TWENTY-TWO

 

It had been seven years since Romein had seen Valkhof, but the city had changed irrevocably in that time. Great earthen walls had sprung up around the buildings, towering above the deep canals that now ringed it round. It took him a moment to recognise it as the embodiment of the plans he'd sent his father, the first year he'd been at Queen Molina's court. Then several more minutes, surveying the surrounding fields, before he was certain.

"It worked!" he crowed.

Captain Balthasar and his men took no notice, too busy sailing the boat, but Julia shot him a questioning glance.

"It was my first plan to drain the flooded fields, to keep the towns safe," he explained. "High earth walls to keep the water in or out, and deep channels carved into the earth to hold more water. You see..."

She nodded as he pointed out the details as he noticed them, her gaze following his finger here, there and everywhere. He knew her well enough to be sure she wasn't just feigning interest. He suspected it would only be a moment or two before she asked...

"Is that what you intend to do to the lands around Elst and Veluwe?"

Ah, her first question.

"It is, though the ground is lower there than here at Valkhof, so the salt has had longer to sink into the soil, and the water lingers for longer. It is around Veluwe that we must start to tame the waters, before it can spread to the rest of the country, but that will take years, so in the meantime, earth ramparts around the cities and towns are the best defence we have..."

They discussed how such walls might be used in Veluwe as the boat docked, and they walked through the winding streets up to Father's house. His family were at dinner when they arrived, so he had only a moment to stare at the sea of faces and mumble something along the lines of, "This is Julia. She's helping me convert the mill from horse power to wind," before he was pulled into the nearest pair of arms for a hug.

Julia, too, was subjected to the same treatment, passed from hand to hand until seats were found for them on a bench at the end of one of the tables. Loaded trenchers landed on the table before them, and they were expected to do little more than eat, drink, smile and nod, as the conversation continued around them.