Chapter 774: Bors’ Decision (Part One)
While the lords complained under their breath and the priests spoke among themselves, Jocelynn only had eyes for Marquis Bors, studying his face for the slightest sign that would indicate his acceptance or disapproval of her plan.
For her, this was more than just an attempt to extract capital from the Blackwell merchant guilds, though that was the most obvious and immediate goal of her plan. The real goal in her mind was the elevation of one of those Guild Masters to the position of Baron within Dunn County.
With the gratitude of the Dunn family for her role in their elevation and a guild master who still held loyalty to the Blackwell family as a newly elevated baron, she would have a stable base of power and a place she could flee to within Lothian territory if the day ever came that she needed to do so.
She might not be able to become a baroness in her own right, ruling over a territory of her own, but it was better than nothing. And if she could help the ship captains establish their domains in this new barony when they became knights, then her base of support there would be even stronger.
She only hoped that no one would realize she was building her own source of power within Lothian lands until it was too late... and that she could endure long enough for the power she was nurturing to grow strong enough to protect her.
"Lady Jocelynn, my valiant son Owain," Bors finally said after several minutes of quiet deliberation. "I trust your plan to resolve the shortfall in supplies for the army is just as considered and will also take many months of work before it bears fruit?"
"It is as you say, your Grace," Jocelynn said, offering a deep curtsy and bowing her head low. "For the short term, I can offer no better solutions than what the Hanrahans have already asked for. Reduce their tithes or forgive them entirely so that the villages who lost the most do not suffer undue hardship."
"The storehouses are filled with enough food to sustain the march through the winter, even without the tithe from Hanrahan barony," she said confidently. "And even without the contributions of the Dunns at the end of winter, we can make up the losses across the remainder of the march. Rather than focus on the immediate shortfall, Lord Owain and I believe we should focus our efforts on preparing for the war."
"Hmm," Bors said before another fit of coughing racked his body strongly enough that his cup of mulled wine fell from his hand, spilling what little liquid remained in the cup across the floor.
"Father!" Loman cried, standing from his seat and rushing to his father’s side.