The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett [217]
The peasant said: “That would be a kindness.” But he looked dubious, as if he suspected trickery.
“I couldn’t offer you a penny a fleece, though.”
“Aha! I thought there’d be a snag.”
“I could give you twopence for four fleeces.”
“But they’re worth a penny each!” he protested.
“In Gloucester. This is Huntleigh.”
He shook his head. “I’d rather have fourpence and lose a day in the field than have twopence and gain a day.”
“Suppose I offer you threepence for four fleeces.”
“I lose a penny.”
“And save a day’s journey.”
He looked bewildered. “I never heard of nothing like this before.”
“It’s as if I were a carter, and you paid me a penny to take your wool to market.” She found his slowness exasperating. “The question is, is an extra day in the fields worth a penny to you, or not?”
“It depends what I do with the day,” he said thoughtfully.
Richard said: “Allie, what are we going to do with four fleeces?”
“Sell them to Meg,” she said impatiently. “For a penny each. That way we’re a penny better off.”
“But we have to go all the way to Winchester for a penny!”
“No, stupid. We buy wool from fifty peasants and take the whole lot to Winchester. Don’t you see? We could make fifty pennies! We could feed ourselves and save up for a good horse for you!”
She turned back to the peasant. His cheerful grin had gone, and he was scratching his ginger-colored head. Aliena was sorry she had perplexed him, but she wanted him to accept her offer. If he did, she would know it was possible for her to fulfill her vow to her father. But peasants were stubborn. She felt like taking him by the collar and shaking him. Instead, she reached inside her cloak and fumbled in her purse. They had changed the gold bezants for silver pennies at the goldsmith’s house in Winchester, and now she took out three pennies and showed them to the peasant. “Here,” she said. “Take it or leave it.”
The sight of the silver helped the peasant make up his mind. “Done,” he said, and took the money.
Aliena smiled. It looked as if she might have found the answer.
That night she used a bundled fleece for a pillow. The smell of sheep reminded her of Meg’s house.
When she woke up in the morning she discovered that she was not pregnant.
Things were looking up.
Four weeks after Easter, Aliena and Richard entered Winchester with an old horse pulling a homemade cart bearing a huge sack which contained two hundred and forty fleeces—the precise number which made up a standard woolsack.
At that point they discovered taxes.
Previously they had always entered the city without attracting any attention, but now they learned why city gates were narrow and constantly manned by customs officers. There was a toll of one penny for every cartload of goods taken into Winchester. Fortunately, they still had a few pennies left, and they were able to pay; otherwise they would have been turned away.
Most of the fleeces had cost them between one half and three quarters of a penny each. They had paid seventy-two pence for the old horse, and the rickety cart had been thrown in. Most of the rest of the money had been spent on food. But tonight they would have a pound of silver and a horse and cart.
Aliena’s plan was then to go out again and buy another sackful of fleeces, and to do the same again and again until all the sheep were shorn. By the end of the summer she wanted to have the money to buy a strong horse and a new cart.
She felt very excited as she led their old nag through the streets toward Meg’s house. By the end of the day she would have proved that she could take care of herself and her brother without any help from anyone. It made her feel very mature and independent. She was in charge of her own destiny. She had had nothing from the king, she did not need relatives, and she had no use for a husband.
She was looking forward to seeing Meg, who had been her inspiration. Meg was one of the few people who had helped Aliena without trying to rob, rape or exploit her. Aliena had a lot of questions to ask her about business in general and the wool trade in particular.