by Griff Hosker
In the end I decided to tell Lord Edward myself. I waited until we were at Bayonne, preparing to take ship. That way, if it went badly, I could leave quickly and head north to France. Both my archer, Stephen, and John, Lord Edward’s squire, had healed while we had awaited ship. I had been trying to find an appropriate time to catch the prince alone. This was not the sort of news to speak in a public place. However, there were other matters which prevented a meeting. They were nothing to do with me. Other lords came to Bayonne to speak with my master. I learned much through John the squire. Whenever he was sent on errands to the camp he always passed our tents and spoke with us. From him we learned that not all was well. Lord Edward had allies who had promised funds for his campaign. The money had not been forthcoming. I knew nothing of Lord Edward before I had helped to rescue him, but from John, I learned that he had played a dangerous game. He had allied himself with his father’s enemies. Now it had come to a head. Those enemies wanted him to join them in taking power from his father, King Henry.
My chance to speak came when Lord Edward and John rode into our camp. My men were in the town. I had given them the afternoon to enjoy themselves. I was alone, sharpening my sword when they approached.
“Gerald War Bow, are your men healed and ready?”
“Aye, lord, whom do we fight?”
“No one yet, but I have had enough of this treacherous place and the intrigues. We sail home for England, two days hence. Sell your horses, for we have no room for them on the ships. We will buy new, if we need them, in England.”
I nodded.
He frowned at my lack of enthusiasm. “What is wrong Gerald? I had thought you would have been delighted to leave this disease-ridden, pestilential hole!”
I approached and dropped to a knee, “Lord Edward, I have a confession to make.”
The young prince laughed. “I am no priest. God’s blood but I have committed more sins than enough myself. Rise, you look ridiculous on your knee!”
I rose and forced myself to speak. I had committed the crime, and I had to take responsibility. “Lord, before I came to France I killed the knight I served.”
The smile left his face and even John looked shocked. “An accident, Gerald?”
I shook my head. “No John. I wounded him with one arrow and slew him with a second.”
Lord Edward’s eyes narrowed. “You do not appear to drink too much, so you were not drunk. Was it murder?”
“No, lord, it was justice. He had hanged my father for no good reason. My father had killed his hunting hounds. The hounds killed his dog and threatened him. He did what he did to protect himself, and I did what the law should have done but did not.”
“And who was this lord?”
“Henry of Clwyd.”
John said, “He serves under Sir Ranulf. He is a knight of Chester.”
I saw something akin to relief on Lord Edward’s face. “I know this Sir Henry. He was a lout of a man, and as far as I can recall, averse to fighting.” He picked up the sword I had been sharpening. “You have given me a problem.” He balanced the sword in his hand. “If Sir Henry had been a lord anywhere else in England, then I would have had to take you back to stand trial for murder. You would be hanged.”
I spied hope in his words.
“As he was one of my lords, then, as Earl of Chester, it is for me to mete out justice. Tell me, was the baron unarmed?”
“No, lord, he had his sword drawn and was advancing on me.”
“Then it seems to me that it was self-defence. Your punishment for that crime is to make pilgrimage on foot from London to Canterbury. You must beg forgiveness at the tomb of Thomas Becket.” He gave a grim smile. “If my ancestor King Henry had to do so, then so can you.”
I nodded. “Thank you, lord.”
“What would you have done if I had had you arrested?”
I looked him in the eyes. “I would have escaped and run, lord.”
He stared at me and then burst out laughing. “God’s blood, but I bet you would! You are an honest fellow, I will give you that. I am guessing that Gerald is not the name with which you were baptised.” I shook my head. “Grow yourself a beard. You have been forgiven, and there is no longer a crime for which you have to answer, but I would not have you upset my knights when we return home.”
They left, and I felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It was as though I could breathe once more. When my men returned, I gave them the news that we would be going home. “Sell your horses and anything else that you cannot carry. From Lord Edward’s words, space will be limited on the ships.”
Some of the men were sad. They had become attached to their horses. That was especially true of me. My own horse had served me well and I felt guilty about leaving him, although, in truth, I had little choice in the matter. As luck would have it, we were able to sell them in the camp. There were other mercenaries there. They were part of the retinue of William de Valance, Lord Edward’s uncle. They were about to leave and needed horses. John of Nottingham discovered this and arranged for them to come to inspect the animals. We knew we had to sell them, but the men of de Valance did not.
“These are fine animals. You must be desperate for money. Are you sure you do not want to hold onto them? We will all need them when we head north to fight in Aquitaine.”
“Aquitaine?”
“Did you not know? Our lord is going to take some of King Henry’s castles. There will be coin for everyone.”
I looked at John of Nottingham and gave a slight shake of the head. “We did not know. We will still sell them. Silver is silver.”
We agreed a price, and John and I shared the money equally between our men. We purchased that which we needed for the voyage and moved into the port. We bought supplies. We were all warriors for the working day. Who knew when food might be in short supply? We bought a ham and some of the spicy sausages that came from Spain. We found some hard cheese which would last the voyage and some of the oranges which could be bought at the local market. Finally, we bought two jugs of wine. We shared them out in our bags.
The coins meant we could afford a night in an inn. Thus it was that we witnessed, on the quayside, the argument between Lord Edward and his uncle. We were too far away to hear the words but it was acrimonious. I could tell that from Lord Edward’s red face. His uncle and his knights stormed through the streets, scattering market stalls in their wake.
Captain William, the leader of Lord Edward’s men at arms, followed them. He approached our table. He was grinning. “Well Gerald War Bow, you had best get your men and their war gear to the quay. It seems we are no longer welcome here, and we sail for England. Yon cog, Maid of Portsmouth is your vessel. I should get aboard and find the best berths. It will be a crowded ship!”
I nodded. “Thank you, Captain. I am grateful.” As he hurried off I said, “John, get our gear. I will pay our bill.” We had been ready to move at a moment’s notice. Our bow staves were in their cases, as were our arrows. The spare clothes we had were in canvas bags. By the time I had paid the innkeeper my men had carried our war gear to the quay.
When I got to the ship there was a large sailor blocking the gangplank. John of Nottingham was arguing with him.
“What is amiss, John of Nottingham?”
He jerked his head in the direction of the sailor. “This no-neck lowlife says that we must pay to board.”
I used a reasonable voice, for I thought that the sailor had misunderstood. “We are Lord Edward’s men. His captain, William, told us that we had berths on this ship.”
He smiled. I noticed that his front teeth were missing. That was a sure sign that he was a brawler. He had the knotted arms of a sailor and the gut of a drinker. “I don’t give a tinker’s curse who you serve. Captain Alfred sails the ship, but I, Guthrum of Akethorpe, am the man who is in charge of the ship. You want an easy voyage, then you pay me.”
I walked a little closer to him so that I could speak quieter. “Friend, we are coming
aboard this ship, and if you try to bar our way, you will taste the sea! We are warriors, and we are not men to be crossed.”
“You are mercenaries with pockets full of gold! Pay! One way or another you will pay me!”
“You will get out of my way, now!” I had pulled my dagger from my belt and I held it to his groin.
He looked down as I pushed it a little harder. He stepped out of the way. He spat into the sea. “One way or another, you will pay!”
When we reached the deck there were two men waiting for us. They must have seen what had happened and yet they said nothing. “I am Captain Alfred. My first mate, Jack of Lothnwistoft, will show you where you can stow your gear. It will be crowded. The men at arms of Captain William will be joining you.”
As we followed the young sailor he said, “You should not have crossed Guthrum. He is an evil man.”
“The captain saw what occurred?”
He nodded as we ducked below a small door and climbed down a ladder. “Guthrum keeps the crew in order. He is the captain’s cousin.”
John of Nottingham said, “If he tries anything with us, he will regret it.”
I saw that we were in the hold of the ship. It had carried sheep, for there were still droppings on the deck. The sailor said, “Guthrum would have had this swept if you had paid him.”
I laughed. “I think we can sweep a few sheep turds away!” I looked around the hold. The worst berth would be by the ladder. Men would be using it constantly to make water and to go on deck. There was a bulkhead at the bow end. “We will use here. Right boys, let us get rid of the sheep turds and make ourselves comfortable.” I heard raised voices from the quay.
Jack of Lothnwistoft grinned. “I think your comrades have met Guthrum.”
It did not take us long to clean the area of deck which was close to us. We used our bags with our war gear to create our own area. Our bow staves and arrows were placed close to the bulkhead where they were safe. I heard footsteps above us and then heard feet coming down the ladder. I recognised Ralph Dickson; he was, like Matthew, a sergeant at arms, and he was Captain William’s lieutenant. As he came down I saw him wiping blood from his nose.
John of Nottingham said, “This looks like it will be an interesting voyage.”
I had to walk with a bent back to reach Ralph, for the deck was low. “I am afraid there is sheep shit all over the deck. We have to clean.”
He nodded. “I would like to clean it with that big bastard. He asked for money!”
“He asked us too. You did not pay him, did you?”
“No, and I have a bloody nose for my pains. He had better watch out.”
“I think that the crew are afraid of him. We will watch out for each other, eh? How many of you are there?”
“Twenty. The captain sails with Lord Edward and the knights.”
“There are just two ships then?”
“Aye. He paid off the rest of the men.”
I pointed to the ladder. “We had best keep a clear passage to the upper deck. We may have to move in a hurry.”
While the men sorted themselves out, we headed for the deck. This would be our last view of land until we struck England. Captain William was on the quay. Guthrum was glowering at him. I strode down the gangplank. For one moment, I thought the sailor would try to stop me leaving, then he thought better of it and stepped aside.
As soon as I stepped ashore, Guthrum strode back up the gangplank. Captain William was an old warrior. He had served with King Henry before following his son. He frowned. “Trouble? I saw he had a bloody knuckle.”
“He seemed to think we had to pay to sail this ship. He struck Ralph Dickson.”
“That is not good. Perhaps I should sail with you.”
I smiled. “If you have a berth with Prince Edward, then I would say take it. This one is overcrowded as it is. It stinks of sheep.”
“Aah. Then it will be a long voyage.”
“Where do we land?”
“Lord Edward wishes to get to his father as soon as he can. We will sail up the Thames to Windsor. That may be why you had trouble. There is not as much profit for them. There will be no trade for them at Windsor. But Lord Edward has paid them well.”
“It is not the captain who is the problem, just someone who thinks he can bully us. Fear not, we have faced worse in this campaign than a handful of sailors!”
He clasped my arm. “Fare you well. I will see you in Windsor. We will be at the castle for a while.” He leaned in. “I think the son goes to make peace with his father.”
I nodded. My thoughts were with my own father. I had not had the opportunity to say farewell to him.
We were ready to sail long before the other ship. I saw more supplies being taken aboard the larger ship, commissioned by Lord Edward. Jack of Lothnwistoft was walking by as I joined John of Nottingham at the ship’s waist. “What about food on this ship?”
John of Nottingham asked, “And ale?”
The sailor looked around to see if Guthrum was close by. “It is cold rations. We have ship’s biscuits. We call it ‘hardtack’. We have oats, and there is water to make a cold porridge. We have two barrels of water and one of ale.”
John of Nottingham said, “That is it? No meat? No hot food?”
He shook his head. “Fire is dangerous on a wooden ship, and you did not pay Guthrum.” He grinned. “A little tip before you eat the hardtack. Tap it on the deck. There are little weevils that live within it.”
He went off and I called, “Robin of Barnsley, watch our gear. Come, John, let us go ashore.”
“What for?”
“We will buy bread. Even stale bread will be better than the hardtack he spoke of.”
We found a bakery close to the port. I knew its prices would be higher than those in the town. They relied on people such as we, who had to buy bread for the voyage. We bought ten four-pound loaves. It cost far more than it should, but it would last us for at least a sennight. Even when stale, we could dunk it in the ale and soften it. As we stepped aboard, Ralph Dickson and his men at arms were taking the air. They looked at the bread.
“Do we not get fed?”
I nodded towards a grinning Guthrum. “It is cold porridge and hard biscuits we eat. This was not cheap but…”
“I hear what you are saying, Captain of Archers.” He waved to two of his men. “Come, let us copy the archers.”
It was after dark when we sailed. We followed our larger consort. Lord Edward’s standard, with the two lions on the red background, fluttered from his masthead. It told the world that the heir to the throne was aboard. We stayed on deck, where the salt spray made it unpleasant. The sea became even choppier, and we soon retired below deck. With the hold filled with men and their war gear, it was crowded and it was dark. We had a candle but it was secured in a box, which kept it safe. It was a glow rather than a light. During the day some light had drifted down through the door, which we left open, but at night…
Two ship’s boys brought our food. It was cold porridge and water. There were no beakers and no platters. My archers all had their own. We had made them from wood when we had been in the camp. It had passed the time, and now we were grateful. Some of the men at arms had their own, but half did not, and they had to either share or do as I saw two men do: use their helmets.
We declined the porridge. We had supplies, and we would only eat it when those ran out. We took the water for it would eke out our wine. As we ate Ralph Dickson came over. “I can see we have much to learn from you archers.”
I nodded and sliced a piece of sausage for him. “Aye, I am guessing that Guthrum and that baker work together, but at least we all have bread. We will not starve.”
Ralph pointed to his men. “We did not bring as many loaves as you. This voyage cannot be over soon enough for me.”
The first night was, in many ways, the worst. Some of the men at arms had been in Gascony all of their lives and had never sailed. The night was filled with the sound of footsteps racing
up the ladder and then men emptying the contents of their stomachs over the side. I did not get much sleep.
When dawn broke I went on deck. The seas were rough. The other cog disappeared in troughs and then rose on waves as we ploughed north. I saw that the helmsman was the grinning Guthrum. He had cost us money but he had not beaten us. When my men awoke they joined me. “Let us eat up here. Some of the men at arms did not make the ladder last night. Until they clean it, this will be the sweeter place to eat.”
We broke our fast beneath grey skies and on a deck which canted and rolled in the grey seas of Biscay. I had endured worse conditions in Wales. At least it was not raining! The men at arms joined us but many did not eat. That would be a mistake. The ship’s boys brought round the porridge and the water again. I tried the porridge. A man would have to be desperate to eat it.
Archers need to exercise their arms each day, and after we had eaten, we fetched our bows and drew them. We each had our own regimen. Mine was to pull the string all the way to my ear and hold it for a count of twenty. I would release and then count ten. I did this action thirty times. Then I would unstring my bow and restring it. By the time I had used all six bowstrings, my muscles burned, and I knew that I had exercised. After two days the men at arms joined us. They had the wooden staves they used to carry their war gear. They practised with those. It was to stop boredom more than anything else. When we were not practising, we spoke of our lives before our service with the prince. We came to know each other better. There were still secrets. They knew about Delamere forest and that I had been an outlaw but not the crime. I would tell them one day.
Six days into our journey, we had a break from our boring routine. Our consort stopped. Our captain reefed his sails so that we did not career into her stern. I wondered if there was a problem. Then I saw a ship approaching. I could not make out the standard, but if Lord Edward had stopped, then it was a friend and not a foe. The two ships bobbed at hailing distance and we endured the uncomfortable motion as our cog rose and fell. We were smaller than the other two ships and the motion more accentuated. I was relieved when we were able to lower our sails and continue our journey.