I spent half the night making potions and filled fifty crates. Twenty with general health and thirty with healing potions. I used up all of the extra ingredients I had purchased, which were the common ones that were cheap, and supplemented with what I had left in my canvas bags. I ended the potion making session by filling the large stew pots with number ten potion and left.

That would be all I could make for a while, until I started experimenting with the ingredients that were available. Otherwise, I would need to make a trip back to the marsh or go to a similar area that might be closer. I would have to ask around or look at maps or something. Then again, I knew where those ingredients were in the marsh and wouldn't have to search around for them.

When I sold the ones I had crated, with a few crates kept aside for myself and the house workers, I would need to take a couple of days to go back to the marsh and get more if they couldn't be found locally. I went upstairs to go to bed and Helena was still sound asleep. I changed and climbed in with her, held her close, and went right to sleep.

The morning arrived a moment later and after a very delicious breakfast, I was subjected to some very tough learning lessons. Hope was ruthless in her teaching and she made me repeat things several times to make sure I did them right. I had never seen this side of her before and I wasn't sure I liked it. She was getting to be a bit like the Hag. When I made the same mistake three times in a row, she looked mean and angry.

“DAVID!” Hope yelled. “I told you that...”

I winced as I dropped my pencil and shrunk away from her. I covered my ears and waited for her to hit me, just like every time the Hag yelled at me like that. A second later, I felt her arms go around me.

“I'm sorry, David.” Hope whispered and rested her head on mine. “I'm trying to get you to learn this as quickly as possible. You've got to know this before tomorrow and the more we fall behind, the angrier I am that you're not getting it fast enough.” She sighed and let me go, then moved my hands from my ears. “I let my anger at the situation out on you and I'm sorry.”

“I think you need a break.” Sara said and took my hand. “A bath break.”

Hope looked at the stack of papers we had yet to go through and looked at me. “Go ahead. I'll try to sort through this for the more important things.”

Sara took me from the room and to the master bedroom. Jill saw us in the hallway and didn't comment, probably because she saw something on my face. She followed us inside and then she and Sara bathed me to get me to relax.

I had to admit that it worked. My automatic reaction to a woman yelling at me and making me afraid, faded from my mind as their hands rubbed me all over. It felt good and my body reacted for them. Sara gave Jill a happy smile and then she washed me down there, without having to use extra motions to get me hard.

I stood up without being asked and Sara looked extra happy as she performed her after bath ritual. “Thank you.” I said and bent down to kiss her cheek.

“M-my lord.” Sara's face flushed red. “It was my pleasure.”

Jill dried me off and gave Sara a look, as if asking for permission.

“It might take longer now.” Sara warned her.

“The cooks are preparing lunch.” Jill said and knelt in front of me. “My lord.” She said, almost as if she was thanking me, then she performed the ritual as well. Sara had been right and it did take a bit longer; but, Jill was just as happy when I was done and she blushed as she accepted my thanks and a kiss on the cheek, too.

“I just love working here.” Sara said and quickly washed me off and dried me again. The two of them helped me change and then Sara took my hand and led me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Jill was right behind us and Hope came out of the room we were using as a classroom. We all went into the larger dining room and it was set up differently from the normal one.

A separate table was there for our maids to sit down to eat while Helena and I sat at the medium sized main table. The house maids were a bit scandalized at the setup at first, until they realized that they would all get a turn to sit down and eat with the lord and the lady of the house. The other maids and butlers came in and their table was much more crowded than the one with Helena and myself.

It made the place seem more like a lively home with so many people eating together and Helena gave me a pleased smile as she ate lunch. The only other time she had seen such a meal was back at the garrison in the mess hall and she whispered that to me.

I nodded in response and neither of us were going to tell them to be quieter or to behave, just like we hadn't at the garrison. Being lively during meals was the whole point of eating together, after all.

The only two maids not eating were the ones attending us, and they would switch out at supper for two others, just like they had at breakfast. Each day, everyone would get to eat at least two meals with us, and the staff were more than happy about that.

I told Helena about the work I had done the night before, about using up all of the ingredients I had on hand, and my problem with needing time to experiment with local ingredients to test their validity as replacements or finding somewhere other than the marsh to get more. Otherwise, I would need to plan a trip to go there to get more.

“I'll try and look around for something a bit closer to the capital than the marsh on the other side of the kingdom.” Helena said, her voice full of amusement. “Perhaps you can get some hunting in as well.”

I hadn't thought of that and held a hand out to her. “Thank you.”

Helena took my hand, glanced at the people at the other table, then she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. A low whistle and several claps came from the staff and Helena blushed a little as she sat back.

When the meal ended, my learning lessons began again. Hope did her best to not get frustrated with me, which I knew was a lot harder than she let on, considering the more advanced things she tried to have me do, the more I failed at them. After another hour, she sighed.

“This isn't working.” Hope said and looked at Sara. “I wouldn't have any problems if I had more time and could give him more experience with this stuff.” She waved at the papers. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Sara sat there and thought about it for several minutes, then she smiled. “I do.” She stood up and took Hope's hand and led her from the room. I couldn't hear them from that far away until Hope spoke loudly.

“You can't be serious!” Hope exclaimed.

“I am.” Sara said and then I couldn't hear anything else.

A few minutes later, they both came back into the room and Hope looked a little embarrassed.

“David, come with me.” Hope said and took my hand.

I went with her and Sara came with us as we went to the room that the personal maids shared. Hope let my hand go and changed out from her tutor outfit and into her nightgown, then she took my hand again and led me to her bed. Sara made motions with her hands to keep going.

Hope sighed and climbed onto the bed and pat the spot beside her. I wasn't sure what she was asking for, so she pulled on my arm and asked me to lay down beside her. A moment later, I was cuddled into her side and she held me close.

“Let me tell you a story.” Hope said with a soft voice as she stroked my head, then she started to talk... and talk... and talk. I listened intently as she did, because I was sure that there was a reason for why she was doing this. It took her a while before she finally stopped talking, then she leaned close and kissed my forehead. “I love you, little brother.”

I blinked my eyes at her and wasn't sure what to say.

“I think that should do it.” Sara said.

I had been concentrating so hard on Hope and her voice that I had completely forgotten that Sara was there. She had stayed there the entire time with us, too. She helped us up off of the bed and Hope changed back into her tutor outfit, then Sara led me back to the room we were using as a classroom.

What followed were some of the easiest tests I had ever taken. Hope was pretty much stunned at my significant improvement, because all of the things I had gotten completely wrong several times before, I had gotten a hundred percent right this time.

“This... this is amazing.” Hope said and gave me a hug, then she kissed my cheek. “David, you did it! You passed all of the main admittance requirements and filled out all of the materials!”

“I did?” I asked and looked down at the stack of papers. The whole thing was filled out and all of the basic knowledge questions needed to start the courses were all filled in.

“I knew it would work.” Sara said and hugged me, then she kissed my cheek. “You did great, my lord.” She let me go and hugged Hope and kissed her cheek, too. “You did great, too.”

Hope's face flushed red and she looked a little embarrassed.

“I don't understand.” I said and looked at Hope and at Sara. “How did I do it?”

“It's quite simple, really.” Sara said and stepped back close to me and slid her arms around my neck. “Hope needed to show you that she cared about you, so I told her the best way to do that. While she held you, she told you all of the information you needed to know and you listened, because you could feel that she wanted you to listen.”

I must have looked surprised, because she laughed softly and pressed her lips to my cheek again.

“It's not going to work with everyone, only those you have close to your heart... even if you don't realize it.” Sara said and slid her arms down my chest. “I think the Lady of the House is in the main garden and overlooking the installation of the new gazebo. You should go to her and tell her the good news.”

I nodded and left the room, went down the stairs, and left the house to go out to the large garden in the back of the house. The gazebo, or a large latticed wooden structure with seating for thirty people around the inside of it, was being quickly built by three work crews.

“This was supposed to be their day off.” I said as I approached.

Frank stood up from applying a floorboard and grinned at me. “This is what we do on our day off.”

“You work as hard as I do?” I asked and he laughed, as did the others.

“I told them it could wait until the outer wall around the property is built, and he said that was normal work.” Helena said. “Oh, and Gerald will be back before supper with a bag of the ingredients you want to experiment with.”

“Thank you.” I said and kissed her on the lips. That made a few of the guys whistle and joke about the magic still being there, despite her already being pregnant.

We stood there and watched it be assembled, since all the pieces had already been cut and sized, and the number ten potion made it go so quickly that even though they had so much experience with it, they were still surprised when they put the last piece of the roof on and were done.

Frank and the guys stood off to the side and stared at the thing. “Four hours. We did a two day job in four hours.”

“Most of that was cutting.” One of the men said. “We really are the fastest work crews in the capital.”

“Damn right we are.” Frank said. “Three cheers for the Lord of the House for making it possible!”

“Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray!”

“Thank you. Now get back to work.” I said and they all laughed.

“It's not work! This is fun.” One of them said and they all nodded agreement as they walked away.

“It really is fun.” Frank said and clapped me on the shoulder, then left with the men.

“I had no doubt that you would eventually win them over.” Helena said and turned to lead me back to the house. “I expected it and having it happen this quickly is still a surprise for me.”

“I've spent a lot of time with men that want to work as we built things for the army. When you make it easy for them, more gets done and they are eager for more.” I said. “Frank and his men are a cut above, since they are more aesthetic minded than practical, unlike the construction crews.”

“Have you been inside the main parlour yet?” Helena asked with a knowing smile. “We need to stop there on the way to Lannin's office.”

I nodded and we went inside the house and walked over to the large parlour. When one of the butlers opened the double doors, I saw what was inside. The room was filled from floor to ceiling with ornate tables of all kinds and sizes. They were stacked top to top and leg to leg, and you couldn't see the walls of the room, because there were so many of them. It actually reminded me of my animal parts room back at the marsh house, it was that full.

“Isn't it wonderful what sixty workmen on their day off can do?” Helena asked and laughed.