Henry II (The Anarchy Book 13)

by Griff Hosker

  “Thank you, Sir John. I will, of course, lead but it will not be from the west. And you, Sir Harold, what did the Earl of Chester say?”

  “He is keen, now, to help us lord. He will bring his army east to meet you as you wish but he had disturbing information. He said that Stephen is trying to have Eustace crowned as king.”

  “But that is the French system. We do not use that here!”

  “The rumour is that he fears Eustace might never be king after he is dead. He wishes to ensure that his son does become king.”

  “Then we must strike sooner rather than later. This changes everything. James send William of Kingston to me.” After he had gone I asked, “And how is the land between here and the Earl’s land?”

  “It is peaceful and prosperous. With no raids from the Scots and the hand of the Countess evident everywhere then it is a happy land. This would be a good time to attack, lord. The men of Chester and Lancaster have not fought these past three years. They have trained for war and it has not come.”

  “And that may be a reason not to use them, Sir Harold. Lean and hungry are better than well fed and content.”

  “But they bring large numbers, lord. The Earl has over a hundred knights at his command.”

  “But how many archers? Are his men at arms ready for war? I would be happier if Duke Henry and his Normans were alongside us. They are battle hardened but we fight with what we have. We cannot have Eustace anointed king.”

  William of Kingston arrived, “William, I would have you sail to Anjou. I need Sir Leofric’s men. I will also have a message for the Duke.”

  “Aye lord. And we have cargo to trade. We managed to pick some up in Bristol.”

  “Good.”

  I sent for my steward and dictated a letter. I told Henry of the new threat to his kingdom and begged him to come as soon as he could. John looked up, “You would have him come with a small retinue? Are you sure you wish me to write that, lord?”

  “I would not have him leave Normandy and Anjou undefended but his presence here is worth many knights. Aye I would have him come even if he just brings his household knights.”

  When the ship sailed, I began to gather my troops. This time we took more boy slingers with us. The boys had done well the last time. We had a fine herd of ponies and they were perfect for the boys. They would also double as horse holders for the archers. We had need of every archer we could musterand it was a waste to have archers holding horses. We left as spring began. The first of the new grass appeared and buds blossomed on the trees. Yet, for all that, it was cold and it was damp. I was glad that I had Robert, son of Hugh, with me for I took four horses and he and James had their hands full. I also picked up, on the way south to York, four other knights who had deserted Stephen’s cause. I was under no illusions. They saw that we were more likely to win but I was in no position to refuse any help. They only brought sixteen men at arms and four squires with them but when our enemies saw us they would count standards. Our army was growing.

  We did not enter York but my army marched within sight of the walls. The river had still not been cleared from the raid we had made the previous year. If they sent a messenger south it would be by horse. It did not worry me that Stephen and Eustace might know that we were coming. If it stopped Wallingford falling or Eustace being crowned, then it was worth it.

  It took six days to reach Lincoln. We camped outside and I approached the walls. The city had been held by Stephen and then the Earl of Chester. It was now in the hands of Stephen again for it was a royal manor. The castellan was William Peverel. I had fought alongside him at the battle of the standard. I did not like him for he was mean spirited and cunning. He had little honour.

  “I call upon you to yield this burgh to me, William Peverel.”

  “And why should I do that Earl? I see not enough men here to scale the walls.”

  “Then you do not remember that it was I took this castle with the Countess of Chester and a handful of men nor that it was I who defeated Stephen outside these very walls.” He remained silent. “And this is not the whole of my army. This is the vanguard. You know my reputation. I offer you terms now. You and your family may leave, with your arms, if you surrender the castle to me. If I have to fight for it then it will go ill for you.”

  I could see that I had shaken him. “Let me speak with my people.”

  I did not mind the delay. The Earl of Chester had not arrived. Then, one of the scouts I had on the London road galloped in. “Lord, there are a large number of knights heading up the road. They follow the banner of the Earl of Leicester.”

  I nodded. Now was not the time to panic. “Dick, Wulfric, have the men make three lines. Men at arms and knights in the front rank. Archers in the rear. The slingers can hold the horses.”

  “Trouble lord?”

  “Possibly, Sir Harold. The Earl of Leicester approaches but if he is coming up the road then he intends merely to frighten us away. Let us show him that the men of the north do not frighten so easily. Robert, fetch Badger! James get the standard and a mount. Let us greet this earl.”

  By the time we had mounted I saw the banners of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, as he headed up the road towards us. I spurred Badger so that we would meet him before my men at arms. I wanted him to know that we were not intimidated by him. We waited in the middle of the road and I watched him approach. He had not come for war. Although he led more than eighty banners he only had a hundred men at arms. It would take more than that to defeat me. Had he come to threaten us? Speculation was useless. I would wait. I had met him years earlier. He was slightly younger than me and was a supporter of Stephen. I knew little else of him for I had never fought him and only spoken to him once.

  He reined in fifty paces from me and then he came, with his standard bearer, to speak with me. Neither of us wore helmets. We would talk. If the talks failed, then I had no doubt that we would fight.

  I nodded, “Earl.”

  “You are here to take Lincoln?” He waved a hand towards my men, “With this few men?”

  “I have more coming. I have offered the Sheriff terms. Do you come to relieve my occupation?”

  He smiled, “I came here to speak with the Knight of the Empress and the Kingmaker.” He lowered his voice. “Does Henry FitzEmpress come to take his throne from King Stephen?”

  “I always liked that about you, my lord. Men say that you speak plainly. I will answer you, equally plainly. He does. He has a few things to sort out in Normandy first but he will come.”

  He laughed, “You mean like defeat the French and the Flemish?”

  “He will do so. His grandfather’s blood courses through his veins.”

  “King Stephen has more men.”

  “I know but would you bow the knee as quickly to his son, Eustace, if he became king?”

  The smile left his face, “His son has a bad reputation. There are more carrion and corpses in Bury St. Edmunds now that he rules there. I would not serve him as king.”

  “But you would serve Henry.”

  He looked surprised, “I would but how did you know?”

  “If you had come here to fight then you would have had more men with you. You came here to talk. So, what is your decision? Do you join me or shall we fight?” His expression told me the answer but I wanted it said out loud.

  “We will join you!” Both his men and mine cheered. It left the defenders in no doubt which side the Earl was on.

  When the men of Leicester joined us, it was the final nail in the coffin of the Sheriff. He and his men had lined the walls expectantly. They had thought we would flee. They were wrong. The arrival of reinforcements they thought had been allies was devastating. Peverel surrendered. I kept my word and the garrison rode out with their arms. They headed south. Stephen the Usurper would know within two days at the most that we had captured Lincoln. When the Earl of Chester rode in the next morning we had, at last, an army with which we could go to war. All told, we had more than seven hundred an
d fifty men. We may have lacked huge numbers of knights but our archers made up for that. Ranulf had fifty Welsh archers and even Dick conceded that they were his equals. After garrisoning the town, we headed south.

  Chapter 18

  We camped close to Peterborough. Although we were all earls the other two deferred to me. I had the authority of the future king and both men knew of my skills in war. “Where do we go now, lord? London or the west?”

  “Neither. We head for Bury St. Edmunds and thence Ipswich.”

  Both were surprised, “But why?”

  “Two reasons Ranulf: firstly, Eustace of Boulogne has ravaged the area and we will find supporters there. We may even find Eustace but, more importantly, the Earl of Norfolk is in Ipswich. With him at our side we can threaten London.”

  “Ipswich is more than a hundred miles from here.”

  “And it will take time to get there but the enemy will know we are coming and may well raise their siege of the town.”

  And so, we headed through the flatlands of East Anglia. We were large enough to make all opposition flee before us. It was when we approached Bury St. Edmunds that we found opposition and it was opposition which suited us. It was Eustace and his army. Since I had bested him by York he had accrued another army. Mainly made of mercenaries there were landless knights who hoped to profit from this robber baron. The arm was almost the equal of ours in numbers if not quality. Dicks’ scouts reported that they were arrayed before the town.

  East Anglia and Essex were both flat lands criss crossed with dykes and ditches. It would not suit knights on war horses. I already knew what Eustace would do. He would wait for us to attack him. He had learned his lesson when he had fought me last. I rode with the other two earls as well as Wulfric and Dick to survey their lines. The town was just behind his rear lines and I guessed he would have men with crossbows on the walls. That way he could release arrows over the heads of their own men. I saw many banners I recognised. One of them was of Peverel; he had wasted no time in informing his master of our intentions.

  “They are not mounted, Earl. Should we charge them? The land before them is flat.”

  I shook my head, “No, Earl. It is not flat. See it has been ploughed. Those are plough marks you see. The earth has been recently turned over. The ground will be soft and yielding. A charge needs hard ground. It will be a slow approach. There is a slight rise.”

  Ranulf said, “You are right, Earl, but it would be as hard for knights and men at arms to approach too. They would not be able to move swiftly.”

  “And we do not approach quickly. We approach with a double line of men at arms and knights. Behind them march our archers and then the rest of our men at arms and knights who will be mounted. We have a steady approach and use the shields to protect our archers. They can release over our heads. If, as I suspect, he has crossbows on his walls then we get close enough to shower those with arrows. We use the slingers to annoy the men at arms and knights. When they are suitably weakened then we move forward. It will be a hard fought battle but by keeping mounted men behind us we offer a threat. The archers can continue to rain arrows. We brought plenty did we not, Dick?”

  “We did indeed, lord.”

  “That is what we shall do. Ranulf you have your knights and men at arms on the left flank and Robert have yours on the right. I will lead the attack and when my standard is lowered three times in quick succession you will attack his flanks. We will pin him and you will destroy him.”

  “What if this is a trick and he has others waiting to attack us?”

  “Then you will keep your eyes open for such a trick and make sure that any reinforcements do not reach us. If we can defeat Eustace, then the road to Ipswich is open. With the Earl of Norfolk alongside us we have the chance to end this war.”

  Ranulf nodded. “I will be with you, Warlord. Too often I have sat and watched others fight. My wife admires you and she has told me how much you have done for Henry. I am resolved to show you how much I have changed.”

  “You will show us all, Earl. Tonight, we let them watch and wait for our night time attack. I have used that trick before and they will expect it. This time we rest. If they choose to leave, then good. If I were Eustace I would go to London. They have the White Tower and they have the city walls. It is easier to defend than here but I will give him this night to worry and to fret if we come like a knife in the night.”

  We turned and headed back to our lines. I shouted, “We eat well this night! Wilfred set guards and prepare traps.” I did not think that Eustace would try anything but if he did then we would be ready.

  I prayed long and hard that night for I spied a kind of hope. This was not Stephen that we fought but it was his son and his son was about to become King of England. If I could win the battle and capture him then it would be as it was when I captured his father at Lincoln and the war would be over!

  I let the army rise late. I knew, from my sentries, that the enemy had kept watch all night. They awaited an early morning attack and it did not come. James and Robert helped me to dress and to prepare for the battle.

  “Lord, James will be with you and carrying the banner. What do I do? You will not need a horse this day.”

  “I may. I want you to have Rolf saddled and ready. If James signals for our two flanks to attack, then bring Rolf to the rear of the archers.”

  He brightened. I knew that he feared being left out of the battle. No one likes to be a bystander. The boys we had brought from Stockton were our only slingers and they, like Robert, were desperate to be part of the fight. When I was dressed for war I went to them. They stood in awe as the Warlord of the North addressed them. “Today, some of you will fight in your first battle. Look to those who fought with us at Thirsk. They know what will come. The lead balls you throw may well win this battle but whatever the outcome you will remember this day. Many years from now, when you are warriors grown and ride behind my banner, you will remember this day and the part you played. Know this, I will be as proud of you as any knight who battles alongside me!” They cheered. I held up my hands, “But if you are to fight when you are men then you must stay safe. I want you all to swear that if the enemy threatens then you will flee and retire behind Dick and his archers.” I glared at them, “Swear!”

  They all chanted, as one, “We so swear!”

  I smiled, “Then that is good! May God be with you!”

  We made our way to the men at arms and knights who were preparing to move towards the enemy. James would stand behind me but Wulfric and Wilfred stood on either side of me. They glowered and snarled at any who tried to take their place of honour. We did not carry spears. I would wield my sword but both Wulfric and Wilfred favoured the war hammer. My knights interspersed themselves in the front line next to my men at arms. The rank behind us was made up of the men at arms and knights who had joined us. Dick had all of his, Sir Phillip’s and the Welsh archers arrayed behind. We had over a hundred and fifty archers. My men were desperate to slaughter the crossbows. It was a matter of honour to them. They trained for years to pull a bow and a crossbowman could learn in half a year how to operate what they termed, ‘that infernal machine’. The battle would be decided in that duel.

  When we were ready, I shouted, “We fight for God, Duke Henry and the Empress Matilda! Forward!”

  We marched with shields held closely to our chests. The second rank marched with their shields held over us. We did not move quickly. As I had feared the ground was soft and yielding. It was like wet sand. There was no hurry. Wulfric shouted, “Hold the line, you whoresons! I will gut any man who gets ahead of the Warlord!”

  We had all fought together many times and we had the same rhythm. The crossbow bolts began to fall long before we were in range. I saw them hit the soil. They were wasting missiles. When they did strike and we were in range, they bounced from our shields. We would need to be much closer before they could hurt us. The shield held over me afforded me the opportunity to gaze at their line. I saw that Eusta
ce’s banner was directly ahead of me. I would head for him. I knew that I could beat him. If I could capture or kill him then I would save the lives of many of my men.

  Wulfric’s voice sounded in my ear, “Warlord, slow down. You race!”

  “I am keen to end this, old friend.”

  “And we will. Slow and steady, lord. No one falls and no one trips. That way no one dies!”

  From behind me I heard Dick’s stentorian tones, “Warlord! Halt!”

  We were growing closer and closer to our enemy. The men on the walls were within range. I shouted, “Stop!”

  As one we stopped and the shields were pulled just that little bit tighter. The only sound was the sound of crossbow bolts striking the shields. Some penetrated but none struck flesh.

  “Release!”

  Dick’s command was followed by the whoosh of a hundred and fifty arrows soaring high into the air. Even as they whizzed overhead I heard another hundred and fifty and then another and another! The rain of crossbow bolts diminished and was replaced by the cries of the men on the walls dying. We could only see the wall of shields before us. All else was hidden.

  Dick shouted, “Switch targets.”

  We heard, once more, the sound of feathered death as it fell amongst the enemy ranks. We were a hundred paces away. The needle point bodkins penetrated mail. The enemy had not made a shield wall and the arrows plunged into necks, shoulders and backs of their knights and men at arms. They began to die. It was tempting to charge them but I had to have faith in my captain of archers. He would know when the time was right.

  “James, be ready with the signal. When Dick orders us forward send the signal. Timing is all!”

  The arrow shower seemed to last forever but, eventually, I heard Dick as he shouted, “The field is yours, Warlord!”

  “Warriors of Henry, Duke of Normandy! Now is your time! On!”

  I was aware of a fluttering above my head and I knew that James was ordering the horse to attack their flanks by waving the standard. That would not matter if we could not prevail. With sword drawn I moved forward. The shields over us were dropped behind our backs. They would push us forward if we needed it. The sky became lighter and I saw gaps in the enemy line and watched as men rushed to fill them. I headed for Eustace. The one hundred paces were as nothing. The stones from the slingers rattled and rained on the knights ahead of us. Dick’s archers sent their arrows into any knight and man at arms who was the slightest bit lax with their shield. I watched as the knight next to Eustace fell with an arrow in his throat. He gurgled his life away. I counted each pace for it brought me closer to Eustace. I now knew who he was and I fixed him with my eye. I saw the fear in his face. He wanted to run but if he did then the battle would be lost. Each step took me closer to him.