by Griff Hosker
“But I know already!”
“Walk a mile in my boots and then tell me!”
That night I told my wife my decision and she hugged me, “You are getting wiser as you get older. This is a good thing that you do. I cannot begin to conceive how the young girl must feel. To have come so close to such abominations. The two girls, Anya and Brigid, are close to her. They must have told her what Sir Hugh and his squire did. You do not recover from that overnight.”
I hugged her, “And FitzUrse and Rebekah?”
“Let us say that the stories from Skipton have made our daughter realise that she wants to be wed sooner rather than later. By the time you return Aunt Ruth and I will have made the necessary arrangements. There will have to be a dowry.”
“I know. The manor of Elton is vacant and is still mine. How would that do?”
“They would both like that.” We lay in a comfortable silence for a while. “Be careful when you are in London. It is a dangerous place.”
“And I am a dangerous man. I confess that I will be happier when I have seen William Marshal. He is the one rock who remains in this land. The King’s Council are not made of the same material and King Henry needs someone who can guide him.”
“Then, husband, that must be you. You will have to do that which your great grandfather did. You will have to guide the King and save the Kingdom!”
Chapter 4
King’s Council
I took my best men at arms and Mordaf and Gruffyd, two of my best archers. I rode a new palfrey, Bella. She was well schooled and named after my grandfather’s old castle in the Holy Land. Alan the Horse Master thought the long ride might be good for her as we would have many hundreds of miles to get to know one another. Our first stop was at York. We rode hard so that I could spend time with Ralph. I was anxious to learn what had happened at Skipton after I had left.
“The Earl sent his nephew Gonville de Blondeville to deliver his message. It will not be a permanent appointment for he is a banneret but the young knight is keen to impress his uncle. It will suffice. I told him that Sir Geoffrey would visit as would I.”
“Why not a more experienced knight?”
“The Welsh. They are threatening the borders of Shropshire and the Earl fears that they will move northwards. Cheshire has always been attractive to them.” He sipped his wine. “Besides we know that the eyes of the Earl of Chester always look south and not north. I heard that Prince Louis offered him the crown when he invaded.”
“That is true but the earl rejected the offer. Perhaps you are right. If the Welsh threaten Shropshire then the Earl Marshal would be concerned. That may be the reason for my London summons.”
“From what young Gonville told me the Earl Marshal is dying. As the young man appeared prone to exaggeration I would think that it may be that the Earl is seriously ill but he is old.”
I knew what he was thinking. “I could not do what my great grandfather did. It cost him too much. He may have owed the royal family a great deal but we do not. My father paid the ultimate price saving King Richard and that cost me my lands. I will fight for England and my King but I will not sacrifice all for either.”
“It may be they just seek the advice of the most experienced knight in the land now that the Earl of Pembroke is ill.”
The next seven days saw us travelling south and I was largely silent for I was listening as we stayed in castles, halls and monasteries. There was still much unrest. The King was young and no one trusted his Council. The rumours of the Earl Marshal’s condition were well known. He had been the stability in the country and if he died then the unrest might flare into rebellion. The French were also seen as a threat. Prince Louis’ invasion had failed but there were barons and lords with lands on both sides of the channel. They saw the opportunity to gain power with such a young King on the throne. By the time we reached Windsor, during the early afternoon, I felt I had the mood of the country. Now I had to gauge the mood of the King and his council. I approached the castle with dread in my heart. As we saw it in the distance I said, “Ridley, I want you and the men to keep your ears open. You know the difference between gossip, rumour and fact.”
“Aye lord and how long do we stay?”
“That all depends. Why?”
“Southerners can’t brew beer, lord and that’s a fact. A long sojourn down here is like a punishment!”
The King’s Steward greeted me. He had been there since the time of King Richard. He had seen many people come and go. He was calmness personified. “The King and his Council are meeting with the Earl Marshal. I will have you and your squire taken to your chambers. Your men can go to the warrior hall.”
I nodded and handed my reins to Egbert. He was a servant but also a groom. He knew horses. At a pinch he could fight too. My servants all had more than one skill. Travelling in Sweden, Outremer and Anjou had taught me that the more skills you had in servants the better. Our chamber befitted a senior baron who had already done great service for the King. There were cloths to wash and dry ourselves and bowls of water. It would do. Comfort was something I enjoyed at home. We changed from our travelling clothes into something befitting an audience with a King, even a boy king.
We headed down to the Great Hall where liveried retainers served us wine and gave us bread and cheese. When William had finished he said, “I will check on the horses and ensure that the men and servants have been accommodated.” He saw my curious look and smiled, “Alfred told me that is what a good squire does and I would be a knight as soon as I can.”
“Then you have made a promising start.”
He had been gone but a short time when the door opened and William Marshal entered. He looked old. He looked thin. Perhaps the Earl of Chester’s son was not exaggerating. The old earl held out an arm, “At last, a real warrior!” He waved a dismissive hand, “The Council are all politicians. Give me a warrior any time.”
“Wine, my lord?”
He nodded at the servant. “They have told you I am dying?”
I had been taught well. You do not lie to another warrior especially about death. “I had heard you were unwell.”
“I will not see another spring. You are the hope for the future.”
“What about your son?”
He shook his head, “We shall see. If you recall he sided with the rebels. I thought I had brought him up well. Perhaps I was away too long serving England.” Then he looked at me. “And that is not true either. Your great grandfather was never at home and yet your grandfather and father turned out well. Your father was much younger than you when he led the defence of London against the rebels. He told older lords what to do. Mind you he had the Warlord at his side but still, he had the stuff of greatness in him; as have you. You stood up to a Prince and then a King.”
I cocked my head to one side, “For which, Earl, I was heavily criticised by you!”
He laughed, “Johnny Lackland was a nasty piece of work and I was trying to save England. I knew you would be all right. You have the Warlord’s blood in you.”
“Thank you.”
“How did that business at Skipton turn out?” I told him and he poured himself more wine then he added, “There will be more like Sir Hugh out there. The King’s father had poor judgement in almost everything. There are others like him and Falkes de Breauté. I will not be there to clean up the mess and help young Henry to sort out this land. That will be down to you! He is a good lad and has the makings of a king but he needs advice and before you say he has the Council I will tell you that they are incompetent at best and may be corrupt. It was I insisted that you be sent for. If I am not here then you are the next best thing. I need you to be his mentor. King John neglected his son or perhaps the Baron’s War distracted him. Either way we need the King to know how to be a warrior and there is none better to show him than you. You shall do what your great grandfather did for Henry.”
“Excuse me for saying so, Earl, but did you not appoint the Bishop and a prelate to be the King�
�s guardian? Why not a warrior?”
“I did and before you say so de Burgh was responsible for defeating the French at Sandwich but while they helped to win the war they are not doing anything to win the peace. You should know that they are rivals. The three of them can run the country. My God the Steward of Windsor Castle could run the country but they would be a bad influence on the King. Take him away from here and make him a man. The people need someone they can follow. English knights need a leader to lead them. You are the one who can do this! The King’s mother has gone to Poitou and married Hugh de Lusignan. She has abandoned her children. The Bishop is backed by those lords in France. Hubert de Burgh is backed by the loyal barons of England. At the moment they get on but eventually there will be a clash and when there is it could cause a civil war or worse, a war where one is backed by France. Before they return let me tell you the problem. It is King John’s legacy. The land is littered with men to whom he gave castles and power. They do not pay their taxes. They do not seek permission for marriage nor for wardships.”
I suddenly felt guilty. I had made Lady Matilda a ward.
“These men must be ousted. I have here,” he took from his tunic a parchment, “a list of the names of the barons appointed by King John. There are others who have not turned out to be poor lords. Their names are not on this piece of parchment but these are the worst. Keep it close. This is the only copy. Guard it well. I am the last of those who was close to King John. I was with him for many years and I have compiled the list without malice. None of these is my enemy. They are England’s enemies. There is one name missing. That of my son. Although not appointed by King John I fear that he will need watching. I charge you with doing so.”
The Earl’s eyes were filled with regret. After what he had done for England it was sad that it had cost him his son. “And who is there for me to trust?”
He laughed, “Fewer than there should be. Chester of course so long as he gets what he wants might be an ally. York, Canterbury, Winchester and Westminster are all loyal prelates who wield power well. The rest? Those who fought with us at Lincoln are the only ones I would have at my back. The rest would as soon stick a dagger into it.” There was a noise without. I secreted the parchment in my tunic. “One last thing, you need to be forceful with the King but do not treat him like a child.” He smiled. “He does not like it!”
Each time I saw him I was amazed at the King’s youth. He was approaching manhood and was filling out a little but there was no beard and he still looked like little more than a child. That boys his age went to war to sling stones and to fetch wood was not the point. They had been brought up that way. The King had been taught many things. He could read and write. He understood numbers. He could speak languages. He had skills with a weapon but he had never fought. He had lived within castles and fortresses where he was protected. I doubted that he had ever spoken to any who was not either a noble or one of the servants. When William, my son, went abroad in the town of Stockton then folks all spoke easily to him. He knew their business and their lives. When he led them in battle there would be a shared understanding of the world. King Henry’s world and that of his people were entirely different.
The fact that his face lit up when he spied me made me feel pride. It contrasted with the neutral faces of his three councillors. “Earl, I am pleased that you have come! We need your help. With my two earls at my side we can make England safe again and then retake that which was lost in France!”
My heart sank. The last thing I needed was to go war in France. I smiled, “If I can help, my liege, then I will do so.”
De Burgh coughed, “Earl, the country is still divided. The Earl Marshal has suggested that you may be the man to take the reins and guide us through this storm.” His words sounded false. He gestured for us all to sit. He was the one with power. I saw Peter des Roches give an irritated glance at de Burgh. He resented de Burgh. Pandulf, the papal prelate, was harder to read. He was the Pope’s man but I had no doubt that he had his own ideas. As I sat I felt as though I had fallen in with thieves. Here the thieves were attempting to steal a kingdom. “You have travelled the length of the country. The Earl Marshal came from the west. He said that not only the lords but the ordinary people were unhappy. What do you say?”
“That he is right. I have just come from Skipton where a rogue lord acted like a bandit. I have rescued and made a ward the daughter of Sir Henry of Gargrave. Folk were driven from their land and over taxed. His majesty’s tax collectors were not allowed to collect their taxes and they filled Sir Hugh’s coffers!”
King Henry looked shocked, “And is this dealt with?”
“I slew Sir Hugh in combat and the others who perpetrated this evil have been dealt with. Such lords must be dealt with. I have made the lady my ward.”
There were nods from all four of them. I saw William Marshall smile. “See, I told you he knew how to be decisive!”
I smiled at the old earl who was trying to be my advocate in what was clearly a hostile place. “Thank you, Earl, but it is easier said than done. Sir Hugh resisted the Sheriff of York and myself. If I was to go to every castle in the land and redress the wrongs I would need an army such as that which ousted Prince Louis.”
Peter des Roches said, “We have no money in the Exchequer for such an undertaking.”
I shook my head, “It could not be done in any case. We need the King to be present. If they resist then it is treason. We need to make every baron swear an oath to the King or risk losing their land.”
“You would have me accompany you?” I saw the King brighten.
“So far as I can see lord that is the only way.” I glanced at William Marshal. “I believe I know the lords who have flouted your authority. There are less than fifty who have enough land to cause trouble. We begin with those. Give me half a year and we might be able to reassert your authority.”
I saw that the Council was happy about that. The responsibility of guarding the King would be mine. Hubert de Burgh nodded, “But how does that help us with the people?”
I had given thought to this. “Your majesty, when your father signed the Great Charter the barons were mollified for they had rights. Certain rights were also given to the ordinary people but they were dependent upon their lords of the manors behaving reasonably. Some lords chose to select the parts of the charter which suited them. The ordinary folk need their own charter.”
“Charter? For ordinary men?”
I nodded, “The right to graze in the forests. The right to forage in the forests. We do so in Cleveland and the people there are content and prosperous.” I looked at the Bishop. “They happily pay taxes.”
Peter des Roches nodded, “Perhaps Pandulf and I might draft such a document. It would cost us little and if it made the land safer then it would be a price that the barons might happily pay.”
Unwittingly I had said something which did not threaten the position of the three men. They saw it as a way to weaken the power of the barons. We spent the hour until the food was made ready going through what might constitute a fair charter. King Henry came up with the name, Charter of the Forest. We then spoke of how many men would need to accompany the King on our journey through England. Despite the warning from the Earl Marshal the three men seemed remarkably positive. The Bishop and Pandulf would draft a charter and Hubert de Burgh would select the men. The Earl caught my eye as we headed for the food which had been prepared for us. The Council was putting on an act. They were trying to impress me. I was under no illusions. It was my military prowess and record which had prompted their eagerness. It would not last. However, I had the King and that was all that I wanted. My great grandfather had done the same for young Henry. I had trained enough knights to know how to do it. I had promised the Earl Marshal six months and I would try to spend most of that time in Stockton. I could make the King a warrior and yet still be close to my family.
William returned. Although younger than the King he was as tall and slightly broader. It reflec
ted the training he had undergone with my men at arms. When the King saw him, he smiled. He had someone with whom he could speak. He had someone who was not trying to tell him what to do. He insisted that my son sit next to him at the feast. As the Bishop sat on the other side it meant I could not speak with the King as I had intended. Instead I spoke with the Earl Marshal. In light of what happened when we eventually went to war with the Welsh it was useful for the Earl died soon after leaving London. Had my son not been seated with the King I might not have discovered all that lay in William Marshal’s head.
The old earl knew Wales well. His land lay in the south western corner and he had Welsh between him and England. He had good ports and Bristol was just across the Severn Estuary but he had to have a good understanding of his neighbours. It became clear what the problem was. He had to fight to stop his animals being stolen and his people robbed. It sounded like Scotland before we had dealt with the situation. The north of Wales, from what he told me, appeared to be a dangerous place for the Welsh archers had the advantage there and heavy, mailed knights were at a disadvantage. When that war came I would have to come up with a new strategy. The Marcher Lords had built castles but the Earl was sure that they could be strengthened. “That is the way to deal with the Welsh. Build strong castles and control their valleys.”
It was late into the meal when the King leaned over William, “When will we leave, Earl? I am anxious to reclaim my kingdom. I know I have much to heal in this land.”
I nodded to the three members of the council, “When your lords have secured the men and I have ensured that they are the right ones it will be then.”
“Will they not be the right men if they are chosen by my council?”