by Griff Hosker
"Are they Scots?"
"No lord, from their tongue they were English. Brigands and bandits I think."
"Good." Brigands were a nuisance and not a serious threat. Had they been Scots I would not have dreamed of leaving. I beckoned him closer. "I may take a trip to Normandy on the 'Adela'. I will not be away for long. What say you?"
"The land is as safe as it had been for some time and we will not make the same mistakes that were made before."
"You mean Sir Edward?"
"It does not do to speak ill of the dead but aye." He handed his reins to Aelric. "And who would you take?"
"Just my squires. Sir Leofric has some new men at arms and with the war over I do not need protection. It is my valley which does."
"Will your son be returning with you?"
Dick had been with me since before William was born. He knew my son well, "I think not. He has chosen to be a Norman knight just as I chose to be an English one."
"I miss him, lord."
"As do I, Dick, as do I."
I looked at the sun. It was getting late and I headed into my hall. When I reached it I saw Gilles sitting there along with Mary. They were not speaking but I could see, in both their faces that they wanted to. They just did not know how. I decided to be the bridge.
"Mary, Alice, and I have arranged for some of the young women of the town to come here on Monday next. I have a mind for a tapestry and Alice said she would help you to sew it. I know you are skilled with the needle. What say you?"
She beamed, "That would be good, my lord. What would be the subject of the tapestry?"
I confess I had not thought of that. My heart said it should be something which showed the courage of my father and the housecarls who had fought for King Harold but I knew that was a politically sensitive matter. Then it came to me, "How about St. George and the dragon?"
"St. George and the dragon, lord?"
"Yes Mary. It is a legend from the east where I grew up how a knight rescued a maiden from a dragon and slew it. He became a saint."
Her face lit up. "I would like that. A dragon would be exciting to sew but the thread would be expensive."
"Do not worry about the cost."
"And the knight, would that be based on you, my lord?"
I laughed and shook my head, "No that would not be right. You need a young knight for this." I pointed to Gilles, "Use Gilles as your model."
They both brightened at that. "I will use some charcoal to try out some ideas. Would you help me, Gilles?"
"Of course. With your permission, my lord?"
"Of course." For the first time in a long time I felt that Adela would have been proud of me.
The next morning, I was up early with my squires. I told them about the possibility of a journey to Normandy. Although they were all excited Gilles was the least excited. While Richard worked with James I spoke with Gilles.
"I said nothing yesterday, Gilles, for it was not the right time but your interest in Mary..."
"My lord, that was Richard! He and James were just being foolish."
I looked at him and he averted his glaze. "Do not lie to your lord, Gilles. It is not what I expect of you. I saw you and Mary yesterday and I know the truth of it."
"Yes, my lord, I am sorry. You are right."
"I do not object but she is my ward. I have to ask you what your intentions are for Mary is a maid."
"I know lord and... I know not." He shook his head, "I like her and yet I fear to speak to her for compared to her I feel like a barbarian. She is a lady."
"Aye she is but her father was as lowly born as were you. You are now a squire and a gentleman. In time I will knight you. So I ask you again, what are your intentions?"
He took a deep breath, "I would court her."
I smiled, "Good. I think that this is right. Try to speak to her. She is of your age and there will be much you have in common."
"May I tell her we are going away?"
"After I have announced it to others, of course."
That evening both Mary and Gilles went to great lengths to look their best. When Captain William and his wife, Morag, arrived, they too had made sure that they were wearing their finery. Morag was lucky. Her husband's travels meant she had better clothes than the other women of the town. It was the first time I had met her and she was pretty. She was also of an age with Mary, which surprised me for William of Kingston was in his thirties.
Morag bobbed a curtsy, "I am honoured my lord. That the daughter of a rope maker should be invited here, to your table, is beyond my wildest dreams."
"You are welcome for where would my captain and his ship be without your ropes? And where would the town be without the trade he brings?"
I had invited John the steward as well and it was a merry company. Morag chattered like a magpie and I saw William of Kingston becoming embarrassed, "My love you do not need to speak all the time."
She looked around and realised that she had been the only one talking, "I am sorry. It is just that all of this is so exciting! All of this…” she swept her hand across the table.
Richard said, "But we are just eating venison! What is exciting about that? There is nothing special about it."
Mary admonished my squire, "Richard, sometimes you ought to think before you open your mouth. Do you not know that venison is reserved for lords? Men can lose their hands or eyes for poaching."
"But not here, Maid Mary. My lord allows some men to hunt for he wants none to starve."
I nodded, "Gilles is right but few men have the skill to hunt deer. Do you enjoy the taste?"
Morag was not put out by the comments, "I did not mean the meat my lord I meant the room, the linen, the knives, the goblets. It is like a palace."
I saw both Mary and Gilles smile. Morag was without guile. I nodded to Mary who began, "I do not know what your skills are with a needle, Morag, but while your husband is away the Earl has asked me to sew a tapestry for his walls. If you could help me I would be grateful."
Her hand went to her mouth and I thought she would burst into tears, "Me, help you, my lady? Of course and you need not worry about my skills. When you make ropes for a living you have nimble fingers. Oh, how exciting is this?" She patted her rounded belly, "Of course the baby will inconvenience me for a short time but..."
Mary was shocked, "Do not worry Morag! The baby is more important!"
Morag tucked into her venison, "My sisters have babies my lady. So long as they are fed then they sleep most of the time. I will still be able to work!"
I smiled at William, "Your wife is a force of nature, William."
"It is why I married her lord. It is now a joy to come back from the sea. I am a happy man."
"Good. On your next voyage you will have four passengers. I take my squires to Normandy and Anjou." I looked over to John, "We will go to Anjou first and then Rouen. I am invited to the court. I will keep William and the ship with me so that we can sail home. I do not wish to be stranded in Normandy."
"I will arrange the cargoes accordingly."
William said, "There is a new port where we might trade lord. North of the port of Brugge is the County of Hainaut. They have a new port there, Antwerpen. It is small but growing. It serves the County of Hainaut. When I was in Denmark I met a captain from there. He said it might be worth our while to trade with them. Their Count is Baldwin and he is keen to enlarge his territories and to steal trade from the Flemish."
"We have fought the men of Flanders before. Perhaps we will. You had better make sure that Alf has plenty of trade goods. We do not want to disappoint them." John would be happy for the trade. I was happy for the alliance. Who knew when an ally to the north of Flanders might not be useful?
I glanced over and saw that Mary and Morag were busy in their own conversation. The smile on Mary's face was more than welcome.
The evening was a great success. Not only did Morag and Mary become great friends but Gilles managed to speak with Mary. They both looked happy. I fel
t content. It was not war and it did nothing to regain the land for the Empress but I had begun to make two young people happy. I knew that Adela would be happy.
Chapter 2
We left twelve days after the feast which had filled me with such hope for the future. The delay was my doing. I had to visit with all of my knights and tell them my plans and my news. The last time I had left I had almost lost my lands. I had learned my lesson and I gave clear instructions to each of them. There would be no repetition of the disaster which had almost destroyed my land the last time I had been away. This time I appointed Wulfric to watch the east and south and Harold and Hugh of Gainford to watch the west and north. Sir Edward had let me down and paid for that with his life. My knights had also appreciated the potential danger of laxity and would be vigilant.
Mary now had three women to help her to sew my tapestry. Alice acted as a sort of mother figure, organising the young woman, and Mary seemed much happier when I left. She and Gilles were closer for he had had to pose while she made drawings of him on the canvas. The two girls from the burgh giggled at Gilles' embarrassment until Morag shut them up. As we left the River Tees on the tortuous journey to the river I joined him at the stern. He was staring west as though he could still see Mary.
"She will forget me, lord! When I come back she will not know me!"
"We will be away a month, perhaps two. I am sure she will not. Besides when you are a knight you will not have a choice. If your lord tells you to campaign then you will do so."
"Is that how all armies work, lord?"
"No. Your father, for instance, he left my service to go back to Normandy and he hired out as a mercenary. Some men like that life. Sir Edward and Sir Wulfric were hired swords for many years. You can choose a leader and if he is successful then you stay with him. If not, you leave and go to another. Your father decided that his family was more important and he left his paymaster."
It took many hours to reach the sea. When we reached the seal colonies I knew that the sea was not far away. As we passed the Nab of Eston the wind took us and we headed into bigger waves. Gilles and Richard laughed at poor James who had never been to sea. He had a gruelling day and a night until the winds lightened and our motion became easier. He was green and had nothing left in his stomach to bring up. "Is it always like this, lord?"
"Just the first voyage and then you will find your legs. Keep watching the horizon and when they bring around food eat some."
"I could not!"
I laughed, "Then I will order you to do so."
William kept us to the middle of the German Sea. There was danger from ships loyal to Stephen along the English coast and there were still raiders who came from Norway and Denmark. There were fewer of them but Vikings still existed and would race out with their longships to snatch unwary travellers. We kept a good watch. William had plenty of bows and arrows aboard as well as hatchets and short swords. His crew were warriors all. They could handle themselves in a fight.
As we neared Dover I took to wearing my mail and coif while carrying my sword. If my enemies knew I was abroad then they would risk dashing out to take me. Without my archers and men at arms I was vulnerable. As we cleared the narrow straits I breathed a sigh of relief. We still had dangerous waters to navigate but we had sea room to escape any danger. Opposite Dover lay Calais, and Thierry of Alsace, the Count of Flanders, was no friend of mine either. The relief of passing his coast was offset by the seas we encountered. The waters off Ushant were rougher than I had known them for some time. We all had to bail as huge seas threatened to swamp us. We were lucky that we had such a well constructed ship. I wondered it Ethelred's men would make the equal in my new shipyard. It would be safer to have two ships sailing in close company.
The mouth of the Loire was a sight which brought conflicting emotions; there was joy at knowing we were close to our destination and, at the time, misery for it would take days to work our way upstream tacking back and forth up the island infested river. For James, it was all a joy for he had never been here before. Richard and Gilles pointed out castles and familiar features. They had done this journey many times. When we struck the Main I knew we were tantalisingly close to home. I prepared myself for landing and when Henry the Breton shouted, "La Flèche!" then we knew we had but a short time left aboard.
Leofric and his wife and eldest son awaited me as we docked. I saw that she was with child again. They had three children already. Leofric now looked older. I could see that his hair was thinning and he had the slightest of paunches. He had had little fighting in the last few years and it showed. I remembered him still as a young boy keen to serve. It would not be long before he was thirty.
His wife was always pleased to see me and after kissing my hand she threw her arms around me. I did not mind. I have never stood on ceremony. "Elise, you grow more beautiful each time I see you!"
"You are a flatterer, my lord, but I am always happy to see you and I see you have a new squire."
"This is James of Thornaby. His father was Sir Edward Lord of Thornaby."
I saw a look of sadness flicker across her face and then she smiled, "And you are welcome to our home young sir. Come, Gilles and Richard, let us show your new companion our castle.” She took her eldest son’s hand, “Alfraed, leave your father to speak with the Earl."
As she led the three of them up to the castle I said, "You are a lucky man, Leofric."
"I know lord. Each morning I wake and count my blessings." His smile left his face as he said, "I was sorry to hear about Sir Edward. He taught me much. I shall miss him. His son is a good squire?"
"Do not fish for compliments Leofric! You know how much I valued you and John when you were my squires. James is young and has much to learn but he is improving. He progresses much as you did. This will be good for him." As we passed through the gatehouse I saw men practising. "They are the new men of which you wrote?"
"They are. They are good men all of them. Have you need of them all?"
"I will take the ones you think are the best trained for if there is peace here then idle hands look for mischief."
"Is there trouble in the valley, lord?"
"No, but it has been quiet for some months and it is only a matter of time before trouble flares once more. As long as we can pay for the arms and armour of my men that is all that I am concerned about. I leave my steward to balance the books! And before you ask he was pleased with your accounts. Do not forget to improve your castle and the lot of your family. You have done me great service and more than repaid me for your position."
"I am happy to serve and I like it here. I feel more like an Angevin now than an Englishman."
"And I dare say my son is of the same opinion?"
"I believe, lord, without speaking out of turn, that he is more of a Norman than many who were born here."
"Well I shall see him soon. I leave in two days’ time. I have been invited to court by Henry FitzEmpress."
"My wife will be pleased that you will spend those days with us. She enjoys your company my lord."
"With the land peaceful you should take her to England. She might enjoy Stockton and at the moment it is safe there too." He raised an eyebrow. "No, Leofric, it will not last. The Scots are up to something but I cannot work out what. King David is supposed to be an ally of the Empress but he has done nothing to regain her lands in the south. He just seems eager to take land around the borders." I smiled, "At least he did until we stopped him. It is thanks to the steel that is my men at arms and the ash which is my archers that keep him at bay. No matter what the size of army he brings we can send him packing."
We had reached his hall and the servants had laid out olives, cheese, bread and wine, "But you cannot attack him?"
"No. My army can keep him at bay but we lack the numbers to make a decisive victory."
"Then the end of the war is no closer."
"It is not but I think my task is now to prepare Henry to become King of England. His father is Duke of Normandy
and Henry is young. Young men sometimes do foolish things."
"Is it not his father's job to make him fit for kingship?"
"His father has enough to do with neighbours like Flanders and France." I changed the subject for Henry was my son and I would be the one to prepare him to be king. "This is good cheese."
"It is a local goat's cheese. I am partial to it myself but some of the English archers do not like it."
"They like what they know."
I met the new men the next day. Some had fought for Stephen and some had fought for the Count of Anjou. Leofric knew his warriors and along with Griff of Gwent and James the Short they had culled the numbers. The three of them assured me that the ones I would take were trustworthy. Leofric's men wore the same livery as mine so that, although they did not all have the same mail and helmet, they all had the same surcoat and shield. That would do until we reached our home.
Richard and James were disappointed to be leaving so soon. Elise had made a great fuss of them and Leofric's young daughter had liked the attention they gave her. William was eager to be at sea. Morag was due to give birth in two months’ time. He chivvied the servants loading the cog for he was eager to complete this mission.
The journey to the sea was much quicker than the one upstream and we almost flew down the Main and then the Loire. James had his sea legs and when we struck the sea he did not blanch at all. Some of the Angevin warriors did for they had never been to sea. That helped James more than anything. He now knew that his weakness was common. We did not head for Caen but Le Havre. The journey to Rouen would be tortuous and Le Havre was easier to reach. William was happy for it meant he could go home quicker. We did not have to navigate a river. Gilles helped me to make sure that my new men were well presented. We were going to court and I knew that they would be judged.
We had not warned any that we were arriving. I just had the letter from Henry. At Le Havre we hired thirty horses to carry us and our baggage to the castle. William would use the time we were away to trade.
As we rode along the road which ran next to the river James asked, innocently, "Why did we not sail to Rouen?"