At two hours after eleven when he had finished his arms practice for the day he again went in search of the constable to talk to raise a few matters with. He first tried him at his office but when he wasn't there he asked one of the castle's servants who informed him that he could usually be found in the stables at this time of the day.
The constable was rubbing down a white stallion in one of the stables stalls when he found him. Once he had finished attending to the horse Amondo accompanied him to his office for their talk.
"So Dusti how goes the preparation for the arrival of the rest of my party that will be arriving later today, have you found accommodation for all of them yet?"
"Yes I managed to get them all placed if not necessarily in places fitting their station or close to each other. Your ward and her aunt were the hardest things to take care of by the way but in the end, I managed to find them a nice spot, not perhaps the best rooms in the castle but I think they will like them none the less.
"Now we just have to come up with a plan to integrate them into the existing staff. I'll be despatching most of the soldiers nearer to the border of the Barony and some of the servants will be moving to the Manor House if Nazma agrees to do so. Still, I'll be putting some of my own retainers into the important positions. It can wait until I have a better appreciation of everybody's talents and the situation at large.
So when are the Steward, Seneschal and their staff expected to return from their survey of the barony and what can you tell me about the Escheator and his staff."
"Well, sir they finished dealing with Membe last week and expect to be done with Hasford and Wainthe by the end of the month. This Steward will be returning long before that probably any day now after a visit to Wainthe to help them prepare for the visit from the Escheator but as you can imagine the Seneschal shall stay till it is over and done with.
As to the Escheator, his name is Ryton Calving, he is around 50 and a former Sheriff, though I can't remember where exactly, someone the other side of the Great Lakes, apparently he's as honest as they come with isn't saying much and he was appointed two years ago after the previous one was forcibly retired. His staff consist of a Bailiff, a clerk and two guards, the bailiff is some kind of relative of his and the clerk and the two guards are from the Royal fief of Carlatte or so the grapevine says."
"And how did his survey of Membe go?"
"Well, sir we won't have official word until he has completed his full survey of the Barony but indications are that they didn't turn up anything unexpected and before you ask we don't think Hasford and Wainthe will be any different but then again you never really know what he might find, you brother didn't perhaps pay as much attention to them as he should have, as long as the money was flowing from them he wasn't too concerned about anything else."
"Alright that's it for today but tomorrow I want my treasurer Marke Alfara to have a look at the Barony's accounts and see what he thinks I trust that won't be a problem."
"No, not at all the Barony's treasurer went with the survey party but his clerk stayed behind and should be more than capable of dealing with your request."
"One last thing before I forget is the map room still in operation."
"We've been using it for storage but I believe everything is still there do you want me to have it cleared out."
"Yes please as soon as possible, I want to use it tomorrow if at all possible."
"I'll have the staff see to it immediately is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No I don't think however is there anything you think I should be made aware of."
"Let's see you'll need to sit in judgement in the Baronial court as soon as possible, once everything gets settled after the birth of the child that is. We have two prisoners captured in the border war, their just ordinary guard one from Elmsey and the other from Shanoky.
The few peasant levies that were also captured were let go after being held prisoner for a month as is the custom. We captured a knight and two mercenaries but they were ransomed back. There are also a few other pressing legal matters that need sorted."
"I won't really be legally entitled to hold court until I pay the relief on the ward price and that will have to wait until after birth plus however long it takes to clear the legal hurdles. Do we have any cases working their way along the Ducal or other higher courts?"
"Not in the fiefs we now control but the lord of Ruehasen had some matter pending that were well rid of concerning a disputed Interbaronial inheritance in Neudon that has been ongoing these past five years or more."
"Every cloud has a silver lining I suppose, have someone gather all the documents we have concerning the case and then the herald can deliver them to Eugene."
It was at this very minute that they were interrupted by the arrival of a page with the news that the rest of Amondo's party had been spotted on the approach to the village and would be arriving momentarily.