by Griff Hosker
“I have the archers and they will win this battle for us.”
The day turned cloudy, as we left the next day. It was summer but this was England and it was the north. In Durham de Gray would be discovering that summer did not necessarily mean balmy dry days. The weather could turn autumnal in a heartbeat and then back again. Edward sniffed the air. He had inherited many skills from his father and weather prediction was one of them. “We will have rain before nightfall.”
William shook his head, “You are a ray of sunshine are you not, Edward?”
My oldest knight sniffed, “I am just telling you what will happen. Our archers’ bowstrings will be affected.”
“Aye, Sir Edward but they will not be using their bows this night. Tonight, they find the enemy and let us know so that we can close with them in the morning. It is good that it will rain for it is more likely to drive the bandits back from their hunting.”
Sir Ralph asked, “Is there much around here for them, lord?”
“Within twenty miles there is. The main road crosses from the New Castle to Norham. There are merchants and travellers who use that road. The castles of Northumberland can patrol but only around their manors. The nearest castles to the valley we seek are Alnwick and Morthpath. They are thirty miles from Falstone and Elsdon. They are taking advantage of the abandoned manor. One knight and his men at arms could control this area.” I smiled, “Regard this as rat control. We catch the rats and put them out of business. Then I will write to the King and suggest that he orders the lord of Elsdon to do his duty.”
Even as I said it I knew that the letter would do little good. The King was unconcerned with the lives of his subjects. His business was power and control. I could see the situation coming to a head sooner rather than later. On which side of the fence would I find myself?
When we reached Bellingham, we found a recently devasted settlement. The bandits had been through there. We found the villagers burying their dead and clearing up. When our banners were recognised we were welcomed. The man who spoke to us, Alan of Bellingham, was one of the few who had survived unscathed. The reason had been that he had been sent to Rothbury to ask for help against the bandits.
He shook his head as he spoke. It was as though he blamed himself for being absent. Had he been there he could have done little. “Lord, for weeks now, since before we harvested our crops we have been plagued with bandits. Animals were taken and those who lived up in the isolated valleys were found dead. We sent to the New Castle for the Sheriff but he said that he was too busy and he did not have men to spare.”
I had thought that the leopard had changed his spots but I was wrong. Even though it might incur the wrath of the King I would have to have words with the new Sheriff. I had thought the old one bad enough but it seemed it was the office which corrupted whoever held it.
“When they raided and destroyed Charlton the other men asked me to ride to Rothbury. I returned yesterday and found that I had missed the bandits by moments. They heard my horse and must have thought I was a scout for a larger band. Perhaps I stopped them completely destroying our homes.”
“Fear not, Alan. I will rid the land of them.”
“But lord you have so few men. Should we help you?”
“Your work is here making your homes safer. Leave it to warriors who know how to deal with the likes of Alexander of Hawick.”
His mouth dropped open, “I thought he was finished!”
“He will be soon!”
We left them to their work and headed to the devastated hamlet of Charlton. The bodies had been buried and it had an empty desolate feel to it. Alan had told us that the hamlet lay just five miles from Falstone. The forest crept around the village. We could spend the night there and eat cold rations. The rain which Edward had promised us came later than he had predicted but he smiled smugly at William. His prediction had come true.
Some of the huts still had a roof and we used those for shelter. David and his archers set off through the forest. The rain would not bother them overmuch for they had seal skin capes. The men who had served with me in Sweden had discovered them there and they were perfect for keeping men dry. Their bowstrings would be safe in their string purse. They disappeared into the dark like wraiths. We expected them to be in Falstone itself which lay next to the tiny river which bubbled down to Bellingham and beyond. We kept a good watch that night. I shared mine with Edward. He awoke me and I discovered that the rain had stopped.
“All quiet lord.”
“Get some sleep. It is my turn to watch.”
It was summer and we knew it would be a short night. I walked to the man at arms watching the horses. He waved. All was well. I checked the other four sentries and saw that they were alert and well. Alfred sidled up to me as I stood looking up the road.
“You should sleep, son.”
“You watch.”
“I command. When you command remember that.”
“Who taught you these things?”
“My father. I was too young to have my grandfather’s wisdom. From when I was younger than you he taught me how to be a warrior.”
“Yet you only took me to war a year or so back. Why?”
“That was the first war we fought in this land. When we lived in Anjou you had just seen four summers and when we reached England I had much to do at Stockton. I am sorry if you feel that you were neglected.”
“No, father, I was not neglected. I just thought that you did not think that I had the potential to be a warrior.”
“You have shown me that you have so let us look forward. In a few short years from now you will win your spurs and become a knight.”
Just then I heard a sound and I drew my sword. A low whistle made me sheath it. It was Cedric Warbow.
“I must be slipping lord. You heard me.”
“No matter. Well?”
“We have found them, lord. They are in Falstone. They do not have sentries but this will not be easy. They cannot escape us for our archers have a ring around them but they have women and children as hostages, slaves,” he waved a hand down the road and shook his head, sadly, “they are being ill used by the bandits. David of Wales said that it will not be as simple as we thought.”
“Get some food.” I turned to look at the east. The sky was beginning to grow a little lighter. “Alfred go and wake the other knights, not Sir Edward, he needs more sleep.”
The treatment of those in Bellingham had made my men angry. That these men had resurfaced and once more devastated poor people meant that they would happily forego sleep. The men ate and the sky showed signs of dawn. I woke Edward. He complained that I had allowed him to sleep. Alfred had saddled our horses but we would walk them through the forest. It was not worth the risk of a fall.
“Have you the horn?”
“Aye father.” He knew that the horn would be vital for the knights of the Palatinate would be waiting to hear it.
The men at arms had swords but the knights had spears. The squires, with the exception of Alfred also had spears. Our spare horses were tethered and, as a greyness filled the sky, we headed through the forest and down the road. Falstone was less than five miles away. We would reach there by dawn. Had they not had captives then we would have risked a night attack but it would have been too easy to hurt innocent people in the darkness. This way we would have the light behind us as we rode in.
Cedric Warbow halted us when we were just five hundred yards from the settlement. It was in darkness but I could smell wood smoke. The light of the dawning sun would help my archers. I could not see them but I knew they were all around. The knights and squires mounted. I raised my spear and mounted my horse. We began to edge forward towards the hall surrounded by huts. Alfred would wait for my spoken command before he sounded the horn. We steadily approached until we were two hundred paces from the houses. The light now showed the doors and the rooves of the houses. It was not a large settlement but there was a hall. The constable of Norham had said that there had been a l
ord who lived there. That had been some years ago. He might have been another victim of the Scottish raids or perhaps he just died, childless.
Fate intervened when two men staggered from the hall. Their heads were down and they did not see us. They turned and began to make water on the wall of the hall. We could hear the murmur of their voices as they spoke. Steam rose. None of my men had needed a command to halt. Movement might alert the two men. In the end it was not our movement which told them where we were. It was a pair of doves. Their flapping wings, high in the tree close by us made the two men turn. They saw the birds and then, as they lowered their eyes to see what had disturbed them, they saw us.
“Alarm! We are undone!” Their cry shattered the silence.
Half a dozen arrows thudded into the two men who fell dead.
“Alfred, sound the horn!” Without waiting for the horn to sound I spurred Scean. Ridley and Henry Youngblood were leading my men at arms towards the buildings. They were running in open formation and my knights were able to ride between them. The bandits broke from the buildings. I saw that some had women held before them as human shields. If this had been in the dark then there might have been a problem. As it was my archers sent their arrows to slay the men without harming the captives.
The layout of the hall was similar to the one we had seen at Hawick and suddenly a dozen horses burst out of the far end of the hall. From his size one of them was Alexander of Hawick. The archers at the far end of the village sent their arrows to hit a couple but the horsemen broke through the thin screen of archers. The knights of Palatinate awaited them.
Leaving my men at arms to deal with the buildings and those who lay within I led my knights and squires after them. Even before we had ridden another forty paces more men burst out from the stable. I recognised one as Aimeric of Chartres. He had two large bags behind him. They had not been secured well and they shifted as his laden horse turned to join the road. He turned in his saddle and he saw me. I pointed my spear at him. He turned and lashed at his horse. He was no warrior. I knew it before but it was obvious now for he struggled to control his horse. It was over loaded and badly laden. The wet road was not a cobbled one and its hooves slipped and slid. The rain had made the forest a difficult place in which to ride and so the fleeing bandits were forced to ride down the road. I was not pushing Scean. I let my horse keep a steady pace.
I was next to the door when two more men burst out. They were surprised to see me so close for Scean was bigger than their mounts and I was mailed. They had no weapons in their hands but their horses forced Scean further to the right allowing Aimeric to gain a length or two on me. I jabbed my spear into the side of one of them and he fell from his horse, taking my spear with him. The other drew and swung his sword at me. Johann, William’s sergeant at arms, was on the other side of him and he swung his own sword and it hacked into the bandit’s neck.
Scean was able to ride straight again and I was gaining now on Aimeric. I saw him swing his head around to see how close we were. It was a mistake for he lost time in doing so. The ones who had left the hall with him were now paces ahead and he was the last in the line. We were steadily catching him. Ahead of me I heard the clash of arms as Baron Stanhope led his men into the fleeing bandits. I sheathed my sword. I would not let Aimeric cheat the hangman. I would take him alive.
Ahead of us I saw swords raised and horses rear. The men of Durham outnumbered the bandits. Aimeric saw the battle and his head went from side to side as he sought a way to enter the forest. He was almost close enough for me to grab for his horse was labouring. I was reaching for him when he turned again. This time he totally panicked when he saw how close I was to him. He jerked his horse’s head to the left, away from me. He was trying to enter the forest. The horse’s foreleg went into the drainage ditch. I heard the leg snap as it hit the bottom and Aimeric flew from the saddle. His head cracked into the bole of a tree. I reined in and my knights and squires galloped along the road to complete the destruction of Alexander’s bandits. The Bishop’s nephew was dead. I watched his brains as they slipped down the tree bark. I could see that the fall had been fatal. He had cheated the hangman.
I patted Scean’s neck and dismounted. Aimeric’s horse had broken its neck. It was still alive but in pain. I took out my dagger and ended the poor beast’s misery. Alfred reined in next to me. His eyes stared at the crushed skull of the man who had cheated the King and Durham of so much coin. There was shock on his face. “Alfred, come and take these bags from the horse. They contain the treasure from Durham.”
“Aye lord.” He had something to do to take his mind from the horrific sight. I had to endure it as I searched his body. He needed to be searched for who knew what he had about his person. There was a seal of office he had taken. I had to lift it from his crushed head. He had two purses attached to his belt. Money was all to Aimeric of Chartres but as I saw Alfred struggle to lift the bags then I knew that it had been his downfall, quite literally. The weight had been too much for his horse and they had been badly packed. Had he just fled with his two purses then he might have lived.
I looked up as I saw the knights of Durham, heading down the road. Their surcoats were bloody and they led horses with bodies upon them. It was Alexander of Hawick and his men. This time we had finished the job we had begun up at Hawick.
“Well done Baron.”
He nodded, “It felt as though this was worthwhile. It was not like fighting knights but it was a job needed doing.” He looked down at Aimeric’s body. “He was a clever man. I did not like him but he was clever.”
“He used his cleverness to the wrong end. Richard de Gray is clever but he uses that cleverness to make money legally. He is not a bandit. I think Aimeric had a bad seed in him. I have seen it in others.” As we rode down the road I remembered the Holy Land. There I had seen knights who had gone on Crusade and then seen a way to make money. They were the reason we would never take what once we had held. They were like Alexander of Hawick and Aimeric. They were nobles who had been corrupted by gold.
When we reached the village Ridley the Giant had already built a pyre on which to burn the bodies of the bandits. He had thoughtfully built it so that the wind would take the smell away from the survivors. They were women and children. The men had all been killed and the old disposed of. The women and children were a pitiable sight.
Henry Youngblood came up to me, “Lord, these cannot move yet. They have been ill-treated. We have found some of the treasure the bandits took from other places and the animals they took from Bellingham and Charlton.”
I nodded, “Padraig and Richard Red Leg, ride to Bellingham and tell Alan of Bellingham that the bandits are gone but we have captives in need of care.”
“Aye lord.”
My two men rode off and I dismounted. Alfred reined in. “There is a stable beneath the hall. Feed and water them and then stable them. They deserve the rest.”
“Aye lord.”
By noon all of the bandits’ bodies had been found and there was a pall of black smoke as their bodies were burned. They had not had shrift. They would be burning in hell and that was fitting for men who preyed on the weak. I took off my mail and went to the river to wash. I felt dirty. The new Sheriff had had a responsibility to ensure that bandits and brigands did not harm the people. He had allowed a local warlord to rise. I would have to visit him.
The captives all told a similar tale. The bandits had struck suddenly and ruthlessly in each of their villages and hamlets. The men and the old had been killed and the women and children taken to be used as slaves. Like Sarah many of the girls and the children would need to be cared for. As we ate and I considered what to do I remembered a monastery not far from Hexham. The Augustinian monks there would be the best place to send the captives. In time they would return to some sort of life outside of the Abbey but the monks, who had helped Ranulf of Hexham, were good men.
I sat with my knights and Baron Stanhope. “Alfred found some wagons by the stable. Baron, I
would have you escort the captives to the Abbot at Hexham. Ask him to take in the captives. Give him this.” I handed him a purse from the money we had collected from the bandits. The rest would go to the people of Bellingham. “When you have done that then return the coin we took from Aimeric and the Bishop’s seal and give them to Richard de Gray.”
He nodded, “And you lord? Will you return to Stockton?”
I shook my head, “Sir Edward will lead my knights and my archers home. I will take my own men at arms. We need to visit the New Castle.”
“Will you not need us with you, lord?”
“No, Sir Edward I go to counsel the Sheriff not to chastise and punish. If I go alone he may be less intimidated. This will be his last warning.”
I took just ten men at arms and we made good time. Flame was sent back to Stockton. We would not need tents. The New Castle was close enough to make in a day and we could then ride back to Stockton in another.
William Stuteville had been Sheriff before. His replacement had been as incompetent and when he had died King John had reappointed Stuteville. Although many knights from the New Castle had been with us at Alnwick when we had captured King William the Sheriff had not been amongst them. I was not certain if that made him a coward or one who preferred the comfortable life within a castle.
My banner was well known and I made sure that Alfred held it high. We were seen from a distance when we headed down the Ponteland road. I wanted the Sheriff to know that I was coming. We rode through the gates and I could not help but contrast the bearing and demeanour of my men and those of the Sheriff’s men. Mine looked like warriors. His looked like gaolers.
He was awaiting us in the inner ward. The New Castle had been improved. That had been the work of a good Sheriff, de Vesci.
He gave a slight bow in deference to my title, “This is a surprise, Earl. Does it herald danger?”
I smiled, “No, Sheriff, it reports it!”
He must have sensed that what I was going to say was not for public consumption. “You will stay the night?” I nodded, “Your men can stay in the guard house if that is satisfactory.”