[X] [RENT] "It is not an unreasonable request, given the circumstances. I'll grant it."
Times may be hard for all, but to be short on funds as a tenant farmer is a far different breed of hardship than to be short on funds as a Lord of the Cortes. For you, such extremity might mean letting go of a redundant footman. For them, it could mean cold, homelessness, and even starvation.
Saundersley nods. You think you might actually see a flash of approval as he gathers up the petition. "Very good, sir."
"Might you gather the tenants in the village square and make the announcement tomorrow morning?" you ask.
Your solicitor shakes his head. "I would advise you to make this announcement yourself and in the yard of this house," he replies. "Let the tenants associate your appearance with the arrival of good news, and they will very quickly grow to admire you."
Sure enough, when you announce the lowering of the rents before your assembled tenants early the next morning, you are met with a most heartfelt cheer and a warm sense of admiration. When the crowd disperses, they appear to do so in the happiest of attitudes, freshly assured of the kindness and good character of their new lord.
You can only hope that such goodwill is worth the cost.
-
With the rents collected, you finally have the time to turn your attention to more long-term matters.
For generations, your family has prioritised the maintenance and diminution of your ancestral debt above any other fiscal concern. Though reasonable enough an occupation, you also know that such a preoccupation has had its costs: for years, much of your estate has been left neglected, with outbuildings and cottages left to decay and vital improvements left unmade.
Now, however, you have the power to change all that. Now that you are in full possession of your powers, it may well be time to reverse the slow decay of your holdings and commit to some real improvements to the condition of your barony.
Yet even after an afternoon of looking over the reports and receipts regarding the condition of your fief and finances, you quickly come to the conclusion that you're really not sure how to go about it.
The practise of managing an estate was a major part of your education, of course, but that was so many years ago. Now, all the intelligence you once accrued on the subject appears only as half-forgotten memory. You might still attempt to press ahead regardless, but without some assurance that you've retained enough to make a competent go of it, things might turn out rather badly, both for you and for the generations of your descendants to follow.
Perhaps it would be wiser to ask Saundersley for a few reminders on the whole business?
[X] Yes. I think I shall ask Saundersley for some advice.
[ ] No, I am merely a little overwhelmed. I shall figure it out with time.
-
It was your solicitor who maintained the estate during the time between your father's death and your return. Naturally, you have reason to suspect that he would be the best source of any counsel regarding its continued operation.
Thankfully, it is not quite too late in the day to summon him to your study. When he arrives, it takes him only a glance at your desk to recognise precisely why you've called him to the house.
"One must understand, my lord, that there were certain matters regarding the estate over which I had no power," he reminds you when you confirm his first impression. "As his solicitor, I served as the caretaker of your lord father's interests, nothing more. My brief was to maintain things as he had left them, and this was an authority I took especial pains not to exceed."
"I understand," you reply, nodding. "But you were familiar with the functioning of the estate and its finances?"
"Oh yes, my lord, of that you might be assured," Saundersley replies. "I have knowledge enough regarding the estate and its current condition to advise you regarding most ordinary matters of administration, and if necessary, my understanding of the principles of estate management are at your disposal."
[X] "Tell me about tenants and rents."
"My lord?" Saundersley asks as if you'd just asked him for instructions on how to put on your own shoes.
In all fairness, you have been away for a substantial period of time. "Tenants and rents, Saundersley."
"Ah, well, yes. As I am sure you are aware, my lord, tenants are the estate's primary source of income. For the rents they pay at the end of every spring and autumn, a tenant household gains the right to live on and work in a certain portion of your estate. For the majority of tenants, this means agriculture, with the tenant in question working his assigned plot, selling his produce at the market, and using the proceeds to pay his rent. However, some of your tenants instead rent houses near the centre of the village and secure an income through other forms of trade: farriers, shopkeepers, that sort of thing."
You nod, Saundersley's explanation refreshing your memory. "I possess certain powers over my tenants, don't I?"
"You do, my lord," your solicitor replies. "As the lord, you retain ownership of the estate itself and have the right to do as you wish to it, regardless of the occupancy or sentiments of your tenants. Likewise, you possess the right to judge minor infractions and resolve disputes betwixt your tenants, though your powers to deliver punishment remain limited. Any serious crimes—especially those which may warrant execution—must still be remanded to the Intendancy. However…" Saundersley hesitates for a moment. "However, I must advise you not to be too free with one's powers in that quarter."
"I don't intend to," you reply with as much reassurance as you can. "I should hope my tenants see me as a tolerant presence."
Saundersley nods approvingly. "I suspect that would be for the best. Your tenants retain the right to come and go as they please. If a lord is seen as too harsh or too uninterested in the prosperity of his lands or the happiness of his tenants, then he will be hard-pressed to keep the tenants he has—and an estate that bleeds tenants is one which is losing its income."
If that's the case, you shall have to avoid such a reputation or at least find a way to counteract its effects. "What about attracting new tenants?"
"That would be the surest way of increasing the estate's income, my lord," your solicitor replies. "Prospective tenants are drawn to a given fief for various reasons, but the chiefest among them is prosperity and security. If one's lands are seen as well-run and orderly, and its people are seen as industrious and successful, then one ought to quickly find new tenants flocking to his estate, especially in uncertain times such as these."
A good thing to remember.
[X] "What about expenditures?"
"There is a great deal of them," Saundersley observes.
"Oh yes, I've noticed," you reply somewhat drily. Indeed, they had come as something of a shock. You had, of course, expected that the running of the estate would require some cost, but you certainly had not expected the hundreds upon hundreds of crown which the estate evidently requires every year.
"I dare say that they do add up, my lord," your solicitor replies as he pulls a few sheets of paper from your desk. "Between the cost of food, new clothing, pay for the staff, food, and clothing for the same, the grounds, your lady mother's allowances, allowances for your brother and sister, upkeep on the house, and various other amenities…".
You look over the figures Saundersley hands you, tallying them up in your head. True, each item does seem rather modest in isolation, but combined…
"And there may well be more, in the future, of course."
Your eyebrow raises of its own volition. "More, Saundersley?"
"Yes, my lord," he replies a little uneasily. "Should one desire to maintain a presence in the capital, a townhouse would need to be rented, and staff would need to be hired for it—again, at considerable expense. Likewise, should one wish to undertake certain large projects on the estate, those may also require upkeep."
It is quite a lot to take in, you suppose. And that isn't even with the interest payments your family's debts require.
Saundersley, at least, seems to have no other complications to add. He simply smiles blandly. "Will there be anything else, my lord?"
[X] "Have you any advice on improving the estate?"
Saundersley pauses in thought for a moment. "Well, if I must be pressed on the matter, my lord, I believe there are certain improvements that might warrant further consideration if the funds are available, of course."
True, there is still the debt and other expenditures besides, yet even so. "Assume that they are, or may be some time in the future."
"I believe the house may require some extensive repair," Saundersley muses. "The outbuildings, as well. The fence too is in want of some care, I believe."
You suppose he's right. "I'll need to hire men for that sort of work."
"A great many of them, I should think, my lord," Saundersley notes. "The estate will have enough spare hands before planting and before harvest to work on one such project, but not two."
So you will have to make improvements one at a time. "Anything else?"
"Beyond that, one might wish to consider the possibility of further work, not only to the house but to the estate as a whole," he continues. "If the roads were repaired or a covered market hall built in the village, that would encourage additional commerce. A new school might win you much gratitude amongst your tenants. If you were to refurbish your house in a more current style, that would display to any who see it that you are an involved and improving landlord, along with all that might entail."
"I am not sure I understand."
Saundersley gives you a look that is not quite exasperation. "A lord who seems greatly invested in his estate will also be seen as more invested in those who live upon it, and that will do both the reputation of your house and the estate much good."
You nod. "Is that all then?"
Your solicitor begins to nod back but then stops himself. "There is one possibility, but it is the sort of thing that may well be far beyond our capabilities, at least in terms of cost."
That may be true, but Saundersley has your curiosity now. "Go on."
"It has been remarked upon occasion that the estate has the potential to support a project of considerable ambition," he explains. "Of course, no such undertaking has been made. Such a thing would require thousands if not tens of thousands of crown and years of work. However, if such an enterprise were to be completed, the benefits to the estate could be quite immense."
You turn that thought around in your head for a moment. It is a tempting prospect, but it is one which you cannot allow yourself to consider viable just yet. You have barely arrived home, and to embark upon such a massive undertaking whilst you haven't yet gotten the feel of your estate would be like clambering atop an untrained and uncut stallion and spurring it to a gallop.
Of course, that doesn't mean you might yet consider the matter later…
[X] "Explain loans and interest to me."
Saundersley pauses to think, but not for long. "I am sure your lordship is well enough acquainted with the fundamentals—that loans must be repaid, and one must pay regular interest upon them until they are. I suppose that would only leave the matter of acquiring further loans."
"Further loans?" you ask half-incredulously. "This house is in debt far enough already!"
"It may be necessary, my lord," your solicitor replies apologetically. "To bring the estate to one's desired state of profitability may take considerable investment in the form of new buildings and other improving constructions. Such work would inevitably require a large initial investment in funds which may not be immediately available. Securing a new loan would be the easiest means to acquire those funds."
You suppose he has a point there. "Go on."
"Under normal circumstances, a bank maintains the power to refuse loans or demand immediate repayment at their own discretion," Saundersley continues. "However, they would only make such a decision in regards to a Gentleman of the Blood in case of the direst exigency."
"So let me see if I have you correct," you reply, putting it all together. "If a bank will neither refuse me a loan nor demand repayment, would that not mean I would effectively have access to a line of infinite credit?"
"Well, no, not quite," Saundersley replies with a rather apologetic expression. "If one borrows a great deal of money over repeated instances in a relatively short period—within five or ten years, shall we say—and the banks begin to see continued lending as a matter of somewhat increased risk, while they may be discouraged from demanding repayment, they will still attempt to mitigate that risk, usually by charging higher interest rates upon not only the newer debts but on any previous ones as well."
So the more money you borrow, the more you will have to pay back in the end. Borrow too much, and you may end up taking on more debt solely to pay the interest on your previous debt; that could not end well. "This all seems rather mercenary," you observe.
Your solicitor answers with a rather grim expression. "Banks usually are, my lord."
"Is there no way to lower interest rates?" you ask.
"It is possible," Saundersley muses. "If one chooses the right words or may draw upon the right connections. Banks have been known to make allowances over that sort of thing, though rarely twice and almost never thrice. Beyond that, my only counsel would be to take out multiple smaller loans when needed rather than a single great loan all at once. Such a course of action ought to help keep interest rates as low as possible. Anything beyond that is subject to your judgement, my lord."
You suppose that's only fair. Saundersley may be qualified to offer advice, but you're still lord of the estate.
"Will that be all?"
[X] "Have you any recommendations for improving the estate's condition?"
"At first, my lord? I would suggest a good supper and a night's rest," Saundersley replies. "Decisions such as these are rarely made well when made in haste."
You suppose he has a point. You've seen the results of rash decisions made on too little sleep before, and it's almost never pleasant. "Very well, what then?"
"Then I would recommend you first address the current decline in the fief's population."
"Decline?" That doesn't sound good. "What kind of decline are we talking about?"
Saundersley nods gravely. "It has been a matter of concern for some time. For the past ten years, we have consistently lost more tenants than we have gained. Your lord father believed it to be due to the exactions of the King's war taxes and held out hope that the end of the war in Antar would bring some relief."
"I rather doubt it," you reply sourly. "The way things were going in Aetoria did not fill me with great confidence."
Your solicitor's frown deepens. "If we cannot rely upon the Cortes, then we may be in some trouble. Though we are only losing a few tenant households a year, such a rate of loss is not one we might sustain indefinitely. It may be wiser to take more direct measures."
"Such as?"
"I would recommend that improvements and repairs be made to render living here more attractive," Saundersley replies. "Repairs to the roads and the manor house to present visitors with a more pleasant impression, a market hall to bring additional commerce and create an air of prosperity. We could also take measures to improve the condition of those tenants already on your land. Repairs to the cottages or a new school might convince those who would otherwise go elsewhere to remain."
"This will cost a great deal," you note, your eyes narrowing. "Perhaps more than I have available."
"You may have to secure a loan," Saundersley advises. "It is not so shameful a thing. Many of your predecessors did. When done sparingly, it is not so terrible a burden."
Perhaps so, but it is precisely through loans taken out sparingly that your family's debt built up to such enormous proportions in the first place. Yet if that is the only way to realise your ambitions for your fief, it must be retained as a resort—a last resort, perhaps, but…
"My lord?" Saundersley is still there, evidently growing uneasy by your pensive silence. "Will there be anything else?"
[X] "That will be all, thank you."
Saundersley nods. "Very good, my lord," he says as he withdraws from your study, leaving you once again alone with your notes.
It is too late now to get much business done. You call for supper and let the information that your solicitor has given you turn in your thoughts for a while before you at last go to bed.
The next day, you return to your desk and begin the work of administering your fief in earnest.
