Count Striguil rose, “I should come with you.”
I shook my head, “Stay close to your wife and keep guards around you.”
“Surely I am safe.”
I did not answer.
I took Padraig with us in case we met any locals who might be questioned. The stream in question was so small that it had no name. We did not hunt there for it was difficult to cross the undergrowth and there were easier places to hunt. James and I would not be of much use. Aelric and my archers were the finest scouts and trackers I had. Aiden, Edward and Edgar were better but they were an ocean and mountain divide away in Stockton.
We were almost at Ballycarney when Tomas ap Tomas shouted us over. The stream twisted and turned. The rains must have eroded the soil around a sapling and it had fallen across the stream making a small dam. There we found Prince Conchobar. His throat had been cut. Had the sapling not fallen then his body would have made its way, eventually, to the Slaney and thence the sea. His disappearance would have remained a mystery. We put his body on Padraig’s horse and he rode double with James. I sent Will Green Leg back to warn Count Striguil. Treachery was afoot.
Aelric said, “That body has been in the water for at least two days, lord.”
“Thank you Aelric. We need to keep a close watch on our hall.”
Aetheling said, “If you are worried about Prince Domhnall then I can end his threat easily.”
I smiled; Aetheling was deadly with a knife, “Thank you but I fear that would do the Count’s cause no good at all.” That set me to thinking about the Count and his position. Now that Conchobar was dead it made it more likely that Sir Richard would be the next King of Leinster. I wondered just what the Count planned. If he became King of Leinster would he try to become High King? From what I had seen that would be relatively easy. He would need more men than he had at present but there were many landless young knights who would flock to his banner. That, of course, would not please King Henry.
Count Striguil had some of his men awaiting us when we arrived at the King’s hall. I think his daughter must have given her father the news for she supported his arm as they came out of the hall. He looked ancient. “It is true then. He is dead. How did he die? Did he fall in the stream and drown?”
His voice told me that he did not believe it was an accident and he hoped I would lie. I could not do that; not even for his peace of mind. I shook my head. “He was murdered, your majesty.”
Just then Prince Domhnall came out. He must have heard my words, “And you were the murderer, Earl Marshal. For it is very convenient that you discovered his body.”
I dismounted and walked over to him, “You may be upset about the death of your brother but if you call me a liar or a murderer then you and I will settle this by trial by combat! We will let God decide who is a liar and a murderer.” He backed off and I saw absolute terror in his eyes.
Aoife said firmly, “Apologise brother! If the Earl Marshal was the murderer then the body would have remained hidden. Are you such a fool that you cannot see that? He was not murdered by a Norman but by an Irishman!”
The Prince remained silent.
The King said, “Apologize or I shall banish you!”
He jabbed his finger in the direction of the King. “You take her side against me as you did with my brother. He deserved to die.” He pointed at his sister. “And you will have to watch your back now!” Just then four men galloped up with a fifth horse and the Prince threw himself on its back. “This is not over! I will have Leinster, one way or another!”
We would have followed him had the King not keeled over and fallen to the ground. We all ran to him and the five men galloped away. The King was taken to his chambers where the Bishop of Ferns brought healers to him. After giving him restoratives he came to. Count Striguil, his daughter and the Bishop were permitted to see him. I had the guards doubled.
I sent Padraig, with James and Harry Lightfoot as bodyguards to question his servants who remained. Most of his men had fled with him. When they returned after interrogating the remaining men he said, “I believe he has gone north to the land of the Southern Uí Neill. His men said that he struck up a friendship with a young chief from just over the border when he was a hostage with the High King.”
“Thank you. We will see what the Count wishes to do about this.”
“That is simple,” said Harry, “go and kill the bastard. If he murdered once he will do so again.”
“Perhaps.”
It was many hours later when the Count came to speak with us. “The King lives but he is shocked and shaken. He has named me and his daughter as joint heirs before the Bishop.”
“Then I would watch yourself. The Prince is a murderer. You now stand in his path to the throne.”
“I know.”
“I discovered where we think he has gone. He has probably gone to the land of the Southern Uí Neill.”
“That is what my wife believes. We have more men coming from England. We will gather a large force and go and capture him. We will bring him back for trial.”
“Better we just kill him.”
“He is still the King’s son.” I thought back to King Henry and what he had done to prevent his brothers from claiming the throne. He had been ruthless. Count Striguil would need to learn.
For the next month, as we gathered our forces I watched the castle rise layer of stones by layer of stones. By Easter it would be finished and I could go home. I had one more task to perform first. I had to persuade Count Striguil to kill Domhnall rather than take him prisoner. Taking the Prince prisoner might cost more of our men their lives. In the end I did not need to persuade him. His wife did. When the King died, his daughter said because of a broken heart for her brother Conchobar, she told her husband that if he did not kill him then he would try to take the throne from them. She was now heavily pregnant and her words had an effect on Count Striguil.
Our departure was delayed by the funeral of the King. It was a solemn affair and the cathedral was packed. After he had been laid in his tomb then every Irishman drank himself into a stupor as did many of the women. Queen Aoife told us that it was the custom. The Bishop affirmed, the next day, that Richard was King of Leinster. He anointed the King and the Queen’s heads with oil but the crown would not be placed on his head in the cathedral until the only other potential heir, Domhnall, was dead.
Two weeks later we left Ferns having been blessed by the Bishop. He made it seem like a holy crusade. Irish scouts, eager for vengeance, had discovered the exact whereabouts of Prince Domhnall. He was with a local chief, Turloch Mór Ó Conor at Athlone, on the Shannon. There had always been a ford there but there was now a bridge. The scouts told us that they had recently built a fort to protect the bridge. When questioned closer they told us that it was a series of ditches with two concentric palisades. There was no keep. Our exact plans would have to wait until we were closer.
We went first to Dyflin. Members of the Fitzgerald family had come to help their brother and, as the garrison was large enough, we took Sir Maurice and his men with us. They had already proved to be both reliable and skilled. The journey from Dyflin was almost seventy miles. Our scouts told us that there were members of the Ó Conor clan at Tullamore. It was roughly half way to our destination. There was no fort there and Sir Maurice came up with the clever idea of taking Tullamore. It would give us a base and we would be reducing the number of men we would have to eventually fight. As we had to pass through the town to get to Athlone it made sense to me. Another factor was that by taking it we would be enlarging the Count’s new kingdom. I did not call him king. He was not yet crowned. The main reason I did not use the title was because I was King Henry’s Earl Marshal. If I called him king then it made it legitimate.
We spoke about the coronation as we headed towards Tullamore. “King Henry may not be happy, Richard.”
“I know. You are his friend and mentor, Earl Marshal. I beg you to speak with him. Although I was unhappy and disappointed not
to be give the title, Earl of Pembroke, I am King Henry’s man. I would not vie for the crown of England nor the Dukedom of Normandy.”
“Let us be honest with one another. We both know that Leinster is just the start. You could become King of Ireland. That would seem a threat to King Henry.”
“Then tell him I pay homage to him. I will be his King of Leinster.”
“You know that I will never lie to my king. I need to know that you mean what you say. When you are crowned we will speak again and then we will seek your wife’s advice.”
“My wife?”
“You may have no desire to be High King of Ireland but she may wish to be High Queen.”
For the next ten miles he was quiet. It was only when the scouts rode in to say that Tullamore was eight miles ahead that he roused himself. “We need to make camp in five miles or so lest we alert them.”
“Agreed. I will send our archers around the village to camp on the far side. Our purpose here is to prevent warning of our arrival reaching Domhnall.”
I could not get over how flat and featureless the land hereabouts was. It made a secretive approach much harder. We had a cold camp with one man in three, knights included, on guard. The Count, Sir Maurice and myself sat and discussed our plan.
The Count had spoken with the men who knew Tullamore. “The scouts have said there are no defences. We can simply ride in and slay or capture every man. With Tullamore safe we can march and reach Athlone by dark.”
“I favour a night crossing of the Shannon.”
Count Striguil said, “That is risky is it not? There are dangers.”
“There are more dangers in trying to cross a river with arrows and stones showering us. They have a fort. That will make a difference.” They both nodded. “We ride in three conroi. We approach from south east and west. Aelric has the north. He will shut the door on any escape to warn Athlone. We will need twenty men to guard our prisoners. Choose them from amongst the older knights and men at arms. We will ride with the sun behind us.”
Sir Maurice shook his head, “It has been so long since I saw the sun that I wondered if it has not abandoned us. What you mean, Earl Marshal, is that we ride in with the rain clouds behind us.”
I laughed, “I confess that it is a wet country.”
“You do not wish to go in at night?”
“There may not be a river but there may be obstacles in our way. Besides my archers need daylight to get into position.”
Padraig now had his own position. He carried the banner and rode behind and amongst my men at arms with James. The fact that he carried the banner freed up James to protect my back. I had twelve men at arms and I was flanked by three on each side. Count Striguil had offered me some of his knights but I had declined. I knew my men at arms and what they lacked in breeding they made up for in experience. They knew one end of a sword from another and knew how to win in a fight. Unconcerned with glory they had two purposes in life: one was to protect me and the other was to kill the enemy and take whatever they carried.
Leaving our spare equipment and horses with our servants, they would follow when they heard four blasts on the horn, we mounted and headed into the lightening sky. I had knights on my two flanks. All had now fought alongside me in enough battles for me to be confident that they would obey orders. We walked in the grey light until we saw the huts ahead and we smelled the smoke from their fires. I began to see that we were crossing fields. They had been cleared of their winter crops and lay bare. They were not flat but there were neither crops nor plough marks yet. We had a direct route to the huts. As soon as we were seen a cry went off and I said, “Forward!”
I spurred Storm Bringer so that he was cantering. It was an easy gait and would not strain him. It meant that when I put my spurs in again he would be able to gallop very quickly. Horns sounded in the settlement. I heard the wail of women. They were used to raids by men. They normally resulted in a life as a slave. The sound of our hooves added the threat of the unknown. Full daylight had arrived and Sir Maurice had been correct, it was a grey day. The rain had not yet begun and that was a mercy.
I glanced to my left and right. I could see the other two conroi of knights and men at arms. The huts were surrounded. The Clan Ó Conor came to meet us. They made a couple of long lines. They were not continuous and they were not supporting each other. I had time, as we headed towards them to see that they fought in little knots of men. I guessed they were families. There were a few helmets and a few shields. This time some of the shields were square ones I had not seen before.
When we were a hundred paces from them I spurred Storm Bringer and shouted, “Charge!” I held my spear to the side and I held it overhand. I did not need a couched spear. I would be striking down.
This time we were together. We were not exactly boot to boot; the slightly uneven ground did not suit that but we were tight enough and the Irish would have a wall of spears and snapping horses to face. My men at arms and I had about thirty men before us. There were a group of eight who stood together and tried to make a shield wall. It was not a Viking shield wall. It was just men who held a hopeful shield before them. The shields did not overlap. They were in a single rank and there were only five spears facing us. As we neared them I raised my spear and thrust down over the top of the shield and down into the man’s chest. He thrust at me with his spear at the same time. It was fire hardened and it did no damage to my mail. My padded gambeson meant it did not even hurt overmuch. I allowed his body to be dragged from my spear and I raised it ready to strike again.
I saw that the next knot of men was slightly to my left. “Wheel left!” This time there were fifteen or so of them. One of them looked to be a leader of some kind. He had a fancy helmet which was adorned with some sort of animal’s skull. He was bare chested and held a long axe. These were singing as we approached. I observed that, all along our line our men had swept through the opposition. “Close ranks!” I reined Storm Bringer in slightly so that my men at arms could get closer to me. If we could sweep through this group then we might have broken the resistance of the clan.
Suddenly they broke ranks and ran at us! It was unexpected. Instead of fifteen men in two ranks they ran to try to surround us. One ran and leapt in the air at me. He held a two-handed sword in his hands. With limed hair and a heavily tattooed chest he looked like some wild beast. I pulled back my arm and my spear plucked his body from the air. My horse’s speed and his jump mean that the spear came through his body and the weight of it snapped the spear in two.
I saw Davy of Ingleby pitched from his horse as the chief hacked into the leg of his mount. He landed heavily and did not move. The sudden attack had broken our ranks. I wheeled Storm Bringer around as I drew my sword. The chief ran to Davy’s recumbent body. He raised his axe to take his head. I spurred Storm Bringer and he leapt, almost into the air. Even as the sword was slicing down I leaned from the saddle and swung my sword in a wide sweep. As the axe descended my sword hacked into his side and then his spine. My arm was jarred and numbed by the force of the blow. His arms were thrown up and then my sword was pulled from the dying man’s body and he fell to the ground.
I reined in Storm Bringer and glanced around. I saw my men at arms had also stopped and were finishing off the men who had charged us. I risked taking off my helmet so that I could have a better view of the battle. We had won. I saw riderless horses and I saw men at arms and knights walking but the chief and his men had been the last opposition. I turned Storm Bringer and rode back to Davy. Peter Strong Arm was kneeling next to him.
I dismounted. James was at my side and I handed my reins to him. “How is he?”
Peter had taken Davy’s helmet from him. “He lives.” He pointed to Davy’s left arm which lay at an unnatural angle. “I know not what other wounds there are but he has a broken arm and he has a blow to the head.”
“James, signal the healers and the servants.”
“Aye lord.”
I turned to Peter, “You and the
rest of my men at arms stay here with Davy until the healers come.” I pointed to the body of the dead chief. “If there is treasure then it will be about him.” He nodded. With an injured comrade treasure was the least of his concern. “Come, James and Padraig. We will ride into the settlement.”
“Be careful lord.”
“Do not worry Peter Strong Arm. Their chief is dead. They will either flee or surrender. We have won but I wonder at the cost.”
“They fought well lord.”
“They did, James, and I think I made the right decision to cross the river at night. I will have to give much thought to how we defeat men such as this inside a fort.”
Chapter 16
Aelric and his archers had stopped the villagers from fleeing. We slaughtered some of their animals for food. While our wounded warriors were tended to I allowed them to collect and bury their dead. I spoke with Sir Maurice and Count Striguil. “They were brave men and wild!”
The Count was shaken, “Aye, Earl Marshal. I thought to just ride through them. It cost us eight horses and five men. The men we can replace but not the horses.”
I nodded, “And that confirms my plan. We do not risk our horses when we attack Athlone. Have the men get as much rest as they can. We leave the wounded and the healers here. Padraig tells me that it is twenty-three miles or so to Athlone. We leave in the dark of night.” I spied the Irish families returning from burying their dead. “Come Count, it is time that you became king. Padraig, we will speak with these people.”
Gathering them around us I spoke to them through Padraig. The women appeared to have many children each and they gathered them protectively around their feet. Padraig had told me that they feared they would be enslaved.
“First, you will not be enslaved.” After Padraig had spoken I allowed some moments for that to sink in and for them to be less fearful. “There is a new King of Leinster, King Richard.” I pointed to the Count. “He will build a castle here. You can continue to farm your fields. There will be a stone church and a priest so that you can worship. You will have protection from other Irish warriors who may wish to do you harm.”
Irish War (Anarchy Book 16) Page 23