Devil's brood eoa-3

by Sharon Kay Penman

  When they were within sight of the rebel force, not a man among them doubted that the Almighty was on their side. They’d caught Leicester in the very act of fording the river, and while his knights had already reached the west bank, his Flemish foot soldiers were still massing on the east bank, his army split in two by the rushing waters of the Lark.

  The attack began as a trot, with lances held upright, trumpets blaring and pennons fluttering in the breeze, and the war cry of the English royal House erupting from countless throats, “Dex aie!” It seemed to Geoff that his heart was pounding in rhythm with his stallion’s thudding hooves. This was the way combat was meant to be, not the ugliness at Verneuil, the broken faith and slaughter of innocents. This was a fight between equals, knights trained in war, matching skills and valor. Leveling his lance, couched under his right arm so it was held steady against his chest, he urged his destrier into a gallop as the enemy knights charged to meet them.

  His target was a knight on a roan stallion. As the distance narrowed between them, he braced himself for the impact, still more excited than afraid, instinctively putting into practice the lessons learned in years of tiltyard drills. His foe struck first, but his lance hit the edge of Geoff’s shield, sliding off harmlessly. Geoff’s aim was better. He was rocked back against his saddle cantle as his lance shattered upon his opponent’s shield, and then he gave a triumphant shout, for the force of his blow had unseated the other knight.

  He hesitated then, not sure what to do next. It never occurred to him to kill the man sprawled in the trampled grass; it would be dishonorable to slay a defenseless knight, and foolish, too, for he’d be forfeiting a profitable ransom. But the battle still raged around him. Shouldn’t he seek out another foe? His dilemma was solved by Fulk de Barnham. As he galloped past, he yelled, “What are you waiting for? Take him prisoner or someone else will!”

  The enemy knight was struggling to sit up, holding his arm at such an odd angle that Geoff guessed he’d broken a bone in his fall. Casting aside his damaged lance, Geoff unsheathed his sword. “Do you yield?”

  The man’s eyes locked onto that lethal, naked blade. “I do,” he said hoarsely. “I am your prisoner, sir.”

  Geoff frowned down into that pale, tense face. He’d heard it argued that it would now be his responsibility to escort his captive to a place of safety, but clearly that was impossible under the circumstances. He had no intention of leaving the battle, and he decided he had no choice but to trust to his enemy’s honor. “You have pledged yourself to Geoffrey Fitz Roy,” he declared, and spurred his stallion away without waiting for a response.

  He soon found another adversary, a knight on a lathered chestnut. They exchanged inconclusive blows, but when he circled back to strike again, he was shocked to see the other man had ridden on. Glancing around, he saw that this was occurring all over the field. Men were down, riderless horses milling about in confusion. Leicester’s line was wavering, his knights, outnumbered and hard-pressed, giving ground before the onslaught. And then the line was breaking, and the survivors were in flight, seeking only to save themselves.

  “Leicester is getting away!” A knight galloped by Geoff, gesturing and shouting. Catching a glimpse of a streaming checkered banner in the distance, he recognized it as the earl’s device and joined the chase, urging his stallion to greater speed.

  “Treacherous swine! Swaggering, misbegotten whoreson! We’ll follow you into Hell if need be!” No one could hear him, of course, but Geoff continued to yell threats, so outraged was he that Leicester would try to save his craven skin by bolting the field, leaving his men to die.

  The rebel knights were being overtaken, one by one, for they were fleeing across marshland and they were soon blundering into bogs and sloughs. A ditch loomed ahead, but Geoff’s destrier did not break stride. Gathering itself, it soared up and over, and Geoff gave a shaken laugh, for there was a second horse down in the ditch, one that had not been so lucky, floundering on three legs. He drew rein to catch his breath and heap praise upon his stallion, caught movement from the corner of his eye just in time. A man darted forward, muddied and desperate, and snatched at his reins. Geoff’s stallion was well trained in the maneuvers of the battlefield-Henry had seen to that-and it reared up, dragging the man off his feet. He’d come in from the left, so Geoff could not make use of his sword. Instead, he bashed the knight with his shield, and watched with satisfaction as his assailant reeled backward, plunging down into the ditch with a resounding splash.

  A horseman was approaching, very fast, and he spurred his stallion forward. He was confident that this was not one of Leicester’s fleeing knights, for he was going in the wrong direction, and by now the rider was close enough for him to recognize the device on his shield-the insignia of the constable, Humphrey de Bohun.

  The man reined in a few feet away. He was splattered with blood, whether his own or not, Geoff could not tell, and his chest was heaving, his face streaked with sweat and dirt. “Do you have a wineskin?” he wanted to know, and when Geoff unhooked it from his pommel and tossed it over, he drank in gulps, then removed his helmet and poured the remaining liquid over his head. “God Above, it is hot!”

  It was a cool autumn day, but Geoff agreed with him; between his mail and his exertions, he felt downright feverish. “What is happening?”

  He’d assumed de Bohun’s knight was acting as a courier and the man confirmed it now with a flash of white teeth as he replaced his helmet. “We caught Leicester, and as easy as snaring a rabbit it was, too. He did not even try to fight us off, the milk-livered, mewling pisspot! My lord sent me to get word to the Earls of Cornwall and Gloucester.”

  His last words floated back on the wind to Geoff, for he was already galloping off. Geoff was tempted to continue on, so greatly did he want to witness Leicester’s capture and humiliation. But common sense reasserted itself, and turning his horse around, he rode after the courier. The battle was not yet won, for there were still Leicester’s three thousand Flemish routiers to deal with.

  He’d not gone far, though, before he saw several horsemen gathered beside a water-filled trench. What drew his attention was their laughter, not something he’d expect to hear upon a battlefield. They turned as he rode up; one of them was a knight in Roger Bigod’s household, and he assured the others that Geoff was on their side. It occurred to Geoff that warfare would be easier if all the combatants wore identifying colors or devices. A baron or lord’s knights would bear his insignia on their shields, but not always, and in the heat of battle, mistakes could be made, and sometimes were. That was what had most surprised Geoff about combat: the chaos and confusion.

  He started to ask the knights what was going on, but by then he was close enough to see for himself. A slight figure in chain mail was struggling in the water, while on the bank one of the knights was removing his helmet and sword before sliding down into the trench. It made sense to Geoff that they’d attempt a rescue; why not get wet for the chance of a goodly ransom? He was puzzled, though, that the would-be rescuer’s companions were so amused by his efforts, and even more puzzled now when the trapped knight lurched away, refusing to take his outstretched hand.

  “What…he’d prefer drowning to capture?” he asked incredulously and, oddly, that sent the other men into further paroxysms of mirth.

  “Not ‘he,’” one managed to gasp. “She!”

  Geoff’s jaw dropped. Once he understood what they were saying, he swung from the saddle and hastened toward the ditch, eager to see the Earl of Leicester’s notorious Amazon countess. The other knights were still laughing, cheering the Good Samaritan on with cries of “Go, Simon, go!”

  So far, Simon was not having much luck. “Come on, my lady,” he said coaxingly. “You’re getting in over your head. Surely you do not want to drown in a ditch like a dog!”

  “Yes,” she hissed, “I would rather drown than let you put your hands on me, you lumpish, poxy lout!”

  This sent Simon’s comrades into hysterics; on
e almost unseated himself, he was laughing so hard. The countess had gone under, came up sputtering and coughing, and when she did, Simon lunged forward. But she was as slippery as an eel and slid out of his grasp. “This is crazy, my lady,” he insisted, edging closer to make another grab. “So you’ve lost. War is always a question of losing and winning. But if you kill yourself, you’ll burn in Hell for all eternity!”

  For the first time, she seemed to be listening to him, to hear what he was saying. She looked from him to the watching men, and there was such despair on her face that their laughter momentarily stilled. When Simon stretched out his hand, she hesitated, then began to splash toward him, and he’d soon pulled her to safety. But when he was about to boost her up the bank, she suddenly began to resist again. Tugging frantically at the jeweled rings adorning her fingers, she slipped them off before he realized what she was doing and flung the rings out into the depths of the ditch.

  “There!” she cried triumphantly. “I’d rather the fish get them!”

  With that, Simon lost all patience. “Bitch!” he growled, shoving her up onto dry ground before plunging into the ditch again, where he dove repeatedly into the murky water, seeking in vain to recover the countess’s rings.

  Geoff understood Simon’s frustration, for there’d be no ransom for the Countess of Leicester. It did not matter how much she might offer for her freedom; she would be a prisoner of the Crown, not released until and if his father willed it. Peronelle had flung back the hood of her hauberk, removing her sodden linen coif to reveal thick braids coiled neatly at the nape of her neck. She was not at all what Geoff had expected. He’d heard such stories of the influence she wielded over Leicester that he’d envisioned her as a Jezebel, thinking theirs was the classic case of an older man doting upon a young and beautiful wife. But Peronelle de Grandmesnil was not a young woman, not a new wife. Geoff guessed she might be as old as forty, which meant that she was the mother of Leicester’s four children, and indeed she did look more maternal than seductive, even allowing for her present bedraggled state.

  She caught him studying her, and thrust her chin out, glaring at him with a defiance that he found both admirable and exasperating. “What are you staring at, knave?” she snapped, and Geoff felt a twinge of pity for her children; with this shrew and Leicester as their parents, they were truly doomed by their own blood.

  “I was wondering,” he said coldly, “if you were curious about the fate of your lord husband. Mayhap not, since he apparently was more concerned with saving himself than seeing to your safety.”

  It was hard to tell for sure, but he thought that she blanched beneath her coating of mud. “You know what befell my husband?”

  Geoff surprised himself by wishing he could tell her Leicester was dead; he hadn’t known he had such a streak of malice. “He is safe enough,” he said, adding ominously, “for now,” even though he knew-and she surely did, too-that Leicester was too highborn to pay the ultimate price for his treason. He was coming to realize that the guiltiest ones-the French king and his half brothers-were likely to escape any real punishment, leaving their supporters to suffer for their sins. There was only one of the conspirators who might eventually be held to account-his father’s queen.

  Geoff found his granduncles on the bank of the River Lark. He’d not needed to worry about the Flemish routiers, they assured him. Trapped on the wrong side of the river, the Flemings had watched helplessly as Leicester’s knights were ridden down, and when the royal forces began to ford the river, they’d confirmed Rainald’s scornful belief that they were better weavers than routiers, and panicked. They had sought to save themselves by fleeing into the marshy meadowlands beyond the tiny chapel of Fornham St Genevieve, and what followed, Rainald reported gleefully, was a slaughter.

  “It was over in less than an hour,” he told Geoff. “We captured virtually all of Leicester’s knights, including the lordly turd himself, and his French cousin, Hugh de Chastel. As for his greedy Flemings, they’ll get some English land out of this-enough to be buried in.”

  Geoff laughed aloud, amused by his kinsman’s flair for creative cursing; from now on, he knew he’d think of Leicester as “the lordly turd.” “The Flemings did not try to surrender? They died fighting?”

  “No,” Ranulf said, “they died running. And they were not offered a chance to surrender.”

  Geoff knew that the chivalric code did not apply to lowborn routiers, and he could not muster up much sympathy for the slain Flemings, not when he remembered young Ailwin, trying to avenge the slaughter of his family with a farmer’s flail. “So we killed them all, then,” he said, but to his surprise, Ranulf shook his head.

  “No, not us, lad. The local people did it, the peasants and ceorls. They pursued the Flemings with hayforks and clubs and flails, whatever weapons they could find, and when they caught one, they wasted no time dispatching him to Hell. Many of the routiers drowned, too, either in the river or in the ditches that cross these meadowlands. We’ll be digging grave pits for some time to come.”

  Geoff whistled silently, and then, remembering that the slain routiers were still fellow Christians, he dutifully made the sign of the cross. But Roger Bigod’s words were echoing in his ears. The shire is full of Ailwins. The ways of the Almighty were indeed mysterious at times. Who’d have expected Him to make use of villeins and ceorls as the instruments of Divine Justice?

  “The Earl of Norfolk will be quaking in his boots once he hears about Leicester’s defeat,” he said happily. But before he could dwell upon the earl’s discomfort, men were pushing forward, pointing and shouting. Turning, he saw the cause of their excitement. The king’s constable, Humphrey de Bohun, was returning to St Edmundsbury in triumph. But the bystanders had eyes only for his captives-Hugh de Chastel, who bore the lofty title Count of Chateauneuf-en-Thimerais, and his cousin, Robert Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. What struck Geoff first was that the linen surcoat Leicester wore over his mail was still clean, unstained by blood or dirt or mud. He wondered uncharitably if the earl had even bothered to draw his sword, thinking that his countess had put up more of a fight than her heroic husband. Leicester appeared oblivious to the jeers and catcalls of the spectators. He was livid, slumped in the saddle as if his spine no longer had the strength to hold him erect, his the stunned disbelief of a man who could not understand how his God and his luck could have so forsaken him.

  Geoff suspected that the wily old Earl of Norfolk would have shown more spirit. But he suspected, too, that Norfolk would find a way to escape a reckoning, as he’d so often done in the past. “At least it is over,” he said. “Thank God Almighty for that!”

  Ranulf gave him a searching look, but refrained from commenting even though he knew better. It was not over, would not be over as long as the French king and the King of the Scots and their allies were still free to continue the war. For they would, he had no doubts of that. For now, though, he let Geoff enjoy their triumph. It was worth savoring, after all, the victory they’d won this October day at Fornham St Genevieve.

  An unseasonable thunderstorm had rolled through Rouen earlier in the evening, and Rosamund still heard occasional rumblings of thunder in the distance. She’d been embroidering another altar cloth for Godstow Priory while waiting for Henry to come to bed, but she was smothering yawns and finally laid the sewing aside. She was tired all the time these days, for Henry was sleeping even less than usual. She’d always been awed by his vigor, his ability to go to bed so late and rise so early and yet seem so invigorated, so energetic. Lately, though, his sleep habits had gotten much worse, and Rosamund was often kept awake herself by his restlessness. He would not admit it, but she was sure she knew the reason for his current unease. There had been no word from England, only a foreboding silence.

  Rosamund was confident that Leicester’s rebellion would be quelled, for her faith in Henry was as deep as her faith in the Almighty, and if that was blasphemous, so be it. But she sensed that Henry was beset with doubts, for perhaps the firs
t time in his life, and she did not know how to help, just as she did not know how to heal the festering wounds caused by his family’s betrayal.

  She curled up in the middle of the bed and was soon joined by a kitten the color of saffron. Cats were not usually kept as pets, except occasionally by nuns, but Rosamund had a fondness for them. It was only recently that she’d confided this partiality to Henry, and much to her delight, he was willing to indulge her in it, joking that he wished he’d known earlier that she could be satisfied with stable cats rather than costly jewels. Now, when the kitten settled down on the pillow beside her, she was soon lulled to sleep by its soft, melodic purring.

  She was not sure how long she’d slept, jarred back to awareness by a loud thud. At first she thought it was another clap of thunder, but then she heard Henry’s voice calling her name. A moment later he pulled the bed hangings aside and enfolded her in an exuberant embrace.

  “Wake up, lass. This is no time to sleep, not when we have so much to celebrate!”

  “You’ve heard from your justiciar!” she cried, and he nodded, grinning.

  “The rebellion in England is over. That whoreson Leicester is now a prisoner of the Crown, his knights pleading to be ransomed, his Flemings rotting in Suffolk graves. It was a brilliant victory, love, about as good as it gets.” He hugged her again, then gave her a passionate kiss that took her breath away, in part because he was holding her so tightly.

  “Beloved, that is such wonderful news!”

  When Henry told her that the battle had been fought near St Edmundsbury, she resolved to make sure that its abbey benefited, too, from royal largesse. Henry was not as open-handed in his giving as she or the Church would have liked, but she knew she could coax him into showing greater generosity in the wake of such a blessed victory.

  Henry was pouring them wine and she sat up in the bed to watch, unable to remember the last time she’d seen him so happy. “What of the Earl of Norfolk, Harry? Did he take the field with Leicester?”