by Griff Hosker
“You have done well now rest.”
He nodded, “Do not worry, lord, Walter is a good man. He had further to go to find Earl Mandeville.” He lowered his voice. “Sir Ranulf did not bring all of his men. He left behind half of his knights and most of his men at arms and crossbows.”
As I turned to speak with the baron I wondered if this was treachery, prudence or politics. “Sir Ranulf thank you for your timely arrival. It is good that the enemy did not know how few men you brought or they may have fought on.”
He coloured, “I had to leave my home protected, Sir Samuel. Where is the Earl Marshal?”
“He rests and has delegated the defence to me until he rises. He has asked me to be his lieutenant. I command.” I did not allow him the opportunity to question my decision. “This is more than just a little unrest, my lord. These men who have taken over the city mean to take command of this land.”
His eyes narrowed, “Rebellion?”
“Worse for these are hired men. Someone is trying to buy the crown.”
“Or ensure that it stays on their head.”
“You mean young King Henry?”
“It is no secret that he is unhappy with his father. He has the coin and his absence gives him the opportunity to deny any involvement if this fails.”
“Until help comes then it is down to us and Earl Mandeville. We have sent to him too. Until he arrives we can only defend. With more men we might have relieved the suffering of the loyal people of the city. Our men have fought for two days. I would have you and your men take over the watch so that we can rest and eat.”
“We have ridden hard.”
“And we have bled. I am loath to disturb the Earl Marshal’s rest to have him give the order.”
This was like a combat with swords. I had made the strike and he had blocked the blow. I had raised my sword. He had a decision to make and he made the right one. He sheathed his sword. “You are right, Sir Samuel and it will allow us to see the enemy lines.” He turned and spoke to his knights “Come, let us examine our new citadel!”
I turned to William, “Have the servants fetch food and ale for all. Tell the baker I want the ovens producing as much bread as they can. The Earl Marshal ensured that we had enough flour. If bread and ale are all that we have then so be it.”
Sir Richard said, “There is plenty of salted pork, Sir Samuel. We will not starve.”
“That depends upon how long it is before help comes. If the Earl brings as few men then we have to squat like a toad behind our walls. Who knows what mischief there is yet to come? Davy of Ingleby said that these hired swords are numbered in their hundreds. They are mercenaries come from many lands. There are Scots and other foreigners. I know this bodes well for the land of our valley but London is teetering on the edge of a precipice. We are trapped and know not what goes on in the outside world.”
William said, “Sit, lord, and I will fetch food and ale.”
“Thank you and when you have eaten put an edge on my sword for we shall need it.”
Sir Richard and I took off our coifs and unfastened the mail mittens. I would have loved to take off my mail but I knew that until more help came then we would have to be ready to fight at a moment’s notice. William brought the ale, bread and meat. We devoured both. As I chewed I reflected on what I had learned when walking the walls and speaking with my men. No ships had come up the river. That meant they were being stopped downstream. I was not totally familiar with this river but my grandfather had told me that Tilbury was a good place to strangle trade on the river. That meant there were enemies in the city to the west and the river to the east. As the Mayor had fled west I wondered if there were enemies there too. Then I recalled Davy’s words: ‘a conroi of knights and sergeants left to head west along the river.’ Why would knights head west when we still remained in the east?
I looked up and saw Sir Richard watching me. He gave me a sad smile, “My father and brother died in battle Sir Samuel but was it well done?”
“Well done?”
“Is this city worth fighting for? Is it worth the lives of good men like my father, his squire and my brother? Is it worth the lives of men at arms like Arne, Guiscard and Jean?”
“To speak truly this cess pit of corruption and self-serving lords is not worth the life of one man but it is the capital of our King and if this falls then England might tumble after it. My grandfather told me that the war he fought for sixteen years against Stephen the Usurper could have been avoided if London had remained loyal to the Empress Matilda. I would not have another sixteen years of anarchy when I could have stopped it so the answer is that it was well done. Your father has two sons who live and they have his blood. If I fell then I know that Thomas would be raised to be a knight of the north by my father. If a man seeks a long life he does not choose to be a knight. He chooses the church!”
Sir Richard smiled, “That helps, Sir Samuel. I would not want my father’s death to have been in vain and I will seek a wife when I return home.”
“As my sister discovered when Sir Ralph was killed you need to seize what happiness you can when it is there before you. Do not waste time! It is more precious than gold.” He nodded.
I yawned for I was tired. “Before you sleep have the night watch collect as many stones as they can. They can take them from the ruined Roman wall to the north and east of the castle. Have them moved around the walls. Put them at regular intervals along the fighting platform. The next time they use ladders we will give them a surprise.”
“Aye Sir Samuel.”
I did not manage to get to my chamber until the sun had set. There was much which demanded my attention. I made certain that my grandfather was well and then, after asking to be woken in an hour, I slept.
Chapter 13
The night passed peacefully. Although my men and I were tired we relieved Sir Ranulf and his men at midnight. The dead still lay beyond the walls where they had fallen. We heard the sounds of rats and foxes feasting on flesh. Aelric and Atheling had risked venturing forth to fetch in undamaged arrows. Even damaged arrows, so long as the heads remained, could be reused. My men could all fletch. The city was quiet and I wondered what it meant. We now knew that there were two other bands of men intent on mischief. They hardly constituted an army and yet they were a danger and a very real threat to the realm.
My grandfather joined me in the middle watch. “You should be asleep and resting.”
He nodded, “The wound ached and woke me. I lay there looking into the blackness. I shall have as much sleep as I wish soon enough. I thought I would join my grandson who has grown so much since we left Stockton that I can barely recognise him.” His put his good hand on my shoulder. I was not sure if it was to help his balance or was for affection. “I wonder if this is what I was like when Wulfstan watched me change from a youth, to a man to a leader. I would love to speak with him and my father now. I would ask them if they were proud of me.”
I could not believe the words I was hearing, “Of course they would be proud of you! You are the greatest knight in England. You saved England for the King!”
He nodded, “And yet I would speak with them and see that they approve. That is why I wish your father was here for I would be able to tell him that I am immeasurably proud of all that he has achieved.” He patted my shoulder, “But you I can tell. While I am alive I can say that you will be a knight as great if not greater than I. You will be greater when you mould your son into another leader who can protect our land and our king.”
I looked at him. I could see his eyes in the light from the brazier which burned in the centre of the tower. “But what if it is a bad King?”
“King Henry is a good king. I trained him myself and I could not be prouder of him if he was my own son.”
“But what of his son, Henry? He has shown little signs of being a good king and he may well be the cause of this latest trouble. Am I honour bound to follow him?”
I saw the pain in my grandfather’s eyes. He
had not thought of that as a problem. He gave me a sad smile, “That will be a decision which you have to make. When King Harold was killed my father and my namesake left England for they could not countenance serving a Norman. My father came back to England to die and I chose to serve King Henry. If there is a bad King of England then you will know what you have to do but I confess that I do not envy you. Times have been hard enough when I was supporting the rightful King of England. I am not sure if I would have lived as long supporting a bad one.”
With that depressing thought in my head we continued the watch. Dawn broke behind us and we could hear hammering in the city. John of Oxbridge had just come to report from the river gate and he said, “War machines, my lord. That must be what they are building.”
“Where would they get the wood?”
My grandfather pointed upriver, “Boats. They cannot sail them and half the work of a ram is done if they use the hull of a ship. All that they need are wheels and there will be wagons and carts aplenty.”
John of Oxbridge nodded, “Aye, Earl Marshal, you are right. Most of the small boats were taken south of the river but we have seen, from the river gate, many more which remain. There are small ferries which would be perfect. I will go around and warn the others, Earl. I will relight my fire. Burning coals can soon set fire to a wooden ram.” He hurried off to inform the rest of our men to be on their guard. We had lost men in the battle and there were fewer of them now.
“He is a good man, grandfather.”
“They all are. Men like Wulfric and Ralph of Bowness trained them well. I will miss them.”
He stared east to watch our men as they went about their business. He was saying goodbye to all of them. “How is your head?”
He smiled, “The same, there is pain and when I sleep I know not if I will wake but so far the Good Lord has spared me. Perhaps I still have a task to perform. When it is done he will take me. I am content. I would rather it was I who was taken and not you or your father.”
I turned to my squire, “William, go and rouse Sir Richard and his squire.”
“Aye lord.”
As dawn broke we could see that they had moved the ram they were constructing to the Aldgate. It was five hundred paces north of our position. They would be beyond the range of our bows. I knew my grandfather was willing me to say something but I could not think what. I was too busy trying to work out how to destroy a ram. The gate was a double gate. They would have to break one and then move under the fighting platform to the second. So far there were no murder holes. We could add more wood to the first gate and that would slow them. Of course, that would only buy us the time and what would we use the time for? Then it came to me. John of Oxbridge had already suggested it. We could use fire. We might damage the stone of the gatehouse but better that than allow the castle to fall.
I turned, “We should use two more of these braziers and have kindling prepared.”
He frowned, “Not oil? Water perhaps?”
“We are too far from the Tower for that. It would be a long way to carry and they might not be hot enough. Fire guarantees that the ram will burn. If we bar the first gate then it will take them longer to break and we will have more opportunity to burn them.” When he smiled I shook my head, “You had thought of that already! Why did you not tell me?”
“Because you and your father are the future and I am the past. I knew the thoughts were there. You just needed to work it out for yourself. You have good instincts, trust them. And now I will return to my chamber. I shall rest a little safer in the knowledge that you know what you are about.”
“Aye Earl Marshal.” As Sir Richard, William and Harry reached us I turned to the sergeant at arms, “Sound stand to.”
“Aye lord.”
“Sir Richard, I will take command here, you go to the south west bastion tower. I am going to gamble and place all of our archers in these towers.”
“That will work. Come Harry. My father and brother will have vengeance this day!”
While they rushed to the walls I said to William, “Fetch another two braziers here and have kindling collected. We have plenty from when we felled the trees to make the stakes. You four come with me.” We hurried back to the pile of timber we had felled to make stakes. There were still five or six tree trunks. They had been neither straight enough nor long enough for stakes but they would be perfect as braces for the gate. “Fetch them to the city gate.”
When I retched the gate, there were two of the garrison waiting there. “Open the inner gate.”
As they did so Aelric and Atheling joined me, “Lord what would you have us do?” Behind them I saw Sir Ranulf and his knights rushing to the walls.
“I am going to gamble. I want all of the archers in the south west bastion tower and the Gate Tower. John of Oxbridge thinks that they will use the boats to build a ram. They will not attack from the river. If they try to take the north wall again then we have a short distance to move.”
“Aye, lord that would work.”
Sir Ranulf reached us. He frowned at the presence of the archers. He was my elder and had far more experience than I did but I would not apologise for doing what both my grandfather and father would do in the same circumstances. “What do you plan, Sir Samuel?”
“They are building a ram and they will break through the first gate. I intend to brace the gate and when they use the ram to pour hot coals upon them and burn it.”
My archers nodded enthusiastically but Sir Ranulf shook his head, “They will have soaked the roof of the ram and it will be hard to burn. If you succeed then you risk burning the gatehouse.”
“And if that happens we pull back to the inner ward and the Tower. We are outnumbered Sir Ranulf. We have too few men to do as I would wish and face them blade to blade. Until Earl Mandeville or my father arrives we fight defensively.”
“Your father? He is in France!”
“And my grandfather has sent for him. He will come!” I could see that he was far from convinced. I did not even attempt to try to. “I would have you and your knights at the tower by the river gate and on the inner wall. If you are right and we lose the gate then you will have to be ready to cover us.”
“You are as brave and reckless as the rest of your family. We will hold the wall and the towers for you.” He looked around as my men began to drag the timber into the gatehouse. “You use just your own men?”
I nodded, “There are none better and I am comfortable fighting alongside such warriors.” I saw the pride in the eyes of my men as they heard my words.
Sir Ranulf and his knights left. We used hammers to force the timber so that it was braced between the cobbles and the gate. “That is all the timber used up, lord. All that is left are small branches which would not hold anything.”
“Then make them into faggots and we will feed the flames of the fire which we will start.” We re-entered the castle and slammed the gates shut. I said to the two men who stood there. “We need no gatekeepers this day. Go and collect as many darts and spears as you can. I want the wall between the Gate Tower and the south west bastion tower with plenty of missiles.”
“Aye lord.”
When I reached the gate tower I saw that Aelric and six of his archers occupied the turret which was attached to the north side of the Gate Tower. They had a good vantage point. Atheling had half of the archers in the south west bastion tower and the rest were busy feeding the three braziers on the fighting platform. John of Oxbridge had fetched tools from the smithy to help the men to lift the braziers and throw them over.
“Aelric, how goes the ram?”
“They have almost finished it, lord. They have four strong wheels on each side and the top is covered in hides. It will not be easy to burn.”
I waved my hand in acknowledgement. “John of Oxbridge I would have you here with me. Sir Richard is at the south west bastion tower. We will use the stones before we use the fire. If we can break the hides or tear them then the fire will spread quicker.”
“There is some pig fat too, lord. It is not enough to heat and use that way but if we pour it when the skins are broken it will accelerate the fire. We can mix it with tallow.”
“Make it so.”
John of Oxbridge had a younger brother, James. He stayed with me and William in case I needed a runner. He was young. He had no mail. I recognised his helmet as the pot one John of Oxbridge had used for many years. His jerkin was a hide one studded with odd pieces of metal. They had been hand sewn. His sword was also a cast off from John and his shield was a small round one. In his belt was a dagger and a hatchet. A leather satchel hung across his back. He was, compared with the men at arms who served Sir Ranulf, poorly dressed. He also had much less experience but I knew that unlike Sir Ranulf’s men I could rely on my men.
“James what are your hopes?”
“Hopes, my lord?”
“Your brother is now a sergeant at arms. He could become a captain or even a squire and then a knight. Do you have such aspirations?”
He smiled, “Lord I have seen barely seventeen summers. I am no fool. I hope to survive. If I do that then I can think of my next objective, I will try to kill someone with mail, a good sword and coins. Once I am dressed like my brother I can plan further but my brother has told me of many warriors who planned too much. They died young. I would rather not plan and live long.”
I saw William nodding. This was what kings and lords like Sir Ranulf did not understand. What made their men fight for them. It was more than just the coin for if that was all there was then they would soon be fighting alone. My grandfather and father understood what lords called the common man. There was more to them than that. Sir Wulfric had been like John of Oxbridge and he had become one of the greatest knights in the land. That was due to the Earl Marshal who had treated him like a friend and helped him to become a knight. I now saw what I needed to do. This journey with the Earl Marshal was meant to be. I was discovering my future.