I sighed as we made our way back up to the manor. "That could have gone better."

"Were you expecting forgiveness?" Draves said.

"No, but I hoped to temper his hatred enough to have him stay. I need a smith, and I just let mine go without any thought of what I would do if he left. Well it's not like I could have stopped him, but there had to be a way to reconsile. I really screwed that up, didn't I?"

Or was I just fooling myself.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?"

Rather than answering that question, he asked another. "Where will you find the thirty silver you promised? I don't mean to doubt your word, but last I recall, we were rather low on funds."

"My father had some money squirreled away that I found in his room," I said, still depressed.

"Using personal funds is very generous, my lord."

"It was my mistake. It shouldn't have come out of the treasury even if we had the funds."

"It was not you, my lord." Draves said sternly.

"I know, I know. But I had to take the blame if there were to be any chance of reconciling, and I guess there wasn't."

When we got back, I left the captain and Jack to deal with the carriage. I was beat. Everything was sore from either the exercise or the carriage. As I entered the manor, I was greeted by the nervous face of a woman in her thirties. On her hip was a baby who stared curiously at me. The boy was dark-haired and pudgy with baby fat. He was also dressed better than any other child I had seen here.

"Well, hello, Aaron. Are you here to take charge? It would be really nice if you could because I don't think your Uncle Amos is cut out for this." I said with a smile. He babbled something and then reached out to me. Kind of trusting for a kid who probably only saw disgust from this face up until a few days ago. "May I," I asked the wet nurse.

She pried him off her hip and cautiously handed Aaron to me. She really did look afraid.

Sheesh, lady, what do you think I'm going to do, throw him down the hall?

I set the kid on my hip and held out my hand. "Alright, give me five, little dude." He just grabbed one of my fingers. I looked at him with disappointment on my face. "That's terrible. What has your dad been teaching you?"

All I got was "Ba-ba-do" followed by a raspberry.

"Aaron, seriously," I said in a disappointed tone, "I'll have you know that when I was your age, I could speak fluently in two languages and was an entrepreneur. That's totally true; you can trust your uncle. I was a used diaper manufacturer—probably the largest in the state."

I continued to talk to him as we walked towards the great hall, making sure to show proper enthusiasm at all his babbling. This was very cathartic after a stressful day. The nurse followed behind us. "Remind me your name again."

"Amy, my lord." She executed a perfect bow.

"OK, Amy, does this young man prefer beer or wine?"

"My lord," She gasped, "He-"

"Just kidding, Amy. It's been a stressful day, so sometimes I just say stupid stuff to unwind."

She sighed in relief.

Then I looked at Aaron and said in that weird voice adults talk to babies in, "Of course, we aren't going to give you alcohol on an empty stomach. That would be downright irresponsible." We both laughed, even though I don't think he got the joke. I returned Aaron to Amy while I snuck into the kitchen and grabbed some bread and hard cheese. I know it wasn't healthy for me, but this was as close to comfort food as I was likely to get. I wonder where they aged their cheese here. Or was it an import? I grabbed a mug and scooped some water from an uncovered barrel.

Heading back out, I asked Amy to tell me how Aaron was doing while I was eating. She mentioned fleeing the manor and how she and Aaron both had started showing symptoms around the same time. Aaron wouldn't eat for about two days, and after that, he couldn't keep much down. She had been delirious during one of the days, and both had high fevers. She started to recover a day before Aaron began to. Three days after they had recovered, she felt it was safe to go into town and get a runner.

"You saved my nephew's life. Thank you, Amy," I said sincerely.

She looked surprised at my comment but then nodded. "Of course, my lord."

I'm not sure if I was right, but it didn't seem she was very fond of the child. It seemed more like he was just a duty she had. As the baby's nurse, I thought she would react more. Maybe I am reading too much into it. She is probably just frazzled from her time at the cottage.

"Why don't you rest here, Amy? You look tired. I'll hang out with this young man for a while. Does he need to go down for a nap anytime soon, or does he need to eat?"

"He slept and ate just before you arrived."

"OK, buddy. I'm exhausted, but let's go check the paper. If we have some duds, I am sure we can see if Emily will give you some to tear up or gnaw on. How has your fiber intake been lately?" With that, we left Amy very confused, sitting at the table with the remaining bread and cheese.

Once we got outside, I set him down and held one hand. He toddled next to me on unsteady legs, babbling as we went. It took a long time to make it around the corner, and by then, he was ready to be picked up. I just admonished him about the importance of growing longer legs. When we got to the paper stand, I noticed that the frame had a piece of wood almost the exact size of the paper pressed down on it. A rock was on top of the board. That was an interesting idea. I was about to move the board off but thought better of it. I didn't know where Emily was in the process. We should move the process inside so the sheets don't get blown away.

As we walked back inside, I explained the paper-making process to Aaron. He didn't seem interested. When I got to the family hallway, Emily and Marsh were washing the floor on their hands and knees. They both stood up, and Emily ran over excitedly. "Hi, Aaron," she said in a friendly voice. The little traitor reached out for her, so I took him off my hip and held him out to her.

Emily's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Of course," I said, "but don't try to explain paper-making to him. He isn't interested."

She grabbed him away from me and stood there, cooing at him. In under a minute, she had him laughing. I walked over to Marsh and asked her how things were.

"Fine, my lord," She said, "How was your trip to Melnon."

"Excellent, I got the iron needed, but now I need a smith. I may have to send the designs and the iron back up to Melnon now and have their smith do it."

"What happened to Jorb?" She asked in confusion.

I explained how I had botched things up, and she nodded. Patting me on the shoulder, she said, "Experience is a great teacher but very harsh sometimes."

"Truer words were never spoken."

"So you had a chance to reconnect with your nephew, I see."

We both turned to look in his direction. Emily was doing precisely what I told her not to do—explaining paper-making. Of course, I had said not to in jest, but her explanation had the boy enraptured. He was smiling and laughing at her hand gestures and expressions.

"I guess you're a better storyteller than I am." I laughed.

Emily turned a slight shade of pink. "I kind of got carried away."

"So, are you enjoying paper making?"

She frowned. "No, it's annoying. I can't get it flat enough, and it's either too stiff to bend or too flimsy. I'm going to figure it out, though. I will make the paper as good as parchment," she said with a mix of frustration and determination.

"I like your idea with the board and the rock. Do you think it will work?"

"I don't know. I hope so." She tried to say that casually, but I could tell she was a little excited and anxious.

"So let's see what you have so far."

She led him down the hall to his old bedroom with Aaron still on her hip. I wanted to chuckle because she looked like a perfect big sister taking care of a little brother. Then I stopped grinning when I could figure out if that made me the big brother or the dad. When we entered the room, we saw three pieces on the bed. One was still a little damp, but it also looked a little thicker than the others. They didn't look like something I could write about, but it was a good effort.

"Good work," I said encouragingly.

That just caused her to snort. "You can't write on them."

"True, but you eliminated three ways that won't work," I said with a smile.

That made her think. After a moment, she shrugged. "I guess. Do you want to go look at that other sheet I made?"

All I really wanted to do was go back to my bed and lie down. It had been a long day, and it wasn't even dinner time yet. But I put a smile on my face and said, "Sure." And off the three of us went to see the latest results.

Emily ran ahead with Aaron bouncing on her hip. He giggled as they went. I think they were going to be good friends. Suddenly, I heard shouting down the hall, and I hastened my pace to a shuffle. When I rounded the corner, I saw Amy standing in the hall, trying to grab Aaron away from Emily and shouting that she wouldn't let Emily steal the baby. Emily was trying to shout over her that I had given Aaron to her. I really wanted to laugh at the game of keep away. The look on Aaron's face was pure joy.

"Why would the Lord let you touch a noble?!" Amy shouted.

"Because I'm his friend!"

"Noble's aren't friends with serfs!"

I really should have been indignant for Emily's sake, but I just started laughing instead. This was straight out of a comedy show. If I ever got this place advanced enough for TV, this would be going on Saturday Night Live. Both women turned to me as I was trying to gasp for air.

"Amy," I said between laughs, "I…" Laugh, "gave Aaron to Emily to hold."

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

"But she was running away with the child," Amy said with apparent confusion.

"No, we were all going out to look at Emily's paper project. I'm just fat and can't move very fast."

"But she is a serf."

I could not get angry at this woman. Social hierarchy was ingrained in their culture. Being mad at her for generational bias would be unfair. "Amy, I understand how you must feel this is improper. However, Emily has proven to be a capable girl. Please think back to when you were her age. Were you a whole lot different?" I gave just enough pause to let that sink in. "If you were not a wet nurse, would you be allowed to hold the child? She is not unworthy to hold my nephew because she is a serf. Take some time to think about it. Also, wouldn't it be nice to have a helper with Aaron? Since you are a wet nurse, you must have your own children who have recently been weaned. I am sure they would like some time with you."

Wow, did I really say all that? That almost sounded logical.

Amy first looked shocked and then like she was about to cry. "I shall think about this, my lord, if you would excuse me. I shall return later for his feeding. I will be down in the village if needed."

I watched her leave out the door. Uh oh, I turned to Emily and saw her covering her mouth, a look of pity on her face. "Em, what did I say wrong."

"She lost her child shortly after Aaron was born. Lady Martha's milk dried up, so Amy was called in."

"So I just told her to go and take care of her children and…" I put my palm to my forehead and groaned. I suck at this.

Emily reached out her hand and patted my arm. "She does have other children to take care of, but I think the loss of her little girl was tough. If you weren't here, you couldn't have known. The other Amos wouldn't even have cared."

"Thanks, Em." I took a deep breath, "Let's go check that paper."

"You were right about her being unable to hold the child if she hadn't been the wet nurse. She was elevated to the status of freeman from serf so she could care for the baby. She has been a little snobby about it ever since."

As soon as we got to the frame, Emily handed over Aaron. Apparently, she was not going to let me mess with her work. Taking off the rock, she flipped the frame. The board slid out with the paper attached. She frowned. The pressure of the stone had caused the paper to press down on the cheesecloth and into the wireframe, leaving slight groves in the paper. The paper was still a little damp from not being exposed to as much air.

Emily's shoulders slumped, "It didn't work."

"You don't know that yet. The other side is probably flat."

"But this side has ridges." She complained.

I actually thought it looked cool. It made it look almost like a watermark. What if… "Hey Em, since we are only writing on one side, this may not matter. It looks pretty cool. What if we were to get the blacksmith to make the family crest out of wire? Then, it would have that on the paper."

That got her excited. "Really."

"We will know when this dries, but good job making your first watermark on paper."

I automatically raised my hand for a high five. I was totally left hanging while she stared at my hand. I chuckled, "So, this is called a high five. You need to slap my hand with yours. It means "good job." She raised her hand and patted my hand.

I shook my head. "That was terrible, Em. I'll show you. Raise your hand like mine." She did. I slapped it and said, "Good job."

She looked at me and said, "my lord."

"Yeah."

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you are strange sometimes."

"Yeah, you're right."

The paper ended up being something I might be able to write on. It was a little floppy, so no paper airplane, and it was a little thick. We took it back to the room to let it dry some more. "I'm sorry I didn't ask your permission to use this room, but I thought the paper might blow away if I left them outside."

I waved away her concern. "I was going to have you move the operation inside anyways, so this is fine. Which room do you think would be best to set up the operations in?"

"Really? Um, we could use Lady Kristine's room. The bed was small, and it had a writing table. We could probably fit everything in there."

"Excellent. Have the grooms move things. If they give you any trouble, find me." She took that as permission to leave and left quickly.

"Hey, Aaron, I got a question for you. Are you my only living relative, or do we have others? You know like how I'm your uncle. Do I have any uncles or aunts?" Apparently, by the expression on his face, he didn't know what I was talking about. Kids these days. He was squirming by then, so I sat him down. He crawled around a bit and then used the bedpost to stand up. After doing some assisted squats, he started tottering around. Watching it was fun, but I was too exhausted to do anything else. Everything I had been doing today was making me sweat uncomfortably. After about ten minutes of exploring the room, he came over to me, and I picked him up. "You are one lazy kid. I had climbed Mt. Everest by your age. Come on, let's go find the captain and ask if I have any relatives. I don't want any surprise visits."

I got myself moving again and made it to the yard. At that point, I found out he was in the great hall, and I had to walk all the way back. Ugh, the next invention on my list was the smartphone with a Find My Captain app on it. I entered the dining area, and the tables were out. The captain was sitting with his men. "Captain, might I have a word with you at my table?"

"Of course, my lord," We went up to my table, and both sat down. Aaron sat on my lap and patted the table.

"So, I was wondering if I have any other relatives?"

"You have two aunts, though I cannot recall their names. I believe the last visit was before you were born. They didn't get along with your father."

"That seems to be a theme here. Well, at least I won't have to expect any visits or pretend to be the old Amos. It would be polite to let them know of their brother's passing and try and heal the rift."

"Marcus probably would have the information somewhere."

"Ugh, that kid just rubs me the wrong way. I wish he would lighten up."

"You could remove him."

"No, he needs the job, and I need someone to manage everything. It's not like he is doing a terrible job."

At that point, Carrie brought me my food: a bowl of stew and a piece of bread. "Thank you, Carrie," I said simply.

"You're welcome, my lord." She said, not looking at me. She bolted as soon as she set down my food.

Well, at least she spoke to me. That's progress. After she left, I started to eat. Aaron kept grabbing at my spoon, and it became a game of keep away as I tried to get food in my mouth. Suddenly, Emily was there holding out her hands. "If my lord needs, I will gladly take the child that you might continue your meal," she said, trying to maintain a formal appearance.

"Thank you, Emily. That would be appreciated."

I handed her Aaron, and he went to her readily. The captain gave a surprised look but said nothing. Watching her sit back down, I noticed other women suddenly surrounded her. I also saw Carrie standing next to Hyrum at the guard table. They were both smiling and seemed to be enjoying each other's company. I have to admit there was a pang of jealousy. She was a beautiful girl. I had no chance with her, though. First, I was a noble, and she was a peasant; second, I was not attractive; and third, my former self had ruined any possible chance of even a friendly relationship with her.

"So, Hyrum and Carrie, that seems like a good match."

The captain looked down, "Yes, he hasn't said anything, but I think he would like to marry her."

"Now? Isn't she a little young?" I said in surprise.

"She is sixteen. They should have already been wed," he said, as if that explained things.

"So what is he waiting for?"

"First, to build up the courage. The second is you."

"Me? What do I have to do with anything?"

"You have to lift the ban on commoners' marriages and allow him to."

"So they did end up enacting that stupid law," I grumbled under my breath. "Why do they need my permission."

"All commoners in a barony need the permission of their lord to marry. You can delegate it to your headman if you would like. This helps with managing farmland distribution and skill or trade management.

"Oh, so there is a point. That still sucks."

"He is also worried about getting your permission."

"Huh, why is that?"

"Well, if you don't mind me saying it. Your previous attention to Carrie has been very blatant."

"Oh," Now I felt bad for my jealousy. I was standing in the way of these two wonderful people.

Actually, this could be great. It might get Marcus to lighten up a bit. I stood up.

"Attention," I said and waited for everyone to calm down. "As part of my new reign over the barony, I am removing the restriction on marriage. All may petition for marriage. Please spread the word to the villages. I will have the official proclamation sent out tomorrow."

There was no clapping or cheering. Man, this is a tough crowd. Or maybe this was standard. I sat down awkwardly. "Not much of a reaction," I said to the captain.

"What were you expecting?" He said in confusion.

"Clapping, cheering, something at least. It was like I stood up and said, 'The sky is blue."

"Normally, these things are not announced in the great hall unless there is an official gathering. Most things are sent out via a crier. Also, these things change all the time based on the whims of the ruler. Also, if they cheered, you might have become offended as if we disagreed with the initial decision."

"That's messed up. Next time, I will tell you to start clapping if I think they need help," I said, and he nodded, "Hey, Hyrum. Get your butt up here!" Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to talk that way. Dang. I looked at the captain. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

Hyrum got up quickly and headed to the table. He looked nervous. "Hyrum, there is a young lady who cannot stop blushing every time she looks at you. Do you know the one?" He looked back at Carrie, who looked at our group with concern. He turned back around and nodded. His face turned solemn as if bracing for my next words.

"So here is what I recommend. Invite her to take a walk with you outside the village, get down on one knee, confess your undying love for her, and ask her to marry you because I guarantee other men would love to ask me for permission to marry her. I don't want to deal with a line of petitioners."

His mouth dropped open. "Are you giving me permission to marry her?"

"I thought I made that clear. That girl will have to put up with a lot if you really are this dense."

"But I thought you-"

I interrupted him. "Look, Hyrum, you have every right to hate me. I have been nothing but crass and rude to a girl you have held in high esteem. Yet yesterday, you came and gave me friendly counsel. You are a good man. Both of you deserve to be happy. Now, gentleman, although it is not yet night, my body is not used to running around all day, so I am going to retire to my bedroom, do some meditation, and have another serious talk with the Endless One where I complain that he has the wrong man for the job. He won't respond, and then I am going to bed."

"My lord," Hyrum said while looking at me intensely, "Thank you."

I stood, "You are welcome, Hyrum."

Hyrum

I walked beside Carrie in the fading light. Her hair and face glowed, and her shy smile played across her lips. She said nothing, just walking with her hands clasped in front of her. We often needed nothing to say. Unlike my first wife, Tamera, who died in childbirth with our child, Carrie was often quiet.

My hands were sweaty. I had done this before. Why did it feel like I was doing this for the first time? I still am shocked that the young lord gave me permission. I had hated him so much. I had envisioned myself splitting his head open so many times. Every time Carrie had tears in her eyes, it was because of him. I had even thought of suffocating him in his sleep while he was in his fevered state. The captain knew of my hatred for the man, so I was never put on guard duty for him.

After the lord recovered, the captain came to me and said that the young man had a change of heart and was trying to be a better person. I didn't believe him. I kept watching and waiting for him to slip up. Then I saw him in the hallway, back against the wall, panicking. The look of devastation on his face when I told him how he treated Carrie in the past could not have been faked. My hatred for him melted away. This was a child who was out of his depth and trying to do the right thing. I must admit I was nervous that he might be trying to win her favor to get her to sleep with him. But it seemed he was more afraid of interacting with her than anything.

I forgave him, and now I was standing next to the most beautiful girl in the barony, and I was about to propose. I had to do it now, or I would make up an excuse not to. I stepped in front of Carrie, and she looked at me in confusion. I got down on my knees and looked up into her amber eyes.

"Carrie, I love you. I cannot imagine my life without you. Will you marry me?"

She stood there staring at me. At first, I thought she was trying to find a way to reject me gently, but then she said with tears welling in her eye, "I… We can't, the lord, he would never-"

"He told me to," I said with a grin

"He did!" She said in shock.

I laughed, remembering exactly what he said. "He told me he didn't want to sit through rejecting every other man's petition for your hand, so I needed to do it quickly."

"But he…"

"He has changed Carrie. He is trying to be better. I shouldn't say this, and you must promise not to tell a soul, but I found him panicking in the hall after he had to talk to you in the great hall. He was so upset that he had made you afraid of him and treated you poorly. I think-"

"Yes." She said softly, tears running down her cheeks.

"What?"

"Yes, of course, I will marry you. You are the most wonderful man in the world."

I stood up, wrapped her in my arms, and just held her. She leaned her head on my shoulder and sobbed. I could have sworn the last time I proposed to a girl, she squealed in joy. I did not understand women at all, yet here I was, holding the love of my life in my arms.