A few days after I visited with Lord Cumfrence, we made it to Vaspar. I wanted to head straight home, but I needed to speak with the count from whom I had just stolen three baronies. I did not want any bad blood between us, and I also needed information.

We had sent a message ahead to inform them of our arrival, and since I was of equal rank to the count, a room at the castle would be provided for me. The thought made me think about the castle I would have to build in North Cove. I was totally going to have secret passages and rooms. There was no point in building a castle without them. The other thing they didn't have here was servant's passages.

Some people may say that it is degrading to our servants to have to use different passages to get around. I thought it would be nice for them. Imagine if I had rude guests that they wanted to avoid or if they needed to get somewhere without being bugged by people.

The other thing I wanted was those pulley systems that could raise and lower things like food or laundry up and down between floors. My servants would love me for it. I would need an engineer to help with that because I believe it involved a system of weights. I would give them the idea and see if they could figure it out.

We arrived at the castle three bells past noon, and so we would be having dinner with the count in a few hours. As soon as I arrived, though, I got a message that Fredick wanted to talk. I did not let that rush me, however. I was a count now, and Frederick would have to wait. I took a bath and got changed before I was escorted to visit with Fredrick.

As I entered the sitting room where Fredrick was standing, he bowed to me. I gave a bow in response, though it was not quite so deep. I could have just nodded, but the bow was appropriate when showing respect to someone, even when your title was above them. I was only forbidden from bowing as deep or deeper than him.

He smiled as he said. "Welcome, Count Bicman."

"Seriously, Fredrick. What is with the formality? "

"You know very well that you have to set the terms of our relationship now that you are a count, Amos."

"Did you honestly think it would change?"

"Proper manors must be honored, my friend."

I sighed. "I have to learn a whole new set just as I was getting comfortable with the ones I had learned."

He laughed.

"So, is your father upset at me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I don't think so, but you know how he is."

"Mmm, yes, he isn't the easiest person in the world to read," I said.

"Peter is the one you should watch out for. He is mad as a bear. It is a good thing he is only the heir and not the count, or he would challenge you to a duel."

"It wouldn't get him the baronies back, so what's the point?"

"To embarrass you, of course. He will try to provoke you to challenge him, though."

"Don't worry, I won't let him bait me."

"Bait you?"

"Fishing term. Haven't you ever been fishing?"

"Nobles hunt, commoners fish," he said matter of factly.

"Nobles do whatever they want. When you come to visit me, we will go fishing in the cove."

"Just don't let my father find out, and I will be happy to," he said with a grin. "Now I see that you have dressed for some sword training."

"I figured that is why you had requested me so urgently. You needed someone to beat. And I could certainly use some instruction."

And so, for the next hour, Fredrick and I traded blows in the training yard. It was actually fun. My improvement caught Fredrick off guard.

“You have improved, Amos," Frederick said after our third match.

I was having trouble catching my breath, but I managed to say, "Are you serious? You..."

I trailed off as I realized something. I was about to say he mopped the floor with me. But I suddenly realized that there was no word for 'mop' in this language. Nor had I seen a mop. Why hadn't I thought of this before? I could have made a mop. Ok, that is on my to-do list. Maids would laud me for the rest of history!

"Amos?" Frederick said.

"Sorry, I just had an idea for an invention."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Nope, You will find out when I send you one as a gift."

"As good as books, I hope."

"It depends on who you give it to," I said. "Your maids will love you for it."

He gave me a questioning look. "I am actually quite satisfied with the relationship I have with our servants."

"Oh well, I am sure you will find it interesting all the same. Speaking of books, have you been raiding my publishing house?" I asked.

"Of course I have. I think I have the first copy of most of the things that come out of there," he said without any shame. "Though you need more workers. Your books are becoming extremely popular, and they cannot produce enough to keep up with the demand among the nobility."

That was strange. "Five more scribes should have arrived after I left with the shipment of book paper?"

"Oh, they did. But I think you underestimate how popular the books are."

"And don't worry. I have been helping your scribes price their work. Your people are great scribes, but they are not businessmen. You need to get a manager down here as soon as possible," he said.

"I do have someone in mind. Thank you for your help."

He shrugged. "Really, it has been my stewardship. Besides, I am getting the first copy of every book. Do you realize the value of what you are giving me? I am getting more than enough."

I smiled, "I would have had to postpone this whole venture if it weren't for you, and your backing has no doubt assisted in the enterprise's popularity. Any idea on how much we have made?"

"Enough that you should just give back your baronies and focus on what you are good at," he laughed.

"If it were that simple, I would do that, but I have a duty to the crown and my people. Besides, who would have dealings with a man who gave up his country so generously given by his duke?"

"True, I would have to hide all your books I had and claim I had burned them. I think you are stuck being a count."

“By the way, is there a way to get census data for villages throughout the duchy?”

“Are you looking to attack your neighbor now that you have your own county?" He said with a smirk.

I guess that would be helpful to barons or counts who wanted to stir up trouble.

I didn't want to tell him I was trying to get estimates on how many refugees I might get from border villages. I had mentioned being raided, and that had consequences. If it got out that I knew we were going to be flooded with refugees, I might have people trying to put up more roadblocks.

"Actually, I was thinking about enticing people to come to my county from overcrowded baronies," I lied.

This caused Frederick to laugh. "Didn't your last stunt work well enough?"

"What last stunt?"

"The one where you allowed anyone who joined your caravan a free trip up to Bicman while you fed them along the way. Also offering them work once they were there."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I never said that?"

"That is the rumors that were being spread. And the caravan left with a lot of people from the surrounding areas, " he said, now looking confused.

"All I did was tell the mercenaries to take extra good care of my people. I…" I paused and thought for a moment.

Oh crap, I said a copper penny per person. That means they gathered extra people to scam me. I will have to hunt down a bunch of mercenaries now. Since the king hired them, can I still punish them? I certainly don't want to cross any lines. I will need to see who they have connections with. If I complain to the King and they have connections with the duke, it may be more trouble than it is worth unless what they have done negatively impacts my barony. Depending on what I find out, I may just deal with them directly.

"Well, this is why I should never have gone to Kimton. I could have avoided becoming a count, and I wouldn't have more mouths to feed. Any idea how many more?" I said.

"No, but you seem upset that you are getting what you wanted," he said.

"I wasn't ready yet, and I was looking to do a more targeted approach. Looks like I will be buying more supplies."

"You're not short on money with the publishing house up and running. Well, I think it is time we get ready for super."

"We'll see you there," I said with a nod.

*******

At first, I thought dinner was going to be a quiet affair. The count and his family greeted me cordially, but after that, it became awkward. Lady Vaspar and her daughters and their husbands had never much cared for me, but now it was as if a leper had come to sit at the table with them. Peter's look was that of someone who was forced to sit down next to his worst enemy. He probably also didn't like the fact that because I was of equal title to his father, I sat where Peter would normally sit. The count ignored it all. Frederick had a grin on his face as if this was the best entertainment he had seen in a long time.

This continued for most of the meal until, finally, Peter asked his father, "Are there any laws about the population of a county?"

"No," was all the response he got.

"Then how do you determine if the land is worthy of being considered a county?"

"Why don't you ask Count Bicman? He may have insight as a new count."

Peter gave me a malicious sneer. "So, Lord Bicman, any thoughts?"

"Of course," I said with a smile. "A county only exists because there is a count ruling over it."

Frederick turned a laugh into a cough.

Peter looked displeased with my opinion, "But what makes a count a count?"

He was looking for an argument. I wasn't going to make it easy. "Someone with authority to do so appoints him. I think the more important question is what makes a good count. Now that I have had the opportunity to meet with several counts, I think I have a better understanding, but what do you think makes a good count? What makes your father good at what he does?"

"He just is. It is something he was born to do." Peter snapped back.

"Possibly, but not all leaders were born with your father's education and intelligence, but they can still rise to be good leaders. History is full of these people. I would suggest a few things that I have learned while being around them."

I was about to pull out the good old acronym for Lead I had learned back on Earth. Of course, it wasn't an acronym here since we didn't have the same word, so I didn't try to say it was an acronym.

"Four words come to mind. Learn. A leader is always learning. They never stop because they know if they ever stop learning, they will fall behind. Example. The leader must set an example so that people will know how to act. Accountable. A leader holds himself accountable for his actions, words, and even thoughts. If he makes a mistake, he owns it rather than passing the blame to someone else. He knows that if he blames others, the mistake will keep happening. Discipline. A leader is disciplined. He has a set code of conduct by which he lives and does not deviate from that unless, through his learning, he finds a better way."

I think that's how it went, but I can't remember if I got it exactly right. It sounded good to me, and I think it at least made me sound smart.

Peter didn't respond to me. I am not sure if it even sunk in. He just gave a snort and went back to eating. I looked over at Fredrick, and he gave me a wink. I gave him a quick thumbs up. I had been showing that to a lot of people, and I was hoping it would catch on.

Looking around, I saw that the count didn't seem to care about all this. His wife was still glaring at me, and the rest of them had lost interest in everything and started their own conversations.

I used the opportunity to speak with Frederick about the secret underground dueling arena that everyone in Kimton knew about. It had actually been a secret at one point, but now it was just like an exclusive club. The city's leaders ignored its existence due to its influential backers.

“So you were hanging out with the best duelist in Kimton. That explains you getting better,” Fredrick said.

“I am still way behind you,” I said.

“But you could probably hold your own against a common opponent. Especially with your size and reach. You’re also pretty fast for your size. You just lack experience in technique.”

“Thank you."

If I were honest with myself, I was scared. I knew that I had my guards and a nice set of armor to protect me, but I really was worried that I would need to fight to defend my people in the upcoming battle. Especially since we didn't have a lot of people. I knew barons and counts fought in battles here. It is one reason that there were not as many noble children who reached adulthood. Now that I was count, I could call upon Plimgus and Malcomp to assist me in the raid.

Maybe if I invented plate armor, I would feel a lot safer. Of course, then I would have to learn to fight in it, or I wouldn't last long.

Actually, it would be nice if there was a way to make armor for many of my people. I needed the Bessmer furnace, but there was no way I could make it with the time we had. The best I could probably do was a puddling furnace. And even that was not a guarantee. I wasn't sure I could make it work like I thought it should.

Okay, it's time to stop worrying about things I couldn't change. I was proud of what I had accomplished. And I would do my best to protect my people.

Soon enough, dinner was over, and I was invited to Count Vaspar's office.

"So you are now a count," Vaspar said simply.

He appreciated frank conversation, so I started with the most pressing matter, "Is that upsetting to you?"

"Not at all. First, you acquired the least profitable area of my land. If the plow works as you say, that may change, but I also now have the design and will be able to produce more than you. Even with the people flooding into your barony, you don't have the numbers to prosper. The other reason is that I doubt you will be count for very long."

"You don't think I will do a good job?" I wasn't offended. Vaspar was straightforward. It was just who he was.

"You have come a long way, but I doubt you can hold onto your lands. The problem is not your competency. It is that you don't have the necessary backing. My guess is that whoever put you in that position will sell you out to someone else, and the king or duke will make you a baron of the marshes and give someone else your old barony. Most likely, you will end up in a worse position than you started."

"And if I do maintain the title, will I have trouble with my neighbor?"

"Not until my son takes over for me. Of course, I am pretty sure he and Frederick will be called down to fight in the war next spring. Maybe battle will cool his ire."

"I am glad to hear we can still be good neighbors."

"I'll be honest with you. I think your books and paper will be more valuable to me than your land. As long as you keep supplying me with those, we will have a profitable relationship."

"You mentioned people flooding into my barony. Frederick mentioned the same. What do you mean?"

"I took some time to look into this when I found out, but apparently, you gave permission for anyone to travel with your caravan. You also promised to feed the people traveling with your caravan. Word spread, and Barons that had too many mouths to feed this winter allowed their peasants to leave. Out of work, freemen also joined. Some are probably even runaways."

"That is not what I said. Well, I may not have been specific on who they were to feed or take north. But the mercenaries had no right to invite others along on my behalf. I thought it was obvious what I was talking about."

"People will interpret your words in any way they can to take advantage of you. I heard some of the rumors that were being spread. At first, it was free food, but eventually, people were convinced that you were going to make sure that they had two meals a day for the rest of their lives."

"So a bunch of desperate people went north expecting to be fed for the rest of their lives."

"The fact that you were willing to feed them along the way was enough to get them moving. It was a better option than waiting around to die of starvation."

"I need to get back to Bicman, and it looks like I will need to buy more supplies."

"So you are planning on feeding them."

"They will have to work for it, but I have plenty of land and projects that need doing. Maybe I can expand my military."

When life hands you lemons, make lemon bars. They are much better than lemonade. I wonder if I could actually make lemon bars? I really need lemons.

"Does the mercenary group have any backers that would make them feel comfortable so brazenly misinterpreting my words?"

"I don't know, but I will make an inquiry. But I also wanted to mention that I was disappointed to find out that others found out that you knew about the attack. If I may give you some counsel, you need to be more careful about who you trust with important information," Vaspar said.

So, Sophis was right. The council knew that I knew. But how did Vaspar know that they knew that I knew?

"I only told you and Benjamin's father. I am sure that he did not tell anyone. It would put his son at a bigger risk. I was sure that it must have been you who leaked it, though I didn't want to make an accusation because the damage was already done."

This caused Vaspar to frown. "Then, I am not sure how it leaked. After I got reports from my network that people were making inquiries, I went to see Tanya, who was getting ready to leave town. She said she did not say anything but received a warning that she needed to flee. They were sending her away, but she did not know where."

I felt the color in my face drain at the news that Tanya was in danger, but it seemed like the Endless One was protecting her. I also knew that it was my fault that she had to flee. I wanted to know where she was going, but it would probably be safer for her if nobody knew.

"Well, Benjamin's father got some information. Also, I have a friend who knows everything about everything. He let me know that those who are coming know that I know."

"I will not ask you more about the subject, and I will keep this conversation between us. Also, Casper told me that the sweets you produced should be at the top of our import list."

I smiled. "We can determine a price once I see how much we can produce next year. I won't set a long-term contract until we can determine the demand."

"That is fair. I will not keep you any longer."

"Thank you for your time. I think I will retire as I have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Oh, here is one more bit of information that just came in via pigeon yesterday. It appears that the nobility did not take Count Blackwell's death well. The duke murdered a popular count, and his wife was left a widow. It almost caused a riot in court. In order to appease them, our new duke, Philip the Second, took Countess Blackwell as his wife."