by Griff Hosker
Chapter 14
We called at Middleham, because Mary had written a letter to her mother which she asked us to deliver. We were treated well in all of the castles but the place we enjoyed our rest was Middleham where we were treated like family. After that, we knew we would be in Percy land. We crossed the Tees and headed up through Durham. The Palatinate was ruled by the Prince Bishop and as the Scots had raided his land, I thought that we should speak. Walter Skirlaw was a good man but he had to tread a fine line as he dared not offend the Percy family for they guarded his northern borders and he was a churchman. He had been Bishop of Coventry. I enjoyed speaking with him for he liked to build; he was a creative Prince Bishop and not a plotter. I knew that, in the past, many had been men who preferred to scheme. Bishop Skirlaw was not such a cleric. He had built bridges at Yarm and Bishop Auckland. He was not a warrior but what he did was for the Palatinate and I admired him for that.
He gave me information about Henry Percy which I did not know. “He is very popular in Chester, my lord. He has many friends there. Often riders come from Cheshire to speak to his lordship and they often stay here.”
This was neither gossip nor tittle-tattle; the Bishop was giving me a message. The King had been at Chester when he had held his meeting. Who were the spies and did Percy already know of the King’s decision? I had expected that someone would take him the news but I had hoped that I would reach him before that. My mission suddenly became even more dangerous. The next day we crossed the Tyne and headed for Warkworth. Once the castle had been so poorly built and defended that when William the Lion attacked it the garrison fled and the villagers were slaughtered. Henry Percy had turned it into a fortress upon which any attacker would bleed trying to assault it. A huge mound was surrounded on two sides by water and the design of the gatehouse and keep were spectacular. It marked the start of what Stephen of Morpeth called ‘real Percy Country’. We had passed through Morpeth and felt the animosity of the people there for those, like us, who came from the south, but when we stopped at the tiny hamlet of Amble, we were keenly aware that we were not just unwelcome, we were despised. Word of the King’s messenger had preceded us and the people of Northumberland regarded Henry Percy as a favoured son. We were close to his heartland and, as we were not his knights, we were regarded as enemies. We looked north to the castle.
“There it is, my lord, and as hard a place to take as the Tower, I would wager.”
I nodded, “You may be right, Stephen, and it is fortunate that we don’t have to take it merely enter it and then leave!”
That sobering thought silenced them all but Harry, “And if they do not allow us to leave?”
“Then we will be hostages and King Henry will have a war but the difference is he will have right on his side for we will be the victims.”
Simon the Traveller sniffed, “It won’t make much of a difference to us though, will it, my lord? We will still be prisoners.”
I shook my head, “No, just Harry and I. I am sorry Simon but you have no worth to Lord Percy. He will let you go and you will ride and tell Lady Eleanor and my son that we are taken.”
I had said the words to reassure them but they had the opposite effect. They became angry, swearing that they would die rather than let me be taken.
“Listen to me, even if I am taken prisoner I will come to no harm. I am a pawn which would be captured by the enemy. If I am incarcerated you will do as I command and return to my home with the news. Do you understand?”
“Aye, lord.”
“And when you are in the castle, smile but keep your ears open. Do not be drawn into arguments for I know the men of the north will try to provoke you into a fight. Do not entertain them. We need to know as much about these people as we can, for one day we may have to fight them.”
We rode the last mile to the increasingly impressive castle. Its design meant that it rose higher and higher before your eyes as you approached. I knew from the reception we had received in Morpeth and Amble that they knew we were coming. Perhaps they had known from the moment we had left Chester. It mattered not. We crossed over the drawbridge and under the barbican. We were not stopped and that confirmed my belief that we were expected.
Once inside a young knight greeted me, “Sir William, if you and your squire would come with me, Sir Henry is anxious to speak with you.”
“And my men and animals?”
There were two pages with him, “Ralph and William will take them to their quarters. They are next to the stables in the outer ward.”
I nodded to my men, “You will be well looked after.”
Stephen of Morpeth said, “And we will be ready, my lord, whenever you need us!”
The knight must have recognised his accent for, as we headed towards the Great Tower he said, “You have local men who serve you, my lord?”
“I have men from all over England and Wales. All of my men are good men.” I think I had him worried by my words. Was I suggesting that I had men close by or that my men might take action if I was threatened? I had brought a very few men and that might make them suspect me; I had not thought of that. I meant neither but confusion amongst my hosts could only help me. I had no doubt that Henry Percy would question his knight before he spoke with me. We climbed the steps to the porter’s lodge and thence up a narrow stairway to the Great Hall. As we climbed, I pictured myself fighting my way in and I knew it would not be easy. At the top of the stairs, we entered a lobby. There were two chairs and a table. A couple of servants waited.
“If you and your squire would wait here, my lord, I will tell Sir Henry that you are here.”
We sat and I winked at Harry to put him at his ease. The servants poured us a goblet of wine each, handed them to us and then stepped back. Both looked to be old soldiers. I would take nothing for granted. These were Percy’s men and had not been chosen for their skills in pouring wine; they were there to watch us and if they had to, stop us from leaving. As I had predicted we were kept a while. The knight was being questioned. Hotspur would put on a face to greet me and I doubted that I would see him lose his temper. He was still Hotspur but he was now older and I could see that he was within touching distance of power. It was not yet a crown but it was a throne, the throne of the north. With his arch-rival in these lands, Douglas, in his hands and Sir George as his ally, he ruled the land from coast to coast. He ruled from the Firth and the Forth in the north to the Tyne and the Eden to the south. It was a vast land.
We were summoned and I nodded, reassuringly to Harry. We had spoken, on the road north, of the attitude he should adopt. He knew what he had to do. The Great Hall was not as large as some I had known. I saw Sir Henry and his household knights. They ranged from young men, like himself, to knights like me with grey in their beards and hair. There was no Sir George; he must have returned to Dunbarre. I also saw Lord Douglas. He looked, surprisingly, relatively happy. Was this another Mortimer situation?
“Welcome, Baron William. I believe that you have something for me?”
I now knew that there were spies in Chester. The letter had been beneath my cloak. Whilst the people of Morpeth and Amble knew we were English and from the court of King Henry, none knew that I carried a letter. I stored that useful information in my head and I took out the parchment, “King Henry sends you his greetings, Sir Henry, and his thanks for keeping his borders safe.”
Sir Henry nodded and broke the seal. He scanned the parchment. That he knew the contents was clearly obvious when he spoke before he could have read every word. “So, the King wishes to steal the money from the ransom I am due for having defeated the Scots in battle?”
“I believe he wishes to be involved in the negotiation, my lord, and as such the King seeks that which he is due.”
“And you are to negotiate for him?”
I shook my head, “The King will be in Northampton and if you rode there, with me, then all discord could be ended.” I did not think for one moment that he would agree but Prince Henry had asked me to d
o all in my power to bring Sir Henry back into the fold. I knew it was a quest which was doomed to failure.
He stood and threw the parchment to the floor. It was a deliberate act which he wished me to see. He was telling me that he cared not for the King’s commands. He stood before me and tried to intimidate me. He was a powerful warrior and most men were smaller than he was. I was not and I looked back into his eyes. I would not fight with him but my eyes let him know that I was not afraid of him either. As he spoke, he used his right hand to tap the fingers of his left, “First, he refuses to ransom my brother in law, Mortimer. Then he fails to negotiate a peace with Glendower. He promotes a child to rule Wales and favours those who have raided me. He does not pay me for my defence of his land nor the prosecution of the siege at Conwy and now, when I have defeated a brave and noble earl on the battlefield while he squatted like a toad in Chester, he seeks to profit from my victory! Has the King lost all of his senses? Has the crown made reason depart his body? I reject his demands! He is being a tyrant!”
I nodded, “My lord, will you put this answer in writing?”
My calm and reasonable voice surprised him, “Why should I? You are his lickspittle and you can bear the message to him.”
I smiled, “Then I need to be clear about the exact wording of the message. The King forbids you to ransom Lord Douglas and the other prisoners without his permission. Do you intend to seek ransom for them?”
I saw his eyes flicker towards Sir Archibald. His answer was evasive, “I have not yet asked for ransom, however, when I do, then the ransom will be for me and my men for we earned it through force of arms.”
I nodded, “So I will tell my King, the King of England and your liege lord, that you refuse to obey his lawful command but that, as you have not yet asked for ransom, you have not stepped on the rocky road to rebellion.”
I had chosen my words carefully. I was buying the King time as he needed to be able to raise money with which to fight England’s enemies. I sensed that Henry Percy was waiting for a better reason to announce his total opposition to royal authority. His answer confirmed my deductions.
“You are a clever man for one dragged up by camp followers.” He thought to insult me but I did not rise to the bait. “That is the message you may deliver to King Henry.” I nodded. “It is a pity that we never met in the lists, my lord. I have heard that you are a great warrior and served England since the time of the Black Prince. As the greatest knight of my age, I should have liked to test my mettle against you in your prime. Now you are past your prime it would be no contest.”
Once more he was insulting me and hoping that I would react. I smiled, “Oh, I still use my sword and have yet to be bested, my lord, but I have never bothered with the lists or tourneys. To me, fighting has always been about winning the fight, anyway I can. The only way we would have fought would have been had you opposed the King of England. The oath I swore, all those years ago, was to protect the King of England, whoever he was and I still keep my oath.” My eyes told him that I would fight him despite his prowess.
He nodded, “The King does not deserve such a brave knight who enters the den of the lion and beards him. We will entertain you this night. You leave for Northampton on the morrow?”
“Aye, my lord.”
“It is a dangerous road. My men will escort you to the borders of my land. I would not have any harm come to you or your message whilst you are within Northumberland’s borders.” He was giving me a message. Once I left his land, I was fair game. I had no doubt that his killers were already heading south to waylay me. That was why he had not committed the message to parchment.
Harry and I were taken back to the outer ward. We had a chamber in the Carrickfergus Tower. It was close to the wooden hall my men were using. We passed them and I nodded to them. Harry made to speak as the door was closed but I shook my head and put my finger to my lips. I spoke loud enough for the men who had escorted us to be able to hear, “That was more cordial than I expected. Perhaps Sir Henry is becoming wiser and less hot-headed now that he is older.”
Harry was quick-witted and he nodded as he poured water from the jug into the bowl. “Aye, he seemed reasonable.”
I kept my voice loud so that the listeners could hear, “We will ride hard tomorrow. First Durham and thence to York. We can change horses in York. The King will be anxious to receive our news.”
The grin on Harry’s face told me that he knew what we were doing. I would no more visit Archbishop Scrope in York than I would lie down in a bed of vipers! As we ate that evening, I was aware that orders had been given. Sir Henry’s household were playing a part to lull me and make me think that all was well. They were pleasant and the conversation was light. Despite their efforts, I learned much. The King’s letter, the contents of which were already known to Hotspur, had driven Douglas and Henry Percy closer together. I had suspicions about Percy and Glendower. Was he now lying in bed with another of England’s enemies? The knight did appear to have a genuine interest in the Black Prince as he questioned me closely. His questions showed that he had studied the Prince. The man who had defeated the French with knights was a legend and Henry Percy sought to be a legend. It became obvious that he wished to win a great battle like the battle of Crécy or Poitiers, not against Scots but against serried ranks of heavily armoured knights. I answered his questions honestly for there was nothing to be gained by lying.
As we left, to be escorted back to our chamber, he clasped my arm, “I can see that you are a brave man and, I think, an honest one. We have had our differences but I can see now that you have a true heart. It is a pity that you now follow such a venal king.”
I nodded, “Aye, lord, for we fell out when I supported the former King and this, as you call him, venal king, was put on the throne by you and your father. It just proves that we should be careful what we wish for.”
The moment of reconciliation was gone. I had angered him and I regretted my words immediately. I should have nodded and smiled. I should have continued to play a part. He did not like to be reminded of his actions. “Good night, Sir William. I shall not see you again. Have a safe journey!”
As the door closed on our chamber I said to Harry, who had served me all night and heard all that had been spoken, “Well, we have an interesting journey ahead. I am glad we brought our mail!”
The escort south was the young knight who had greeted me and ten men at arms. They were not a threat; they were the surety that, when we were attacked it would not be on the land of the Percy family. I already had an idea where the attack would take place but I kept that to myself. The young knight, Sir Edward Blakemore, was a pleasant companion. His family came from Whitley Bay on the coast and he was the one, from the family, who had chosen a martial future.
He had taken part in the raids of the previous year and the battle of Homildon Hill but he, like Henry Percy, was keen to know of wars and battles beyond our shore. I think he was a frustrated crusader. All thoughts of reclaiming Jerusalem had ended despite the Popes who still urged knights to throw their lives away in a useless and flawed gesture.
“You must be assured of a place in heaven, Sir William, for you have fought the heretic Cathars and the Lithuanians.”
I shook my head, “I did not fight in the Cathar wars and as for the Lithuanians? They have their own beliefs and live far away. One of those who was a so-called barbarian now lives with us and has married one of my sergeants.”
He looked disappointed, “I thought there would have been glory in such a war.”
“The men we fought, by and large, were ill-armed and without mail yet they fought and died for their families. There was neither honour nor glory in that war.”
I could tell that I had disappointed him, “Then where is the glory?”
I turned to look at him. He reminded me of Thomas and Richard. He was young and he had ideals. The difference was that Thomas and Richard had both seen treachery and falsehood in knights. Sir Edward had not, “You know my story
?” He nodded. “Then know that I learned war through men like your sergeants. I fought for pay and for booty. Knights do the same except that they call it ransom. I learned that if any of our company was captured then they would not be ransomed and the best that they could hope for was imprisonment. Death was a more likely outcome. When you fought the Scots, the ones you killed were men such as that. They were men who had little in their lives save the comradeship of arms and when they died, their families, if they had any, would be left without any means of support. Is that glorious?”
He was silent for a while and then said to Harry, “Your father does not paint a pretty picture of knighthood, Master Henry.”
My son nodded, “Aye my lord, but it is a truthful one.”
We parted with our escort at the bridge over the Tyne close to the New Castle. I knew, from his words and his attitude that the young knight knew nothing of the ambush which had been laid. “Farewell, Sir William. You have given me food for thought and I am honoured that you were so honest with me. Not all those who are my superiors do the same. I hope we meet again under more pleasant circumstances.”
“As do I.”
We crossed the bridge by the Gates’ Head and took the road south. I waited until we had cleared the ridge of the Tyne Valley and dropped towards Durham before I spoke to my men. “Our foes mean to ambush us. My guess is that it will be in York or after York.”
Harry said, “But we will not be travelling to York!”
“I know, for I laid a false trail but Percy has fallen out with the Earl of Westmoreland, despite the fact that they are related by marriage. He will try to implicate the Neville family in our deaths. We ride first to Durham. I need to speak with the Bishop and apprise him of the situation. Then we ride hard for Middleham. I will speak to Sir William. He can pass a message to his uncle. We will be vigilant all the way home but once we have passed Middleham then we travel as though we are creeping around Warkworth Castle in the depths of night. Archers, once we are south of Middleham then you keep your bows strung. Better a wasted string than a dead man.”