture the Tax Collector?”
“I hope that torture will not be necessary. It will depend on what he and Earl Hadwin say.
“Based on what I have been told, it is apparent to me that Earl Hadwin is attempting to collect taxes from his subjects that they do not owe to the Duchy.
“What is your opinion of the Earl, Captain?”
“From what I have observed and heard, he is a cruel and greedy man, who is only concerned with himself.”
“And your opinion, Lord Bester?”
“I’m tired of hearing Lord. Just address me as Ron. I have had more to do with the Earl and his followers, than Captain Hood has and I agree with his opinion.”
“Captain Hood, when we arrive at the Earl’s castle with a large military force how will the Earl react?”
“He will have his Household Guard close and bar the gates, and he will order his guards to defend the castle. I like Ron’s suggestion, call me Frank.”
“I agree with the two of you. I’m Vic to my friends and acquaintances in informal situations, such as this.
“Frank, with the gates shut and barred, how do we gain access to the castle?”
“Your best option is to convince Captain Jared Swiatek to unbar the door. If that doesn’t work you attack the castle or place it under siege.”
“That is what I thought, Frank. Are you friends with Captain Swiatek?”
“I would not call him a friend, but we are on good terms with each other.”
“Good, we can work with that.
“When we arrive at the castle, our party will approach the gate and stop about two hundred feet from it. Then you, a 5-Horse Cavalry Unit, and I will approach the gate to within hearing distance.
“I will introduce myself to Captain Swiatek as Duchy Adair’s new Duke. You will confirm that statement. I will then ask the Captain to unbar the gate and allow me to enter and speak with the Earl.
“If the Earl refuses to permit me to enter the castle, I will remove him from his position as the Earl of the Earldom of Arrowwood and charge him with treason. I will then inform the Captain that I am now in charge of the castle and I am ordering him to unbar the gate.
“Do you see a problem with that approach, Frank?”
“Captain Swiatek is loyal to his superiors and can be stubborn when he feels he is in the right. However, if I confirm you are the new Duke and you remove Earl Hadwin from his position as Earl and charge him with treason, then I think the Captain will unbar the gate.
My people rested for two days.
September 27, 1005
I talked with Captain Liston and Sergeant Head about what they should expect as likely to happen tomorrow. I told them that there was a high probability that I would remove Earl Hadwin from his position of Earl of Arrowwood. I also informed them that if that happened, I would elevate Captain Liston to Earl and task him with taking control of Arrowwood and Sergeant Head’s Cavalry Unit would be assigned to Arrowwood to support the new Earl.
“Therefore, we will take three wagons with us tomorrow. One wagon will carry our personal belongings, the second will carry provisions and supplies for our party, and the third will be transport for our support personnel and Tax Collector Armstrong. I told Sergeant Head to inform his troops that this was likely to be a permanent relocation for them, and they should pack all of their personal belonging into the first wagon.”
We had eaten and were ready to depart an hour after sunrise. Captain Hood told me that the direct route to the Earl’s castle was about a day and a half of travel time. Our party would be traveling faster than normal due to the minimal weight in the wagons. Therefore, I planned to stop for one night and arrive at the castle the next morning.
September 29, 1005
It was midmorning when we rode out of the forest and started our approach to the Earl’s castle. My four potential future Earls, Captain Hood and I were at the front of our six Cavalry Units, who formed a line-abreast formation behind us. Our wagons stopped just outside the edge of the forest.
I gave the command to halt at about three hundred feet from the castle’s gates, which had been shut and probably barred. I ordered Captain Hood, Captain Liston and Sergeant Head, including his troops, to advance with me.
We halted within shouting distance of the gates. Captain Hood shouted, “This is Captain Hood, the commander of the Duke’s Household Guard. I need to speak with Captain Swiatek.”
A voice called out, “What do you want, Frank, and why do you have so many soldiers with you?”
“Duke Karn is dead, Jared. A new Duke has been appointed. He arrived at the castle a couple of days ago. When he arrived at the castle, Lord Ben Devereaux was with him and Lord Devereaux confirmed that he was our new Duke. He has a couple of problems that he wants to discuss with Earl Hadwin. Open the gates so he can enter the castle and be introduced to the Earl.”
“I will inform the Earl of the Duke’s arrival and request to enter the castle. Give me a few minutes.”
Captain Swiatek climbed the stairs to Duke Hadwin’s study and explained who the people in front of the castle are and that the new Duke wishes to enter the castle to discuss a problem.
“Captain, that doesn’t explain why he has so many soldiers with him. Before you unbar the gate, go inquire as to why he needs so many soldiers with him. Then return and let me know.”
As Captain Swiatek returns to the gate, he is thinking about the request for information the Earl ordered him to deliver. In his opinion, an Earl should not question his Duke in that manner, so he is uneasy about what is happening and what will happen.
When he gets to the gate, he shouts, “Frank, the Earl wants to know why the Duke has so many soldiers with him.”
I put my hand out to stop Frank from answering, and shouted, “Captain Swiatek, I am Duke Victor Bauer. The makeup of my party is not the Earl’s concern. Inform him that I am out of patience and I order him to come to the gate and speak with me, so I can directly order him to unbar the gate.”
“Yes, my Duke.”
I would wait for the Earl’s reply.
When Captain Swiatek returned to the gate, he said, “Earl Hadwin directed me to tell you that he is attending to critical matters and is unable to come to the gate at this time.”
I shouted, “Thank you, Captain Swiatek. I expected something like that as the Earl’s response.
I raised my voice to a shout that could be heard within the castle, and said “I, Duke Victor Bauer, do hereby remove Earl Milton Hadwin from his position as Earl of the Earldom of Arrowwood. Furthermore, I relieve him of the title of Earl and I withdraw all privileges he was entitled to as an Earl. I assume full control of this Earldom and this castle, until such time as I appoint a suitable replacement.
“Captain Swiatek, as your Duke, I order you to unbar and open the gate.”
Looking to Captain Hood, I said, “Now we will see if the Captain is loyal to the Duchy and its people.”
A minute later, the gate began to swing open. Frank whispered, “Thank God, you weren’t so stubborn that you would defy your Duke, Jared.”
The eight of us rode forward through the gate and dismounted. I turned to the man waiting to greet me. He said, “I apologize for the delay in permitting you to enter the castle, my Duke.”
“That is not a problem, Captain Swiatek. You were doing your duty to your Earl as instructed. Where is your former Earl?”
“When I last saw him, my Duke, he was in his study, which is on the far side of the second floor.”
“Please guide us to the study, so we can arrest the former Duke for treason and a few other crimes.
“Unit B, you know some of the crimes the former Duke is being arrested for committing. He may be desperate and attack us to escape. Draw your swords and prepare to defend yourselves.”
As we drew our swords, I noticed that Jared leaned toward Frank and asked, “What is going on, Frank?”
“This is personal for these men, Jared. They discovered the Earl’s Tax Collector and his guards in the process of raping a woman and her 12-year old daughter. The Tax Collector says the Earl ordered him to do whatever he had to do to collect an additional tax that had not been requested by the Duchy.”
As we climbed the stairs to the second floor, Unit B’s troops tried to move in front of me to protect me. I appreciated their concern, but if the man wanted to resist arrest, I would be happy to personally end his life.
While quietly moving down the hall, I saw Captain Swiatek point to a door on the left side of the hallway. As we moved to each side of the door, I said to Captain Swiatek, “Knock on the door. When he answers, push the door open and move back from the door. I don’t want you injured.”
Two of the troopers made it through the door before me, and we spread out. The former Earl was seated at his desk.”
The former Earl shouted, “What in Hell is going on Swiatek. I did not authorize you to let these people into the castle.”
I said, “I did not like your answer, Milton Hadwin. Therefore, I removed you from your position as Earl, and ordered Captain Swiatek to open the gates. I arrest you on the charges of two counts of treason, conspiracy to commit assault on four of my Duchy’s subjects, and conspiracy to commit rape on two of my Duchy’s subjects.”
“None of that is true. I demand my rights as an Earl.”
“Oh, yes. I forgot to mention that I removed your title of Earl and all rights that being an Earl gave you.
“Sergeant Head, have someone bind his hands behind his back and bring him out to the front of the castle. Captain Swiatek, have your troops fall out in front of the castle. We are going to hold a hearing to determine if the Milton Hadwin is guilty or not guilty of the charges that he has been charged with committing.
My six Cavalry Units were standing at ease in a U-shaped formation with the open end facing the Household Guards. The former Earl was standing at the center of the U-shaped formation. The Captains Hood and Swiatek, the Tax Collector, and I were standing at the center of the top of the U-shaped formation.
I asked the Tax Collector, “Did you and your Guards beat Farmer Bender, his wife, his son, and their 12-year old daughter until they were unable to stand?”
“Yes, we beat them.”
I asked, “Why did you beat them?”
Earl Hadwin ordered me to collect an additional twenty percent tax from all of his subjects in the Earldom. He indicated that he did not care what we did to the peasants, just get all of the money they had from the sale of their crops. He also said they probably hid the money to protect it and we may have to use force to get them to talk.”
“Milton Hadwin, did you order the Tax Collector to collect additional taxes from your subjects.”
“No, I did not issue such an order.”
“Tax Collector, were there any witnesses that can confirm your accusation?”
“Yes, his Seneschal was in the office with us at the time.”
“Captain Swiatek, send two of your people to find the Seneschal and bring him back here.
“While we are waiting, we will continue with the next charge.
“Tax Collector, did you and your Guards rape Farmer Bender’s wife and his 12-year old daughter, and if so why?”
“They refused to tell us where they hid their money. If we failed to find the money, the Earl would have punished us.”
“What stopped you and your men from raping the women?”
“Your scouts found and stopped us.”
“Milton Hadwin, what would the punishment have been if the Tax Collector and his men failed to return with their money?”
“None, for I never ordered them to collect any money.”
I had seen Captain Swiatek’s men returning with someone and guided him to in front of me.
I stood and said, “I am Duke Victor Bauer, Duke of Adair Duchy. What is your name and position at the castle?”
“I am Cody Hammond. I am Earl Hadwin’s Seneschal.”
“Milton Hadwin is no longer an Earl. Do you recall a conversation between Milton Hadwin and the Tax Collector, that occurred while he was still an Earl, regarding the collection of an additional tax from the Earl’s subjects?”
“Yes, I recall that conversation. The Earl was exceptionally vehement about what would happen to the Tax Collector and his guards if they returned without the money they were to collect.”
I thanked the Seneschal and allowed him to return to his duties.
“Milton Hadwin, do you have anything to say about your part in these two crimes?”
“Yes, I sent them to collect taxes, which is part of my job. However, I never ordered them to beat and rape people.”
“That is partly true. However, your indifference to the welfare of your subjects was well known in the Duchy. Why were you collecting taxes so late in the year?”
“I received a message from Duke Karn to collect the additional tax to support King Henn.”
“Did you start collection of those taxes as soon as you received the message?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Tax Collector, how many days did you spend collecting taxes?”
“The Bender farm was our first stop.”
“Thank you, Tax Collector.
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