by Griff Hosker
He mounted the palfrey and spurred it out of my castle. The knight who had delivered the ransom nodded, "I see that you live up to your reputation, Earl. You fear no man alive and live by your own rules."
"That is why I have the title Warlord. Safe journey and I pity you the company of that man."
He shrugged, "He is my half brother. I have little choice."
My new horse was magnificent. He was golden and reminded me of Scout, my first horse. I had named Rolf after a brother knight who had fought alongside me and I did the same for my new mount. I called him Edward. When I used the name he seemed to like it. It lifted my spirits. I was rid of an unpleasant guest and the payment for his visit was a magnificent horse. Life was good.
I felt so pleased that I summoned Gilles. "Yes lord?"
"I have a mind to dub you on All Saints Day. What say you?"
"My lord it will be an honour. Am I ready?"
"That we shall see. There are oaths you must learn and you must hold a vigil on All Hallows Eve. I have no doubt you will pass the tests but I have known others who have failed. And then you will need to decide what to do about Mary eh?"
"We would be wed, lord."
"Good, then when you both come to me with a date we shall see about the feast and the dowry. I know not how much longer Henry FitzEmpress will be with us. I think it would do you good if he were here when you married."
"Lord?"
"When he is king and I am no longer here you might need a friend who can give you favours."
"But where are you going, lord?"
"I am going nowhere but I grow older and life becomes neither safer nor easier."
I am not certain he understood me but he hurried to speak with Mary. I went first to see Alice and John and then Father Henry. All were delighted but Alice was the most pleased. She was very fond of the young couple. It would be like her own children getting married. Her husband had died in my service and she had dedicated her life to the castle, the manor and to me.
When autumn came to our valley it came with wild and wet winds and the days suddenly felt short indeed. I rode with my men at arms and squires as often as possible. It was interesting to see Henry develop. He became a much better rider. My squires knew horses. Henry was from Anjou and could ride. Gilles, however, came from Normandy and he could do things with a horse which were hard to understand for they showed an ability to almost talk to the horse. Unlike me Gilles had never been knocked from his saddle. Despite the fact that when he had been younger he had been a stripling he had always managed to hold his own. He passed those skills on to Henry. Richard showed him how to use a sword on horseback. Time passed quickly and Henry became a potential knight. Each night we would play chess and talk of war. All of my squires became better warriors as a result. The three of them became more than had I just trained one. They fed from each other.
By the time 'Adela' nudged her way into port there was little to distinguish between my squires save that Gilles now carried himself with more confidence. There was just Henry and myself at the quay watching the 'Adela' tacking along the river. Gilles and Richard were with Father Henry preparing for the ceremonies. Richard would be a knight before too long and he was anxious to learn what was needed.
"Earl, will you give Gilles a manor?"
"I may. He has not asked for one."
"That should be the gift of the king should it not?"
I laughed, "It should but do you think that Stephen would allow me to do so?"
"What happens when he is gone?"
"Then you will be king." I could see where he was going with this. "I am Earl of Cleveland. You may well wish to give my manors to other knights. That would be your choice for all of them have been appointed by me, as Earl of Cleveland." He nodded, "Of course the reason I had to do so was because they died trying to save England from your mother's enemies."
"I was not saying I would take them from you. I like all of your knights and know that they are noble even if not noble born. I asked you because when I am king there will be knights who supported Stephen. I need to know what to do about them."
The 'Adela' was almost at the quay, "When you are king I would spend time learning who you command. There may be some who supported Stephen who are worthy knights. There may be others who support your mother who are not."
"You mean like the Earl of Chester?"
"Exactly like the Earl of Chester."
As the ropes were thrown we moved out of the way of them. William of Kingston shouted, "You have a visitor, lord, from the Count of Hainaut."
As the ship was secured and the gangplank was lowered two young men stepped ashore, "I am Lothair son of the Count of Hainaut, Earl. My father has entrusted me with a most serious mission. I must speak with you alone."
I shook my head, "Whatever you say to me you can say to this young man. He will be my lord one day but you are right. This is not the place to speak. For one thing the wind has chilled me to the bone. Come to my hall."
He turned, "Dik, fetch my bags."
"Aye lord."
I examined Lothair as we walked to my hall. He was slight. His hands were smooth and his arms were not muscled. I did not think he had been trained as a knight. He looked to me like a priest and yet he did not wear the robes of a priest. Alice had anticipated us and was waiting in my hall with wine and food. She had Seara, one of the house servants, poking the fire to make the hall homelier.
"Thank you, Alice. There will be a young man with bags. Have him taken to a room. There will be two guests. See that we are not disturbed."
"Yes my lord." She shooed Seara out and then shut the doors behind her.
"Sit and tell me this mission."
"My father thanks you for the weapons, lord. They are most useful and he would like some more." I saw Henry frown. This was not something which needed secrecy. I waited for I could tell that the young man had not finished. "And the men to use them." He sipped his wine. "I have coin with me."
"Let me understand this. Your father wants to hire my men to fight for him?"
"Yes lord. We are being threatened from the south. The men of Flanders seek to destroy our prosperity. We have taken much trade from them. Our allies in Holland are also being threatened but we bear the brunt."
"Your father could have sent this request in a letter."
"He feared interception. I was the safer option."
"Yet you are not a knight."
"No lord. I am the youngest of my father's three sons. I was sickly as a child and was not trained. My father thought I might join the church but it was not for me." He shrugged, "I am expendable but I am happy to serve my father."
I liked Lothair. He made the best of what he had. "And so you use your head where your brothers use their arms."
"Yes, lord. It was my idea to ask for your men. We all heard how you defeated two ships and your reputation on land is known across the whole of the lands of the Empire. You are the Empress' champion and have never tasted defeat. I thought that with you at our side we could not lose."
"I am flattered. However, we have our own civil war here and your country lies many leagues across the ocean. If I were to relax my watch then who knows what might happen. Tell me of this threat."
"The Count of Flanders sends bands of men raiding the country. We do not have castles as strong as this and the Flemish raiders take all from our people. We live by our industry. We make fine cloth and if we cannot feed those workers then we are lost."
The door opened and Alice said, "The young man has unpacked. Shall he join you, lord?"
"Send him in."
I had not noticed him before for he had been collecting the bags but Dik was the opposite of Lothair. He was broad and he was strong. He carried a sword and looked as though he knew how to use it.
"Come and join your master. There is wine, food and a fire to warm you."
"Thank you, lord."
I turned back to Lothair. "I cannot help you with the men, not directly anyway but I
have some ideas. Would you care to hear them?"
"I am disappointed but any help would be welcome."
"I will be sending my ship back in the next month or so. She can take you home and deliver the next shipment of weapons. It will also carry Henry back to his father." Henry looked surprised. "The winter storms will soon make the journey both difficult and dangerous and I believe you have learned much already eh, Henry?"
"I have but there is more to learn."
I nodded, "And those lessons will continue but for the moment let us address the problems of Hainaut for there may be a lesson here for you too." He smiled and sat back. He was learning and he was growing. His father had been more volatile when he had been the same age. Blood would out; Henry was more like me than Geoffrey of Anjou.
"I would suggest, Lothair that, after you have spoken to your father you go with Henry here to Rouen. There they have warriors who have just fought in the Norman wars. There are many there, my son amongst them, who would be warriors that you could use. I will also send a letter to my manor in Anjou. My castellan trains men for me there. I could allow your father to hire those until this threat is over. What say you to that?"
"It is not perfect but it gives us hope. Thank you."
"And then I will take you around my castle for if you build castles such as this then the men of Flanders will not be able to suck the life blood from you."
"This would take too long to build. We need help now."
"This was not the work of one day. But if you wish what can be achieved in a short time then Henry here will take you to my smaller manors and show you the castles they have built there. We have a ring of them around my land protecting us."
With the delicate business out of the way I sent for Gilles, Richard and James. "Tomorrow you will be preparing for your vigil, Gilles, and then your wedding. Richard and James I want you to go with Henry and show this young man the castles of Yarm, Hartburn, Elton and Norton. I want him to see how a small number of men can defend a large area."
"Aye lord."
"And I will leave you now for I must see my steward and my smith if we are to fulfil this order from Hainaut."
Lothair rose and bowed, "Thank you Earl. I hoped for help and although this is not what I wished for I see that is the best that you can do. I thank you."
After they had left us I spoke with Henry. “I need to speak directly with your mother. If I travel to Devizes there are many risks, especially if you travel with me. That is the main reason I am sending you home. Only you know of my plan. I trust Lothair but who knows what he might say.”
“But I would come with you and speak with my mother.”
“You need to put into practice that which I have shown you. Begin to build up your own army.” I had given him a share of the spoils of war and he now had coin. “You know what men you ought to choose. Choose wisely.”
“I will and I understand. Thank you, Warlord. I had thought that I would learn all that you knew but I have spoken with Gilles and the others. It is a long road we travel.”
“And the slower the journey the more chance we have of reaching the end!”
The next days were a blur. This was not war but it was the work of a lord. Hainaut was now my ally and I was obliged to help them. I was thinking a little of myself too. The men whom Hainaut used could become warriors who would fight for Henry and for me. Lothair's voyage home would be delayed until after Gilles' wedding and that would follow his vigil. Henry and Richard joined him for his vigil and it helped them both. I saw them both change when they emerged in the dawn. The whole experience was the most powerful one for a young man. The wedding which followed was a celebration for the whole valley. All of my knights and their families attended. They were honouring Sir Edward and his memory just as much as the wedding of two young people. After the wedding, as my whole town celebrated, I sat alone with Henry.
"I am not done teaching you, Henry, but I have set you on a path. You are like the apprentice. I have shown you how I make a sword and now I let you go to make a dagger. When the dagger is perfect I will take you under my wing again and improve your skills. Lothair's visit was timely for it showed me that you need to be in your father's land. Ask him if you can run the County of Anjou while he is busy in Normandy. Learn how to organise men and to prepare them for war. There may be some of your Angevin knights who wish to serve Lothair's father and it will put him in your debt. Who knows when you may need to call in that debt?"
"Have you done this, Earl?"
"No for I fight only for you and your mother and I am no king but if I had to then I would. You should lead your own warriors. Your father did at your age. Sir Leofric is close by and he can offer you advice as well as helping you choose good men."
"I can see the lessons you have given me and I have heeded them. This, too, seems like good advice but what of my mother and the war? Are we any closer to ending this war?"
I could not lie to him. I shook my head, "At the moment the answer would be no. We lack men and we lack leaders. I need to visit your mother to decide how best we should proceed. Your Uncle needs to be consulted too. Going to the south west, that means travelling through a hostile country where men will try to capture me. If you were with me that would increase the risk. I have not come this far to take such a risk. There will be a time when you and I can ride abroad. That time is not yet come. When you have gathered men about you and you have learned to lead them then send for me once more and I will continue with the lessons."
Chapter 7
The castle seemed emptier without Henry. Part of that was the fact that Gilles and his new bride were often closeted together and that left me with just James and Richard for company. It was also the fact that the nights had drawn in and winter arrived like a wolf from the north. Winter in England was always hard. We had a merry time at Christmas and my knights all came for the celebrations but when they left I rattled around again inside my castle. I spent many hours alone planning. With our two ships tied to our quay for the winter we had little news from the outside world. The plans I had put in place were now beyond my control. I hoped that Lothair was able to hire men from Normandy and I prayed that Henry would choose good men to lead but I could nothing about either. I planned, instead, how I could reach the Empress safely. I needed to persuade her and her brother that we had to go on the offensive. We now had an ally. The County was only a small one but it was a start.
One piece of news I did receive was that Ranulf, Earl of Chester, had been imprisoned by Stephen the Usurper. This was after he had helped Stephen to capture Bedford from Miles Beauchamp. A merchant heading for Durham from York stayed in my castle and paid for his lodgings with news from the outside world. There were things I did not fully comprehend. Stephen and Ranulf were playing a game by rules which were unknown to me. I still did not understand the man but it made my journey south even more imperative. By the time Easter approached I was ready to leave for the court of the Empress. I summoned Sir Gilles of Stockton, Sir Harold, Sir Dick, Sir John and Sir Wulfric to my hall.
"I intend to leave at the end of the week and travel to Devizes to speak with the Empress and the Earl of Gloucester. Wulfric, I leave you to command the valley in my absence. Sir Gilles, I leave you to command my castle and I give you James as your squire." I saw the disappointment on James' face. He had wanted to come with me. "I will take all of my men at arms and Dick's archers. Now that we have two ships sailing to Anjou we can expect more men. Sir Gilles, you can have first choice of those men. Perhaps you might spend some of your wife's dowry eh?"
He grinned, "Aye lord and then I will have to start to earn coin myself."
"You might do that with the patrols that Wulfric will organize. We learned our lesson last year. We need to keep warriors on all of our borders."
Wulfric asked, "How long will you be away, lord?"
"Half a year? Who knows? I will not be able to keep in touch directly but use our ships and Sir Leofric. The seas between Bristol and Angers a
re safe."
Wulfric asked me, "Lord, do you need to take such risks? We are safe here. We are prosperous. We could sit here and become even more powerful. Who dares to attack us? There are none!"
I nodded, "That has crossed my mind but I swore an oath. What is a man if his word means nothing? Besides it is just myself that I risk."
Wulfric shook his head, "No, lord for you are the Tees Valley. Without you we would be easy prey for an enemy. None of us are arrogant enough to believe other. We are warriors but you are the leader. You have shown that time and time again. I am just happy that it is Dick and his archers who protect you."
We took spare horses and we took a handful of armed servants to act as horse holders along with Dick's younger archers. The night before I left Sir Gilles came to me, "I would come with you, lord! You know that."
"I do but you and Mary need time to become familiar with yourselves and your new role. Soon you will have a manor. Learn how to be lord of the manor while I am gone. Alf will help you for he is wise. You have not asked for a manor yet but you will and this will be good experience for you."
We left as dawn was breaking. The ground was growing warmer but it was still desperately cold as we headed west. I had decided to travel along my valley and then cut through Craven. Although there were some Scots there it was a quiet country and I had decided to visit with the Countess of Chester. The Earl of Gloucester's daughter was cut from a different cloth to her husband. She had steel within her and was loyal to her father and her aunt. More than that, she had more sources of information than I had. I had been away from the intrigues for too long. We spent the first night at Barnard Castle. If we rode hard, the next day we could be within half a day's march of Chester.
Richard was more attentive now. He knew that he would be a knight before the year was out. I would have to take on another squire. I was happy to be interrogated by my squire as we headed south.
Dick smiled at him, "You sound like a magpie, Master Richard. You chatter away. What is there to know? When you are a knight you tell men what to do and you lead them. It is as simple as that."