Chapter 30: Sales

Trixi took me to see the herds nearest herds to town, which were was sick.

I explained my methods of overcoming the sickness to the people she introduced me to. I healed the worst animals and informed them that feeding the mash with the extra salt should get the rest back into good health along with checking that the hay didn’t have the tell-tale mould that seemed to be partially responsible.

They had the mould on all three properties, and I told them of my better storage methods for the hay. I told them to fix the bloody barns, so the hay didn’t get wet. I also mentioned I had special feed on my ship they may wish to purchase.

A lot of the smaller farms we called into were better run, and in most cases, their animals weren’t as sick. They seemed to have just got a cough, and I told them my mash helped them get over it quicker, and it didn’t affect their saleability.

By the time, we got back to the ship Trixi guessed that I needed a fix and proceeded to help me out with my problem. She actually left me asleep when she went back to the palace to get dressed for the late dinner and ball.

The Captain and Harry were in good moods and said they would look after Sable. Rose and Silver went with me to the palace. Silver said she would be Trixi’s guard. I wasn’t going to argue with them if they wanted to come.

I was seated beside Trixi this time and up beside Queen Mary. The gentleman on Trixi’s right soon worked out that Trixi was off the marriage market when she took great delight in displaying her engagement ring to him. She didn’t flash it around. She nudged him, and then put her hand down low and turned it around so he could see the gems and whispered to him.

It was obvious that Trixi was more than delighted with the chance of telling him. “So will the wedding be tonight?” the young man asked her quietly with a mixed look, part excited and part worry. He had me intrigued, and I leant a little closer.

Trixi shook her head, and whispered back, “No, I’ve written out my testament as to who is to be my heir if I don’t marry tonight. I have forfeited the right to Devin Shire to Rexi.”

The young man’s head shot up, and his eyes immediately shot across the table to Rexi. A worried look appeared on his face. Trixi chuckled and said in a whisper to me, “He is Henry Barton.”

I pushed my chair back a little. I leant behind Trixi and tapped the young man on the shoulder. He pulled his hungry eyes from Rexi and focused on me. I put out my hand and said by way of introduction, “Rexi sure looks pretty tonight.”

Henry’s eyes flicked to Rexi and back, and he seemed more downcast this time. “She is always pretty,” he told me. He pulled himself together a little and shook my hand. “I’m Henry Barton. My family owns the land between here and Devin Shire. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir.”

“The pleasure is mine, Henry. I’m Bron and the man lucky enough to catch Trixi’s eye,” I replied. He glanced at Rexi worriedly when she started giggling at some joke one of the men fawning over had said. I said to him, “So do you promise to look after and treat her right?”

He looked at me in confusion, and I nodded at Rexi. He sighed, “She likes me well enough, but I don’t have much hope in winning her. Not now anyway.”

I patted his back and told him, “If you want her you just have to tell her. It won’t hurt if you mention you have my blessing.” He gave me a strange look, and we turned back to our plates. I was hungry and happily ate.

Trixi sent me a couple of looks as I did. Finally, she whispered to me, “You’re not going to tell Rexi?”

I smirked at her, “Where’s the fun in that? If he wants her, he has to go get her. I can’t make it too easy for him, Rexi won’t respect him.”

“Crafty bugger,” Trixi murmured.

Hearing my comment, Queen Mary gave me look. She had been watching the little by-play, and I gave her my best ‘I’m innocent’ smile that made her chuckle. She glanced at Henry and then at Rexi and then back at me. I winked, and she looked between the pair thoughtfully.

She watched Henry and Rexi for a bit. I guessed she was adding up the pros and cons of having Henry as her son-in-law. Then she smiled wickedly. I suspected that Henry now had an ally that he hadn’t expected.

Mary whispered something to Richard, and he chuckled and whispered something back as he nodded his head in Henry’s direction. Mary sat back at looked at Henry and then Rexi again, “Seriously?” she said more loudly and attracting attention to herself. Richard nodded, and Mary said, “Hum, if that’s the case, I think it’s a done deal.”

I looked at Richard, and he winked at me. Trixi giggled and whispered to me, “Richard knows about Henry and Rexi’s little visits to each other.”

“Has it been going on long?” I enquired before resuming my eating. I was hungry as it had been a busy day.

“Years, but Rexi has otherwise spurned him in company, particularly this last year since Jana died,” Trixi said.

“Why?” I asked.

“The silly girl thought Henry wanted me,” Trixi said.

“Did you sleep with him?” I asked in interest.

“No way. It was his parents, who wanted him to marry me. But Henry’s heart just wasn’t in it, so I’ve never encouraged him. You see as the second eldest if I had married according to the law I’m also next in line if anything happened to Quexi and her offspring,” Trixi explained.

“Like what happened to your aunt and her daughter,” I offered.

“Exactly, at least Henry is now safe to pursue his love as his father will most certainly expect him to go after her,” Trixi explained.

“So I doubt your testament will be questioned?” I supplied and then finished cleaning my plate.

Trixi beamed at me, “Nope, the other Lords won’t fight it because I’ve left the door open.”

“No, I think that door is very much shut,” I replied.

Trixi had told me that we weren’t getting dessert because they had that as nibble food in the ballroom.

A few minutes later, Mary seeing that everyone had finished their meals, stood. “I have an announcement to make. Tonight’s party was to celebrate Trixi’s birthday. I’m also pleased to inform you all, that she has also become engaged with my blessings.”

We could see several unhappy faces along the table. Trixi and I watched them as Mary continued, “However, the couple will not be marrying tonight.”

A mummer went around the table as people were confused by this announcement. Mary took delight in continuing, “Trixi’s intended doesn’t wish to move here as he has commitments elsewhere. So they have agreed that in all fairness, Trixi would name her sister Rexi as her,” she paused for effect, “Heir Apparent.”

This caused mumbling that was even more excited. Mary waited a moment and then said, “By not marrying before the change of day. Rexi will inherit the Devin Shire as our laws dictate. Now I think it’s time to meet our other guests and go do some dancing and flirting.”

The assembly got their feet and followed Mary to the Ballroom. A lot of looks were thrown my way and at Rexi. The two young men who had been seated beside her escorted her into the Ballroom. The competition was on. I was amused by the lovesick look Henry sent Rexi’s way.

The poor young man had already been corralled, but he just didn’t know it yet. I asked Henry a question, so he stayed with us. We headed to Rexi was and were immediately made room for. I made sure Henry was also included, and I even manoeuvred him beside Rexi by making one of her escorts step aside, while I congratulated her.

After Henry also congratulated Rexi, I moved so he could stand to beside Rexi, while I talked to them. The other young men were not sure of my status other than I was Trixi’s betrothed. “Henry, I hear you and Rexi will be neighbours,” I said.

“Hum, yes,” he stated awkwardly.

“It must be nice Rexi to know you have a good friend so close to help you. Are you going to travel back with the Bartons? I believe the estate may need your attention,” I commented.

Rexi looked at Trixi. Trixi had told me that she had travelled down several times to check on things. “Yes, dear sister, I think that’s a lovely idea. The people will need to know you are their new Lady. Having Henry with you will make it easier as I believe they all know him and respect him from when he helped Jana.”

Henry was smart enough to catch on. He piped in as if speaking to me, “Yes, they do. Jana had been like a sister to me. I miss her as she always treated me like her big brother. I was always happy to visit when I knew you girls were coming down.” He turned to Rexi to deliver the last bit with innuendo, “We did have some fun times, didn’t we Rexi?”

Rexi looked at him and blushed lightly. I got the impression that poor Henry was supposed to marry Jana at one time. I also gleaned by the look he gave Rexi that she had made it impossible for him to do this. His hint and Rexi’s little blush said that was where they first became lovers.

The poor bugger has had the hots for Rexi for some time as Trixi had told me. It must not have been easy for him having manipulative parents. I could see that he didn’t have eyes for anyone else other than Rexi.

I felt sorry for him. I asked for Rexi’s dance card, and put my name down for a dance and handed the card to Henry. He was allowed to put his name down twice. I tapped the card in two places, and he grinned at me and placed his name where I had suggested.

I liked this young man, he might be love struck, but he wasn’t stupid. He then handed the card onto one of the other men. This man looked at Henry after noting the spots where Henry’s name appeared and placed his name in another slot before handing it on.

Henry got several looks from the other men. He’d put his name down for the last dance before supper and the last dance of the evening. It was a show of his intent to win the lady. That he had manoeuvred to her side and established a close connection, was also telling.

I’d had fun studying the books Phil had given me on the journey here. One, in particular, was standing me in good stead. He’d given me a book on etiquette as was practised in Galena by high society. It also mentioned customs that were similar or different in Orient and Palatine. It didn’t mention Saran, the other continent, for some reason.

It was a few years out of date, but all the same, so far I’d observed that these people still adhered to most of the customs I had read about and my ever faithful Rose had confirmed that so far she hadn’t picked up on too many oddities from what we had read. She scans every book she or we can find.

It often amazes me how she finds information. They didn’t have a controller or androids here, but she still knew what was going on around us. She amused me some time later when I asked her about it. She mentioned that Sable was excellent at asking the innocent questions and people couldn’t help giving him whatever information he wanted, since he was so cute, the little Baboo.

Baboos, by the way, are a strange creature they have on this island. Sable wanted one as a pet, but we decided they were too much trouble as they got into everything. They are humanoid in shape, but had longer arms and toes and climbed everything. They were also insatiably curious, hence the reference to Sable.

They grew as large as the Pix people grow but were much heavier in the chest and had more of a short muzzle than a human type mouth. Some of the shifters here could shift to this form. I’d not tried, but I’m sure Sable will experiment.

As the evening wore on many of the local dignitaries probed me about my cargo. We had decided to rent space on the wharf, display what we had for sale in lots and then auction it off. Trixi had put Captain Hail in contact with a man who would organise it all for us.

Hail had said the poor man’s eyes had nearly popped out of his head when they showed him what we were selling. The Mercy was a decent sized ship, and the androids had packed it to the rafters. We had even added a new lower deck in the hull. It wasn’t really roomy for me, but the androids had no trouble, so Hail had let them do it.

The only buffeting the ship got was when we went slowly. I’d even altered the Travel Shield to smooth the waters more when we did. Hail hadn’t had any problems with his passengers getting sick on the way to Ochre as a result. The increased speed on the open waters didn’t hurt us either.

Henry made sure the other swains knew he planned to claim Rexi as his. Her little smiles only encouraged him to become more assertive. I think the fact his parents would no longer oppose his choice and that Trixi and I were encouraging him helped his confidence.

His uncertainty had firmed to resolve in his eyes, and he was committed to winning the fair Rexi. I watched Rexi, and I got the impression Henry’s new self-confidence did impress her. It didn’t hurt that she wanted him as much as he did her. However, she still had wariness in her eyes that worried me.

When Queen Mary commented that they made a lovely couple, it told them both that they had her approval. This fact wasn’t lost on either of them or Henry’s parents. They had the good sense to back off and let Henry do his courting unassisted since he was doing, as they wanted even if not for the reasons they wanted him to.

Trixi and I watched when Henry was dancing with Rexi. It was lovely as they blocked out the rest of the world and it was only the two of them in theirs. Trixi got me on the dance floor, and I think we became as oblivious as the other couple did.

I know that her rubbing against me had a serious effect on my lower region. She chuckled softly when she felt my reaction to her. “So is this the effect your other spouses have on you?” she asked me coyly.

I smiled down at her, “Yes, but only my spouses cause me to react this way.” I’d danced with several other people out of courtesy, and she knew that I’d not reacted to them. Some of them had been very pretty and flirty, but I felt no interest in them at all.

I noticed one woman that danced with Henry had annoyed Rexi and guessed that she was either an old flame or someone interested in Henry. He was a handsome man in his own right, and I had noticed several other women eyeing him off.

The poor sot was oblivious to them. As soon as the dance was over, he returned to Rexi’s side. He whispered to Rexi, “Justina sure has wandering hands.”

Rexi looked down, but Henry wasn’t showing the tell-tale sign of arousal. “Oh, poor baby, you could have taken her outside and given her what she wanted.”

Henry shook his head, “Not going to happen. There is only one lady in this room I wish to take somewhere, and it’s not outside for a quickie, either.”

“You don’t want to give me a quickie?” Rexi pouted at him with her eyes laughing.

Henry leant towards her ear and said softly, “When have we ever stopped after the first time, my love?” His hand slid down and gently caressed her arse.

I watched Rexi shiver and decided Henry could be smooth once he was in the groove. The look in Rexi’s eyes told me she had understood that when Henry had been with her in the past, it wasn’t just for the sex, as she had thought. He had truly wanted her. I don’t think the way he called her his love wasn’t lost on her either.

I winked at Trixi, and she smiled back. We decided to wander off. Henry didn’t need our help. As we moved away, I heard Rexi say, “You’re a sneaky bastard, Bron.”

Trixi and I both chuckled, and she took me to meet some people.

The auction was insane.

We had cut up one of Cavil’s cheeses, and one of Silver’s so the buyers could taste them. We had added several fruits cut into bite size bits so they could attest to the flavour and quality. We added some cubes of the cured snuffler meat the androids called ham, and we cut up a lot of boiled eggs.

Ben had even been busy and had baked these awesome little savoury bickies that were added to the platters. We liked snacking on them with the ham and cheese or my flavoured sour-creams. The androids had wandered around the crowd letting the people taste our wares.

We had added my thick cream, and some of the yoghurt for them to dip the fruit pieces in. My flavoured sour-cream, the ham and eggs were for the bickies. The androids patiently explained why they were on the platters and the crowd took note and tried them as suggested. The platters were a huge success and emptied fast.

Having all the notable dignitaries in town meant we got a huge turnout. A lot of the fruits and vegetables we had were out of season here, and they sold quickly after some fast and furious bidding. As Dave has predicted a lot of our dairy products went to the castle, but not until the bidding was done.

Amusingly, we also got a lot of requests for Ben’s savoury bickies recipe. He hurriedly wrote it down and added instructions. I got the auctioneer to tell the crowd that we would sell four copies. I’m not sure who was the most amazed at the prices they went for.

I’d told Ben any coin earned was his. I think he was in shock when he heard what he had earned for the recipe. I guess it pays to advertise. Our crew loved the bickies, so it wasn’t surprising that other people did too. I think the way we had presented them also helped.

The grains and the feed pellets didn’t last a lot longer. We had made some of my mashes with the pellets added and given a small helping to the animals. It was obvious they happily ate it. Lots of people chuckled watching the snufflers eat it furiously. The cluckers liked the cracked corn in theirs as we only gave them dry grain.

The livestock was also a hot commodity. Our androids explained about the cluckers and snufflers and how to farm them to those who enquired. Plenty of people enquired. Having the ham and eggs for them to taste was an excellent selling point.

If I hadn’t promised my spouses I’d be back in less than five months, we would have sold the lot here and gone back for more for Weston. Captain Hail said that what we did sell had only whetted their appetites for more when he came back.

He was going to suggest the androids send their other ship here too and bugger Garson City. The trip here was shorter, and even in the long term, it was well worth their time to keep coming here. He didn’t expect to get the same prices in the future, but he knew that once he was supplying the market, it would still be very profitable.

Several of the people in the crowd hinted that we would get good sales in Weston when we arrived if the rest of our produce was as good. It was, so we weren’t too worried. I reasoned that the fact their season was the opposite of ours was also a good selling point.