'Whether or not he is available for marriage,' Stephan said. 'And I believe Herr Spengler is uncommitted.'
'There you are, Veronika, the perfect man for you. Not only does he have money, but he's also cute.'
'I am not thinking about marrying a man I've only met once,' Veronika protested.
'His name's Gottfried Spengler, from Naumburg, and he's been a journeyman papermaker for over a decade,' Stephan told Catrin.
'Veronika needs to visit the library to find out everything she can about papermaking so she can impress him with her knowledge,' Catrin said.
'I am standing right here, you know,' Veronika said. 'And what's the good of going to the library? Everything will be in English.'
'Stop being so negative, Veronika. You'll never catch a man that way. There are dictionaries. Besides, I'll be there to help you.'
That didn't reassure Veronika as much as Catrin probably hoped. It was one thing to be embarrassed in front of Stephan. The older man had been a friend and confidant ever since she first started work at the council. She just hated to think about what level of embarrassment Catrin could induce in a public place like the library.
****
The Grantville Public Library was as busy as usual that evening. It wasn't totally due to the knowledge in the books. The fact that the building was heated also had something to do with it. Veronika and Catrin considered themselves lucky to get almost immediate assistance from the front desk.
'My friend is interested in finding out something about how up-timers made paper,' Catrin told the library aide.
'The main library at the high school is better equipped to handle that kind of request,' Yvette Tyler said.
'Veronika doesn't need to know everything about it, just enough to hold a conversation.' Catrin leaned closer to the up-timer and whispered loudly across the counter. 'There's this guy she's interested in, who's a papermaker.'
'Catrin!' Veronika grabbed her friend and pulled her away from the counter.
Yvette's lips twitched. 'That level we can probably help you with. How good is your English?' she asked Veronika
'Not very good.'
'Then you probably don't want to use any of the encyclopedias.' Yvette pulled out a draw and started flipping through cards.
'We'd like use an encyclopedia. We just don't think we'd understand what they said,' Catrin said.
'Well, it seems you might be in luck. Someone's written a monograph on paper and papermaking in German, and we have a copy. Are you a member?'
Veronika passed over the library card she'd first been issued when she started training at the Vo Tech.
'Right, that seems to be in order. I'll be right back.'
Yvette returned with a hard-covered monograph of about thirty pages. She flicked through all the pages to prove they were there and in good condition before passing Veronika a borrower's form to fill out. When that was done she exchanged the form for the monograph. 'Remember, no drink or food near the book. Any note taking to be done with a pencil, and no writing in the book.'
Gottfried stood, breathing heavily from the hard climb, on the highest peak of the land he'd acquired the coppice rights to, and gazed around him. To the west, about a mile distant, were the cliffs of the Ring Wall around Grantville. A quarter mile to the south was the Saale and the Grantville-Kamsdorf railroad. The land was steep, but that was all the better for moving wood down to the river flats where he planned to locate his mill.
There was one thing wrong with this land, and that was the lack of water. There was a creek in the valley, but its flow didn't amount to much. That meant he'd need to negotiate for a waterwheel on the Saale, or invest in one of the new steam engines.
He took one last satisfying look over his new domain before setting off in search of some of the charcoal burners still working the land. Friedrich's new friend had suggested that they might be happy to work for him if it meant they could stay in the hills they called home.
****
Gottfried left the hill a happy man. He'd found himself a workforce who actually wanted to live and work on his hills. Now all he had to do was put together a design for the sulfite-process mill of his dreams and acquire the necessary consents.
'What do you mean, no?' Gottfried glared at the petty bureaucrat who was denying him his dream. 'Why has my application been declined?'
'The quality of the water you wish to discharge into the Saale is not of sufficient standard,' Nikolaus Rorer said. 'His Grace has enacted regulations that demand a higher minimum water quality of all discharges into the waterways under his control.'
'That doesn't seem to apply to USE Steel,' Gottfried muttered, thinking of the company in which Duke Johann Philipp was known to have a major shareholding.
'USE Steel has been given until June to have their discharge water up to standard, or they will have their right to discharge water cancelled. USE Steel is subject to the same regulations as any other enterprise with existing water rights. His Grace is not playing favorites, and it ill becomes you to suggest otherwise.'
Gottfried cursed his tongue. Even if he wasn't going to get the chemical discharge consent he needed, it was counterproductive to offend the person with the power to stall any subsequent consent applications he might file. 'But cleaning the discharge to the standard you're demanding will make the whole project uneconomic.' He had employed the Grantville wastewater treatment plant's Otto Kubala to design and cost various options. The one he'd presented to the council had been the cheapest he thought they might accept, but even that was so expensive his new paper would be barely competitive.
'Unfortunately, too many people depend on the river for us to allow any further deterioration in the water quality. However, the council is willing to grant you consent to build your mill on the Saale, just as long as you don't introduce any new chemicals into the water.'
'But making paper uses all sorts of chemicals.'
'The conventional sizing agents are not considered to be a problem.'
Gottfried wanted to protest, but he knew it was best to retreat whilst he was ahead. 'Thank you,' he said, before walking out of Rorer's office.
He stopped at the reception counter and called to the young women hammering away at their typewriters. 'Excuse me,' he called to gain their attention, 'I understand I can request a copy of the decision on my consent application?'
'That's right. Was your application successful?' the older of the two said as she approached the counter.
'No, and that's why I want to have my own copy. I want to see if there is any chance of having the decision reversed.'
The older woman handed a form to Gottfried. 'You need to fill out this form and pay the appropriate fee. What did your application fail on?'
'The quality of the waste water I wished to discharge.'
'Oh, dear. Then I don't think you have much chance of getting the decision reversed. The council is very strict about water quality. They even insisted that USE Steel improve the quality of their waste water discharge or have their right to it revoked. Does this mean you won't be building your paper mill?'
'How did you know I want to build a paper mill?' Gottfried demanded.
The woman blushed and lowered her eyes briefly. 'I was curious why anybody would want coppice wood, and asked Herr Wachter.'
That blush had Gottfried paying more attention to the young woman. She was quietly attractive, and had a pretty smile. 'Wood is the way of the future.'
'So, are you still going to build a paper mill? I understand you can make paper out of ground-wood pulp as well as chemically pulped wood.'
