Banished Prince Charming

Chapter 22 - Jack Is Elated!

A week or so slipped by since the bamboo bridge project had been completed. The clay oven and the clay sign had been completed and were constantly being fired to make it bisque dry.

The first signboard had been erected atop the doorway of my home while another had been erected on the opposite side of the bamboo bridge. This would greatly signify to all incoming visitors if any.

I sat down on the long dining table that had been prepared by Ben and was surrounded by the children as they watched me record down some information on some papyrus using a reed pen. The ink was made from charcoal that had been grounded with some water and had resin added to it to make it permanent.

"What are you doing, big brother? Would you mind explaining to me those squiggly words that looked like earthworms that we used as bait..." Imelda stared at my hands as I made a kind of census for the settlers, their full names, date of birth, profession and their children as well.

"Oh, I am making a record for all the 4 families that are currently here. This belongs to the Chowdrys, and this is the Gardners while these two belongs to Levis and Macleods."

"As you can see there's a lot of space here and would be recorded as you grow older, gets married and have your own kids," I explained as I blew on the last entry to dry them and pointed out to the curious children.

"When will you have a baby, big brother? Mommy said that once a man and woman got married, a stork would come by and deliver a baby to them." Ellen asked me innocently and I nearly choked on my saliva. "How I'd wish things would be this simple." I thought to myself as I cleared the papyrus away.

"Sister Heather and I are still awaiting the arrival of the stork but I think they would be coming in during the next spring I suppose. You know those birds would not take flight if they were not scheduled to arrive."

I thought of those words to dismiss their further questionings as I knew my lies would not hold water after some time. Besides, as a matter of fact, Heather and I had not been 'doing it' since I was always preoccupied with matters of GraceHaven and our relationship had been slowly blossoming as time goes by.

"Would we be able to read and write as you do, big brother? I would very much learn how to read and write because mommy told me that we would become traders in the future." Devon added as he fiddled with his hands and was tracing the surface of the table, mimicking the way I was writing earlier on.

"Don't worry about learning, once Sister Heather is free from any current projects, we would definitely teach you the ropes. As a tradesman, you need to know how to count up to a thousand. How about this, why don't you all go and pick some small pebbles and I could teach you how to count instead."

I suggested and the children's eyes lit up and rushed immediately to the riverbank and collected as many pebbles as their small hands could carry and brought over to the table after I had cleared all my writing materials into my home.

The pebbles were arranged in front of me and I arranged 3 groups of pebbles from the smallest to the biggest. This would denote the currencies such as copper, silver and gold. "Imelda, can I borrow your doll for a while bit?" I held out my hands as I received a clay doll that was made with straws for the head and a bit of pelt for its dress.

"Alright, take for an example I am a merchant in the market and I am selling this doll. The price is 10 coppers. These small pebbles represent coppers so you need to set aside 10 of these aside to make the purchase."

I soon taught them the basics of math while making purchases at the same time. The children would also learn some multiplication and basic trading. I explained the number of coppers to make a silver and the number of silvers to make a gold coin.

"So we do need to have 100 coppers to convert it into a silver coin and 50 silvers to make into a gold coin?" queried Harry as he counted with the pebbles and instead of his fingers.

"That's right. You would be able to learn simple math through this and able to make complex multiplication." I showed how these small pebbles could represent a single digit, while the medium one represents 10 and the largest pebble represents 100.

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the children, even though they have no exposure to any forms of education, quickly adapted to my guide to the simple math and multiplication.

Suddenly, Sir Blackie let out a few excited barks towards the horizon beyond the bamboo bridge and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked yonder. A few moments later, a horse-drawn wagon appeared and Sir Blackie was excited and rushed off to welcome the visitors. It was pulled by 3 horses and one of the wagons was in tow behind the main one.

It had been only three weeks and not a month had passed since the Marcel the merchant had arrived. I dismissed the children first and I went to my shelter to retrieve a pouch that contained a gold coin and a considerable amount of silvers and coppers. There were 3 gold coins hidden in my person to standby for such incidences as this.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and assembled in GraceHaven's clearing that we had named it as our courtyard for the moment. Ben and Jack had constructed 4 long benches earlier for us to sit around the fireplace for gatherings and discussions besides the having another set of dining tables where such discussions were prohibited.

This idea was implemented by me since it would be a good practise for the pioneers as this was the norm in our Manor. The dining place was meant for one to savour and enjoy the meals and no discussions would be mentioned. Whereas the gathering point would be the place where we would debate and discuss our plans and future for GraceHaven.

This practice was warmly welcomed as it would define proper etiquette that would follow years down the road.

"Good morn, dear Marcel. What kind of good tidings do you bring for us? It's not a month that had passed since your last visit. It looks like business seemed to have improved tremendously." I went ahead and greeted the familiar figure after he had successfully manoeuvred his wagon over the bamboo bridge.

The bamboo bridge creaked as the 3 horses stepped onto the platform as it pulled the wagons behind it. I looked on with a worrying look on my face but when the first wagon had crossed in between of the bridge, none of the inevitable happened.

The bamboo bridge that had been double layered with support ribs underneath was very strong and didn't even have the slightest sign of yield under the tremendous weight. I sighed my relief when the horses reached the other end of the bridge.

I walked over and extended my hand and was warmly shaken by Marcel. A young assistant jumped down from the back of the wagon after the horses and the wagons had finally parked itself in the courtyard.

"How have you been young master? Please forgive me for the unscheduled visit since the day I left this settlement I had made a calculation that the 30 pounds of grains and flour would not be enough to last a month with 12 residents for 3 meals a day."

"That's true my good Marcel. You really have a great projection on what we had bought earlier from you. It seems your business is booming and that's the reason you got two wagons now?" I asked as I looked at the two wagons with admiration. The children seeing the horses approached them and started to let the animals.

Then they peered inside the wagons and there was a section that had been covered up with a dark cloth. On the last wagon, there was a billy and 3 nanny goats while the first wagon had 4 little piglets. The children reported their find excitedly and I asked, "Are that livestock for sale and did anyone made any reservation yet?"

"If you are interested we could do a bargain. However, I'm here because the last time we spoke about was about your father. Where is he?" Marcel asked and I motioned for Jack to come forward. "You remember 'Master' Jack don't you?"

"Ah, I remember now. Master Jack... You're the man I am hoping to look for. Why don't you go to the back of the wagon that was dr.a.p.ed with the cloth and see what I had brought for you." Marcel pointed to the area after giving a friendly pat on Jack's shoulder.

Jack cautiously went over to the wagon and when he flipped the cloth to see why was underneath, his hands suddenly shook and he gave a delightful yelp and he rushed back towards us.

From Jack's looks and the way he claps led his hands together, he seemed extremely elated!