‘What can I do for you, madam?’ he asked Maev, affecting not to notice the highland shawl and heavy grey work skirt, which – in a world ruled by the Varlish – negated the need for any courtesy.
Maev Ring approached his bench and placed a heavy pouch upon it. ‘It is my understanding, sir,’ she said, ‘that despite your skill you are in need of funds.’
His thin lips tightened. ‘My affairs should not be the subject of gossip. Please leave.’
‘I am not here to gossip, Master Pearce. Be so kind as to open the pouch.’
He did so. The glint of gold caught his eye, and he tipped the contents to the bench. ‘By the bones of Persis,’ he whispered. ‘There is thirty pounds here.’
‘And more to be had. If you are willing to listen.’
‘Gold has a way of making me attentive, lady,’ said Gillam, rising from his bench and moving round to fetch a chair for Maev. She sat down and he returned to his seat. ‘Please speak what is on your mind.’
‘Your boots and shoes are beautifully made, though you do not use the finest of leathers.’
‘They are too costly,’ he said, interrupting her.
‘Indeed. But this is why the rich do not buy your boots. In serving the poor you have been forced to underprice your wares. In short, you need a change in direction.’
‘The highest quality hides must be shipped from . . .’
‘Masacar, three hundred miles from the old city of Stone,’ she said. ‘I know. A small shipment will be arriving in the next week. I have acquired it.’
‘You are a bootmaker?’
‘No. I am a highland woman with coin to spare. If we become partners I believe we would both benefit.’
‘Partners? Apart from money, madam, what will you bring to this partnership?’
‘Profits,’ said Maev Ring.
For some time they talked. Maev agreed to finance the buying of leather and the settling of debts in return for a forty per cent holding. She then produced an old pair of riding boots from a heavy canvas shoulder bag. She passed them to Gillam Pearce. He looked at them closely. ‘Fine leather,’ he said, ‘but poor stitching. The wear on the heels is uneven, and the left boot is too small by a fraction. See here where the wearer’s toes have stretched the leather.’
‘Could you make a pair of boots for this man that would better these?’
‘Assuredly, madam.’
Then do so. Create a work of art, Master Pearce.’
‘Will he be coming to me for a fitting?’
‘No. When finished they will be a gift from you.’
‘Who is to be the lucky recipient? Your husband?’
‘The Moidart. These boots were discarded some weeks ago. One of his servants brought them to a friend of mine, who brought them to me. If your gift finds favour, Master Pearce, others will hear that you craft footwear for the Moidart. Where the lord goes, others will follow. Then there will be no more two-chailling boots from Gillam Pearce. You can hire others to craft them.’
‘You are very confident, Madam Ring.’
‘That confidence is well founded, Master Pearce.’
The Moidart had been delighted with the gift. The boots had been of black Masacar leather, soft as silk, and yet durable. He had not sent any message of thanks to Gillam Pearce, but three weeks after delivery of the gift two of Eldacre’s richest noblemen had visited his workshop, ordering similar footwear. By the end of the summer Gillam Pearce’s order book was full – despite the obscenely extravagant prices Maev Ring had insisted he charged.
As Maev left the old barn and walked across the open area to the kitchen she calculated once more the returns from Gillam Pearce alone. Sixty pounds to settle his debts, twenty-eight pounds eighteen chaillings to ship in quality hides, and eleven pounds nine chaillings to refit his workshop and acquire higher quality tools. In total a hundred pounds seven chaillings. In the four years they had been partners Maev had earned four hundred and seventeen pounds four chaillings in excess of this sum.
The forge and armoury, previously solely owned by Parsis Feld, now supplied some three hundred pounds per year. Other businesses – the dye works, the cattle auction dealers, the three furniture makers, and the Eldacre abattoir – supplied one hundred and forty pounds more.