Crusader (Anarchy Book 14)

by Griff Hosker

  I left Garth, Alf and John with the horses and we entered the palace. The King was in his court along with Theobald. Other knights were there. I recognized some from the retreat from Damascus. I was now known also and greeted. With de Waller discredited and gone I was afforded smiles instead of scowls.

  We chatted with some of the knights as more lords arrived. Then Paul, the steward, banged his staff, “Pray silence for King Baldwin of Jerusalem.”

  I looked around and saw that there were less than fifty knights now. De Waller’s defection and Damascus had thinned our ranks.

  The King began, “Welcome. It has been some time since we were gathered together. The treachery of some of our number has hurt us most grievously.” He gestured to Paul who nodded to two servants. They brought out a piece of calfskin and on it was painted a map of the Holy Land. When he spoke, Paul pointed with a dagger at the salient points. “Nablus and Belvoir are not represented here today. That is because they are improving their defences and patrolling the border. The Turkish warriors are growing bold. Last year I asked the Templars to see if they could take Ascalon. The Fatimids of Egypt repulsed them with great losses. That port remains a thorn in our side. My father built castles to contain the threat.” The king pointed to a handful of knights who stood closest to the dais. “These warriors are the buffer against the attacks. They bring grave news. Work has begun on over fifty towers which are being built around the walls of Ascalon. Even worse they have become bold since the defeat of the Templars and they raid the lands to the north and the east.”

  One of the knights to whom he had referred, Geoffrey of Azdud, said somewhat plaintively, “Lord we can do naught with the knights we have here. It would be like trying to plug a breach in a dam with a finger. This needs hundreds of knights not a handful.”

  “You are not gathered here so that we can begin to retake Ascalon. That day is some time off. The Master of the Templars is building up his army as is the Master of the Hospitallers. He and his men are rebuilding the castle at Gaza. William of Aqua Bella now has two more knights and I hope that, in a year or two, our numbers will have increased sufficiently for us to take Ascalon. Thanks to some of the knights in this chamber we now have an ally in the Emperor. He has promised men but not yet.”

  “Then why are we here, your Majesty?”

  “That is simple Ralph of Gat, I wish you to contain the Egyptians. I wish you to harass their building work. In short I want us to do to them what they do to us.”

  “And will the time we give to you come from our feudal duties or is this in addition?”

  Geoffrey of Azdud shook his head, “Who can talk of days owed, Raymond of Acre? The Egyptians are even worse than the Turks. Many of our people have been taken as slaves. We came to this land to make it God’s land once more. Our duty is to God and this land.”

  King Baldwin raised his hand for silence as the room buzzed with arguments, “I understand Raymond of Acre’s words. Since the road is safer the bazaar in Jerusalem is more profitable. The merchants have agreed that they will contribute a tithe of the profits to support an army in the field.”

  I saw nods from some of the greedier knights.

  Geoffrey of Azdud asked, “And who will command?”

  “Theobald of Rheims will command. Does anyone object to my choice of commander or do you wish a council again!” I smiled. The King had learned and was more authoritative these days. It helped that he did not have Guillaume de Waller making waves. “Good. Then Theobald will speak with you all individually and give you his orders. Your tithe will come each quarter.” He smiled, “When my general assures me that all is as it should be.”

  Others hurried to speak with Theobald. We waited. The King came over to speak with me, “I am pleased to see that you have knighted these two. They impressed me at Damascus. I appreciate that you asked permission first.” He lowered his voice, “I would that you had asked our permission before marrying the daughter of Ben Samuel.”

  “Why your majesty? I thought a man’s choice of wife was his own decision.”

  “It is but you have put me in a difficult position. There are many who will not accept such a marriage.”

  “Then that is their problem and not mine.”

  “You misunderstand me. I approve. She is beautiful young woman and was treated monstrously but I cannot invite you and your lady to functions here at the palace. I would offend both Jew and Christian.”

  I nodded and smiled, “Oh I see then I have a simple solution, your majesty.”

  He brightened, “You do?”

  “Of course. Do not invite us. We will not be offended.”

  “But…”

  His mother had appeared from nowhere and she smiled as she put her hand on her son’s shoulder. “Do not worry about the Lord of Aqua Bella, my son. He does not need to be feted and feasted to keep his loyalty. I have learned that our young Englishman is a man of his word. He needs no coin to do as you ask. He made a promise and he will keep it.” She waved her hand and a servant appeared with a leather pouch. She opened it and took out a large ruby on a golden chain. “Here is a wedding present for your bride. My father gave it to me but I have no daughter. I would like your wife to have it.”

  “It is beautiful and will look even better around my wife’s neck.”

  Queen Melisende laughed, “There is the difference Baldwin. Other knights would have said that it was worth a small fortune but William here sees it for its beauty only. You could learn much from him.”

  The two left us and I secured the present in my own purse. Most of the knights had already left and I was anxious to get home. Theobald said, “Sir William, if the three of you would wait in my chambers. I can speak with you there.”

  As we went along the corridor to his chamber Robert said, “This sounds intriguing, lord. Why could we not be told when the others were here?”

  “Firstly, we are more than forty miles from Ascalon. The other lords may be closer. Secondly, it might be that we are not to be used like the others are. We have archers and most of the other knights do not.”

  We had noticed, since we had been in the Holy Land that the archers who were used were the peasant levy. Most just used a hunting bow. The Turkish archers could out range them and the arrows they used did not penetrate mail as ours did. If we had Dick and Sir Phillip of Piercebridge with us then we could make the Turks fear us more than they did. Their archers could outrun our heavy horses. It was a dilemma.

  We were admitted to Theobald’s quarters by his servant. He poured us wine and then waited. I guessed he wanted to make sure that we not too inquisitive. Theobald was not too long but he did look weary when he entered the chamber. He shook his head, “Some of those lords are little better than mercenaries. They want to be assured that losses in the campaign will be made good by the king.”

  “Campaign?”

  “The other lords have castles which lie closer to the port. They are going to aggressively raid. We believe that if we can stop their local farms producing goods then they will have to bring more in by sea. The King has given Gaza City to the Templars and they are building a castle there. If we can take Ascalon then we can begin to take more of Egypt. The Emperor is sending some of his fleet to harry the Egyptian convoys. We wish to make this a war of attrition while we build up our forces.”

  I smiled to myself. This had Theobald’s hand all over it. He had consulted the king but no more. “And us?”

  “Ah, you and your men have some unique attributes. You showed that on the retreat and when we attacked. You suffered fewer losses than any other conroi. Quite remarkable. Even Raymond de Puy Provence remarked upon it. You are also the nearest that we have to assassins.”

  “Assassins?”

  “You slew two and suffered no losses. You managed to spot and stop them. Do not be overly modest, William. You attacked and destroyed a bandit camp. No other knight has ever taken the war to the enemy quite so vigorously. We would have you do the same at the port. We want you to
slow down the building of the towers. You cannot stop them but you could cause damage. If you could make them divert men to watch the walls at night then that would weaken them.”

  “I have just married, lord. I cannot leave my wife for months at a time.”

  “You misunderstand. That would be pointless. You would all be caught. We want you to do one raid and then return to Aqua Bella. Return days later at a different place. We want you to vary the times, places and methods of attack.”

  “And what of the caravan patrols?”

  “The Templars have promised that they will take on that role.”

  “Like de Waller!”

  “No, lord. The Templars can be annoying at times but they keep their word. They have promised to protect all caravans: Christian and Jewish.”

  “I suppose we have no choice.”

  “Of course, you do. You can refuse. The King and the Queen both hold you in high regard. They would be disappointed but they would not force you to do anything you were not happy about.”

  “And you know that I will do as you bid.”

  He smiled, “Yes.” He turned to Robert and Tom. “I believe that you two do not have squires.”

  “No, lord.”

  “We cannot have a knight without a squire. In the city here, we have eight orphans. They are the sons of knights who died in the battle for Edessa and were left without any to care for them. Two are English. They are both ten years old and the castellan has been training them in sword and horse. I believe they would serve you well.”

  Robert nodded, “That is kind lord but before we agree to take them on then we should meet with them and decide if they suit us. After all they will be an expense. They will need mail and horses.”

  “Oh no they won’t, Sir Robert. They have them. Their fathers may have died in battle and they might have lost their land but that does not mean that they are penniless. The King paid for the clothes, mail, weapons and horses.”

  “That may be but we will still see them first.”

  In the end both of my knights were more than happy with the two boys. Edward was the taller and he was keen to please. The other, Stephen, was shorter and stouter. I could see him becoming as broad as Garth when he became fully grown. He was affable and confident. My knights took them on and we headed back to Aqua Bella.

  “Are you pleased or disappointed to be away from the palace, Stephen?”

  “Oh we are both happy, lord. We both wish to be like our fathers.”

  Edward nodded, “They fell together at Edessa. Another year and we would have been with them for we were due to be squires. My elder brother died with my father.”

  “And your mother?”

  He looked down at his horse’s mane. “The priest said we were never to talk of it.”

  Tom said, “Edward, there can be no secrets between a squire and his lord. Whatever you tell us will neither shock us nor make us think the less of you.”

  “It is nothing to do with me, lord.”

  He looked distressed. Stephen reached over and put his hand on his friend’s arm. He said, quietly, “She threw herself from the top of Jerusalem’s walls, lord.”

  Edward looked up with an anguished look on his face, “She will not be in heaven, lord! I will not see her again.”

  This was beyond me. “Edward, we have a warrior priest, Brother Peter. When we get to our home I would like you to speak with him. I am a simple warrior and I do not understand such matters but I am certain the Brother Peter can answer any questions you have, better than I.”

  “Thank you, lord.”

  I nodded to Alf, “Or speak to my squire. He lost his mother too.”

  Alf put his arm around Edward’s shoulder. “Whenever you are ready Edward I can listen. I may not have answers but I have learned since I began to serve our lord that often, seeking answers is an answer in itself.”

  Garth laughed, “I can see my wisdom has rubbed off on you, young Alf!”

  “Well something rubbed off, that is for certain!”

  “You were less cheeky when you held my horse!”

  “Then perhaps I got the sense from your horse, Garth the archer!”

  We rode in silence for a while until Stephen could contain himself no longer. “Do we ride to war, lord? The other squires said that the King has ordered his knights to attack the Egyptians!”

  So much for secrecy! “We have a task to perform but I fear Sir Robert will have his work cut out keeping his young squire silent while we carry it out!”

  “Oh I can be quiet, lord. Honestly!”

  Sir Robert shook his head, “And if you are not then I shall cuff you about the head.”

  He nodded cheerfully, “That is what the castellan did!”

  Both boys were impressed by my new home. They shared a chamber with Alf and that was more room than they had had in the palace where chambers were at a premium. I let Robert and Tom explain our task to our men. I went to speak with Rebekah. I was not certain how she would view my absence. We went to the roof. We both liked it there. The potted lemon trees and rosemary bushes provided both shade and a pleasant aroma.

  After I had told her she nodded, “I expected nothing less but you should know that I will be here waiting for your return. I shall endeavour to make myself the lady of this manor. You have good people here. I feared they would look down upon me because I was a Jewess but they do not. And Brother Peter is the first priest I have seen who did not look as though he wished to spit on me.”

  “The Queen spoke of you.”

  “Queen Melisende?”

  I nodded, “And she sent this as a wedding present for you.” I took out the ruby. It looked even more beautiful in the dappled light beneath the lemon tree.

  “It is a gift worthy of a queen.” She held it for me. “Please, lord, put it on for me.”

  I went around her back and placed the ruby over her head. I had to lean to fasten it and I became heady with the smell of her oiled and perfumed skin. “I have told you, it is William, or Will but you do not call me lord.”

  “I will try, Will.” She giggled at her own words and whipped her head around. “It is beautiful!”

  I put my hands on her waist, “As are you!”

  She reached behind my neck and pulled my head down to kiss her. This was not the chaste kiss of our night times. It was the passionate kiss I had been desperate to give her.

  “And I will try, Will, I promise I will try but I need time.”

  “Take all the time you like. I am content just to hold you in my arms”

  Chapter 19

  We took spare horses with us and as many arrows as we could carry. It would take the morning and some of the afternoon to be close to Ascalon. My aim was to spend one night scouting out the walls, and then the second night attempt some sabotage. We would then return home. I had not brought all of my men. I brought Sir Robert, Henri, Garth of Sheffield, Walter of Derby, William of Lincoln, Ralph of Ely, Sir Thomas, Alf son of Morgan, John of Chester, Henry son of Will, Harold Longsword, Robin Hawkeye, Thomas, Jack, Stephen and Edward. It was mainly archers and those of my men who were good with knives. I also had a plan. I had brought with me the three assassin blades we had captured. I intended to have them worried that the assassins were their enemies.

  We went to the castle of Azdud. It was a hill top fort overlooking the port. It looked to have been built by the Muslims. Geoffrey of Azdud was more like me than many of the other knights. He was also devout. He was surprised to see me. “I wondered if you had refused to fight for the king.”

  “No, Sir Geoffrey, I was given a different task. I will tell you but it is a secret and when I explain what it is then you will understand why.”

  Afterwards he said, “I am honoured by the confidence. What do you need from me?”

  “We would leave our spare horses and supplies here. You are close enough for us to reach here should things go awry. Tonight, I go with two men to scout out the walls and then tomorrow we will see what mischief we can c
ause.”

  “The towers are coming on, Sir William. Three are already built. From the foundations they are digging there will be fifty of them. I do not relish the thought of attacking them when the time comes.”

  “And your work, how goes that?”

  We made one joint raid yesterday. We caught them napping. We captured some animals and killed thirty or forty of their warriors. I do not think it will be as easy the next time we ride.”

  “Then you will have to use a different approach. Can you see the walls from your castle?”

  He nodded, “On a clear day you can. It is nine miles away but as it is along the coast there is naught to obstruct the view.”

  It was now summer and the land had a permanent heat haze but the cooler sea sometimes permitted a better view. It was strange to be inside a Muslim built castle. It was more of a fort than a castle. Stone had been faced with mud and the towers were not as high as a castle but, when we ascended the southwest tower I could see the walls of Ascalon. This did have towers already. They were not circular but looked, from a distance, to be almost half towers as though someone had cut a round one in two. I might not have been able to see it clearly but Geoffrey knew the castle and was able to direct my gaze.

  “See, lord, there is scaffolding where they are working on the towers. My scouts report that they have dug foundations for all of them but they are working on the five which are on this side.” He shook his head, “They are using Christians they captured. They work them to death and then throw their bodies in the sea. We have seen the sharks feasting. Someone told us that the ruler of the port has his men catch the sharks which he then has cooked.”