A few weeks into the New Year, Ned received a letter. Over time, we had taken to having breakfast together as a family in the private dining room. On occasion, our steward, Clay, or my assistant, Artos, would join us, but neither were in attendance today.
As he read the letter, I noticed that Ned's face had grown stony and cold. I could see the way he flexed his jaws from across the table, and I hoped he wasn't grinding his teeth together.
"Bad news?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied, his voice short, curt, and controlled.
"What happened?"
"King Robert. That man…" Ned growled. "When we took the Red Keep, the treasury was overflowing! Now, in less than four years, that… irresponsible man has somehow managed to spend it all!"
"The….treasury is empty?" I asked, mildly shocked. "What in the world has he been spending it on?!"
"Whores, wine, tourneys and feasts!" Ned spat. "I'd heard rumors coming from the South, but I hadn't realized it was this bad! Jon was supposed to keep Robert in check!"
"Jon Arryn?" I asked.
"The Hand of the King, yes," he clarified. "I knew Robert wasn't the most dutiful man, but this?"
"It seems that this goes beyond your friend merely being irresponsible," I carefully stated. "Has he done something to incite your anger?"
"Of course he has," Ned said with a sharp nod. "Apparently, the Small Council seems to think that the North's prosperity is impoverishing the other Kingdoms! And, given the now-empty treasury, they have elected to place a special tariff on cloth!"
"A tariff?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Does the letter say how much?"
"Seven parts in twenty on the price of the sale," he ground out.
'Thirty five percent!' I mentally shouted. 'That… that's ridiculous!'
"May I see the letter, Ned?" I asked, my own voice going cold and stern. Ned nodded and handed it over.
I skimmed through most of the flowery language and drilled down to the specifics of the Royal proclamation. I read it, reread it, and read it a third time just in case. Then, I laughed.
"This is no laughing matter, Cat!" Ned fumed.
"Oh, but it is!" I chortled. "Look here, Ned; it says 'A tariff of seven parts in twenty of the sales price shall be levied against any sales of cloth from one realm of the Seven Kingdoms to another. This tariff shall be paid by the seller to the Crown'."
"This will drive up the price of our cloth, Cat!" He complained. "Much of the Northern Houses' sudden prosperity comes from cloth sales!"
"That is true," I agreed with a nod. "Obviously, this tariff was designed to make our cloth less competitive against locally produced cloth, since it only specified cloth exported from one kingdom to another," I explained. "But whoever wrote this is in idiot; it only applies to cloth sold from one Kingdom to another."
"So, what, you expect us to sell it all in Essos?" he asked, calming somewhat.
"Why, that's an excellent idea, Ned!" I smirked at him. "And if some Northern merchant happens to set up a dyeworks and a trading company in, say, Braavos, and in turn sells the cloth he buys from us in King's Landing…"
Ned's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he suddenly realized what I was getting at. "Then… we wouldn't have to pay the tariff!"
"The tariff makes no mention of cloth from Essos," I agreed, winking at him. "The Northern Lords wouldn't have to pay anything; the proclamation makes no mention of tariffs on exporting it to Essos, either. It doesn't generate revenue for the Crown so much as it merely suppresses internal trade."
"Hmm…" Ned hummed for a moment. "I take your meaning. But who would we sell it to?"
"Well, we could ask the second or third son of one of your nobles to establish a trading company in Essos," I suggested. "Or, I suppose Artos could do the job, though it would be a pain having to train a replacement for him."
"What about Clay?"
"He would do a fine job as well," I agreed.
"Then why don't we ask him?"
"I think that's an excellent idea," I agreed.
Ned and I traveled to White Harbor with Clay, who would be founding a new trading company. While his main focus would be buying and selling Northern cloth, and, unfortunately, he would be taking most of my dyeworks with him, he was free to find other goods with which he could turn a profit.
To facilitate this, we'd scheduled a meeting with Lord Manderly.
"Lord Stark, Lady Stark," the corpulent man greeted us in his main hall. "It is an honor to host you at New Castle."
"Thank you for your warm welcome, Lord Wyman," Ned said with a respectful nod. I dipped into a curtsey next to him.
"What business can I assist you with?" He asked. "Your letter was rather… vague."
"With the increase in timber reaching White Harbor from the Wolfswood, I understand that you have begun building ships, correct?" Ned asked.
"Aye, I have," he stated with some reserve.
"Lady Catelyn and I would like to purchase some," Ned continued. "Or rather, Clay Snow here would like to purchase some ships, and hire captains and crews for them."
"I would be pleased to provide ships to you and your factor, my Lord," Wyman replied, relaxing in his seat. Seeing his reaction, I wondered if he thought Ned was dropping by to levy a new tax on him or something… "Tell me, what sort of ships do you require?"
"Trade ships," I replied. "Ones with adequate cargo holds, of course, though it is important that they be fast enough to outrun anything it can't fight, but large enough to outfight anything it can't outrun."
"In that case, I think I have just the thing for you…"
Lord Whyman ended up selling us two large trade ships from his own fleet. They were based on a medium sized war galley, but with one deck of oars converted to extra cargo space. With the addition of a topgallant and a triangular headsail, it was faster under sail than most ships of a similar size, though it would be slower under oars.
I placed an order for another four ships of a similar size, though they would take months to complete. It cost a hefty sum, even with the discount Lord Wyman gave me, but six ships would be more than enough to establish a decent trading company.
Clay spent time hiring captains and crews and getting familiar with sailing. While he was occupied with that, Ned and I informed all the other lords of the North of the Crown's tariffs, as well as our solution. I would buy cloth from them at a reasonable price, and in turn sell it to the East Wind Trading Company, the name Ned, Clay, and I had settled on. Ned and Clay had wanted to call it the North Wind Trading Company, but I felt that would be a bit too obvious.
Clay would dye the cloth in Braavos, then turn around and sell it back to the Seven Kingdoms, along with any other trade goods he managed to acquire. And, of course, he would sell whatever trade goods he could in the Free Cities as well; whatever was necessary to generate profits.
Ned and I would hold 35% ownership of the company each, and Clay would get the remaining 30%. Profits would be recorded and paid out annually. I knew both Ned and I would see a bit less overall profit than before, but certainly more than we would get if the sales of our cloth were smothered by the new tariffs.
To counter that, I encouraged Vayon Poole and Carrew Harclay to expand their mining operations, while I built a second blast furnace. With the extra production, I would churn out good quality steel ingots and sell them in the South, primarily to my father in the Riverlands, and any extra to the other Kingdoms. Given the steadily dropping supply of iron coming from the Iron Islands, I was sure to get good prices.
While this proclamation from the King had hurt us, and both Ned and I were angry over it, we would survive. And, given the new industries I was investing in, I hoped we would thrive.
Secretly, though, I harbored my resentment. It was one of my flaws, one I was aware of but unable to completely rid myself of. I was the type to hold grudges, and King Robert and the Small Council had planted the seeds of one in my heart. I couldn't do anything about it right now, but someday…