“It’s your money. You made the loans and it’s your decision,” replied Alan. “As they’re not paying interest, there’s little reason for them to reduce what they owe. They risk losing the land, but maybe they’re gambling you won’t foreclose. Maybe they simply can’t pay, in which case they should never have made the arrangement.” He paused and then asked Jacob, “What interest rate would the Jews have charged had they made the loans?”
“Secured against land, just five percent. A month,” answered Jacob.
Alan winced. “And we hold the landboc deeds of title as security?” he asked.
Jacob looked affronted. “Of course!”
“As I said, it’s your decision, my love. I would say that I’d probably treat those who have part-paid differently from those who have paid nothing. How much money is involved?” said Alan.
Without needing to check his ledgers Jacob replied, “A total of just over?38 from the four non-payers. A further?27 and some pennies from those who have part-paid.”
“That’s a lot of money, then” said Alan. “As I see it the options would be to give them more time, to foreclose or to start to charge interest- which would at least give them a big incentive to pay the principal. We are, of course, forbidden to loan money at interest, so any such arrangement would need to look as if the loan has been refinanced through the Jews.”
“Where are the four manors of those who haven’t paid anything?” asked Anne.
“Two in central Essex, one in Suffolk and one in Hertfordshire, my lady” answered Jacob.
“Seize those estates immediately. There’s no excuse for them not having made the effort to pay something after eighteen months. Give the other ten written formal notice that they have one month to repay in full, and verbally advise them that you can provide finance- which we will fund, although obviously you won’t advise the defaulters of that fact. Go through the books of the seized estates and advise me whether the steward or somebody else in the household is capable of administering the estate or whether we need to appoint another steward,” instructed Anne brusquely. After a moments pause she added, “We’ll also need to see if their taxes are paid up to date. Get the part-paid ones to provide proof they have no debt to the Crown, and that the money we provided was used to pay the Heriot. The last thing we need would be for the king to seize the estates for arrears of tax.”
Alan nodded and then after a reflective pause, during which he characteristically rubbed his bearded chin, he said, “With this news of the Danes I’ll order that the manor house at Ramsey improve its fortifications. Harvest isn’t for another four or five weeks and with the labour from at least my four villages in the area that work will take less than a week. You may wish to do the same at Wivenhoe. I’ll also move some of the horses at stud from Ramsey to the new stud at Great Bentley, where they’ll be safer.” After another pause he asked Jacob, “As a matter of interest, how much wealth do we have at the moment?”
Jacob frowned. “I’m not entirely sure. It varies day to day depending on sale and purchase of cargoes. It would take some time to work out the value of the land you own, the land that my lady will own once I foreclose, the value of her businesses, the value of merchandise- and whether its value is taken at cost or at sale price. The values of the mining and fulling businesses, well those would depend on what somebody would pay. Those would be at least?1,000 by themselves. I can tell you that you have?3,715 cash on deposit at call. At a rough guess I would say about?6,000 in all, almost certainly quite a bit more.”
Alan snorted in disbelief and said, “And two years ago I was a landless knight with less than a shilling in my purse. Now I, and my wife, have more money than most of the earls, and all from the proceeds we gained by defeating the Danes in battle last year- and Anne’s good management of that seed-money.”
Anne smiled happily. “I told you, I’m a merchant’s daughter and learned how to turn one penny into two at my mother’s breast. Each voyage of the ships gives a profit of at least 50 percent. From Aquitaine the profit margin is closer to 200 percent. Our Factor buys wine direct from the vineyard and in London we sell direct to the larger houses, if they buy by the tun, and to the retailers. He also buys spices and luxury items in bulk. We really could make a lot of money if we invested the spare cash in extra ships and more merchandise- but we can’t spend all the money we’re making now, so why bother? I don’t think either of us want to build up a merchant empire.”
“Certainly not me,” replied Alan. “I just don’t understand it or have the gift of making it work, unlike you and Jacob- nor frankly do I have the interest. Nobles or warriors aren’t supposed to engage in trade. We’re earning more money than we can spend and that’s more than enough.”
“We could hold parties and serve the guests food covered in gild,” said Anne mischievously, knowing Alan’s hatred of ostentation. Alan snorted in reply.
“What do you think of the idea of endowing a hospital, or perhaps a lazar house at Colchester?” asked Alan. “I believe that the abbeys and priories receive sufficient patronage and that doing something practical for people in need may be a suitable use for surplus funds. Charity is encouraged by God.”
“Not a lazar house,” replied Anne. “Leprosy and other similar infectious diseases, plagues and poxes and the like, are God’s punishment on those people who have somehow offended him. I wouldn’t see it as being fit to endow such an institution. Perhaps establishing and maintaining an orphanage would be a suitably pious gift.”
Alan inclined his head to acknowledge his wife’s words but not to indicate agreement. After a moment’s pause he continued the previous conversation with Jacob. “Exactly where are these four manors that Anne is just about to acquire?” he asked.
Jacob had to refer to his notes as he’d memorized the financial information, but not the geographical. After a pause he replied, “Ah… In Essex there is Markshall near Halstead on the Colne in Hinkford Hundred, owned by Gothmund; Norton in Ongar Hundred near Chelmsford, owned by Godhild of Greensted; Claret Hall in Hinkford Hundred, owned by Leodmer the priest. Bushley in Danish Hundred in Hertfordshire, owned by Leofwin- who is a substantial landholder with many manors and should be able to pay.”
Alan nodded and said, “At least they’re all in areas that should be relatively safe from attack. The manor at Norton should be useful, as we usually break our journey to London at Chelmsford and we can stay there overnight. None of the manors are more than a day’s ride away. I’ll have a look at them in the next few weeks, on behalf of their new owner,” he concluded with a smile.
Next day Alan rode the short distance east to the horse stud at Great Bentley to inspect the facilities and check on progress. While Alan had been away in the west the long-awaited horse trainer, named William, had arrived from Amiens with a young assistant named Ivo. Alan wanted to see how the training of the horses to fight in battle was progressing.
Great Bentley was a little less than two miles from Thorrington and so Alan and Osmund arrived after a journey of just a few minutes. Great Bentley was a wealthy village and while it had just three hides of land under cultivation it supported nine plough teams. It had extensive woodland able to provide forage for hundreds of pigs and a salt-house owned by Alan, although no mill- the villagers used Alan’s mill at Thorrington. Most importantly from Alan’s view, it had extensive meadowland and pasture. Cows and sheep can be supported by grazing on the grasses on the wasteland. Horses are more delicate, requiring better grazing and supplementary feed. Alan had given most of the village and its cropping fields to the thegn Swein in laen, but had retained most of the woodlands, meadow and pasture.
The stud was located near the stream to the west of the village, closest to Thorrington. As Alan approached he was delighted to see in the fenced-off pasture over two dozen mares with foals at heel, nursing or gamboling about on their long legs. In a larger field were some twenty or so of the Welsh mountain ponies. These, together with others at the other manors, were being retained to provide the means for his warriors to move swiftly. Alan knew that these hardy beasts would need little in the way of facilities or attention.