His newly wedded wife would not be pleased with the agreement he found himself in. Alys was a simple woman. She enjoyed a comfortable life, with roads and a market of foods nearby. She could not garden very well. Her brush with the itchy ivy was a testament to that. He couldn't subject her to a life without comforts, not when he had promised her them by the dozens.
To be fair though, he was already having trouble keeping his promise. He was not the best worker, his job as a barkeep was poor in wage. He was not much of a merchant either now, ever since most of his contacts had moved away after his father died. They were poor, but surviving.