Hoodsman: Saving Princesses

by Smith, Skye

  The sisters and Raynar were in the Bishop's library practicing their Greek when Aethelwine interrupted them to speak to him. "I have been invited to a planning meeting at Cospatrick's manor. I think you should come with me. We can escort the sisters home along the way."

  Again the Earls met as a council of war as they had in York. Again the discussion was about whether to fight or flee the Normans. "This is William's first mistake," said Cospatrick excitedly, "he has split his army. We can destroy one part of it, and in doing so force the other part to move further north. He will be so angry he will chase us to the border, and there he will meet his end."

  "And if we fail to destroy Robert Comyn and his army?" asked Aethelwine. "What then of Dun Holm, and the folk here, and your families?"

  "We are already packed to leave," replied Cospatrick. "The families can leave for Bamburgh as planned, while the warriors can leave to meet Robert.” There was loud agreement from around the table. Only Aethelwine and Raynar stayed quiet. Only they were thinking of the local folk who could not flee.

  It was noticed. "What?" asked Cospatrick looking at the two silent men.

  "I am obliged to ride and meet Robert and warn him that he is in danger," said Aethelwine. "The peace I made with William to save York deserves at least that much respect."

  There was silence at the table. If he had not been a bishop he might have been undone by his words.

  Raynar spoke, "To ensure a victory, we need to ambush this Robert. How can we ambush him if the Bishop must warn him."

  "Get rid of the Bishop," said Cospatrick's huscarl. This caused an uproar around the table.

  "Shall I kill him for you, Aethelwine?" asked Raynar, only half in jest.

  "No, I am sure he did not mean it as a death threat," Aethelwine replied. "I think he just meant that I should leave this meeting, and hear no more of what is planned." As he rose to go he blessed the gathering, and nodded to the huscarl that he was forgiven for his poor choice of words.

  Once the Bishop had left, the table became noisy again with ideas and plans. One thing was sure already, the treasure and families of these men must be evacuated quickly. One of Cospatrick's huscarls was sent to arrange the carts and the escort and lead the families to the fortified town of Bamburgh, towards the Scottish Border. Since Aethelwine now had no voice at the meeting, Edgar ordered the huscarl to make sure that the Bishop's treasure and household went north too.

  There was a sudden silence in the room caused by the exit of the huscarl, so Raynar took the opportunity to say, "I still think that the only way that we can beat the Norman cavalry is by ambush. I have taught about a hundred of your warriors my bowcraft, and there are bows enough for each. The bowyers have at least twenty five heavy arrows per man ready to use. If a hundred bowmen ambush Comyn, or rather, ambush Comyn's horses, the cavalry will be undone. The madness of the wounded and falling horses will cripple a quarter of his men."

  There was a cheery rumble of talk around the table.

  "We have about three hundred pikemen, mostly farmers without armour, who have some training in how to cripple horses and pull men out of their saddles. If they are part of the same ambush, then they may increase Comyn's loss to half his men. If that is true then this would leave perhaps a tenth of Comyn's men still mounted, but not mounted on warhorses, and his infantry of perhaps a third of his fighting men."

  The men were now working the numbers in their heads.

  "Be it known, however, that from then on you cannot count on our bowmen or our pikemen for any more help. The bowmen will be without arrows save for three each that they will keep in reserve to save themselves. There will be heavy injuries and loss with the pikemen, and even if they escape injury, they will be dog tired and running to escape Norman swords."

  Cospatrick looked at his chief huscarl. "Do you have enough shieldmen and axemen to finish the job?"

  "Most of Raynar's bowmen were drawn from the ranks of shieldmen and axemen," replied the huscarl. "Given a week to get a fyrd call out, a thousand axemen would come from the surrounding villages ready to kill Normans for the prize of their armour. "

  "We don't have a week," Edgar reminded him. "A few days at most."

  "And we will not have an ambush," Raynar reminded all of them. "Forewarned by the Bishop, they will have mounted scouts looking for it." He looked around and was most disappointed that none of the leaders at this table of nobles had any of their own ideas.

  "Without an ambush we must face a cavalry charge. Personally, I would much rather go to Bamburgh with Margaret, than to be slaughtered by a cavalry charge.” There was some laughter at Raynar’s point, but not much. "To face a cavalry charge and win, we must choose the battleground ahead of time and prepare it. That unfortunately means that the battleground must be right here in Dun Holm otherwise Comyn will simply ride around us to reach here."

  "The easiest place to defend in Dun Holm," offered the huscarl that had threatened the Bishop, "is the old hill fort where the church and the Bishop's house are. Its defenses are old, from the time before Knut, but it is on one of the hills. It has earthen walls and a ditch around, and the approach to it is uphill."

  "It's a good thing the Bishop left," said Cospatrick. "He would refuse a plan that might threaten his church and his house."

  "Let us say we add to the defenses," Raynar thought aloud, "Put stakes in the ditch, dig horse traps, build some shielding for our bowmen to hide behind. What then? We can survive a charge, but can we win the battle. And what if he doesn't charge. What if instead he creates his own fort close by?"

  "These are good thoughts and good questions Raynar. Only the gods have the answers," Cospatrick replied, "So we have three choices. We can win by ambush, but cannot hide one. We can hold a fort, but may have to hold it for months. We can follow the original plan and move north towards Scotland."

  "That is not the original plan," Edgar pointed out. "This is not William's army. This is just a very large garrison. The original plan was to draw William to the border, not Comyn."

  Raynar now knew how frustrated Hereward must have been when dealing with Earls such as these. These lords were dullards. They had no craftiness, no original thought of their own. They stayed powerful by choosing between the craftiness of others. He sighed and said what to him was obvious. "If we cannot ambush and we cannot defend, then why not turn the defend into an ambush. Why don't we set a trap."

  "You speak in riddles," said the huscarl next to him.

  "Why don't we let the Normans have the old hill fort. That and the two streets that run up to the church. They are all within the original burgh wall. We can build a fortified camp outside of town. When Comyn sees that we don't hold the burgh, then he will take it for himself."

  "Still in riddles," said the huscarl. The others agreed.

  "The Bishop's house is huge. The best of the army will sleep in it. It has the largest thatch roof in the shire. The bishop's staff are very carefull with fires," prodded Raynar.

  "You mean, offer them the best house in town, and then burn it down around them."

  "Don't just burn the house," Raynar sighed. Again they were missing the obvious. "Prepare the grounds and the buildings ahead of time so that they will light easily and burn with an intense fire all at the same time."

  "Fire arrows?" asked Edgar.

  "Fire arrows would start small fires, but to get large fires going we will need men to throw torches,” replied Raynar.

  "Men would still escape," replied a huscarl.

  "They can run to the church, run down the streets, or run down the earthwork and across the ditch. We can ambush them in all those places. Even if they escape Dun Holm, where can they go? It is winter. If they scatter to the forest without their gear, they will become desperate within days. There is no sanctuary for them. Not in the Danelaw."

  Cospatrick ordered his kitchen to serve food, and they thought while they ate. All except Raynar who had been sent for by Margaret. He begged the lords' pardon with the explanation
that he was still sworn to Margaret and must answer her call. This announcement was met with cat calls and jeers, but no one spoke against his duty to a lovely woman.

  Outside, the line of carts bound for Bamburgh was long, but Margaret was waiting for him by the closest one. She pulled him between two carts where they were hidden from view and she kissed him long and hard. Their hands were everywhere on each other's bodies and they were moaning with lust. There was a sound of footsteps behind them and they froze.

  "Continue," encouraged her sister Cristina, "I will keep watch."

  But their last moment was gone. The carts were moving. Margaret kissed him once more before they were visible to the world, then she pushed him away. "Fare-thee-well Raynar of the Peaks," she wept, "stay alive. Whatever you do, stay alive," and she turned and fumbled to untie her horse.

  Cristina walked by him and then stopped and put her arms around his neck, and pressed her body full and tight against his, and gave him a very long kiss. "I don't care who sees me kiss you. Remember that,” and then she too was gone.

  * * * * *

  * * * * *

  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  Chapter 7 - Guarding a Princess at Westminster in November 1100

  She listened patiently until the end. "I have heard some of this story many times, but usually with more exaggeration and with my uncle saving everyone. I have never heard the part where she and you grew so close so quickly, and of how she wanted to stay with you. To be with you." She snuggled closer. "So you do understand my feelings for Henry, and his feelings for me? It is the same as it was between mother and you."

  He was careful how he spoke. "I understand your feelings for him, but I do not know his feelings for you. I was a peasant, he is a king. I lived simply, he lives in a palace. He has many mistresses and children by them."

  She broke in. "But he has never married any of them, and has never wanted to. He wants to marry me. He can keep his mistresses. He will need them because I will be with child much of the time."

  "I wish I were your mother, so I could advise you on how to hold onto your man. Have any of the palace women talked with you about these things?" he asked.

  "Raynar, I have been in a schooling convent all my life. I speak, read and write four languages. Five, if you consider Norman a separate language. I have read over thirty books. I am possibly the most learned woman in this palace."

  "The things I mean are not taught in convents."

  "Sex," she said.

  "Yes."

  "Henry says he will be patient. We will go slowly and gently and he has promised to teach me everything that his mistresses have taught him."

  Raynar groaned at the images these words painted in his thoughts, "We will have to trust in Henry then."

  She started to giggle, and he could not stop himself from chuckling, and it turned into laughter and the laughter turned infectious and they could not stop.

  When finally they could hold a straight face Raynar asked, "How is your sister Mary?"

  "She left the convent just after Aunty Cristina died. I don't hear from her much. She is still not married, but that is because she is still in England. If she were ever to return to Scotland, she would be forced into a marriage within the week. I have always feared that Rufus would find her and ruin her out of spite for me, but he never did find her. Henry has sent for her, and if she can be found, she will be at my wedding."

  "So you plan on becoming a mother immediately?"

  "Of course. Why else would I get married? Why else would Henry marry me. Before he was king it did not matter that all of his sons were bastards. That runs in his family. Now, as king, he needs a legitimate heir."

  "I will not rest easy until after your first son is declared heir," he whispered. "Until then, I suppose that the oath that held me to your mother, now holds me to you."

  Her voice turned very adult. "Agreed. That is for the best. I may need your protection when Henry is off dealing with his brother Robert and Robert's barons."

  With a shock he realized that this was a grown and willful woman in his arms, and not a girl. Within a year she would be breast feeding a child. He suddenly felt very old and drained.

  The maid came and freshened the fire again. While doing so, there was a rap at the door and Henry's voice. She went to let him in. He was tired now, and looked it. He pulled a chair close to Raynar and Raynar pushed Edith up and into Henry's lap. Edith kissed Raynar goodbye on the cheek, and then kissed Henry hello on the mouth. She now cuddled into Henry's shoulder.

  "That is as sweet a wedding ceremony as I have ever known," said Raynar, "With she I thee wed. She is your bundle now. From my arms to yours."

  "Except that he has a third leg," Edith giggled.

  "She wants me to give her away," complained Raynar, "me, a nobody."

  "SHE has her reasons," they responded in unison and then kissed again.

  "You knew. At the Domus you knew already. You led me here to be trapped by this woman. It is not going to work. Your nobles and noblewomen will take great offense."

  "Who will tell them?" asked Henry.

  "What, they will see, they will know. I am not even a knight," Raynar replied.

  "As I have already said, we will split the wedding and coronation into two events. The wedding will be tiny. Just the family and witnesses. The coronation will take place a few days later, after our vows have been consummated. The coronation will be huge. She will already be queen consort by marriage. Your role in the wedding will be forgotten."

  "So you just moved the wedding forward a few days."

  "Exactly," Henry said.

  Edith snuggled into Henry. "When do we start sleeping together. Tonight?"

  Henry spoke into her ear, "If there were not a crown involved I would say yes, but..."

  "...But not until we are wed. I understand. But you can put me to bed. Just carry me there and undress me."

  Henry carried her to her bed and dropped her unceremoniously onto it. "Undressing you would be the end of my resolve.” She reached her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips. Henry pretended to pull away, but kept the pose for many minutes. Then he called to the maid to help Edith into bed.

  He walked towards Raynar and whispered, "We must speak of her security," and told him the password for entering the Royal chambers. "There are two doors to this room. The one that connects to mine, and the other to the hallway. My room is the same except for the secret passage which only I use. I have guards at both hallway doors but there will be none at the connecting door. I suggest that the maid sleeps blocking the connecting door, and you sleep blocking hallway door."

  "Done," replied Raynar. And then remembering protocol, "Sire."

  "If she leaves the room, the guards already have orders that two must accompany her everywhere. It would please me if you would be her shadow. When she returns to this room, first search it to ensure no one has slipped inside."

  "Agreed, anything else?" said Raynar.

  "If there are problems, any problems, using killing force. I would be most pleased if they were alive to be questioned, but not if it risks injury to her," stated Henry.

  "I would sleep better if I had a bow in easy reach, Sire."

  Henry disappeared into his own chambers and returned in moments with a short hunting bow, exquisitely carved, and matching arrows. He handed them to Raynar and then walked to the bed and gave Edith another long kiss goodnight.

  On his way to his chamber he took Raynar’s arm in a warriors grip. "My men think I have lost my reason to trust you so. Just why do I trust you?"

  "Because you have nothing I want," replied Raynar, "Sire"

  "That is certainly why they do not trust you," observed Henry. "How can a man who wants for nothing be bribed."

  "It is two sides of the same coin. You trust me because you do not trust them."

  "I will not sleep soundly until I make peace with Robert. I do not think that Edith understands the ri
sk she takes by agreeing to bear my heirs," worried Henry.

  "She understands, but she admires you and wishes she had a son like you. She is a woman of birthing age. It is within her power to fulfill her wishes. She wants your child more than anything else, save life itself. "

  "I do not deserve her," said the king as he walked to his own room.

  "No, you don't, so treat her gently and allow her to be willful," Raynar called after him.

  Raynar told the maid to bed down in front of the connecting door. She made a bed out of carpets and pillows. He moved the maid's usual bed to block the hallway door and lay his weapons out at arm's reach. Then he slept.

  He awoke halfway through the night when the maid crawled into bed beside him. Her skin was like ice. He did not send her back to the connecting door. It was barred and the only reason for her to be there was to let the King in if he knocked. Besides she was rubbing against him to warm up. He could not relax because he was suspicious, so he walked over and checked that the bar was still in place on the door. It was, so he went back to warming the maid.

  * * * * *

  In the morning they all took breakfast in the King's chamber, while various servants came and went from the queen's chamber cleaning, restocking, emptying, changing, laundering and generally looking busy for a few hours so they could justify their position in the palace's serving hierarchy.

  The food was inspected by a professional taster, so they ate whatever Edith's maid served them.

  "Once the room warms up, I would like to bathe so that I am ready for my final fitting for my wedding dress," Edith told the maid, "Raynar, you will stay here with Henry while I bathe."

  "No, I won't," he replied.

  Edith was speechless for a moment and looked to Henry for help. Henry was amused, and his amusement was angering Edith, so Raynar saved her from saying something she would regret. "It would be more secure if you bathed with Henry. You can do that in either room, but whichever room you choose I will be in the other. The maid can help you, and chaperone you."