"Is… is that just from your weaving?" He asked, looking at me in disbelief.
"No," I replied with a wry smile. "That's the amount I currently make across all my ventures."
"By the Old Gods," Ned murmured. "And you expect to begin making more?"
"In time, as I get new machines and train new spinners and weavers."
Ned shook his head. "Do you know what could be done with that much coin?"
"A lot," I said with a smile. Ned started to grin back, but his expression froze as I continued. "I could start harvesting timber from the Wolfswood, for one. I know the Manderleys sell some to Braavos; I imagine it wouldn't be terribly difficult to tie a number of logs together and float them down the White Knife."
"Wha-" he asked, mouth wide in surprise.
"Plus, the Northern Mountains are almost entirely undeveloped," I continued. "Who knows what kinds of ores could be found there? Iron, certainly, but what if we found gold or silver? I could fund mines, and I think I can find a way to smelt iron into steel quickly and cheaply."
"Catelyn, with that much coin, we could rebuild Moat Cailin," Ned cut in, his voice insistent. "We could fund the construction of new castles, repair and expand the King's Road, and so much more!"
"Aye, we could," I agreed with a slow nod. "But I think it would be prudent to expand our income before we take on those kinds of projects."
Ned frowned. "The reconstruction of Moat Cailin would help secure the North from invasion," he insisted.
I cocked my head to the side and stared at him for a long moment. Ned raised an eyebrow, prompting me to say, "We can discuss this later. In the meantime, I wanted to show you my farm project."
Ned frowned, but nodded. "Very well. Lead on, then."
Shortly after we left Winter Town, Ned pulled his horse up beside mine. Keeping his voice low so that the accompanying guards wouldn't hear us, he said, "Catelyn, the North has needed an influx of coin for generations. The income you've managed to bring in would help me complete many projects within my lifetime, projects that Robb wouldn't have to worry about during his reign. Don't you want that?"
I sighed. I really didn't want to get into this now; I was more concerned with showing off the farm and the harvest.
'But if my husband is going to be this insistent…'
"I'm sure you could accomplish a lot with the paltry amount we're making now," I said, doing my best to keep my exasperation out of my voice. "However, if we instead invest in other sources of income, we would have that much more on hand, and you could complete more than a single project at a time. The improvements you want to make could be finished long before Robb even comes of age, let alone becomes Lord Paramount."
"Forestry, mining, and the Gods know what else," Ned scoffed, shaking his head. "Timber we have plenty, but can you find the mines and get the mountain clans to allow you to mine in their lands?"
"With lands as large as the North, I am certain we could find sufficient veins of ore," I countered. "And the mountain clans would earn a portion of the revenue as rent for the use of their lands."
"Aye, but can you find the people to work them?" He argued back. "The North, if you haven't noticed, is sparsely populated."
"I have, in fact, noticed," I sniped back, my tone growing snippy. "Half the reason for that is the lack of food and the occasional plague or war. My farm project will help counter that."
"And what will it do?" He asked, himself growing testy. "Double the crops, if you're correct, but also double the labor needed to work a farm."
"Do you think that spinning machines and looms are all I've ever thought about?" I testily asked. "I've watched entire villages work all day, bent over at the waist with sickles in hand, slowly harvesting wheat in order to pay their taxes and feed their families. Such methods are only viable because an entire village can come together to harvest a single field. The North can't do the same thing, Ned! So I'm not just testing new crops, I'm also testing a harvesting machine!"
"A harvesting machine?" He asked, sounding skeptical.
"Yes, a machine that will allow a single man to harvest an entire field in a single day, all by himself," I angrily retorted. "Between that and the crops, your farmers will grow more food each year, and won't have to hire farmhands to help him harvest it!"
"Then those farmhands will not have work," he countered.
"And all of a sudden, I'll have workers to harvest timber and work in my mines," I fired back, a scowl on my face. Ned looked surprised, then thoughtful.
"And, on top of that, how many smallfolk were displaced by the war?" I demanded, my ire truly up at this point, even if I endeavored to keep my voice down. "How many villages were burned down in raids by the loyalists, or by your army?"
Ned frowned and looked away. "Many," he said, his voice distant.
"Those people have no homes to return to. Sure, they could go back to their lands, but with no homes and no crops, how will they survive?" I asked. "How many of them will even want to stay where they once lived?"
"What do you want me to do about it?" He demanded with a scowl.
"Send men to invite them to the North," I replied. "How many acres of good farmland in House Stark's lands alone are ripe for cultivation? A large portion, last I checked, and considering I've been managing your demesne for the better part of a year, I would know!"
"As you pointed out, these people have nothing with which to establish a farm," he replied. "And unless you're suggesting buying their tools out of your ventures' profits, the North can't afford it."
"Oh, but it can, if you're willing to be smart about it," I said with a snort. "House Stark, by which I mean me , will provide them their tools and fresh lands to cultivate, and in exchange they pay double taxes until the investment is paid back."
"Many farmers are barely surviving as it is, Catelyn," he shot back, his ire rising to match mine. "Double taxes would starve them!"
"Not if they're able to grow two crops each year and harvest it without hiring help," I fired back. "Which, given how my farm is coming along, shouldn't be difficult!"
Ned frowned, but stayed silent, staring off at the horizon in quiet, if angry, contemplation.
"Imagine it, Ned," I continued, though I took the effort to bite back my anger. "Farms that are twice as productive, and not spending nearly as much to hire help for the harvest. New farmers, displaced by the wars with nowhere else to go, settling unused but fertile lands in the North."
I reached over and laid a hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "There's a very real chance that the North could produce enough food that it didn't have to buy grain from the South or from Essos anymore. Imagine how much of your tax revenue that would free up for other projects? And, on top of that, with fewer seasonal farmhands necessary to produce that food, I'll have the labor I need to harvest timber or mine ores, or do any number of other things to bring in more coin."
Ned remained silent, though he looked more thoughtful than angry.