After following Emi to my rooms, attending to my bodies needs and washing up, we lay on the bed cuddling. "Did Mark tell you he has permission to open a shop here? It was in the letter he passed to me this morning."

"That good. Am I going to have to set up a house for us to live in? or does his shop have living quarters attached?"

"You two are living in the palace, to start with anyway. You are still my companion and maid, I still need you here. And Mark told me that in areas where your species is more common, the females raise the young without much input from the males. After spending a few days with their mate, the females return to their female relatives. I would consider the nine of us as your sisters and cousins at least, so you are home, love." She hugs me tight, getting teary eyed.

We cuddled, just enjoying being alone together. When Sophia knocks on the door saying, "Dinner in five you two," we rolled off the the bed, snuff the candle and descend the stairs. Emi continues to the kitchen while I enter the study, picking up the certificate of marriage. Laying it face down at my place at the table I greeted the others. "Good afternoon all, how was your morning?"

They all started talking at once, "Please, one at a time. Starting with Mabel, what did you do this morning Mabel?"

"The others and I cleaned, your majesty."

"Tilly, Abbey, did the bread I saw you working on the morning come out well? It smells wonderful."

"Yes, your majesty, the bread turned out fine, the sandwiches are made with some of it."

"Helen, did you teach Sophia how to spin? Is she good at it?"

"She is a very quick learner, your majesty. She can spin nearly as fast as I can." She smiles at Sophia.

"A good teacher makes learning easy, so you must be a great teacher, Helen." says a smiling Sophia.

"Molly, Christina, any thing to add to what Mabel said? No?"

"Tobias, any progress on the bathhouse?"

"We have started laying the foundation. And the drain is under the wall, though I need some guidance from you on the reed bed."

"Alright, after dinner then."

Having heard from everyone, "Two days ago we witnessed the marriage of Mark and Emi. I had something made for them and today is when I give it to them." I picked up the certificate, "Mark, Emi in recognition of your marriage I, Rufina, Queen of Haven present you with this certificate." I hand Mark the paper. "If anyone gives you guff about be married you can show them that."

Emi gets up and hugs me tight, crying on my shoulder. "Don't cry Emi."

"Thank you, Rufina. It's beautiful." She kisses my cheek.

"You and Mark need to sign it to make it official."

Looking the certificate over, Mark says, "Did Sophia and Eliza work on this?"

"Yes I did." they both reply. "I did the border.. and I , the lettering." they say.

"Thank you." both Emi and Mark tell them.

Emi, Mark and I sit down again and continue our meal.

'Sophia, I would like to show them all the house and what I would like to change, could we do dream space?' 'Of course, Rufina.'

As I see them finish their meal, "As you know, we visited the house of former minister Lian this morning. I believe with some modification it will be suitable for our use. I would like to show you what the house is like now and what I hope it will look like when we move in. Everyone take your neighbors hand so Sophia can move us to dream space."

Sophia comes around to my side of the table, placing her hands on my shoulders. I take the hands of Mark and Aden who are sitting next to me. Closing my eyes,"I'm ready, Sophia."

I enter a white void which slowly transforms into the lane in front of the house. I slowly turn, filling in the details of the neighborhood. Then I face the house, imagining it as it is. I walk to the rear of the house, again filling in details. Reaching the back, the stable comes into being. As I finish, the other start to appear, looking around, some gawking at their surroundings, having never been in dream space before.

When everyone has arrived, "As we are in the back, we can start here. Helen, this is the stable, which will be your workspace, I was hoping it would be larger but I can use a space in the cellar." Opening the stable door, letting her look inside, I transform it in to what I imagine it will become. I even include the loom, an extra warping beam and a large horizontal warping mill. There are large windows in the walls, a brick floor and plastered walls. I bring her attention to the loft, where I have two bedchambers, with beds and furniture. "These are for your apprentices."

As Helen and I were checking the bedchambers the others were examining the loom and other equipment. "Rufina, what is this for? " Mark asks, pointing to the warping mill. Joining them, I cause a loaded spool rack to appear at the wall next to the mill. "This is a warping mill, it is used to prepare the thread used to warp the loom." I take a thread from one of the spools, tie a loop in the end which I place over the end peg on the mill. I then weave it between the other pegs, then reach up and turn the mill, winding the thread around the bars of the mill. I am doing a short demo so only go around four times. Reaching the end, I stop turning the mill, weaving the thread around the end pegs, reversing direction. I resume turning the mill, though in the opposite direction. Once I am back at the beginning I weave the thread around the pegs. "This is done until the correct number of threads are wound on then they are transferred to the warping beam. As this is such a large loom, capable of holding over a hundred meters of cloth, the warping beam and cloth beams are changeable. I just realized something," the loom rotates ninety degrees so both beams are accessible," there, fixed."

Helen had been examining the loom, looking at me,"Is this the device that moves the shuttle?", pointing at the flying shuttle pockets.

"Yes, that is the flying shuttle," I cause the loom to be warped, ready to weave. "When you pull this handle the shuttle flies to the other side." Having seated myself at the loom I give the handle a pull, the shuttle zipping through the shed, dragging the weft behind. I pull the beater towards me, pushing it back again then pulling the handle in the opposite direction. The shuttle flies back and I repeat the movements several times, starting a piece of cloth. Helen is nodding her head, "Do you want to try?" I ask her.

"May I?" I get up, letting her sit. She places her hand on the beater handle, taking the shuttle handle in the other. Soon she has the shuttle flying back and forth, the cloth growing in front of her. She stops, looking at the cloth beam, pushing a handle on the side, causing the cloth she had made to roll on the beam. Nodding, she says,"I like this, now I can see why you said I could make so much more cloth. Will Daniel be starting on the loom soon?"

"I told him to start working on the heddle, which he says is the time consuming part. But there are threshing machines, grain cleaners and spinning wheels to make before the looms so it will still be a while. Oh, speaking of spinning wheels," I cause three different wheels to appear, a kick wheel, a traditional wheel and modern wheel, "Ladies, these are spinning wheels, used to spin wool, flax or hemp into thread. This one," I point to the kick wheel, "Daniel the woodworker is building now, he will be giving me a estimate on the other two." I materialize three stools so they can try them out. As Helen sits down at the kick wheel a distaff of flax appears beside her. Taking some flax fibres between her fingers she twists a length of yarn which she ties to the spindle then moving the wheel with her foot, starts spinning. She fumbles a bit in the beginning but is soon using it like she has been using it her whole life. The other women are gathered around watching, except Sophia, who is standing next to me.

"We should get on with the house soon, before time runs out. This takes some energy you know."

"You getting tired? Is it the number of people or the scene?"

"Both, the more detailed the objects the harder it is. The loom causes a large drain."

Helen is saying, "Wow, this is so much faster than by hand. Anyone else want to try?" Tilly sits down, then Helen hands her the distaff and is soon spinning, after receiving pointers from Helen.

I whisper to Sophia, "You could make the loom less detailed, if that would help. If no one is looking at it too closely it needn't be detailed." She nods, the loom becomes fuzzy.

"We need to move on the house people, we can come back to this later."

Mark had been examining the modern wheel, especially the flyer. "Before we go, Rufina, how does this work?"

Standing next to him I start explaining how the flyer works, Helen soon joins us. I have her sit and try to spin on it. Another distaff appears, she had seen the videos on the library computer so knew how to set it up and get started, though she is clumsy at first. As she worked I show them how the brake caused the spool to move slower than the flyer, causing the thread to wind on the spool when allowed to.

Mark is impressed with it, wanting to order some as soon as they are available. Which style, I ask? The kick wheel to start with. I tell him we have a contract to work on and we can talk about it then.

"Alright everyone, let's move to the house, there is more to see." Walking toward the house I imagine the fence as I want it along with the garden. Tobias and Kalvin stop for a moment, looking over the grounds. They nod. We enter the back door, going to the basement first, once we are all there, I cause windows to open on the side walls. up high near the ceiling. Walls start appearing, dividing the large room into seven smaller ones. Where we are standing is the parlor, opening off the stairs, there is a hall going toward the back of the house, four rooms on the right side, each the same, with a bed, a night stand and a small wardrobe. In the rear, to the left off the hall is a storeroom. Between the parlor and the storeroom is my small workroom, accessible though a door beneath the stairs. "Ladies, what would you rather have for flooring, wood or stone?" I cause the floor to change from dirt to large flag stone to wooden planks.

They talk among themselves for a few minutes then,"Wood please, your majesty." The floor settles to wooden planks, with a few rugs.

"Alright, up stairs everyone. Once we are up stairs, I lead them to the kitchen. As we stand near the door I change the kitchen putting a clay stove in the fire place instead on the iron hooks. "This is one of the least changed rooms along with the study and parlor. I lead them across the hall to the dining room. When we are lined up along the wall, the room changes, becoming longer, the wall to the right of the door moving back four meters and another window appearing in the wall opposite the door.

"Let's go up stairs, please." leading them the length of the dining room, passing through the parlor, we enter the front hall, where we take a look at the study. "The study and parlor will stay as they are."

Going up the stairs and into one of the back rooms, "The four bedchambers up here are basically the same. The front two will remain as they are, the two at the back will lose the windows on the back wall." As I say that the window disappears, replaced with at blank wall, the window on the outside wall grows smaller and another the same size appears closer to the back wall. "The room opposite will be the same as this one. Out in the hallway, please."

Once in the hall, I open the door to the small store room that is at the end, showing a small window high on the back wall. After they all get a look, I cause the wall with the door to disappear, the back wall slides back, appearing to pull the walls along with it. The window grows in size. A pair of doors appear in the side walls. Walking to the door on the right I open it, revealing a lavatory, a sink on the right just in side the door, with three stall doors cutting the room in half. Opening one of the stalls I show them a dry toilet, the upper end of a composting toilet. "This is a composting toilet, below each one of these is a chute that goes to the cellar where there is a large container to hold the excrement. When we get to the point of using these I'll explain how to use it. Now across the hall is the bath, I will remove the wall so we can all see without crowding in." Saying that the walls of the lavatory and the bath fade to nothing, revealing a room slightly smaller, all done in white tile, small windows high on the outside walls. There is a large tub, larger around than the one back in the garden at the palace. A small rocket stove sits in one corner, behind the tub, brass pipes connecting the two. There are several small wooden buckets and stools stacked in one of the inner corners, the other corner has a stack of shelves holding towels, with hooks beside them, robes hanging on them.

"Rufina, I think you have forgotten something," states Emi, "the massage table and the hair washing chair.

"Oh, dear, you're right. One moment." I stare at the room, then it changes, the wall with the door moves into the hallway, stopping two thirds of the way across. The doors to the bath and the lavatory are facing each other at an angle, about where the original outer wall had been. The bath was rearranged to include the chair and the massage table which I redesign to fold against the wall to be out of the way when not in use.

Mark is looking at the chair,"What is this for?"

"That is for washing hair. Molly would please sit down in it." She sits, gingerly, not sure what will happen. "Lean back slightly, please." As she leans back, the chair back leans with her, as I had unlocked it so it could. She moves back and down and her feet rise, soon she is laying back with her neck supported, her hair hanging down. "At this point we would start washing her hair and scalp, the water flowing into the basin. It's more comfortable than leaning over a basin, isn't it Molly?"

"Most comfortable. Would this be for our use also, your majesty?"

"Yes, my dear, the bath is for the use of us all. Including your apprentices, Helen. I have even thought of building several bathhouses in the town for the people to use."

"This room is the only one that is a maybe, as I am not sure if it can be made so water doesn't leak though the dining room ceiling. If it is impossible then we can build it as an add on to the stable or as a separate building in the garden. I will find out tomorrow. Any questions?"

Tobias asks,"Will I be moving here?"

"Do you wish to? Room could be made for you. I had thought that with your work being at the palace you would rather stay there."

"With my meals being served here and some new work here, it would save a trip back and forth to stay here."

"Alright, one more room in the cellar then, if that is alright with you?"

"The cellar is fine with me."

"If there is nothing else, let's return to the real world." They start fading away, soon leaving Sophia and I. "Thank you, Sophia." I say to her as I too, fade away.

As I woke I heard Helen say, "Who has time to help spin some yarn, I have three extra spindles if you need one?"

I see Christina and Mabel look at Molly, who looks like she is thinking. "We have a couple of rooms to clean first then we can help." Christina and Mabel smile.

"I have a spindle you can use. I'll go get it." Tilly says as she stands. "Abbey, would you like to help?"

"Yes, I would. I have my own spindle and distaff." She stands also, following Tilly to their rooms.

"It's been years since I did any spinning, since mama died." Eliza says sadly.

"The same with me, it's been over twelve years since I spun any yarn. And I have some work to do first also," Emi says.

Tilly and Abbey return, each carrying a spindle and a distaff. Tilly hands hers to Molly, who thanks her. Laying them on the table, she starts picking up dirty dishes, placing them on a tray, soon having the far end cleaned up. I stand and start doing the same. Taking the soon full tray into the kitchen I set it by the wash tub that Tilly is filling with hot water. Placing some of the dishes in the water I start washing them. As I am doing that I ask, "What do you think of the house, Tilly? Will it be big enough?"

"It's smaller than here but way bigger than what a serf gets to live in. How long will we be living there?"

"Until the new palace is finished, probably five year minimum. That's why I want it comfortable to begin with. I haven't said anything but this place is dark, I'm used to large windows that let light in to every room. Having to light a candle to get out of bed is the pits."

"Pits? Another saying from Earth?"

"Yes, it means a boring or depressing place. When the sun is high it's not bad, the light gets to the back of the rooms, if you leave the doors open."

"Yes, this is the pits, isn't it. I agree with you. I think I would love the kitchen in the house, so light and airy." She sees the pile of dishes that is growing next to me and starts drying them. stacking them nearby.

"Should I build you a stove like the one I imagined in the house for you here? I have the material ready, I just need to do it."

"It will be next summer before we can move in to the house, correct?"

"That's right, it all depends on Bob and how fast he can get the remodel done."

We wash dishes in silence for a while. I break the silence, "What are you planning for supper? It's Mark last supper with us, so it should be a good one."

"How about Emi's favorite dish, salted grilled mackerel. I'll run down and see if any fishermen have some, if not, some other fish dish. I guess Abbey is going to get her spinning cut short as I will need her help."

"I could ask Emi what his favorite dish is, if she knows." I am almost done with the dishes, Tilly shoos me out to ask Emi the question. I pause, thinking where would Emi be? In my rooms, probably, so I head there first. And that is where she is, dusting my bedchamber. "Love, seeing as this is Mark's last evening with us for a while, I thought we could have his favorite dish tonight. Do you know what it is? If not and it's available Tilly was thinking of making salted grilled mackerel."

"I don't think he has said what his favorite dish is but he would like the mackerel. Or Salmon, it should be in season now."

"Oh, that does sound good. I'll tell Tilly, if she can't get mackerel to get a salmon. Love ya." as I leave I blow her a kiss. She looks at me funny, so I stop, turn around and give her a proper kiss. "There, a proper see ya later kiss."

Going back to the kitchen, I tell Tilly what Emi said. "Alright, that's a plan, mackerel or salmon. I'll go to the market to see if there are either of those available. If not, what should I do?"

"Pickup some other kind of fish. I have no idea what is available."

"Alright then. See you in an hour or so." She heads out the door.

"Now to business, I have a contract to figure out. I goto the study, taking a charcoal stick and paper out, I start writing things down.

A half hour later Aden and Mark stick their heads in the door, "Are you ready, your majesty."

"I think so." I hope.

For the next two hours the three of us argue, cajole and negotiate. This is Mark's bailiwick so he has probably gotten more of what he wants than Aden and I. What we ended with is a contract, five years long, where his company sells the islands products exclusively and will be the purchasing agent for the island. The farm implements that have been made so far, the cradle for the scythe, the wheelbarrow, the thresher and the grain cleaner will all be manufactured on the mainland through the company. The company will pay two gold for the plans for each of them. The kingdom will receive ten copper per machine and two per cradle made. Plus one fifth of the profit on each machine. There will be no profit sharing on the cradle as they sell for so little. The lamp will be treated the same as the thresher. In addition, any improvements made to the machines, either by us or the company do not void this contract and must be supplied to the other party. Any future merchandise will be negotiated at that time.

We also set up a mail service using the company courier system, with postage to help offset the added costs. Stamps would be designed to prevent counterfeiting, and would be used by the company and the island. Aden, I or our designate would deliver the letters to a drop station where the courier would drop off and pickup.

At one point we called Helen in as Mark wishes to buy the kick wheel plan but I told him that Helen was the one that had come up with it. After getting her permission, Aden and I cut the same deal for the kick wheel, two gold for the plans up front, with two coppers for each one made and one fifth of the profit. The standard spindle plans were included in this.

He wants the plans for the loom but that is not going to be sold to the world yet, as it is the main component of the my income plan. We also negotiated a deal where the kingdom will not charge storage on the grain the company bought at the auction in exchange for much reduced shipping charges for items coming to the island as there would be ships come to the island anyway. The company would be sending sixty ships at least over the next year, plus the twenty four that the other merchants would have to send.

Thinking about the number of ships I ask, "Aden, how deep is the water in the port? Can ships get to the pier to dock?"

"I have no idea, your majesty. Why do you ask?"

"There will be a minimum of eighty four ships arriving to load grain in the next year, moving all that grain is going to be slow work when it is done by hand. I believe we need to upgrade the pier. Tomorrow after the ship sails I would like to inspect the pier."

Aden made two copies of the final contract. After signing both copies, we relaxed.

"Would you like to meet one of the couriers tonight? This could be the last time the courier will stop here until the postal service begins or I return."

"I would like that. When does he come and where?"

"Just after full dark, about an hour after sunset. On a hill to the southeast of the palace. Do you think Sophia would like to come? I plan on asking Emi."

"I'll ask her at supper. Is there anything else? I would like to visit the spinners."

"We are done, your majesty. You drive a hard bargain."

"You do too, Mark. See you two at supper."

I first visit my rooms to use the chamberpot. After cleaning up, I head down the hall to Helen's workroom. I can hear the girls singing a spinning song. I stop beside the window, peeking in on them. They are standing in a circle, with their distaffs at their sides, spindles bobbing up and down as the yarn is twisted then rolled up. As their song ends I enter the room, "Afternoon ladies, getting a lot of yarn spun?"

"Hello, your majesty." Helen says, " Most of us are working on our second spindle full. You wouldn't have a machine to take the yarn off the spindles and make a twist of it?"

"If I remember correctly there are several ways to do that. How do you do it now?"

She reach behind herself and brings out a niddy noddy, "We use this." A niddy noddy is a stick with a arm on either end set at right angles to each other. The yarn is wound over each side making a loop that is folded in half

"Do you have the tape? No? Oh, I had it last, I be right back." I take off to my room, where I find the tape where I left it. Quickly returning to the workroom I measure the niddy noddy which is just under two meters. "Is this the only size you use?"

"The only one I use, others use different sizes, mostly smaller."

"Alright, I will sketch up a skein winder later. Here Helen, you keep better care of this than I do so you are now the official keeper of the tape," I hand her the tape.

"I'll be back to let you know when supper is ready, have fun." With that I take the stairs down to the garden, where I slip off my slippers, not wanting to get them soiled, my feet being easier to clean. I go check on the progress of the bathhouse. Tobias and his friends are working on the foundation, piling stones in the trench. I see they have the drain pipe laid through the wall.

"Afternoon Tobias, men. How is it going?"

"Afternoon your majesty. All is good so far. Not having any problems, could use some slaked lime though, for mortar."

"Slacked lime? Oh, crud. If you go to John the smith's workshop he has some. I had some limestone made into slacked lime and totally forgot to have it picked up. Hopefully it is still good."

"Jack, could you take the wheelbarrow down to John's and pickup the lime, tell him the queen sent you." Tobias says to one of his friends.

"Thank you Jack." I tell him as he takes the wheelbarrow and heads to town. "What did you want to know about the reed bed, Tobias?"

"You have never explained how to make one, just a vague description."

"Ah, I'll sketch you one then, explaining how it works. When would you need it?"

"Some time in the next week would be fine, we have plenty to do yet."

"Remind me in a couple of days, in case I forget. I tend to get busy and forget some things."

I glance at the sky, it's still about an hour to supper, saying goodbye to Tobias and the others I return to the kitchen, where I check on supper. Tilly informs me supper will be a few minutes late as she got a later than normal start. She had found some mackerel. I go fetch the case with the utensils I had made, this is a good time for their first uses. I count out fourteen pair of spoons and forks, washing then drying them. Wondering what I am doing Tilly is looking over my shoulder, "What are those, Rufina?"

"These are forks, used to eat with. They are a small version of the one you use to cook with. When I saw the spoons at Daniels shop, I ordered them made. Now that I have seen the silverware in the vault I may have some forks made to match but that may have to wait now. Oh, well the wooden ones will be fine."

I place the utensils on a tray, then put on the plates. I would put more on the tray but fourteen place settings take up quite a lot of room. And are heavy, as I find out when I carry to tray to the table. I need to have a serving cart made. Will I introduce the caster to Dominion? I finish setting the table, have returned to the kitchen for the cups and saucers then goto the study. I take up a charcoal stick and sketch a cart with casters on the end of the legs, simple ones, a yoke holding the axle and wheel with a leather washer as a bearing between the cart and the yoke. By the time I finish, Tilly tells me supper is in ten minutes, would I call the others. Put down the charcoal I go out to tell Tobias, then back track to the workroom, then back down to the offices, as I'm not sure where Aden or Mark are. Finding Aden but not Mark I go to his room, where I find him. I make a stop at my rooms to clean up before go to the dining room.