by Griff Hosker
"It comes naturally to you Sir Richard. I am not Gilles. I have much to learn."
"You are learning, Richard, and I have confidence in you." I was happy with his questions for it made the tedious journey south pass quickly. I told him all that I had told Henry and Gilles. We were lucky that the land was quiet. We were untroubled by enemies.
We woke, stiff from our bivouac, and headed south to Chester. My banner was known and the Countess was a friend. Nonetheless we rode with helmets, lances and scouts watching for danger. Carelessness could cost a life. We were near to the Mersey when riders approached us. I did not recognise the banners. There were four knights and twenty men at arms. As they approached I saw a couple of the knights couch their lances. Dick said, casually, "String your bows lads! Just to be on the safe side."
I held up a warning hand, "We will speak first."
I waited for the leading knight to speak, "I am Roger of Wilderspool. What are you doing in the lands of the Earl of Chester?"
"You must recognise my banner. You know who I am."
"You are the Earl of Cleveland."
"Then I would like a little deference if you please."
My calm tone seemed to disquiet him. "Yes, my lord, I know you are the Earl of Cleveland but I do not know what business you have here."
"If you know my name then you know that I am Warlord of the North. I ride where I choose. Do you and your men wish to prevent me?" I nodded towards the two knights with couched lances. "It seems that two of your knights relish the opportunity of tilting with me."
The knight turned and waved an irritated hand to his two knights. They reluctantly raised them. "I merely wish to know your business, lord."
"As you ask so politely I will tell you that I intend to visit with the Earl's wife, the Lady Maud. We are old friends and I have fought alongside her father. Now does that satisfy you?" There was an awkward silence. I smiled, "Come the wind is cold and I am tired. Do we fight or travel to Chester in company? It is your choice."
He was acutely aware of the strung bows of my archers. Added to that was the fixed expressions on my men at arms. They were not worried by the men who faced us. He nodded, "We will escort you to the Countess and she can pass judgement."
"There that is better." I turned and said casually, "You may unstring your bows, archers. It seems you are not going to be plucking knights from their saddles this day."
Edgar and my men at arms sat astride their horses and waited for the knights to follow us. It was a battle of wills and Edgar won. He would watch their backs as they led us to Chester. I chatted easily with Richard and Dick as we rode the last few miles to the castle. Richard had only been on this side of the country once or twice. "This looks like good farmland, lord."
"It is. They grow wheat here. It is why the Earl was so annoyed that Stephen gave away so much of his land to King David. Perhaps that is why he is imprisoned. We will soon discover the reason. See the towers of Chester Castle." Chester was a good castle and needed to be for the Welsh lay just south of the Dee.
Maud was waiting for us as we rode through her gates. She beamed at me as I dismounted, "My favourite knight in the realm! It is good to see you Alfraed!" She embraced me.
I kissed her cheek and then turned, "There Sir Roger; it seems I am welcome here."
She laughed, "Do not tell me that Sir Roger tried to prevent the Earl of Cleveland from visiting me."
"He was slightly unsure of my welcome and two of his knights thought that they could dispute with us."
She wagged a finger at them. "The Earl has saved your lives! This is King Henry's champion and has never been defeated." Shaking her head she said, "God spare me from unproven knights."
As she took my arm and led me to her hall she said, "The war has dimmed and faded here since my husband was imprisoned and the young warriors seek fights with any. They are like rutting stags!"
"Why was Ranulf arrested? I thought he had sided with the King... again."
"He was trapped and tricked by Gilbert de Gant and his supporters. Ranulf asked the king for his help against the Welsh. In the last year their attacks have increased and they are bold. I would have preferred Sir Roger guarding the Dee rather than the Mersey but there is no honour in killing the Welsh apparently." She waved me to a seat and gestured for her servants to pour wine for Dick, Richard and myself. "Sir William Peverel said that he suspected treachery and that Stephen would be ambushed when he came to Wales. Stephen asked for hostages to show his good intentions. When my husband refused he was imprisoned."
"You would have been the hostage?"
She nodded, "And that would bring my father to rescue me. Stephen could draw him from his Welsh Marches and defeat him. The battle of Winchester made them believe they could defeat my father."
I said nothing but sipped my wine. These were complicated games which were being played. Gilbert de Gant and William Peverel were plotting and planning. The fact that Stephen allowed this gave me some hope.
She saw my expression and heard my silence. "And you believe that too."
I shrugged, "All men become old. I was not at the battle and I cannot judge."
"Many men say that had you been there as you were at Lincoln then the result might have been different."
"But I was not and we will never know."
"Yet Stephen has never beaten you."
"I too grow old and my power might diminish. Who knows?"
"You will never grow old.” She shook her head. She knew me well and understood that I did not like flattery, even from a friend. “So what brings you here, my lord?"
"I came to see you and then I will travel to speak with your aunt in Devizes."
"Then I urge you to head east first. The Welsh attack any men who draw close to their lands. The Dee is the new border."
I shook my head, "We will use speed. If I travel too far east then I risk running into large castles with bigger garrisons. We will use speed to evade the Welsh."
"I pray you are right. Now come. Tell me all of your son and your enclave to the north!"
Maud was a vivacious and lively hostess. Dick and Richard were put at ease. We were feted and feasted well. The comfortable bed was a welcome relief after the ground which had been our bower the previous night. We left soon after dawn.
"Do not judge my husband too harshly, Alfraed. He wanted to defeat the Welsh and make us safer. He would not have fought against Matilda or her son. You have to believe me. He will do the right thing."
"I pray you are right."
As we crossed the Dee into what was now Wales I had Dick send his scouts out to warn us of danger. We were small enough in number to be able to hide but I knew that, even so, we would leave a mark on the land. So many horses meant only one thing; a conroi. The Welsh would follow us. I just hoped that we would move too quickly for them to be able to catch us. I was wrong.
My plan was to head to Gloucester. It was less than a hundred and twenty miles away. With our spare horses I hoped we could do it in one day. It would be a long day but we were all good riders and well mounted. The first thirty miles were the ones I feared an attack for we passed close by Wrexham and Bangor. Both were Welsh strongholds.
Richard had not met many Welsh warriors yet and he was curious. "Do they have knights such as we do, lord?"
"They do but there are fewer of them. They have men at arms too but they do not have as many with mail. They use leather or padded gambesons. It is, however, their archers who are to be feared."
Dick nodded, "Aye Master Richard, they are good. Their bows are not as long as ours but they are powerful men and can send an arrow almost as far as my men. I, for one, will be happy when we have cleared their land."
"That is why I have taken us closer to Whitchurch and the lands which border the lands of the Earl of Stafford. We can swing further west when we have passed it."
We stopped to water our horses fifteen miles south west of Whitchurch. We had passed only isolated farms and had seen no castles.
We forded a narrow river and allowed our horses to drink. We ate the rations which the Countess had provided and crossed the border again into Wales. We had passed through the village of Grimpool and were travelling down narrow greenways when Ralph of Wales rode back. "Lord, the Welsh. They are waiting for us."
"Where?"
"Half a mile down the greenway. They are astride the Roman Road."
This was what I had feared. The Roman Road which ran from Holyhead to London was still the main thoroughfare. It was a well made road and men could travel swiftly along it for it was cobbled.
"You are certain they are waiting for us?"
"Aye lord. They have their infantry ready in the centre with archers behind and horsemen to the flanks."
"And knights?"
"I saw but four banners and only ten of their men at arms are mailed but they outnumber us, lord. There are a hundred of them."
"Is there any cover?"
"There is a hedge two hundred paces from their front line."
I turned to Dick. He nodded, "We could use that. We will get in position now."
I had fought alongside my captain of archers since first I had come to England. We needed few words. He understood what we would do. As they left I turned to the servants. "We will attack the enemy. I want you to bring the spare horses along behind us. Do not gallop them just walk and then wait for us to finish with this ambush."
I could see that Richard was concerned. "But they are waiting, lord and we will be outnumbered."
"Their weakness is their centre. We will charge and punch through them. With just ten mailed men at arms it means their centre has little mail. The danger lies in their archers. We will see, today, who is better." I turned to Edgar, "Richard will be in the third line and Ralph of Nottingham will lead the second line. Spread the new men out between the second and third lines."
"Aye lord."
I was leading thirty four mailed men. My men at arms were the equal of knights. They thought to weaken us when we attacked and then use their knights to finish us off. We would not allow them to do so. The greenway would only allow us to have six men in each rank. It meant we would have to spread out quickly into a solid line when we neared the road. This was where our years of training would pay off. I had to hold my nerve and slow so that Edgar and the five men with him could form a line. We would have a hundred paces to cover before we struck their first line. It was a test for all of my men.
I was riding my new horse, Edward, to war for the first time. I could tell that he was eager and I had to keep him reined in. He was ready to hurl himself ay any enemy. Riding on the training field was totally different to battle. This would be war and I would see what kind of horse he really was.
I saw them when we turned the bend in the greenway. There was no hill but they had formed a solid block fifteen men wide. With two knights and five men at arms on each flank that meant that they were five ranks deep. The rear two or three would be archers. We kept our lances upright. We would only lower them at the last moment. I saw the agitation when they spied us. They were not well trained. Well trained men would have stood calmly. Excitement and agitation meant nerves and that was dangerous.
I saw the hedge to the left and right. As we passed our hidden archers Dick and his men began to loose their arrows. They had the advantage of a hedge which would give them some protection and mail which would be more than good enough to stop the Welsh arrows. I held my shield before me, ready to lift it should it be necessary. Our arrows caused casualties in all five ranks and the arrows which came in reply were ragged. They were also split between the hedgerow and us. I lifted my shield and took three arrows upon it. A fourth clipped Edward's rump. He was a warhorse and he did not react.
As soon as Edgar's horse appeared next to me I shouted, "Charge!" We had a hundred and fifty paces to go. We would not hit at full speed but we would arrive together. Dick and my archers were winning the battle. Their arrows flew over in waves and the Welsh became increasingly ragged. My archers were hidden.
I lowered my lance with fifty paces to go and I spurred Edward. He leapt and Edgar kept pace with me by spurring his own horse. I pulled back my hand and leaned forward into the cantle. The Welsh had a line of spears before them. Our lances were longer. I punched forward and my spear rammed into the throat of the Welshman in the front rank. Edward's hooves clattered into the head of the warrior in the second rank as I flicked my wrist and stabbed forward again. My lance went into the stomach of a small Welshman and I drove him into the archer behind. The archer was readying his bow. I tried to flick my wrist again but the head of the lance had caught in the archers' leg and it was torn from my grasp.
While I was drawing my sword I jerked Edward to my left and he knocked down another archer. We had broken their line and I wheeled to the left. The archers and men at arms who were left tried to run but my men at arms were ruthless. They rode them down. I realised that the knights and men at arms who had been on the Welsh left flank were now charging towards us. Even as they closed my archers' arrows struck home and a horse and a man at arms were struck. Leopold of Durstein and Günter the Swabian were with me. Neither had lances but Gunter was so strong that he was able to wield a mighty war axe one handed whilst riding.
The Welsh knight who saw his chance for glory pulled back his own lance and stood in his stirrups to stab it at my chest. My new shield was well made and I angled it so that the head slid along it. I did not go for his body with my sword but his head. His shield was on the other side of his body and he did not manage to pull it round quickly enough. My sword bit into his coif, tearing the ventail before ripping across his throat. His half severed head hung at a strange angle as his body tumbled to the ground.
Günter's axe smashed through the mail and chest of the second knight as Leopold slew the last man at arms. Two had fled and we had the field. I reined in Edward and wheeled him around. I saw three empty saddles. I had lost men.
"Richard, sound the horn and bring our men back!"
The servants and spare horses had reached us and were followed by Dick and his archers. "See to our wounded and then search the dead. Collect any spare horses."
I dismounted. Edward was lathered with sweat. I took out the skin of vinegar I carried and used it to bathe the wound on his rump. He kicked his leg out. "Steady boy! This is for your own good." I examined the wound and it did not look serious.
Edgar reined in. "We have two men dead and one with a bad wound. It could have been worse."
"And the enemy?"
"One of the knights escaped and six of the men at arms on horses. They left thirty six dead."
"If the knight escaped then they will pursue us. We will have to use the road and ride hard."
"Aye lord."
"The dead?"
"We bury our own."
Chapter 8
It was already dark when we approached Gloucester. I had thought to go to Sir William’s manor. He held it for me but Gloucester was closer and we were tired. Henry of Langdale needed a healer. Miles of Gloucester had been Sherriff. I knew not who the new one was but my banner was recognised and I was welcomed.
"This is an honour for me, Earl. I am Roger, Sherriff of Gloucester. I served with you at Wallingford."
To be honest I did not recognise him but I smiled, "That was a great day was it not? We have wounded men and we have travelled from Chester."
"In one day? That is truly a great feat. There is room for your men in the warrior hall. I will have chambers for your knights and squires in the Great Hall."
"There are only four of us. We will not take up much room." After we had stabled our horses he led us to the hall. "How goes the war here?"
"Have you not heard? I thought that was why you came."
"Heard what?"
"The Earl of Gloucester is unwell. He is at Bristol. Our forces must now wait behind our walls. Without the Earl there is little hope of prosecuting the war here in the south west. God, it appears, is not on our side. Fi
rst Sir Miles falls while hunting and then Sir Bryan Fitz Count, the hero of Wallingford, dies. Whoever will be next?"
That was bad news. I had fallen out with the Earl but I knew that he was vital to the success of our war. If he was ill, then who would lead our armies? I was in the north and the leaders who had been here in the south west were now dead. Sir Roget was right. It did appear as though we had been abandoned by God.
I put on a brave face. "We have had worse times. Normandy is now free. There is hope."
We left for the church at Devizes the next morning. I left Gurth and Cedric to escort Henry of Langdale to us when his wound healed. The last part would be the safest part of the journey.
Devizes was a strong castle and hope rose as we approached it. Even Dick was impressed. "This would take a good siege to destroy it."
"But we sit behind walls. We should be attacking." The news of the Earl's illness had made me melancholy once more.
If I thought to be cheered when I entered I was not. Margaret and Judith were comforting their mistress. I turned to Dick and Richard, "See to the men. Find them quarters and have the horses fed and attended. I fear we will need them sooner rather than later."
Maud rose when she saw me and, throwing caution to the wind threw her arms around me and began to weep. "My lord I am pleased you are here. You come at the times of the direst need." She began to sob.
I said to Margaret, over the Empress' shoulders, "What is wrong? Is it her brother?"
"No, lord, although he is still unwell. The Bishop of Salisbury has appealed to the Pope. She has been threatened with excommunication if she does not quit the castle. It seems the Bishop is working with Queen Matilda. She seeks to make the Empress homeless."
I disentangled the Empress and held her at arms' length. I looked her in the eyes. "This is not the end of the world. There are other castles. Bristol and Wallingford are both strong. We can go there."
She nodded and Judith handed her a piece of lace to wipe her eyes. "You are right. I fear this lassitude is due to my brother's illness."
"What is wrong with him?"