The Watchman

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  I said, “And, you know that in this case, we are happy to share it with you and have you get the profit from it. Let us know when you want to see how it’s prepared.”

  Jonah left and we sat on the street. A few minutes later, Lucy came with mugs of warm tea for us. We had arrived about the time that the shops would be open and early shoppers would be filling the market. We didn’t expect a grocery delivery today and really didn’t have any planned business. Today was just to sit and get our routine started. But, we had a surprise in store of us this morning.

  About an hour after we sat down, after Clarice had just finished showing Jonah and Lucy the recipe and method for making the tea, two men approached my table. I thought that I recognized one, or maybe both of them, and I stood up as they came near.

  One said, “Sir Joshua, we were told that you were here this morning. We stayed at the inn last night, but this morning, when we asked about you in the market, some said that they had seen you at the cafe. I’m glad that we found you. Oh, I forget myself. I am Abram. I’m the magistrate for this season in the village of Stevespont. And this is my friend, Ronald, who is involved in the matter.”

  I said, “Please sit down and share our table and tell me what I can do for you. Abram, it was a hectic day when we met, but I do remember you. This is Clarice, who was with me that day, and this is Viola who handles my finances and business.”

  Abram said, “Ladies, I am pleased to meet you. We will sit, if you’re certain that you don’t mind our intrusion. We come on business.”

  The two took seats with us at the table and Lucy brought glasses for water and two more mugs of the hot tea. There wasn’t much left, but each of them had half a cup.

  Abram explained, “Sir Joshua, when you came to our village, it was a very unpleasant day in some ways and we are thrilled to find you still alive and healthy. In other ways, it has resulted in very pleasant changes to our community.”

  I said, “The new school for women is being built in Bonvale, and Antonio, the Merchant of Women will be responsible for it, along with kind older women and his own mates. From now on, the young girls will be taught with kindness, dignity, and warmth.”

  Abram said, “I’m glad to hear it. I don’t wish to go into the difficulties that we suffered under the influence of the dead woman, especially under the circumstances related to newly discovered information that may be uncomfortable. It is certainly uncomfortable for us. If you wish us to go away and not trouble you, say the word and we won’t bother you.”

  I said, “Abram, let’s be friends. I see that you’re troubled by something. Let me see how I can make your burden lighter.”

  He sighed and said, “When you were in our village, when the woman died, you told us that you would have us dispose of her property for the good of our village. It was your right, since she had attacked and injured you. It was exceedingly generous and we felt ourselves very fortunate in many ways and our village was in some way reborn. But, as we undertook to clear out her estate, which we told you was large, we found unexpected artifacts which have convinced us that this woman was related to you, either as a mother or grandmother and that you have further claim on her properties as the rightful heir to her estate.”

  I said, “Let me stop you for a moment. I am aware of her relationship to me and that is the very reason that I felt that I had the right to gift her estate to your village.”

  Abram said, “I am glad that you aren’t surprised and that you did what you did with even more knowledge than was available to us. I take it that you still wish to leave the matter in our hands and not reconsider? Her estate was very large and would make a man and his family very wealthy.”

  I said, “I am already very wealthy. I have more than I need. I would give some of it to the people of Stevespont in order that they can enjoy the rebirth of their community.”

  Abram took a breath and said, “You are very generous. I don’t know the circumstances of the women trying to murder you, but we knew her and we find no fault in you. We will use your generous gift for the good of all. The essential matter that we have for discussion with you is some of the lands belonging to the estate. Especially a great deal of property that borders the river.”

  The man, Ronald, now pulled out a drawing on a large sheet of paper and unrolled it on the table. He said, “Sir, this is a map of the eight villages. The estate includes these lands above Stevespont, and all of these.”

  The parcels that he pointed out were on both sides of the river and included almost all of the land for about thirty five miles on both banks. It seemed to be about sixty percent of the entire area and extended various distances from the riverbank inland. In some places it would be about two hundred feet wide, and in others, up to two miles, all the way from the bank to the main road.

  Abram said, “As you can see, this is a lot of land, and mostly outside Stevespont. It wouldn’t be right for us to own it or to sell it. And, Ronald tells me that he has made inquiries and has found it to be worth very little at the present time. We came to see if you are interested in having it for yourself for some reason.”

  I said quickly, “I certainly would. Name a price that you think is fair.”

  Abram looked confused and said, “What is fair would be for you to take all of the estate that is rightfully yours. And it would certainly not be fair for us to ask money for it. We trust your gift to our village, but this belongs to you, apart from that gift. We don’t know how to dispose of it.”

  I said, “Then I will take it. And I will be happy for it. Girls, look at this with me. There is land at the edge, or in the middle of every village along the river. We can build a dock at each one, on our own land, and use it for boats. Beside the dock, in a safe place, we can build a beach where people will go for picnics when the weather is good. Men and boys without boats, or when the weather is bad, will use the docks for fishing. This is marvelous. Clarice, can we do it?”

  Clarice smiled and said, “I believe that we can. The sandy beaches might take a while, but the docks can be built easily enough.”

  I said, “Men, you have a deal. This will be good for everyone.”

  Abram said, “Sir Joshua, as we entered the village last night and had interactions with the people of Bonvale, we got the impression that you are very much loved here, and now we see why. One more thing: what about the more personal items? Mementos or clothing or jewelry?”

  I said, “Burn the clothing. Sell the jewelry and use it to good purpose. If there are photographs or letters or writing of any kind, I may want it and would be very grateful if you would hold it until I come to your village again. About this land. Is there a registration of ownership that should be transferred to me in some way? Are there papers that I should file?”

  Abram said, “It would be wise to update the documents in each of the villages and to post markers in agreement with any men who own property adjacent to your own.”

  Viola said, “I will look into it and see that it’s done properly.”

  Ronald said, “Sir, you will not have trouble from your neighbors. The land has the reputation of being cursed and haunted.”

  I laughed, “Yes, my own home had the same reputation. Do you know of any reason for it?”

  He said, “No sir. It’s old legends and stories only. But old stories seem real to many people.”

  I said, “Good. We will change the reputation soon enough.”

  We chatted for a few more minutes and the men enjoyed their tea, but after a while said that they should be started for home again. They expected that it would take them a few days and they were anxious to get started.

  I said, “Men, I would like to go and see the land along the river. If you will come with me, and help me spot it, I will take you to your village before nightfall.”

  Abram said, “We saw the cart that you came to Stevespont in. It was from the old times. I would love a chance to look at it.”

  I said, “That will be another time. Today, we will travel by boa
t. I have a little business to do this morning. Can you come back here in an hour and be ready to leave?”

  The two men agreed that they could easily grab their belongings from the inn and meet me again in an hour, and they took their leave of us.

  When Abram and his friend from Stevespont had left, I said, “Girls, I need to speak to Grayson, the jeweler, and I want to stretch my legs.”

  We said thank you to Jonah and Lucy and started toward Grayson’s shop.

  As we walked, I said, “Clarice, can you determine the positions and boundaries of the properties somehow?”

  She said, “I’m working on it already. A few global imaging satellites were still working for a few centuries after the cataclysm, and we were receiving data from them until they eventually failed. There may be one or more still in orbit. I haven’t heard from them since the shutdown, but that was just a few years ago. By shutdown, I mean the final power failure when our friend from Riverhood stopped cleaning the solar collectors and the hydro plant failed. Up until then, I have satellite photos from over the years and I’m building maps now. In all locations, this crude map shows the property going from the river to some trail or road. Often to the main road that runs through the villages. Where it borders another property, as with Paul’s farm, there is often a fence. The fence is usually not seen on the images because they are hidden by the trees from above, but Brenda is working with our network sensors to detect things that look like fences or border trails. We should be able to get a fairly accurate map. The satellites also show the underwater terrain, but it tends to change and the most recent survey was many years ago. But the boat has a sonar attached and we can get the shape of the river bed from that. I have much of the data from our trip last week, and your trip a few days ago. The rest I can fill in over the next few days with some night reconnaissance.”

  I said, “Wow. That’s great. What are your ideas for the docks? We don’t have big construction equipment, like pile drivers and I assume that we don’t have a big supply of cement.”

  She said, “We should try to place the docks downstream from some natural jetty that creates a calm water spot. The docks don’t need to be very big. Maybe only twenty feet or so. I suggest that they float. We can make hollow floats from the lumber and seal it with natural sealants made from tree sap. We can engineer them to be fairly low drag and anchor the ends to large rocks underwater. Picture a series of small canoes, facing into the current, with a large plank walkway over the top. If the materials are available, we could build rock formations at the ends to hold them.”

  I said, “I wonder if Aaron, the stone carver, could make us some large stone piling or pier footings that would help us in some way.”

  Clarice said, “I think that he could. In fact, we could design an interlocking block system that would be easy to transport and easy to assemble on-site. That would work great.”

  I said, “I like this. Hey, we are going to see Grayson, first because I need tokens for the twins, but also because I need a way to tell them apart.”

  Viola laughed and said, “I certainly can’t tell them apart by their looks.”

  I said, “Neither can I. But, if the stone on one of the tokens is a different color than the other, we will know which is which by looking at the tokens.”

  Clarice said, “I can tell them apart only because the implant has a separate ID for each of them.”

  We laughed a bit more and soon arrived at the jeweler.

  Chapter 21 - Errands and Crests

  Grayson greeted us warmly and joked, “Joshua, have you forgotten something? Both of these women have tokens and registrations already. Where are your new ones? Oh, by the way, your friend Antonio was here this morning and had two registrations for himself and two tokens to go along with them. Linea has more knowledge of him than I do, but she says that she is happy for him. But why are you here this morning?”

  I smiled and said, “Because I need two more tokens my friend. But I do expect that these will be the very last. These are almost the same, but I need them to be just a little different.”

  Grayson laughed and asked, “Different in what way? And two more? Congratulations to your new women and I hope to meet them soon.”

  I said, “First, the crest should be a bit bigger than the ones that we have had so far. You will see why later. I would have you make them about fifty percent larger, but the same shape. And the stones need to be different. I want the same stone as the others, but in addition, another one. One white and one black. What I mean is that one of the tokens has a white stone on it and the other has a black stone.”

  Grayson pulled out his slate and chalk and I helped him draw what I envisioned.

  He said, “So, like the others, half again as large, with the small bluish stones and an additional stone above it. Easy enough. I take it that there is something special about these new women.”

  I said, “Grayson, they are identical twins and the truth is that I can’t tell them apart!”

  Grayson laughed hard and called out, “Linea, our friend Joshua is here! Come say hello and hear what he just said to me!”

  The woman, Linea, who acted as the registrar for marriages appeared and smiled and said, “Oh, no new matings today? Is this just a social call?”

  Grayson said, “Oh no, he has two more, but needs special tokens for them. He has found identical twins and can’t tell them apart and needs us to help him know which one is which! Have you ever heard such a thing? It’s incredible, isn’t it.”

  Linea smiled and said, “Well, that is something new! I have never seen identical twins. Naturally it would be the treasure hunter who finds them. These crests look fine. Are you sure of the size? These might look a little large on a girl’s neck. Especially if she is small like your Raven or Aspen.”

  I said, “My friends, I respect your advice. Tell me what you think. Grayson, I am six foot tall. You are about five-eleven, aren’t you? The twins, I am telling the truth, are both six-foot-two.”

  Linea looked upward and held up her hand to a few inches above mine and her husband’s heads and said, “I see what you mean. Yes, I think that the size that you want will look good on them. Maybe just a little smaller than you say. I’ll do what I think is best if you will allow me.”

  I said, “Of course. Mine was only a guess.”

  Linea said, “Yes, it should be a bit bigger. Things look smaller from a distance. And the distance will be great in this case.”

  I said, “But my friends, they are more beautiful than you would imagine and very sweet. They have the grace of all of my women and I love them every bit as much. If you saw them from a distance, you would never guess that they were as tall as they are. They may be tall, but trust me, it is worth the climb.”

  Linea smiled and said, “You warm my heart every time we meet. I’ll have them done sometime tomorrow.”

  I said, “I’ll talk to Paul and Susan, and if you can come for supper tomorrow evening, that would be a fun time for all of us to relax.”

  Viola said, “Linea, you handle registrations for mates. Who handles matters of property? We have acquired some extra land in various places around the river and we want to make sure that any paperwork is updated. The previous owner has died and she was a relative of Joshua and so he inherits it.”

  Linea said, “It’s much more rare, but I handle property registration as well as mates. It’s quite a bit more complicated, but I will help you with it.”

  Viola smiled and said, “Then I’ll come back soon and discuss it. The amount of property is large and it may take some time to sort it out. I will appreciate your help.”

  After that, the three of us went back to the cafe to meet Abram and Ronald and then headed toward the river. For some reason, none of the properties were actually in the village of Bonvale, but Clarice pointed out that one of them was at the far end of the village and suggested that we take the boat from there, rather than from Paul’s farm. The walk wasn’t far, and as we approached a small still
spot on the river, a little inlet just a dozen feet long and about ten feet wide, we saw our boat beached and waiting for us. Clarice had brought it to us by remote control.

  The little inlet was a good place for a small dock. Of course, we would have one in Goldenwood, but this was a great spot for service to Bonvale. It would be a simple matter to build a dock against the bank for loading and unloading the boat. If there were no place to build a dock that extended into the water at a spot where it was calm, we could build docks that paralleled the bank.

  I helped the girls and our guests into the boat and then pushed us off from the shore. Clarice took the controls and backed us out of the inlet and then headed us into deeper water farther into the river.

  I said, “Gentlemen, the map that you gave us has provided good information about the location of the properties and there’s not much need for us to survey them today. Clarice, take us to Stevespont.”

  She said, “It’s about twenty miles. We will be there in about an hour.”

  The trip was pleasant and the day was warm. The men had a few questions and we answered them easily. They accepted the availability of the boat and other technology that I might have readily enough. It had never been seen, but they were aware that these things existed in abundance before the cataclysm and were happy to see examples of what the past had to offer.

  After we dropped the men off at their village, Clarice took us to the same secluded cove that we had visited with Brenda and we spent an hour or so together there, enjoying the sunshine and nudity. When we were done, we rode to Paul’s farm and spoke to the women there for a bit and then returned home.

  We’d asked the women at Paul’s if they had any dresses tall enough for the twins, but they did not. No one was surprised about that. I told them not to concern themselves and that we would get dresses made at Havenrest. They weren’t convinced and insisted that they would come up with something appropriate for both Willow and Bamboo. I asked if four of us could come to dinner and they assured us that we were more than welcome.