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Part of my deal with my liege lord Count Lambert was that I was to return to
Okoitz once a month to oversee the construction we had going on there. The first
month was up and I had to go.
The problem was that the girls naturally wanted to go along and pay a visit to
their families and friends. The count had given me the girls, and probably my
lands as well, because they had started imitating the manners of the nobility
rather than acting like dumb peasants. He 'felt that it was all my fault and maybe
it was.
But he wanted them out of Okoitz before everybody started acting uppity. To
bring the girls back would not have been wise. But the girls didn't know that they
had been thrown out of their home and I didn't have the heart to tell them.
To make matters worse, Sir Vladimir insisted on coming with me. I had no right
to tell him what he could do or not do, and I didn't want to offend the guy. I liked
him and I could see where he could be very useful in the future.
Finally, Sir Gregor came to my rescue by suggesting that he and his brothers take
the girls on a hunt on my new land before I "ruined" it with a lot of buildings. It
only took an hour to talk the girls into it. I mean, I might be the girls' protector,
but I wasn't their chaperon. They knew the score. It wasn't as if they were virgins.
FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SIR VLADIMIR CHARNETSKI
Sir Conrad and I arrived at Okoitz to find Vitold, Count Lambert's carpenter,
installing the sails on the windmill that was being constructed in the bailey.
This windmill was a huge affair and the top of the turret was higher than the roof
of the church. The blades went much higher and the topmost of the twelve was so
tall that I think one could stack ten peasant huts one above another and not reach
the height of it.
The windmill was surrounded by a circular workshed and it was on the roof of
this that the carpenter worked. Count Lambert and six of his knights were also on
the roof watching. Perforce, we climbed up to join them.
"Greetings, Sir Conrad," Count Lambert said. "I see that you have brought the
excellent Sir Vladimir with you. You see? It's nearly done."
"There's been more progress that I had expected, my lord," Sir Conrad said.
"My people have worked at little else since they finished spring planting. I'll
wager that you think better of them now than you did at the Christmas party."
"No bet, my lord. Not on that subject anyway."
"Yes, there is our wager as to whether or not this mill will work, isn't there?
Twenty-three thousand pence, wasn't it? It seems you're gaining on me."
"We'll know soon, my lord. The mill looks about done," Sir Conrad said.
"Only on the outside, my lords," Vitold said. "I don't have the pumps and cams all
hooked up yet inside and she's got to be way out of balance."
The last of the sails was on and the great wheel started turning slowly in the
breeze.
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"You haven't painted the sails with linseed oil the way you were supposed to," Sir
Conrad said. "The sails will draw much better if they're not porous."
"We've ordered some linseed oil out of Wroclaw, Sir Conrad, but it hasn't come
yet. I just wanted to see how the axle shaft turned before I got to work on the
pumps."
"Then I guess you've learned what you wanted to know. It seems to turn easily
enough. Like you said, the balance is way off, but you'll have to wait until the
pumps are on before you can work on that. Also, I think that the set of the sails
could be improved, but that's the last thing you'll want to play with. I guess you
can stop it now."
"Now that's something I wanted to talk to you about, Sir Conrad. I understand
how to make it go, but you never said anything about how to make it stop."
"What? To stop it?" Count Lambert said. "There's naught to that! Watch!"
I fear that my Count Lambert had scant experience with the vast power of that
huge wheel. He put his arm around the next blade as it came slowly by and
attempted to bring it to a halt. The vast wheel heeded his efforts not at all, but
continued around.
The count, unused to any disobedience, clung on and was soon swept off the roof
of the shed.
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