I woke up refreshed but stiff. The sun was not yet above the horizon. I pulled the rope, and Chuck, one of the guards, came in. "What's up, Chuck?" there were a few things wrong with saying this. One, the words in this language didn't rhyme, what's up was not a phrase used here, and upchuck did not mean throwing up. Needless to say, the joke fell flat, and Chuck just stared at me.

"Hey, Chuck, do you mind letting someone know I would like a bath after breakfast?"

"Of course, my lord." He exited the room, and I changed into something to wear for breakfast. I left the room and nodded to Chuck. I was about to head down the hall when I heard talking behind the door beside mine. "Chuck, who is in there?"

"Aaron and the nursemaid, my lord. The captain instructed her to stay with him since his mother is gone."

I slapped my forehead. "I am such a terrible Uncle and boss." I walked over to the door and knocked.

"Come in," I heard Amy call out in an exasperated tone. I opened the door to find Amy sitting in a chair with Aaron. She had a spoon in her hand, trying to feed him what looked like cream of wheat. He wasn't interested, and I totally agreed. Seriously, the kid had teeth. Give him some Cheerios.

When she turned and saw me, she immediately stood. "My lord, I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I came back and found the girl, Emily, with the child. After I fed Aaron, I realized I didn't know where to put him. When his mother was alive, he slept in here with her. I normally sleep in the great hall with the others, but I couldn't bring Aaron there; he is a noble. The captain saw me and recommended that I stay here with the child. I was against it, but I couldn't leave Aaron alone. I promise I didn't sleep in the bed. I-"

I interrupted her, rambling by holding up my hand. "Wait, you slept on the floor?"

"Yes, my lord, I would never presume to—"

"Are peasants not allowed to sleep in beds or something?"

"But, my lord, that's a nobleman's bed."

"No, it's not. The only nobleman around here is me, and I'm not sleeping in it."

"But it's your brother's bed."

"Well, you can use it until he comes back to use it. I don't think he is coming back, though, so you are probably good for now."

Amy covered her mouth in shock. Yes, I know I should be more respectful of the dead, but really, this was a little to much. "Look, it isn't a nobleman's bed because there is no nobleman to use it. The idea of having you in this room is a good one and really the only thing that makes sense since Aaron's crib is here." It wasn't a nice crib. It looked like a mini shipping container made of wood and no top.

"I can't sleep on a bed like that."

The beds were crap, in my opinion. They were just reed-filled cloth sacks. I miss my "Sleep Number" so badly I could almost cry. Also, the bed bugs were a problem because they would keep me up sometimes. The bathing helped, but if we were going to get rid of the problem, everybody in this place would have to bathe regularly. Not necessarily daily, but often. That included the dogs that roamed this place. I wonder how long it would take to eradicate the problem without modern insect killers—had another place already come up with something? I also thought some people here might have lice. OK, focus, Amos.

"OK, does Aaron sleep through the night now, or do you feed him?"

"He needs to be changed, but because he eats a few other things besides milk, he has not needed feeding at night."

"OK, here is an idea. I think you need to have more time for your family. I want you to find an assistant. It doesn't have to be Emily, but that way, you could even go back home at night and spend time with your family. Don't worry, I will still pay you."

"Pay, my lord?"

"They didn't pay you?"

"It was an honor to serve the family, and I was allowed to sleep and eat at the manor for free."

Well, that's a load of crap. I knew my family was a bunch of cheapskates, but seriously. At least she could save the food at home for her family. "Tell you what I am going to do. I will tell Cookie to make two extra loaves of bread a day. After the evening feeding, you can take the loaves of bread back to your family as payment and spend the night with them."

"Two loaves of bread, my lord?" She said in disbelief.

"That seems fair for the work you do."

She fell to her knees, Aaron still in her arms. "Your generosity, my lord, I…" Her gratitude overwhelmed her at this point, and she couldn't speak. I was baffled. The loaves of bread were not large. I felt like I was cheating her, but I really didn't know the state of our food stores.

Well, this is awkward. I didn't really know what to say, "I'm going to go get breakfast now." And with that, I quickly exited the room. I left and went down to the great hall, but I remembered my commitment to exercise right before I entered. So, instead, I headed to the yard. No one was there, so I decided to do Tia Chi. There had been a time after the heart surgery when I couldn't do much exercise, so I took up online Tai Chi. Hopefully, this would help without killing me.

I was sweaty by the time I was done, which was a good sign. Now, I was starving. I went into the kitchen and explained the new payment to be given to Amy. Cookie nodded and said, "You seem to be feeling better, my lord. What can I get for you?

"What..." I was about to say, 'What do I normally have?' but that would give away more than I wanted to share. "What do you have?"

"I could get you the cured ham, eggs, a loaf of bread, and wheat mash with a mug of beer."

Beer in the morning? Yeah, no thanks.

"I will take two eggs and the wheat mash. I need to lose some weight." Wheat mash was probably like cream of wheat, but I would have to learn to enjoy it." My kingdom for a bowl of Rasin Bran Crunch! "Oh, I have given up drinking alcohol, so don't bother with the wine or beer. We will save that for guests."

Cookie's eyebrows went up in shock.

"I need to have a clear head if I am going to run the barony."

She tried to keep her neutral expression, but I could see she was pleased with my decision.

I sat down to eat and waited. I saw Emily and Amy walking into the room together. Emily was holding Aaron while Amy was talking. I wondered if they had worked something out. They both sat amicably with each other, and I didn't want to interfere. My only worry was that with Emily's household activities, paper making, and my teaching her to read and write, she might not be the best of choices. I would let them figure that out, though.

After breakfast, I went around and greeted some people, wishing them a good morning, then headed to the study, where I hoped to find Marcus. I found him bent over the table, looking at numbers. He heard the door open and stood up straight. "What are you looking at?" I said.

"This is from Alter, my lord. It is the wood harvesting numbers as well as field numbers," he said in a cold tone.

I walked over to look while he reviewed them. After he finished, I said, "We need a spreadsheet-style report."

"What is that?" He asked.

"Let me show you."

I grabbed a piece of birch and wrote out a simple spreadsheet. In the first column, I wrote 1, and then in the next column, I wrote 5. The next was blank, and the next was 5. On the next row, I put a 2, then a 6, then a 3, and then an 8. I kept going down until I made five columns. I showed how the first was for the date, the next for trees harvested, the next for trees exported or used, and the next for the total. I left room on each row to make notes like what the wood was used for or where it was exported.

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"If we could get each Headman to send reports in this manner, you could compile it into an easy ledger that prevents errors and is easy to trace if trees, grain, or whatever it is for go missing. It wouldn't work for things like how many fields we have planted, but it would work for anything where the items come in and out. We can even track our production better if we do it every year. Oh, I almost forgot. I put the first column for the date."

"I will review this and try to implement it. Though most of your headmen are not very literate and won't be able to write details."

"Well, we will have to fix that. Those who are running the towns need to be educated." I shook my head. I was hoping I could get the Headmen's assistance in educating my people, but it looks like I would have to educate the headmen first.

"We will also need more parchment."

"Em is working on that," I said with a grin. I better not use that nickname. If it spreads, she will be furious.

"Who?"

"Sorry, that is what I call Emily sometimes in my head. It just slipped out. Anyways, she is working on a project I gave her to make a different type of writing medium. It's called paper. Maybe we will call it Bicman paper so people know where it came from." I chuckled.

Marcus didn't look impressed or amused. In fact, he looked like he was trying not to frown. I thought he would be impressed with Emily doing it. I wonder if he doesn't like Emily for some reason.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Could you send a crier to the different villages to let them know the ban on marriage has been lifted? That should make some people happy, don't you think?" I gave him a wink, hoping he would smile thinking about his sister. Nothing. Seriously, this guy was a tough nut to crack. I was really trying.

"Dang it, I almost forgot. Jorb is leaving with his family."

"What?!" Ah, finally, some emotion. Shock.

"Well, I messed up a while back, and he has been mad at me ever since, so I gave him the option to leave if he felt like it. He has decided to leave."

"I see. And when is he leaving?"

"Whenever he feels he is ready."

"Should I request the smith in Melnon come here?"

"No. If our metal comes from Melnon, we can ship finished products from there until we get a new smith."

He just nodded.

"I am off to speak with the smith to see if his family needs anything else," I said, "Let me know if I can do anything for you."

And with that, I took off to my room to get the silver and then to grab Draves since he would probably have a conniption fit if I went down by myself.

Draves and I headed down the hill after getting the silver and putting it in a small pouch. He had told Jack to follow after us.

"May I speak freely, my lord?" Draves asked.

"Always, Captain. As my mother always said, 'Communication is the key to good relationships.' Of course, she was talking about girls and marriage, but I am sure it also works for Barons and guards.

"Why are we doing this? You already offered him so much, and this is as if he is snubbing your generosity."

"Because it is the right thing to do. I was a screw-up for most of my teenage years, but then I did something that I couldn't undo. I..." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. Toward the end of my last life, I sought to understand how to obtain peace. This may or may not hurt the barony, but I feel it is the right thing to do for Jorb. I need to repay my debts in order to have peace."

"People will always try to take what they can and harm you, and if you do not show them you will fight back, you will not have peace." Draves said.

"That's not the type of peace I am talking about. Sometimes, people find peace by being willing to lie down and not fight their enemies. Some find peace in defending that which they love. Others find peace in helping others.

"You can't have peace by taking what does not belong to you. You can't find peace in hating others, even those you must oppose. You cannot find peace by putting yourself above others. These things can bring temporary happiness but not lasting peace. So if, at the end of my relationship with Jorb, I have done all I can to mend the relationship, then his choice doesn't matter. I will be sad about the loss of a potential friend, but it will not destroy my peace."

"What if he causes trouble or spreads rumors about you elsewhere?"

"Then he may destroy happiness, but it is up to me whether or not he destroys my peace," I said.

"I don't know if I can believe the same as you."

"I'm not asking you to. When I was laying in a…" How do I describe a hospital? Ah, this word makes sense, "An infirmary. I had a visit from a priest. I don't know about this one, but in my last world, people worshipped many Gods. He pointed me in this direction."

"I have never read the scrolls of the Endless One, and I have also not spoken with many priests about peace. Is this a teaching of the scrolls?"

"Not a clue. I've never read any of the scrolls of the Endless One. I didn't even know there were any. The priest I met gave me some advice and told me to find a way to obtain peace within myself. So, I came up with my own belief system because I read about a lot of different gods. I took all the things I read and picked out the things that were consistent between them all. The end result was how I decided to live my life."

"So you aren't a follower of the Endless One."

"For me, reading only one god's teaching is like putting one nail in a signpost. If there is only one nail, you can twist the sign around. By studying more than one god's teachings and picking the teachings that are consistent with all of them, the sign became stable for me," I said. "Look, I am not trying to preach. I could be completely wrong. One of the gods could be right about everything, and the others imitate him. Maybe there is no God, and it's all in my head. Maybe all the gods are working together, and their teachings harmonize better with their followers. I have found the principles that bring me peace, and if I am wrong and there is a better way, I just hope for mercy when I die."

"You are a good man, Baron Amos. I am glad the Endless One sent you." Draves said solemnly.

"Maybe he borrowed me from a god of my past world. That would be funny."

Our conversation ended as we approached the smith's house. "Why don't you check to see if he is available? I don't want to enter his shop if Mathew is there."

He nodded and left for a minute, returning with Jorb. Jorb was stone-faced. I handed him the thirty silver coins. "As I promised, this is not me kicking you out. Take as long as you need to get your affairs in order. If you need anything before you leave, let me know. I have some other things I would like to give you to help you on your way. And you will need an escort."

"Yes, my lord," Jorb said and promptly returned to his shop.

Draves pursed his lips, and his eyes hardened.

"Captain," I said firmly.

"I didn't say anything," He said in a startled voice.

"You didn't have to. He has spent many years building up an intense hatred. The walls don't always come down easily. Let's go see if those children over there will talk with us. That should lighten the mood."

A group of children was playing with a leather ball slightly smaller than a soccer ball. They were playing a game similar to dodgeball and tag. One person had the ball, and the rest had to run away. It was fun to watch them laugh and play. They were so engrossed in their game that they didn't even notice us.

"Do you feel it, Captain?"

"Feel what, my lord?"

"The joy, these children wear no shoes and threadbare clothes. They may never have tasted food that we take for granted. They will grow up and work tirelessly in a field from sun up to sun down. Yet they experience joy and peace within this moment."

"Maybe they have not lived long enough."

"Perhaps. Have you lived long enough that you can no longer have peace?"

"I have witnessed atrocities; I have done atrocities." He said softly.

"And what do you witness now? What do you feel now? For me, I feel peace, and I share their joy. Find joy in the moment, Captain."

Then we stood there watching. Neither of us said a word. Just standing there as the sun rose higher in the sky.

Marcus

I silently raged as I sat in the study chair. That jackal was working my Emily to the bone. Cleaning the manor, forcing her to help with the little brat, and now he says he is having her make some ridiculous thing to replace parchment. He even admitted he would steal the invention and give it his name. I must warn her. I would bring her with us when we left. I had to get her away from that lecherous man, thieving man. I already swore to her two years ago that I would marry her. She knows my heart, and she would come with me. I would tell her everything. She is mine.

The barony is ruined anyway. He kicked out the best smith because Jorb wouldn't prostrate before him. He probably wanted him out to further cover up what he had done to poor Mathew. It makes me sick. And then he repeals that stupid law and expects me to treat him like some hero. It was his stupid family that put the law in place. Then he winks at me as if I would stoop to asking him for the honor of marrying Emily. How did he even know my intentions?

"The new bookkeeping method was interesting. I wonder who he stole it from. I knew why he was doing it. He suspected me of stealing. He didn't have anything to steal yet. If we hadn't left by harvest time, I would grab some before we left. He was wealthy enough, and I deserved the money for what he did to me. I wonder how long it will take to get a response from Uncle.