Chapter 13

Rome, Papal States. August 1067

While Luke and Pollyanna were designing the new British ships, Pope Alexander II was having a difficult conversation about ships with a representative from Venice, Vitale Selvo.

“Your eminence, we cannot send our fleet as far as England.”

“Why not? Your trade ships travel further.”

“The Moors will never allow a naval force through the Fretum Herculeum without a fight. Even if we will such a fight, our forces will be so weak the English forces will sweep us from their sea without too much trouble.”

“What could the Moors do to a fleet with God backing the fleet?”

“Your eminence, I have taken part in many naval battles, and I have to tell you, the Moors believe the same thing. When our fleet gets to the Iberian Peninsula, they will be exhausted, and the Moorish fleet will be fresh. That is a recipe for disaster. Even if the Moors let us through without a fight, our ships are not made to battle the swells of the Western Sea and would be shipwrecked. The earliest we could launch a fleet would be around Christmas, and the fleet would have to battle winter weather for the entire trip to England. If we wait until next year, the English Navy will be strong enough to defeat us.”

“SO, THERE IS NOTHING VENICE WILL DO?!?!” Alexander yelled

“I didn’t say that your eminence,” Vitale responded calmly. “We can send naval advisers to France, Brittany, and Flanders.”

“Flanders and France are refusing to fight Queen Marion directly, and Brittany is getting ready to launch their invasion. I just sent my blessing to Hawise of Rennes for her invasion of the British Isles.” Alexander was getting frustrated with the Venetians dragging their feet.

“Then it is too late for the Venetians to help. I hope the Bretons are prepared for the consequences.”

“What consequences?” growled Alexander, his face turning red with fury

“They are right next to England, and I know Marion has a fleet of Viking longboats she captured last year. It wouldn’t be much trouble for Marion’s forces to cross the channel and sweep over Brittany. The Doge has received reports stating the English are building a shipyard the likes of which the world has never seen before. Speaking for myself, I hope to be able to look at the yards in person before long.” answered Vitale, as calm as ever.

It was a testament to how much power Alexander had lost that Vitale wasn’t frightened by his tantrum. Both knew the pope couldn’t do much against Venice; if the pope pushed too much, Venice would invade the Papal States and lay waste to Rome. The pope didn’t have very many international friends, as was proven by the Normans under Richard Drengot when he forced the Pope to make numerous concessions.

Vitale waited a minute to see if Alexander had anything else to say before turning his heel and walking out, providing another blow to Alexander’s already bruised prestige. The pope hadn’t dismissed Vitale, and this was a serious slap in the face for Alexander, and it was made worse by the fact Alexander couldn’t’ do anything about it. Vitale wasn’t too trusting of the Papal forces as he hightailed it out of Rome, wanting to return to Venetian territory as quickly as possible, and was glad he hadn’t brought many servants with him. In fact, he had only brought one, and he was riding right next to Vitale.

It only took the pair two days of hard riding to reach Venetian territory. After reaching friendly territory, the pair slowed down after stopping for a day of rest. When Vitale gave his report to the Doge, he got his next assignment. The Doge wanted Vitale to go to Britain and study their technology. The last thing the Venetians wanted was to get too far behind their adversaries. Vitale knew he would be in Britain for years and decided to take his entire family. To avoid the faster but perilous sea route to England, Vitale would travel north to the Rhine River, then to the North Sea to get transportation to Britain.

After Vitale left, Alexander blew his top. He lost count of how many times he had been insulted and needed something to take his anger out. To that end, Alexander called for his favorite whore. She was a plump Italian beauty Alexander had found just east of Rome the year before and had taken her in when he discovered she was an orphan. Her name was Sabina, and had warm brown eyes with curly black hair that reached down to the small of her back. Alexander’s favorite feature, though, was her long nipples which, when thoroughly excited, stuck out nearly two centimeters. Sucking on those long nipples was a guaranteed way to make her wet enough for Alexander to push his cock into her. It hadn’t taken him long to learn that trying to fuck her while she was dry hurt him just as much as it hurt her and led to an utterly unsatisfactory time.

When Sabina walked in, Alexander took her and threw her on his desk before ripping her tunic off. He was in no mood for any more foreplay than necessary. When Sabina was wet enough, Alexander moved just enough clothing to get his cock out before ramming it into her. In one stroke, their black pubic hair was in contact as Sabina grunted. Although Sabina had a thick layer of curly black pubic hair, moisture still leaked onto Alexander’s desk.

“TAKE MY COCK, YOU WENCH. TAKE IT AND FIND THE HOLY SPIRIT.”

Alexander screamed as he pounded Sabina’s plump, hairy pussy. This had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with Alexander’s anger management. Within five minutes, Alexander pushed harder and held tight as he unloaded deep inside Sabina. After firing, Alexander laid on top of Sabina to catch his breath. She just laid there and waited for Alexander to get off her so she could wash, having his cum in her pussy and sweat on her forehead. Eventually, Alexander got off and tucked his cock back in before grabbing a wineglass.

Sabina put up with Alexander because the life she was living in the Vatican was much better than the life she would have been living in the countryside. Usually, she only had to satisfy Alexander once a month; the rest of the time was her own, which she used to make clothing for sale to supplement her income. Hearing about Britain, Sabina dreamed of living in such a place where she could do anything she wanted and wouldn’t have to tolerate such a pig as Alexander II.

Frankfort, Holy Roman Empire. August 1067

While the pope was talking boats, Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire was too. For Henry, the talk was about trading ships and new ports instead of warships. He had decided earlier in the year not to fight Britain unless they attacked him. Now, his merchants were begging for increased ports along the North Sea coast to handle the increasing trade.

Henry was tickled pink by the amount of silver that began flowing into his treasury. With the elimination of tolls on the roads, internal trade in the Holy Roman Empire began to grow. As things had been for the six months prior, Gretchen was right next to Henry, giving him unbiased advice.

“I think you should invest in your North Sea ports, your majesty.”

“Really? Why not the military? My nobles are getting restless, and the Norsemen are moving south.”

“You know why. Without a strong economy, you cannot have a strong military, and your economy is still weak compared to Great Britain. Do I think Marion is a threat? No, but she has managed to keep her nobles on a short leash so far, in part by strengthing her economy. If the people have a good occupation where they are happy, they are much less likely to support a rebellious noble. It will be much easier to grow the military as the economy grows.”

Henry sighed. As usual, Gretchen made perfect sense.

“As usual, Gretchen, you are making a valid argument and one that I can’t refute.” Henry stopped to think for a minute. “I will order the improvement of two ports, one at the mouth of the Rhine, and the other will be Hamburg. To save money, I’m going to take a page from Marion’s book and offer the merchants the opportunity to invest in port expansions. The money I save by getting the merchants to invest will be invested in the army. The last thing I need is my nobles rebelling or foreign invasion.”

“How are you going to get the merchants to invest?”

“By giving them special privileges if they invest. The more they invest, the better their privileges, but they will not be transferable. If they cross me, though, their privileges will be revoked.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“I think so; the English have made something similar work.”

Henry and Gretchen didn’t know that the company he was referring to was the one owned by Luke. When someone looked at the British economy, they saw a large company putting massive sums of money into building projects and getting rewarded by the queen. They didn’t know that Marion didn’t award Luke’s company anything. Luke’s company grew so fast because the technology the company used was much more advanced than what anyone else was using. The other reason the company grew so fast was because of Bard. He took the lessons Luke taught to heart, and the company treated and paid its employees much better than anyone else. Most of the promotions were internal, and the company paid its employees to receive the additional training needed to advance.

“What will you do if the merchants don’t invest?”

“In that case, I plan to invest in Hamburg. Currently, there’s not a town large enough near the mouth of the Rhine that could be expanded into a major port without spending large amounts of money.”

“Then maybe it would be better to invest in Hamburg for the time being. When you have extra money, you could invest in the Rhine Estuary.”

“Gretchen, I like that plan better. I always knew there was a reason I kept you around.”

“You mean aside from my magnificent bosom.”

“Well...”

With that, Henry went after Gretchen’s magnificent bosom. The problem was the amount of cloth covering the breasts in question. It took Henry a couple of minutes to untie everything so he could suckle Gretchen’s brown nipples. While he was sucking, Gretchen wiggled, and her dress pooled at her feet, leaving her bare to her lover’s close inspection. Henry worked down Gretchen’s body, leaving a trail of saliva in his wake until he was between her legs, lapping at her core. Gretchen buried her fingers in Henry’s hair and pulled him closer to keep him from moving. As she came, Gretchen moaned loudly as her back arched and her knees became weak. Henry, recognizing his lover’s weak knees, swept her off her feet and carried her to a bed.

Once Gretchen was on the bed, Henry stripped off his clothes as she watched with glazed eyes. Starting at her feet, Henry kissed his way up until he reached her mouth. As they kissed, he entered her and, in one thrust, had his cock buried balls deep. Gretchen wrapped her legs around Henry’s arse and pulled him into her as he thrust into her. The only sounds were the slapping of flesh and the lover’s panting as they neared their mutual finish. Finally, Henry thrust hard and held his cock deep inside Gretchen as she felt his cum splash inside her cunt, causing her to have her final orgasm. Henry rolled off Gretchen once his cock shriveled and fell asleep with Gretchen snuggled against him.

Through Henry’s spy network, he knew many of his nobles were getting restless. They craved the glory of military conquest and saw the growing military under Henry as proof they would soon be covered in glory. The most ambitious nobles wanted to sail against England, stating that a kingdom ruled by a mere woman was weak and ripe for the taking. The intelligent nobles knew better and didn’t want anything to do with fighting Marion, but even this group of nobles hated the ideas she introduced and that Henry was importing. The serfs were supposed to work the land for their betters, while a women’s place was to care for the home. While Henry didn’t buy into everything Marion was saying, Gretchen did and used her influence on Henry to guide him in Marion’s direction.

Paris, France. August 1067

While Henry was dealing with restless nobles, Philip of France was dealing with a different noble problem. His nobles had been angered when Philip seized William of Normandy’s lands for the crown. Unlike Henry, Philip didn’t have a growing economy to keep the pressure off. The nobles ridiculed every decision Philip made, and like almost every other noble in history, Philip was careful not to hurt the feelings of the aristocracy. Philip’s young age helped him with his nobles because they hadn’t expected him to fight them, which caught them off balance. His mother, Anne of Kyiv, was advising the young Philip to make nice with the nobles until he had enough strength to confront them on an equal footing.

“No, mother, I will not bend to the nobles. I am king, and they will bow to me. If the wench in England can do it, so can I!”

“That wench has fewer nobles to deal with, and her husband does her dirty work. Her army is completely equipped with firearms, while you only have a thousand firearms in your army, and the commanders don’t know how to use them. The English commanders know how to use them, even if nobody can figure out how the English could possibly learn something as complex as commanding an army.”

“According to my spies, none of the nobles have firearms, so the thousand I have should be enough. If I wait until I’m stronger, they will be stronger too. I’m going to start sending army units into the countryside to build roads and bridges. I’m hoping to anger some of the nobles into attacking me, and hopefully, they rebel a few at a time. When they rebel, I will follow the same procedure Marion does. The noble’s lands will be seized and sold to the former serfs. The rest of their property will belong to the crown.”

“I can’t support such a path, Philip, and I fear you will destroy everything this family has worked to accomplish.”

“Mother, if I don’t crush them, everything will be lost anyway. When Marion became Queen of England, everything changed.”

Philip was between a rock and a hard place. On one side was the wave of social, political, and economic reforms coming from Britain, and on the other was the French nobles who were bound to the system that allowed them to stay in power. The nobles would do anything to keep their power while the people exposed to the new ideas were pushing hard for their adoption, damn the short-term cost.

Some nobles went as far as sabotaging the work Philip was trying to do. They would sign contracts for workers but not deliver the workers promised, or the workers they did provide would be so unhealthy they couldn’t work. Other nobles would send agents to work sites to burn equipment and run off the horses needed for heavy work. With all the resistance Philip was getting from his nobles, it was a celebratory moment when he managed to accomplish anything.

Rennes, Brittany. September 1067

Another place the nobles were putting pressure on the territory’s leader was Brittany. Hawise of Rennes was under pressure because she was broke, having spent everything on modernizing her military. The only way she could keep her nobles under control was to launch an invasion of England as soon as possible. She stood in a small room with her commanding general, Charles of Domnonée, looking over a map of Britain.

They knew they didn’t have the time or shipping available to transport the army to Wales but thought they had time to launch a large-scale raid on the main English naval base at Hull. The war spoils would settle the nobles and help pay down some of Hawise’s debt. Once the army had looted everything around Hull and burned every structure, they would embark on their ships and return to Brittany.

On 16 September, the army embarked from their port at Dinan on the northern coast of Brittany. Hawise and her husband Hoël II watched the invasion force load into their ships and set sail. If this force failed, there would be a good chance that Hoël II and Hawise would have to flee Brittany. Hoël II had a secret plan to throw Hawise to the noble wolves. First, he felt it was time to try for another heir, so he tracked Hawise down and had her report to his quarters. When she walked in, Hoël started removing her clothes, and it took Hawise everything not to sigh. Hoël wasn’t very good in bed, and she didn’t feel like sleeping with crusted legs again.

To make Hoël happy, Hawise laid on his bed and spread her legs, exposing her thick brown bush, and Hoël was thrilled. Even though the church preached against having sex during the day, Hoël didn’t care; he loved looking at Hawise’s bush. Hawise was glad she got wet easily since it reduced the pain from Hoël’s thrust. Like every other time he did this, Hoël only lasted a few minutes before he filled her tunnel with seed and rolled over to nap.

Once Hawise was sure Hoël was sleeping, she returned to her chambers, where her lover awaited her. Once she returned to her chamber, Hawise’s servant girl cleaned her slit of her husband’s cum using her tongue. That way, Hawise could be sure every drop of cum was out of her pussy so her lover could deposit his load, and hopefully, if she got pregnant, it would be his child. The servant girl was good with her tongue and gave Hawise multiple orgasms until Hawise ordered the girl away from her flower.

When Hawise laid down, her love came in and joined her in bed; where even though she had just come off multiple orgasms, Hawise reacted to her lover’s presence with open thighs. Her lover’s cock felt so much better in her cunt than her husband’s that she had more orgasms before she felt her lover’s hot cum shoot up inside her. With a cunt full of lover cum, Hawise and her lover curled up and fell asleep.

It was an open secret in the castle that Hawise had a lover, just like Hoël had several concubines that serviced him. This way, everyone was happy, and the husband and wife could ignore each other in their private lives.