Of Pride and Power - 10. Chapter 10: “Learn to keep people dependent on you.”

Berry Pomeroy Castle had surrendered to me a few weeks after the events at Caliban’s farm. Lady Jane Grey wept upon seeing me, begging for me to shelter her. After a year of separation, I noticed that she had grown into a beautiful young woman. I could see what Guildford liked about her; she was the innocent damsel type that could rouse certain men to her side. However, I was not one of those men. John Dudley had now taken over as the de facto leader of the Privy Council. I conceded one point for Lady Jane and asked John Dudley to send for Guildford. He would retrieve her from Hatch Beauchamp Manor. Guildford could offer her comfort on her way to their shared destiny. I was no longer afraid of John Dudley; I knew he did not have the forces to fight me right now from the various intelligence sources at my disposal. Between Mary with her overtures to Spain and the uproar with the Book of Common Prayer changes in 1549 in other regions, it kept most of John Dudley's forces in a holding position to maintain civil order. I couldn’t count on this deadlock to continue; John Dudley would need Jane under his control as Edward’s health would decline soon.

However, Jane was not the hardest issue that I faced during the early stages of incorporating Devonshire into my growing collection of vassal territories. Numerous local lords, mayors, and village elders implored me to make an example of the remaining Seymore children. They were out for blood for the insult that they had suffered at the hands of John Seymore. The last adult son of Edward Seymore was stabbed to death by a group of his former allies when he tried to escape Devonshire. His corpse was so mutilated that only Francis’ ability could give an identification.

Poor Francis needed extra attention for several days after feeling what must have been a very torturous death. We slept in bed with my arms wrapped around him. Unlike Jack, he was not a natural cuddler or good at offering comfort to me, but I did not demand reciprocity from Francis, especially after what he went through. Francis woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, so I had to lull him back to sleep with comforting words. It was an exhausting affair for both of us. I noted to myself to not ask him to endure that kind of experience again. Mental torture is something to be used against one's foes, never someone you are intimate with.

I was never a sadist, which isn’t the point in the type of relationship that Francis and I shared. In my world, people had the common assumption that Dom/sub relationship was synonymous with sadomasochistic acts like bondage, pain, and torture. Luckily, Jack and I were curious enough to go beyond the BDSM section of gay porn to learn real knowledge. A sub is not an object, or a tool used for your pleasure through their pain. Subs are still human beings with needs and wants, their devotion to you should be cherished and supported with understanding. Their devotion is a type of love, different from romantic affection. If the sub is incapable of equal power exchanges, they may never be a traditional partner as a result. A Dom role is not a leather-wearing punishment master in all cases, but someone who can support the devotion and hold all the power within the relationship.

After the death of the last adult son, I had the remaining Seymore children gather at Hatch Beauchamp Manor. I could have left them in the care of cousins from outside the western region of England. It would have been the easiest option, but it would risk future invasions or outside insurgent actions in the Seymore family name by opposing factions from either John Dudley or Mary.

After several days of planning my next moves, Peter was approached by the eldest remaining Seymore child, Edward, whom I’ve referred to as Eddie in private. He was only eleven years old and played up his disarming innocence several degrees better than Jane. Even Peter, who was uninterested in beauty or charm could be manipulated by Eddie’s seemingly pure pleas. I knew Eddie was different than his father and uncle from my own world’s history, but I had no idea how far he’d go even as an eleven-year-old. There were times in later years that I had wondered if it wouldn’t have been better for me to offer him to the villagers and nobles, I bet he would have survived with a trail of scandal in his wake.

When he presented himself, my first impression of him was, “Why is he only wearing that white tunic and sandals?”

The boy stood before me, kneeled on the floor, then spoke with his head facing the ground softly, “May I be your erastes?”

With his words, the intent was known to me. I blushed redder than a ripened tomato. Even without an understanding of the ancient Greek term, the fact that his bare ass was peeking out of his tunic made everyone in the room know he was making an overture at me.

Francis was busy gathering representatives of various guilds and noble families for a conference I was hosting in Bristol. So it was just me, Puck, and the triplets in my private office when Eddie made his offer. Francis probably would have strangled Eddie if he heard him ask that question. While having few people present in the room was good, the fact that Eddie walked across the manor in that outfit made his intent clear to all the servants and officials who saw him. He had made himself the center of a sex scandal.

Puck was laughing at the outfit and attempted seduction, while the triplets were staring in shock at the display in front of them. Peter fell to the floor ranting incoherently that he was tricked into allowing this audience. His brothers begged me to spare Peter and not mention this to Francis, which just made Puck laugh even louder.

I glared at the amused Puck, “If you think this is so funny, you can have him.”

Puck continued to laugh, and Eddie was indignant at my suggestion, “I am not a whore, mister Eli!”

With the mention of my name without any honorifics or royal surname, I trained my focus back on the kneeling half-naked boy in front of me and vented my frustration, “What is the meaning of this? Why are you wearing that ridiculous outfit? I am not interested in what you’re offering, Eddie.”

That was my first use of his nickname, it would follow him whenever he was in my company. Most people thought later it was a power move to be dismissive toward Edward Seymore’s heir, but my closest associates knew that it was to remind him of this embarrassing first encounter as a lesson.

Looking at me in shock, Eddie mumbled, “I…You… My father said you enjoyed the Greek traditions. My brother John said you were a sod and you liked assertive boys,” he pointed to the triplets and Puck, “I just wanted to protect my family and offer myself to you. My father said you were a eunuch so I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to be a dominant lover without losing my virtue.”

When people assume things based on partial information, it makes an ass of you and me. Beyond getting my reproductive capabilities wrong, he believed I was interested in that aspect of Greco-Roman culture based on the prejudicial views of his brother and father. While I do think some age of consent is based on each person’s biological maturity level rather than an arbitrary age, there was still some common stuff that I would never allow. With his actions there, Eddie was acting like the immature eleven-year-old he was, pretending to do something adult. To add to his list of idiotic moves, he didn’t understand the Greek dress or display he made. He wanted to be an erastes or dominant lover since I was in the eyes of his dead father and brother like a woman, a naturally weaker lover. However, his dress and actions made him appear like an eromenos, a submissive partner, to anyone who saw him. People around the manor would be gossiping about him trying to whore his way into my favor, making him a laughingstock.

I explained all of that to him, causing him to run off in tears and shame. He was innocent, despite the indecent proposal.

After Eddie left, Puck jokingly asked, “So, about me having him…”

I shook my head, “No, you might be fourteen and he’s eleven, but he’s immature. In my history, he would be a thorn in my counterpart’s side for decades, screwing everything that walks. For your sanity, don’t touch that ass.”

Puck’s eyebrows raised, “So, do you still want him around?”

I sighed, “His sexual escapades aside, he will become a capable ambassador for me. I think he will learn how to use seduction better after this embarrassment. At least, if he offers his ass in the future, it will be for the sake of the kingdom.”

Peter, having ceased his mumbling during my exchange with Eddie began to apologize coherently, “I am sorry Lord Eli. I was fooled by a child.”

Knowing Peter was asexual, except when it came to his twin brothers, I wanted to know how Eddie did it, “Tell me how you were fooled.”

Peter blushed, “He came to me asking if I liked to hear him sing a song. I wasn’t interested, but then he asked if I would enjoy a song about the love between brothers. I don’t know how he figured out our relationship, but he began singing a melodic tune of brothers going off to battle and sacrificing their lives for each other. It brought a tear to my eye. Then, he asked me to seek an audience with you, because he wanted to plead with you for the safety of his younger siblings. I agreed.”

I knew that’s why Eddie Seymore, the future Edward Seymore, Earl of Hertford, would become a good ambassador and skilled paramour of various people. He witnessed Peter’s dedication to duty and his love for his brothers, so a song that reflected Peter’s emotions would make him more susceptible to manipulation. Eddie’s innocence and naivete made the ploy even more successful since he was telling the truth, at least the more acceptable parts. He was off the mark with me due to incorrect information about my interests and the subject matter of Greek male lovers, but he was still only eleven and will improve with time.

The farcical seduction and gossip about the embarrassment of the Seymore heir among the various nobles and locals did reduce their thirst for blood, at least temporarily. Humor is a bandage, but sadly not a cure for wounds suffered by the psyche as some psychoanalysts would say. The distraction gave me time to gather various leaders from villages, towns, and cities across the regions that I had control over. Along with negotiating for the Seymore children’s lives, I needed to set up a new administrative apparatus. The thirst for vengeance was second to the practicalities of keeping people fed, clothed, and housed. I had them all gather at Bristol Castle, a royal property that had gone unused for a century by this point.

According to the 16th-century English poet John Leland, the castle had “two courts, and in the north-west part of the outer court there is a large keep with a dungeon, said to have been built of stone brought by the red Earl of Gloucester from Caen in Normandy. In the other court is an attractive church and many domestic quarters, with a great gate on the south side, a stone bridge, and three ramparts on the left bank leading to the mouth of the Frome. Many towers still stand in both the courts, but they are all on the point of collapse”. Thus, I had low expectations.

Bristol Castle had no modern description, since in my world, Oliver Cromwell, the demagogic parliamentarian leader, would crush the royalist force at Bristol Castle nearly one hundred years from now. After the royalist defeat, he ordered what remained of the ancient decaying castle destroyed, possibly symbolizing the end of royal authority. Eventually, he along with the English Parliament of the time would order the execution of King Charles I, completing a coup d’état and ushering in a decade of puritanical laws under Cromwell.

I chose this place to build a new administrative framework, both for its dilapidated description and its symbolic future value. After the meeting had been organized to occur in late autumn, I had Francis, the former farmhands of John Seymore, and some fair folk with engineering knowledge assist in remodeling the old castle and its outlying area for three months. From its central location to Bristol, there were plenty of building materials and I had seized John Seymore’s illicit treasury for funds. If we only had medieval construction workers with Renaissance-level building skills, it would have taken more than a year to renovate the Bristol Castle area. However, modern techniques with quick-drying cement completed the work within the allotted three months.

Beyond having a meeting venue and a fortified administrative location for me and my allies, I wanted to create a training ground for the fair folk and youths, who swore their loyalty to me. In the modern world, civil engineering operations are an important job for military units. It teaches recruits the importance of cooperation between different areas, leading to things such as the discipline of combined-arms warfare. It built trust between fair folk and the youths, reducing the influence of insular ideas and doctrinal prejudices against sexual orientations and gender roles. Eventually, I would be engaged in a modern war as the population of the Holy Roman Empire was at this point with Papal armies, these were necessary first steps in creating my professional army.

Rebuilding this castle had a risk of discovery, but the strategic importance of having a fortress by my key port city outweighed it. In addition to the traditional towers and stone walls, we also built several hidden pillboxes and bunkers around the perimeter of the fortress. Some were domed in shape with small openings only for rifles to be fired, while others had retractable roofs for artillery and future anti-aircraft weapons. These defensive structures were used in warfare through the World Wars to assist in defending static positions from infantry forces. A castle or a fortress may serve as the command center of a modern army, but they had ceased being the center of defensive battles as artillery and aircraft made it too easy to destroy. Thus, Bristol Castle could be a showpiece for the attendees of the various regions to demonstrate traditional military strength, but the real power lay with my hidden defenses.

From October 19^th to 28^th 1550, several groups of people, totaling over one hundred twenty-six people assembled at the renovated Bristol Castle. They represented local industries through lumber guilds, the mining guilds, and the artisan guilds. They represented the various ferrymen and waggoneers who moved goods between towns and cities. They represented the wealthiest farmers on the richest lands to the poorest farming serfs, who could not escape their status as slaves to nobles. It was an oddity to have them congregate with tradesmen and nobles, but one thing I was determined to do in this alternate world was to end the class system that became infamous within British society. The first thing would be to begin the historical process of unraveling serfdom in England and Wales.

In my world, Elizabeth I would be the monarch, who ended England’s medieval concept of serfdom, slavery by obligation from birth to a hereditary noble lord. Unfortunately, she ended one system of forced servitude, but she allowed another one to rise with England’s growth as a major player in the Atlantic Slave trade. Historians debate why she freed one group of slaves and allowed another to take their place but based on what I have seen of this world, I think she compromised her conscience to give labor-hungry nobles what they wanted. Sadly, the expansion of slavery did not begin with England as Spain and Portugal had begun and expanded slavery in the name of Catholicism’s greatest compromises, the Treaty of Tordesillas in the Americas, and the Treaty of Zaragoza in Asia. Pope Alexander VI, the infamous Rodrigo Borgia, had issued Papal decrees to allow the Catholic nations to enslave and own indigenous peoples, like livestock. All those things have already occurred, I cannot change the creation of slavery, but I could offer a new framework that can solve the various labor issues of this era.

Over the week of discussion, I laid out the framework of a new economic system between the regions of Western England. First, a new standard of weight, proportion, and measure had to be established for conventional trade. I used various aspects of the Weights and Measures Act in the modern United Kingdom as the basis. This new system would allow a standard for exchanges of crops, purity of minerals, and quality measurements for finished goods.

Second, I establish uniform minimum standards for working conditions, including the end of hereditary servitude. This new rule would eliminate the existence of serfs within my territory and allow everyone to enter and leave their employment under stated contracts. It sets standards for employment contracts, illegal practices such as harassment, mandatory meal breaks, vacation policy, and a maximum of 80-hour work weeks. Compared to modern standards, some of the rules are more stringent and limited, without things such as retirement pensions, accidental insurance, or sick leave, but I did not have a national government at this point to maintain these policies.

Third, in replacement of meal supplements offered by local Churches before Edward Vi’s reform of 1549, I created new basic food support for everyone within my lands. Ten percent of all crops would be bought on my behalf, then offered to peasants within this program for free or at discounted prices based on local conditions. Peasants would be allowed in this program under the condition of a work requirement with exceptions, who receive certain automatic benefits, such as children under the age of 10, elders over the age of 45, widows with childcare obligations, and injured veterans. In addition to basic food support, each worker will be guaranteed a basic monthly work income equivalent to the local cost to purchase lodging and meals for a month. Work will be made available for everyone either in the fields, mines, or workshops based on the desire of the individual. This rule would offer a modified version of the modern safety net to grant housing and employment to everyone who seeks it. Life expectancy was quite low in this era at around forty-five and kids as young as ten years old were working, so I wanted to improve the quality of life as much as I could, which would in turn increase the total usable labor force.

Fourth, the creation of standard taxes and prices based on local market conditions. The regional guilds of similar work, such as wool crafting or woodworking, would form a mutual company. Each guild will have one representative within the mutual company, while I will have half the total number of guild representatives within the mutual company, making the government a one-third minority owner. Each guild would sell their goods at an agreed-upon price from a majority vote of representatives. At the end of each month, the sales of all goods would be compiled by the mutual company to calculate the shares of profit to be distributed within the two-thirds businesses. The remaining one-third of profits would be considered taxes paid to the government. A similar mutual company structure called a cooperative would be established among farms throughout a region. All guilds and farmlands that do not participate in business as a mutual company or cooperative will be taxed under the normal standards at 50% of production or farm yields. To create an efficient way to monitor production and taxation, I had to have a stake in all the various businesses within my realm. Each guild wasn’t fairly represented in my system since larger guilds would have as much voting power as smaller guilds, but their share of the profits would always be based on their share of the production. Ultimately, the government representatives would have the largest representation within these mutual companies as a single voting bloc. It made sure that farmers and businesses alike would be dependent on my government’s continued existence. To everyone involved, my indirect tax of 33% was far superior to the standard tax of 50%, in place between the nobles, church, and royalty. Keeping 17% of their money and goods became a dependency I could count on, better than feudal loyalty.

The four rules created at Bristol Castle were my first major logistical and economic reform within the kingdom. They were experimental and had several holes that William Cecil had to fill with royal decrees in future years, but the basic concepts became known as the Bristol System throughout the land in the years to come. It outlined the concepts of equivalency, fair treatment of individuals, freedom of work, and mutual dependency between everyone involved in economic activity, including the government.

With such groundbreaking rules, my additional request, to keep the children of Edward Seymore in my care at Hatch Beauchamp Manor, became an afterthought. Vengeance and outrage took a backseat when wealth and power could be gained through making alliances amongst the various people assembled at Bristol Castle.

By November 3^rd, 1550, the attendees had returned home with my new rules, and I had Francis begin working on finding the best administrators for the positions in the mutual companies and cooperatives to represent my interests. Several fair folk and noble clerks would have to be installed within key industries to maintain order during the next few years, which I knew may be the most turbulent yet.

At this time, a group of men appeared before Hatch Beauchamp Manor with a message from John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. The local administrators sent me messages at Bristol Castle of their arrival. There were fifty men in total, carrying the banners of King Edward VI, led by my old friend Ambrose Dudley. If it were anyone else leading the force, I might have put them off for a few days. With Ambrose here, I knew he would have information about Robert Dudley, whom I have not seen for almost two years now. As a queer kid being forced by his father to marry a woman, the outlook was pretty sad. I had resigned myself by this pint that despite his resemblance to Jack, Robert Dudley was just a friend and former lover, nothing more.

I returned to Hatch Beauchamp Manor and greeted the envoys of John Dudley in my meeting room, which served as a makeshift audience room.

Ambrose at twenty years old was still chubby and his bald spot had increased. He tried to be stiff and serious around his father’s men, but I could tell by his fixated gaze on Puck that he hadn’t lost all his desires. Puck for his part wasn’t oblivious to the attention, but I could tell he was nervous around Ambrose. Of course, Ambrose's gait appeared to be similar to Caliban’s gait. Still, one could see, that whereas Caliban appeared like a dangerous wild beauty, Ambrose was a homely stout man.

Ambrose bowed, then spoke, “My Lord Eli, I send greetings from my father, His Grace John Dudley Duke of Northumberland, and your brother, his excellency King Edward VI.”

“I accept the greeting my old friend from your father and my brother, how may I be of assistance to either of them?” I answered curtly, trying to cut through the niceties for a direct request from Ambrose.

Ambrose took out a letter with the seal of King Edward VI, “My father would like for you to send Lady Jane Grey with me back to London,” he looked around the room at the triplets guarding me and the additional freshly trained soldiers from Bristol Castle, “His Excellency King Edward VI would also like for you to come to London to answer a few questions regarding the death of John Seymore and connection with Edward Seymore.”

After he spoke those words, there was an audible tension in the room. Fifty men would likely be enough to take any other noble hostage under duress, but the triplets and my fresh troops would probably butcher them within a few minutes between the gunfire and superior numbers. Ambrose’s men knew they were surrounded both inside the manor and outside by my people, they had overplayed their hand.

However, I knew that I would be recalled to London eventually for questioning, it was history.

“I agree to all the requests of your father and my brother, his excellency King Edward VI, but I must prepare for the journey. Please, Sir Ambrose Dudley, will you come into my private office to discuss the arrangement with my aides.”

We left my audience chamber for the privacy of my office. Ambrose followed sheepishly behind everyone, while Francis and Puck took my flanks. The triplets guarded us two behind and one in front.

As the doors to the room closed, Francis turned towards me, he asked me pleadingly, “My lord, please do not accept these terms. The Duke of Northumberland does not have the force to make such a demand on you.”

I shook my head, “He may not have forces to demand my questioning, but if I do not go, it would be as if I was declaring myself a rebel,” I turned toward Ambrose, thinking this reply would be repeated to John Dudley by my friend, ”We do not have the forces to defeat the Duke of Northumberland, nor my brother with destitute and cursed lands such as Devonshire and Gloucestershire. The springs in the city of Bath would do little but offer refreshment to his soldier’s weary soles.”

Francis saw my glance and nodded at the disinformation I needed to give Ambrose. In truth, the freshly trained army of five thousand men would be enough to defend against John Dudley, perhaps even Princess Mary. A defensive war would be ideal for the forces I had.

Ambrose bowed before me, “Lord Eli, I hate to ask this of you with all your troubles, but before you go to face my father, please I entreat you to go see Robert.”

I tried to keep my heart hardened, “What does Sir Robert Dudley wish to see me about? I am a poor creature, whose head is in a precarious position.”

Ambrose raised his head with tears streaming down his face, “He is not doing well in Norfolk. He toils in the fields like a serf for his wife. I saw him, two months ago, he couldn’t recognize me, his brother, but he asked for his true love to come see him before he passed on.”

Robert Dudley’s wife, Amy Robsart, had a large plot of land in Norfolk, which is north of London. If I go up there, I could do more than just help out Robert Dudley with his issues. As far as my intelligence has been told, there hasn’t been any major rebellion in the area. In my world’s history, in 1549, Kett’s Rebellion would have occurred in the region and be a contributing factor to the elevation of Earl of Warwick, John Dudley, to the position of Duke of Northumberland by Edward VI. However, the rebellion never happened, but the enclosure policies of Edward Seymore continued under John Dudley. There was discontent among the local farmers and a good chance to build local inroads.

I told myself that I was going to Norfolk for the potential sixteen thousand troops, who wanted equitable land access. Yet, I knew that Robert Dudley was the real reason why I was heading eastward. Despite the distance and the realities, I had made Jack a promise that I wouldn’t let him suffer alone.