7 May 1124

　　It was dark. And cold. William was terrified.

　　The flame of William`s rush-light guttered as he ran along the dark corridors of the mine, lost and afraid. He longed to wake up but it was no nightmare. His torch struck the wall as he rounded a corner and finally went out, smothering him in complete darkness.

　　The malicious laughter of William`s tormenters echoed off the tunnel walls. William dropped to the floor and sheltered in place, willing the wicked noise to stop. It eventually faded as his pursuers tired of their sport but was replaced with an even more terrifying sound.

　　Absolute silence.

　　William crouched in the darkness, unable to see even his hands. He was just a mind in a world of dark. He fought for a way out of his predicament but he couldn`t see any solution.

　　His terror rose with each heartbeat but after an age of ever diminishing hope, the tunnel appeared to lighten. It was faint at first but its intensity grew and William started to see the stone walls around him. He didn`t care if it was his tormentors returning, anything was better than the dark prison.

　　He called out.

　　A torch rounded a bend in the tunnel and the friendly Miner came into view.

　　"Roger an` Warren up to no good again?" Edric asked solemnly.

　　William nodded, squinting up at him.

　　"Bloody mongrels. I never shoulda taken `em on. Pity Roger`s so good with a pick. Sorry `bout that."

　　It wasn`t William`s first run in with the pair. He didn`t know what he`d done to earn their enmity. The outoftowners had recently arrived in Holford, answering Edric`s calls for extra assistance in the mine. They`d taken an instant dislike to William and quickly set about making his life hell. Offering to help find Edric, only to abandon him in the tunnels, was just the latest escalation of their bullying.

　　 "Don`t mind `em boy," Edric told William. "Yar worth twelve of `em. Everyone`s seen how ya been helpin` the village. I`ll give `em a good crack over the head. Bloody dolts."

　　They reached the surface and William breathed a sigh of relief. He`d never been so happy to see the sky.

　　"Ah lad, you`d best get changed," Edric said, noticing William`s torn and muddy pants. "Take it easy and I`ll see ya at the Council meetin` tonight."

　　William was further humiliated by Edric`s dismissal but didn`t object. He slunk back towards Holford, trying to avoid the judging eyes of the mine labourers. Most were new arrivals, their faces were unfamiliar. He was halfway home before he realised that he`d forgotten to ask about Edric`s production forecasts, the whole reason he`d risked the dreaded mine in the first place.

　　William slipped into his family`s cottage, hoping to find it empty.

　　"You`re back early," Ma chimed with surprise. She sat by the hearth, preparing another batch of cloth for Matilda`s new dyes. William was still unaccustomed to seeing Ma with a spring in her step but news of Rachel`s baby had lulled her back to life.

　　"Are you alright?" Ma asked with motherly concern.

　　William mumbled a response but Ma saw straight through him with her well-trained maternal eye.

　　"Will..?" she asked pointedly.

　　William relented and told her about the whole incident and the labourers` ongoing torments. Ma was furious, her colourful language so unusual that it forced a reluctant laugh from William. Ma washed his pants and dried them by the fire. The pair chatted the afternoon away, trying to solve the world`s problems while Ma continued working on her cloth. Just like old times, the mere act of talking reenergised William. Edric`s brutes were almost forgotten when he finally departed for the Council meeting.

　　The Council was Matilda`s idea and that evening was only their third meeting. A necessary evil after coordinating Holford`s many activities became too much for her and William. They had stubbornly persevered for as long as possible but a growing series of accidents eventually forced to concede the need for more assistance.

　　"Plus," Matilda had added with a smile, "we can pressure the participants to finally learn their numbers and letters."

　　The new group that built on the leadership of Pa`s jury, though Matilda insisted on keeping the groups separate. It was held in the Brewer`s hall, the only room in Holford large enough to fit the participants.

　　William sat at the long trestle table in the barrel-lined cellar, directly across from Martin Brewer and his son. Martin had made clear his dislike for William, saying that he was too young for a prestigious leadership position. But Matilda wouldn`t hear it and pointed out the important role William played in accelerating Holford`s progress. William defiantly returned Martin`s glare. Yet another bully.

　　He breathed a sigh of relief when Pa entered the cellar, deep in conversation with Elizabeth`s friend Astrid. She was Holford`s elderly midwife and herbalist. The woman who had brought William into the world. Pa caught William`s eye and slid onto the bench next to his son, inviting Astrid to sit next to them. It was her first Council meeting and the shy midwife declined, taking a seat at the farthest end of the table instead. William gave her a small wave.

　　Timothy and Walt arrived next, deep in discussion about the warehouse roof. Timothy sat next to Astrid and gave her hand a friendly squeeze while continuing his conversation. Luke Ploughman, Father Daniel and Joshua Miller gradually filtered in one by one and sat.

　　The Brewer glared as each person entered, daring them to challenge his authority and ensuring that they took the seats he deemed appropriate. He smothered conversation and everyone milled around uncomfortably. Except for Timothy and Walt, who were either oblivious or just didn`t care.

　　Matilda finally arrived with Edric Miner and Matt Smith in tow. Timothy and Walt stopped their conversation as Matilda stood behind her seat. She looked around the table, dissatisfied.

　　"No, this won`t do at all. Everybody up, we`re going to mix this around."

　　Martin looked incredulous. "Dammit woman! You can`t tell me where to sit in my own building!"

　　"I can actually, if you wish to remain a part of this group. And if you want me to continue helping you and your family. But if you insist on being obstructive, we can move our meetings to my warehouse. It`ll mean a longer walk for everyone but might rid us of some dead weight."

　　The pair stared off in uneasy silence until Alan grabbed his father by the elbow and urged him to stand.

　　Matilda scattered the attendees around the table, breaking up the cliques that had already started to form.

　　"I`ll say this once more, then let it be done forever," she said. "You`re all key members of Holford, the few with the power to advance the interests of the many. I`ve asked you here to lead, to guide the village to prosperity.

　　"We`re all working towards the same goal. A prosperous village will improve each of your individual lots. But more importantly, it will also improve the lives of your family, friends and neighbours. I won`t have petty squabbles in this group. I can`t have us fragmenting so leave the petty politics behind. We`re all one team in this so if you`re unwilling to cooperate, know that we will go on without you."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author`s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

　　Martin made a face to his son across the table, though Alan ignored him and remained intently focused on Matilda. Annoyed by the lack of acknowledgement, the Brewer turned to his brother and whispered something behind his hand.

　　Matilda noticed too.

　　"Any problems?"

　　Edric shook his head and William chuckled as Martin cowered at Matilda`s gaze, avoiding eye contact.

　　"Good," she said cheerfully. "Well, first I`d like to welcome Astrid. I`ve been teaching her more medicine over the past week so she can assist with the injuries that are becoming increasingly frequent amongst your workers. She`s also been helping Elizabeth grow some new plants that should be of interest to all of you. Haven`t you Astrid?"

　　The Midwife gave a nervous nod to Matilda, only to quickly look down again at her clenched hands.

　　"Well it`s good to have you here," Matilda said with genuine warmth. "Don`t be afraid to chime in, we need more women in this group. Ok, let`s make this more productive than the last meeting. We`ll start with an update from everyone so let us know what you need from William and I over the coming week. Then we`ll discuss our approach for Baron Walter`s upcoming inspection. Our revision of numbers and letters can wait until next week."

　　They went around the table, each member sharing what they`d been working on. Walt and Timothy were almost finished with the roof of the warehouse which would free Timothy to focus on glass for the windows. Walt had finished the waterwheel components and awaited Luke`s plough-team to transport them to the mill.

　　Father Daniel had progressed work on Matilda`s design for an automated writing machine. He`d shown great interest in Matilda`s Book and was delighted when she said he could make one of his own. Walt`s young assistants had helped carve hundreds of tiny letters into wooden blocks which Father Daniel had painstakingly arranged to tell the Genesis creation story. He promised to have initial prints for the Council`s reading lessons by the next meeting, provided others supplied ink and paper.

　　Martin didn`t have anything to contribute but Alan had used an old cauldron to make dyes for the priest`s writing projects and Ma`s cloth. He`d also been working with recently arrived masons on Matilda`s plans to separate Holford`s waste and drinking water.

　　His father scoffed at the idea. "Why anyone would waste time making an artificial river, only to bury it underground?"

　　When Alan explained how it would improve the quality of their brews the Brewer went quiet once more.

　　Matilda scrawled notes with charcoal on a precious blank page of her Book. "That paper and ink couldn`t come quick enough," she told them with an exaggerated sigh.

　　Joshua, Luke and Pa were all progressing well. Joshua had processed Holford` backlog of grain and started work on Arnold`s personal hoarded stockpile which would be needed to feed all of the new arrivals. Luke and his team were almost finished ploughing the fallow fields, well ahead of schedule thanks to Matilda`s improved plough. Pa was working in the fields to cut hay before sowing the next crop.

　　Matthew and Ralph had finished adapting the new mill mechanism to drive their automated bellows and had started sharpening the blades for Walt`s sawmill. With Matilda`s help, Matthew had finally succeeded in casting stronger steels and Ralph was experimenting with magical steels that wouldn`t rust. Matthew hoped to use them to make an even better plough, which made Luke whoop out loud.

　　Edric shared the production estimates William had forgotten to ask for that morning. Matilda`s improved pump was keeping the water out of the mine and the Miner`s team had already exposed promising new oreveins. Edric welcomed Astrid`s assistance as the hasty excavations made his inexperienced miners prone to clumsiness.

　　Soft-spoken Astrid finished with an update on her work with Elizabeth.

　　"Matilda`s tomato plants are starting to grow fruit so we`re expecting our first harvest soon. Nowhere enough to address the food shortages but a step in the right direction. Matilda promises they will be unlike anything we`ve eaten before so perhaps we could share that with the Baron?"

　　Matilda laughed. "That`s a great idea, let`s make him a pizza! It`ll blow his mind." The blank faces around the table made her laugh even harder. Then she grew serious. "Astrid and Joshua have touched on the food issues but we need to discuss the new arrivals. We`re becoming victims of our own success and it won`t be long until Baron Walter starts getting complaints from the other lords. Even more people have arrived from the region seeking work but we have nowhere to house them. Some Holford families have kindly shared their homes but we can`t rely on their generosity forever."

　　William took his cue and spoke up. "We can establish new lodging for the newcomers which will mean even more help for our projects. And if we do it well now, we could design a larger village so it doesn`t get crowded like Stowey. Should we ask the Baron for assistance?"

　　There was a general murmur of assent from the Council, though Timothy uncharacteristically grumbled that too many outsiders would change Holford`s character.

　　"Come now Timothy," Matilda chided. "The only constant is change. Engage with the newcomers from the outset and you can teach them the Holford way of living. Just like you showed me when I first arrived. Plus, aren`t half of your new assistants from other villages?"

　　Timothy dipped his head in defeat.

　　"Very well, we can discuss designs and timeframes over the coming days. We`ll need extra land and materials so I`ll raise this with Walter when he visits. Now, all of you go home!"

　　The Council members filed out of the cellar, their conversations charged with possibility. William and Pa waited for Matilda to gather her belongings and the three of them then made their way home.

　　"That was an improvement," Pa noted.

　　"Much better," Matilda agreed. "It`ll require firm guidance to keep our more belligerent members focussed but momentum should keep us on course once we`re all moving together."

　　"We can try," William countered, "but I think the Brewer family will always want to branch off on their own. They don`t really care about anyone else."

　　Pa met William`s pessimistic realism with a contemplative nod.

　　They were all exhausted from another long day and it was a relief when they finally entered the cosy cottage. William reflected on the various changes as they settled into their usual places. Pa sat on a new stool from Walt, Ma dished up food in crockery provided by Timothy and Matthew had even crafted forks for everyone. The family`s role in welcoming Matilda to Holford was appreciated. By most.

　　The biggest change of all was in Ma who was almost back to her same old self since hearing that she would become a grandmother. She was full of energy as she rushed around the cottage in the mornings and evenings, cooking and cleaning to make sure that everyone was ready for their busy days of work.

　　"We`ve got to have Holford in a good state before my grandchild arrives," she joked.

　　Ma was busy herself during the day and William didn`t know how she managed everything. He often saw her dashing around the village to visit her friends and coordinating the efforts of the Holford women. She had started building an improved loom with Matilda`s guidance and Walt had privately vented his frustrations to William at Ma`s incessant insistence that he prioritise her work.

　　William didn`t complain of Ma`s work ethic whenever her latest food creation was inflicted upon him. With just regular ingredients, Matilda had taught Ma how to make delicious concoctions but Elizabeth`s new produce only further enhanced their meals. That evening was no exception. William`s mouth was alive with new sensations. It felt on fire!

　　"Do you need some water Will?" Ma asked, still enjoying the novelty of being able to offer clean drinking water.

　　"Not water," Matilda said. "That`ll make it worse. Is there any milk?"

　　"How was the meeting?" Ma asked while ladling William some milk. "Better than last week?"

　　"Much better," Matilda said. "Everyone`s making progress, it`s so good to see."

　　"It`s honestly amazing to see how much everything has changed. I don`t know how I never noticed, but there`s something in the air. Everyone has a spring in their step, even more than you`d expect in the leadup to Summer. You`ve really worked some magic Matilda."

　　"You`re too kind Emma. I`ve just given gentle nudges here and there. Everyone else is doing the actual work and William is running around to keep them all on task."

　　William felt himself blush at his mentor`s compliment.

　　"Another of your enchantments," Ma replied. "We love our William to death but Lord knows we never thought he was capable of working so hard."

　　"Hey!" William protested half-heartedly.

　　"Not at all," Matilda said with a smile. "I knew he had a good head on his shoulders when I first met him. I think he was just bored."

　　Matilda got up and rinsed her clay bowl, placing it on the new shelf Walt had built to placate Ma until her new loom arrived.

　　"That was delicious Emma, it`s hard to believe you`ve just started cooking with chilli. Astrid said the tomatoes are getting close so I`ll show you some more recipes soon."

　　Elizabeth was excited at that announcement.

　　"Ok dear family, it`s getting late. The evenings keep getting lighter as summer draws closer yet somehow it`s always dark when I finally return to the mill."

　　"You take care of yourself, Til," Pa said protectively. "You always say it`s fine but keep your wits about you. Martin`s made it clear that not everyone is happy with your changes."

　　"Thanks Pa, I`ll be careful."

　　The young woman strode out into the twilight and the family settled into their regular evening routine. William was amazed how different the building felt with Rachel, Mama and Margery gone. Everyone seemed less on edge and life in the cottage was smooth. Easy.

　　William remembered the morning`s traumatic events and suddenly felt exhausted. He settled onto his small cot and quickly fell asleep to the sound of the happy family pottering around the house. The horrors of the mine were forgotten amongst the warmth, light and sounds of home.

　　Life was good.

　　(C) Jay Pelchen 2023. All rights reserved.