Kingmaker (The Anarchy Book 12)

by Griff Hosker

  "You did not. I drank unwatered wine. It was I who was foolish."

  She took my arm and began to lead me back to the solar. "You are never foolish. Sometimes I wish you were for that would mean you were happy. You always seem sad."

  "I am not but I have much to think about. Do not worry about me, Mary. You are young and have a life ahead of you."

  "Without you I would have no life." She squeezed my arm, "Gilles gave me the gift and spoke to me." She turned and embraced me, "Thank you for giving him the courage to speak to me."

  "You are happy for him to court you?"

  "I am."

  "You know that I will be as your father. You have an inheritance as does James. When I gave the manor to Sir Wulfric I did not give him your father's treasure. John has used that wisely and it grows. When you marry you will have a fine dowry so choose the husband that you want."

  We were walking through my solar. "And it is Gilles that I want." She giggled. "I will make him wait and wonder. Morag and Alice told me to do that but I will be his when time allows."

  "He will be a knight next year and I will find him a manor."

  "You need not. We are both happy here. You are like a father to us both."

  "Then the world is well."

  She kissed my hand, "One more thing, lord, and then I will leave you. Gilles and I would like this tryst to be kept secret."

  "That will be difficult if he is paying you extra attention."

  She smiled, "It is Richard and James. They will mock Gilles."

  "I understand."

  After she had gone I reflected that this was trivial, in the greater game, but nonetheless it was important to two young people. It made me smile and made me less melancholy.

  Aiden and his scouts returned two days later. Alice wrinkled her nose as she admitted them to my hall. I knew why. They had lived on the back of their horses for three days and they smelled of sweat and horse. It showed they were diligent.

  "Is there danger?"

  "Aye lord. Osmotherley is refortified and they have rebuilt the walls. Northallerton is filled with armed men too. There is an army preparing to move."

  "Here?"

  "That would be my guess my lord. They have a line of sentries and they are to the north."

  "You got by them?"

  "Of course. They were soldiers and not the men of the wood. There are the nobles you might expect to see; we saw their banners. There are also mercenaries. We heard the language of the men of Flanders as well as French."

  I nodded. That was what I had suspected. "And numbers?"

  "That is more difficult to estimate for their camps are large and we could not gain entry to their castles for obvious reasons. No more than a thousand and no less than six hundred. We counted the gonfanon of eighty knights."

  "Have you any idea who leads them?"

  "The Constable of York and the other barons. We did not recognise the Flemish just their banners."

  "You have done well. I will summon my knights and we will leave in three days time."

  Aiden looked worried, "I would make it two, lord. They appeared almost ready to move."

  "Thank you."

  After they had gone I took the wax tablet I used to put down my thoughts. I tallied numbers and worked out how many I would need to leave in garrisons. I had just over two hundred knights, men at arms, archers and squires. With horse holders, servants and scouts that would rise to two hundred and fifty. At best we would be outnumbered two to one and at worst four to one. I took a piece of parchment and hurriedly wrote upon it. I sealed it with my ring.

  I held the wax tablet close to the fire and smoothed out my numbers. I would keep that knowledge to myself. I shouted, "Squires!"

  The three of them and Henry had been in the antechamber and they rushed in.

  "Gilles, ride to Sir Philip. Tell him I need him and his archers. Then ride to Sir Hugh and give him this letter. Richard ride to Sir Wulfric and then to Sir Gilles of Normanby. Tell them to leave a garrison and return here with the rest of their men. We go to war. James, ride to Sir Harold, and Sir John. Ask them to bring all of their archers and men at arms here."

  When they had left us Henry asked, "What of Sir Hugh and Sir Tristan?"

  I was aware that I was training a future king. I needed to explain my motives and strategy. "I pray you sit and I will tell you." He sat and I poured us both a goblet of wine. "The supporters of Stephen are gathering north of York. From the intelligence I have they could number anything between five hundred and a thousand men." I saw him nodding. "We have just over two hundred warriors. I cannot leave the north undefended. I may be wrong or there may be other enemies Aiden has not seen. I must be cautious. Sir Hugh will watch the west. Erre and John of Craven will watch the north. We will gather at Yarm. There is no need for Sir Tristan to travel north merely to return south."

  "Then you will bring them to battle?"

  "Eventually, yes. First we will weaken them. Then we will annoy them and finally we will draw them to a place I have chosen where we have a chance of defeating them."

  "You know of such a place?"

  "I know of many. The best they have taken. They occupy Osmotherley. Had they not done so I would have used the site. However the road north passes up a bank some twelve miles north of that. I have fought there before. We can use the reverse slope to hide our men and we can make the ground before us a death trap."

  He sipped his wine and was thinking about my words. "Why not call out the fyrd? Then we would equal their numbers."

  "Aye we would but it would be a false equality. When King Harold fought your great grandfather at Hastings it was the fyrd who lost the battle for King Harold. They thought they had won and they charged down the hill. They were slaughtered and the finest warriors on the field all fell."

  "Who were they?"

  "They were the housecarls. My father had been one of them and would have been with them had he not been wounded at the battle of Stamford." I smiled, "If that had happened then I would not be here."

  "Do you know how you will fight? Will you do as my father does and use your knights and men at arms to charge them?"

  "If I had parity of numbers I would but they could have as many as eighty knights and I have but eight. The advantage I hold is in my archers. They are my secret weapon. Our knights and men at arms will hold the enemy while the archers slaughter them."

  "That does not sound glorious!"

  "It is not. It is war and if you think that war is about glory then I fear you will win little. War is about defeating those who are trained as you are, armed and dressed as you are and fight over the same ground. It is the smartest mind which prevails. When you are King of England or even while you are trying to be king, then choose your battles. If you can avoid fighting then do so. If you can choose ground which suits you then grab it with both hands. And if you can deceive your opponent then that will give you the battle."

  He drank deeply. His father loved glory. He was a brave leader for he led from the front but he could be reckless. The Duke was lucky that he had the likes of my son at his side. I had trained William well. He might have forgotten me but he had not forgotten the education he had received under the eyes of me, Sir Wulfric, Sir Edward and my archer knight, Dick.

  "You have planned all of this without knowing their precise plan?"

  "I know the land. There are two places an army can cross the Tees; Yarm and Piercebridge. The place I have chosen, Arncliffe, is well placed to stop them no matter which crossing they choose. Aiden has told me where they are. Northallerton and Osmotherley are not far from each other. By placing myself between them I invite attack. That is why we must lessen their numbers first."

  "How will you weaken them?"

  "We use my scouts and my archers. Dick and his men are woodsmen all. They are skilled with knives and daggers. We go into their camp at night and we slay as many as we can while we try to either drive off or capture as many of their horses as we can."

 
; "We? You will lead?"

  I nodded, "That is my weakness. Should you ever fight me then use that weakness. I will always be where there is the most danger."

  "Why?"

  "My men expect it but more importantly I expect it. It is how I have always fought and I am too old to change."

  "You say if I ever fight you. Why should I do that? You are my champion."

  I emptied my goblet, "Because, Prince of England, there may come a time when I become an inconvenience and you have to eliminate me. Then you might fight me."

  "That day would never come. You have been the most loyal of my mother's knights. When I am king you shall be elevated to sit at my right hand."

  "That is kind but do not make promises which you may not be able to keep. Stephen the Usurper is reaping the whirlwind he has sown. He promised the world to his supporters and now he cannot deliver."

  "I would not be as Stephen. I would be as you or my grandfather."

  I stood, "Good. Come we fight one battle at a time. Let us prepare for this one."

  Chapter 5

  As we headed south from Yarm we did not look like an army. An army had a huge baggage train and was spread out over many miles. We took up a bare eight hundred paces. Dick, my scouts and my archers were spread out ahead of us. Sir Phillip commanded the fifty archers who remained with the main body. The rest of us were close enough for conversation. I saw Henry looking around. He appeared to be disappointed in the retinue which headed south.

  "Earl, with so few men, would it not be better to sit behind our walls and make them bleed upon them? There your archers could inflict great casualties upon them. Your castle is strong."

  "True, but what of the rest of my land? You have seen Yarm Castle. Sir Tristan has improved it but could it withstand an attack by five hundred men?" He shook his head. "And what of the people who live in my valley? They could not all shelter in my castle and even if they did their animals would all be taken and their crops destroyed. We would starve. This anarchy has killed more who work the land than the knights who prosecute the unrest. Remember Henry that when you are king you must ensure that the people prosper. They are the roots of the land. They feed the buds that grow."

  He looked around at the farms we passed. These were in the borderlands but my valley was a safe haven. My men kept the predators away.

  "So you go forth to fight them on their land."

  "The land that they hold. There is a difference. Until Oxford we held all of the land as far south as Pickering and Helmsley. This is our land and we know it well. The folds and fields aid us."

  "The battle of Winchester cost us dear."

  "It almost cost us the war. Your mother was close to being captured. So far she has avoided that ignominy."

  "My mother is not a general." I did not point out that his father and uncle were. He would know that and draw his own conclusions. We passed Appleton and he said, "If you had been general then we would not have lost at Winchester."

  "I would not have fought at Winchester."

  "Why not?" He looked surprised as though that battle had been inevitable. It was not. The Earl of Gloucester had chosen that battle.

  "There was nothing to be gained. Your uncle was annoyed because the clergy refused to support your mother. He went to bend them to his will. You never win such support by force of arms. We had Stephen in Bristol Castle and I would have made Queen Matilda and William of Ypres come to us. We could have defeated them. We have the better knights."

  "But they have more men."

  "Stephen has ingratiated himself with the populace of London and the larger towns. He has bought the common man and they fight for him. What they lack in skill they make up for in numbers. However if they had faced me and my men they would have been destroyed. London is not England, Henry, remember that. Those in the city are self-serving and greedy. They produce nothing and take all."

  He said nothing and that pleased me for it showed he was thinking and reflecting. He would make his own judgements but I had planted seeds.

  Our camp would be close by the villages of Harlsey and Arncliffe. There was a stream and it was sheltered. An enemy would have to be upon the camp before it could be seen. I rode with my squires to see the land where we would fight the battle. Henry and his two bodyguards accompanied us. It was just a mile or so from our camp. The road climbed a gentle but taxing incline from both the north and the sound, reaching a small crest. To the left there was flat land before the escarpment rose steeply towards the priory which stood there. The priests would continue their lives as though we were not even there. To the right the land fell rapidly to an area of soft, spongy and swampy ground. I had fought here before and our enemies would know the terrain but that would not give them any better idea of how to defeat me.

  As we viewed the land Henry said, "This is a good position. If you were attacking then what would you do?"

  I pointed west. "I would send mounted men all the way around to attack our rear while our foot held their attention here."

  "Suppose they try that?"

  "I will have scouts watching there. If they try that then we fall back. There are a series of these inclines all the way back to Yarm. The further north they go the fewer opportunities they will have to flank us." Even as I told Henry the dangers I did not think it would come to that. They had not enough decent leaders to divide their forces and they would fear my mounted archers. "Come we have seen enough and my scouts will soon return. We can then begin the next part of my plan."

  Wulfric had organised the camp. He had been a man at arms and he understood what was needed better than most. Already he had erected a palisade of stakes around the horses. There was a ditch around the camp and he had used the bushes and brambles to make a barrier behind it. Ample sentries were in place. With Aiden and my scouts discovering the whereabouts of our enemies we could plan for our defence.

  "Sir Harold and Sir John, take your men and prepare the battlefield."

  "Aye lord." They took their mattocks, axes and other tools and headed for the rise. They would build a barrier half a mile wide behind which the archers and dismounted men at arms could shelter.

  Henry looked around, "Where are the tents?"

  Wulfric laughed, "We need no tents! We are warriors. A little rust just gives our squires something to do is that not true, Thomas?"

  His squire, Thomas, son of Oswald, grinned cheerfully, "My lord, cleaning rust from your mail is what I live for!"

  Wulfric threw a rock at him, "Cheeky young villain!" Thomas ducked out of the way.

  Henry looked confused, "When my father goes to war we have tents, servants and we have cooks for our food."

  Sir Tristan had campaigned with us since he had been a squire and he explained to the future King of England the way we fought. "We travel faster this way. If we have to flee it is easier to do so with fewer servants to worry about."

  I pointed to the south west, "At the battle of the standards Prince Henry attacked the Archbishop's baggage and it meant only my battle was able to pursue the Scots. We could have defeated them once and for all had we not had a baggage train. I rarely take baggage. We are not far from home. We will not be here over long. It will take just three days for us to achieve our aims."

  Tristan nodded, "When we do return home then the comforts there are all the sweeter for the hardship we endure."

  Wulfric tapped the ground with the haft of his spear. "Not to mention that sleeping on the hard ground makes for a light sleep and that is always a good thing."

  Our men at arms had food cooking by the time my archers returned. As Dick dismounted I said, "Aiden?"

  "He was heading for the rear of their lines. He and his scouts had sharpened knives."

  I nodded, "Even though it might alert the enemy to our presences if Aiden and his men could slit a few throats on the York side of the enemy camps then they might start looking over their shoulders. That will work in our favour. I want them to worry where we are." I pointed to the fire, "Come
, sit, eat and tell me what you found."

  With some ale in his hand and a hunk of cooked, salted ham in the other he began, "They have their two castles and they are well defended but betwixt and between they have camps. There are four of them. The nearest is just five miles down the road nestling on the east side of the road by a spring." He drank.

  "They have sentries?"

  "Aye."

  "Have they dug a ditch and erected stakes?"

  Dick grinned, "Oh no my lord. These are confident fellows. They have their horses tied to a line with one sentry only."

  Wulfric laughed, "Then we have them. We use the trick we used at Berwick. That time it was the Scots who were ill prepared."

  "You are right. While Dick and his archers cut the horse lines we will ride through the camp causing as much damage as we can." My men nodded. It had worked well the last time we had tried it. "And the next camp, how far away is that?"

  "A half mile to the west in the next dell."

  "Then while you drive their horses back we can swing around and attack that camp from the south. They will not be expecting that. Horses from the south might mean reinforcements."

  Henry spoke, "But it is a risk, Earl. They might anticipate that you might try something like this."

  "True but as Dick said they have no defences and they will be confused. We attack at night and sound pays tricks in the dark. Sir Phillip, Sir Gilles and Sir Tristan. I leave you to guard the camp. Henry you and your bodyguards will stay here too as will James."

  Both were disappointed, "Why lord?"

  "Neither of you has charged into battle in daylight. At night it is ten times more difficult. We cannot be watching out for two novices. Besides, our camp needs eyes upon it. I charge you to give my knights all the assistance you can."

  Wulfric mused, "What I cannot understand is why they are attacking now?"

  "I think this was put in place while I was in Normandy. This shows planning. The two Flemish ships were there to take me. They have failed but their leaders on land have not had the news yet. I think they believe me dead, or captured. They hope to repeat the trick which worked last time. They strike while I am absent. They must have spies and allies in Rouen. We made no secret of the fact that we would travel to Hainaut. The Count of Hainaut told me that the two Flemish ships did no trade. Their sole purpose was to capture or kill me."