Once he was sure the village dinner was underway, Phillip returned up the slope to the Keep for a more in depth survey.  The Master Builder -- [i]on loan[/i] from the King gave his assessment of the damage, as well as the effort, cost, and time involved in rebuilding the Keep.  It wasn't good news.

Phillip looked about himself at the fire and trebuchet-projectile damage and asked with disbelief, "Tell me again."

The Master Builder hesitated, cleared his throat, and looked to the parchment on which he'd been keeping notes.  "I believe it will take at least 40 skilled men, m'lord … [I]skilled artisans[/I] in carpentry, masonry, and other fields, not simply general laborers … 40 skilled men, working sunup to sundown for at least three months."

"And the cost...?" Phillip snapped at the man.  His tone was unfair to the Master Builder, of course.  After all, the architect hadn't destroyed the Keep; he'd only been contracted to rebuild it.  After realizing he'd raised his voice unkindly, he turned to face the Master Builder.  "Forgive me, sir.  This is not--"

Phillip went silent, then looked to Terrano.  In a softer volume he asked, "Can I afford to rebuild this … this [I]ruin[/I]?"

"Yes, m'lord," the Captain responded quietly.  He waved the Master Builder out of the tower in which they were having their discussion and moved a step closer to Phillip.  "The King's gift of coin was generous, m'lord.  However … while rebuilding the Keep may take only a few months, rebuilding your County's economy may take years.  [I]That[/I] m'lord … [I]that[/I] you may not be able to afford without sacrifice."

Phillip clenched his teeth at the word [I]sacrifice[/I].  He knew what that meant; he'd come from the Peasantry after all.  When a Noble or Royal talked about sacrifice, they were talking about their [I]Peasantry's[/I] sacrifice, not their own.  He murmured, "I won't do that."

"You may have no choice, m'lord," Terrano responded quickly.  They chatted back and forth about the options available, and when it was obvious that no decisions were going to be made tonight the Captain suggested, "It's been a hard day, m'lord … [I]ten[/I] hard days.  Why don't you return to your tent and get some--"

"I'd like to go to the celebration," Phillip said.  He turned without hesitation and began making his way out into the darkening night that was falling upon Echo Valley.  His Captain argued that he and his Lieutenants hadn't yet determined the risk of danger to their Lord, but Phillip was having none of it.  He ordered with a bit of a disapproving tone, "Put your four swordsmen around me like you always do and come have dinner with me and my subjects."

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Bill did his best to hold his flagon of beer steady as he [I]danced[/I] about the packed ground lit by torches burning high upon tall poles rammed into the earth.  [I]Dance[/I] was a generous word, of course; he'd suffered a painful, damaging injury to his right leg as a young man while working the fields and, to be honest, was lucky that he could even walk let alone prance about what had become a makeshift dance floor as the evening proceeded.  

He'd promised his only living child, Marina, that he'd be careful of his alcoholic intake, a promise he made often and typical stuck to.  But tonight was different: this ale was free, a kind gift from the stores of Echo Valley's new Lord, Earl Phillip of the House Greeling.  

He lifted the flagon high and sucked down the last gulps, then turned and headed again for the wagon in which the open keg was tipped over for dispensing.  But as he wobbled his way through the crowd, he caught sight of something truly unexpected: Earl Phillip.  Bill did his best to stand tall and prevent his body from teetering.  It wasn't so much that he was [I]tanked[/I]; he simply … well, honestly, he was [I]tanked[/I].  

The Master of Echo Valley made his way slowly through the crowd, a pair of soldiers leading the way while another pair followed close behind.  A sixth man was present, a soldier Bill had heard was the Captain of the Guard, a man named Terrano.  The old farmer took a long moment to study both of the men, knowing that often a Lord was only as good as the men who surrounded him.  And this Captain had the look and movement of a well trained and well experienced warrior.

Bill watched with curiosity as his new Lord moved through the crowd.  The young Earl addressed villagers who seemed open to conversation, talking with them for a moment about mostly nothing of importance.  When a small child waddled his way up and slammed into his shins, the Earl lifted the young boy up before him and playfully asked him if he knew the punishment for [I]assaulting[/I] a Nobleman.  

Finding himself intrigued by the Earl, Bill paralleled him through the crowd for several minutes in an attempt to further draw a conclusion about the young man.  Phillip slowed his trek through the crowd after a bit, and while he continued to talk to the villagers near him, his gaze and attention seemed to return to the same location again and again.  

Due to his inebriated state, it took Bill a while to understand just what had caught the Earl's attention: it was Marina, who was standing in the crowd just beyond a table from which villagers had been snatching up delicious offerings of food that they rarely saw in the poverty-stricken village.  

Drunk or not, it didn't take a genius to understand that the young man was fascinated by the young farm girl.  Bill's first reaction was anger and fear; [I]how dare this stranger ogle my daughter, whether Noble or not![/I]  But as he contemplated the situation, Bill found himself calculating the [I]benefits[/I] of his new Lord feeling lust for his young daughter.  

If not for the ale, Bill might have found himself embarrassed by the thoughts rushing about his addled brain.  [I]If he fancies Marina, and Marina submits...[/I] the thoughts began.  Nobles often paid well for the company of peasant girls; they often took them on as consorts or even Official Mistresses; and if a child was born to a loving relationship … well, there'd be a small home with property and a stipend at the end of that.

Bill couldn't know whether most of his current thinking was due to the alcohol surging through his veins or due to normal fatherly thoughts about what was best for his daughter.  Oh sure, little girls didn't grow up thinking [I]I want to be a Noble's consort, want to spend my nights parting my thighs for him or feeling him pound my womanhood from behind until his hunger was fulfilled.[/I]  But one way or another, beautiful young Marina would end up a man's play thing, whether it came with ringing of church bells or the jingling of a coin purse.

He stepped back into the crowd a bit, then hurried to curl around to where Marina was standing, watching the Earl as he continued talking to the others.  Stepping up to his daughter, Bill grasped her hand to urge her forward, whispering with force, "You must meet him, my love.  You must let the Earl see you up close."