Hoodsman: Ely Wakes

by Smith, Skye

  Raise the Hood. Those words exactly. Raise the Hood. The Earl of Cornwall has abducted the Queen's sister and is making for Cornwall. The king is in pursuit but it is a trap. Either slow the Earl or join the king. The girl is not to be hurt."

  He had them repeat it back to him. "If they accept the task, then you are finished, else you must find another bowman."

  Their horses from the Windsor paddock were still saddled, as the bowmen had not been dismissed when Raynar had left them at the gate house. Within a minute their hoofs were beating away from the palace.

  He looked at two other bowmen. "Near the east gate of the burgh wall there is a carter come wool merchant called John Smith. Go there with that same message. Pound on the gate until he answers. Tell him that Raynar sends it from the palace. Take a palace guardsman with you to keep you safe from the watch, but this message is for John's ears only. For no one else. Especially not the watch."

  He turned to the rest of the men. "The rest of you, mount up. The earl's trail will be cold, but we may be able to catch the king."

  Edith held Raynar back and hugged him, and kissed his cheek. At that moment, the captain of the guard walked into the gate house leading a troop of messengers. Each was wrapped in the special cloak of a royal courier. He saw the queen's gentle kiss, and again reminded himself to treat this wizened merchant as he would a royal.

  * * * * *

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  The Hoodsman - Ely Wakes by Skye Smith

  Chapter 35 - Mortain takes Mary to Cornwall in October 1101

  "At least they let me ride instead of hanging me over a saddle," thought Mary. Still, she was not dressed for riding. They had given her a mans cloak to cover her silk gown, but she still had little separating her skin from the saddle. She tried slowing and complaining yet again. It had the same effect. A lash across the rump of her mount.

  They had been in a large forest for over two hours and it was now dark. The earl kept searching the verge of the highway for something. Then suddenly out of nowhere there were men on the roadway. The earl called out to the men in French, and they responded in like. She closed the distance to the earl so she could listen. Other men were doing the same, so she was not noticed.

  A Norman with a badly scarred face came close to the earl and held the head of the horse still. "We are ready sire. How far behind you is he?"

  "Not far. He will be riding faster than we, so perhaps an hour," answered the earl.

  "They must be talking about Eustace" she thought. He would be following for sure, but he had only ten of his men in Winchester, and Mortain had been riding with twenty, and now there were others. She looked along the edge of the trees. There were Norman men at arms and crossbowmen, but there were also English dressed for the forest. Outlaws.

  "I have a watch to signal us, so even in the dark we will get him," said scarface.

  "Do these outlaws speak French?" asked Mortain.

  "None of it"

  "Good, then I will remind you to take your dead with you and leave no bolt behind. Replace them with English arrows," said the earl.

  "And the outlaws. Should we kill them afterwards?"

  "No, pay them double and tell them not to enter this forest for a year," Mortain replied. "If you break faith with them some are bound to get away, and they will tell all. We will wait for you in Wareham. On the ride there you should do some thinking about which of my estates you will claim as your reward."

  They held each other by the arm, then Mortain pulled away and the man stepped back so the horses could pass. Mortain looked back at his troop and noticed that Mary had been close enough to hear. That was unfortunate. It meant that she could not be allowed her freedom. He was saddened, not by the need to imprison the young beauty, but by the thought that now he could not wed her. Oh well, he would use her anyway.

  Mary caught his look and realized that she had made a grave error in coming close. She shuddered.

  "Come," Mortain said to her, "it is not far to our lodgings now. Three more miles, and a warm bed in a manor house."

  * * * * *

  Henry cursed. It was hard enough to ride in the dark on the highway through Romsey, but that was simple compared to the cartway through the New Forest. Then it was made worse by a light rain, but now the clouds had opened and it was raining hard enough to drown any man who looked up.

  He had done all he could do tonight. They had chosen the cartway into the New Forest only because they had seen Mortain's tracks make the turn. If Mortain took another fork now they would never see the tracks. This heavy rain meant that the trail was as good as cold. He stopped and told his men to turn around. They had passed a royal hunting lodge a half mile back.

  This New Forest, that the English still called the Yten, was sprinkled with hunting lodges where at one time there had been full villages, thanks to the forest clearances of the two king Williams, but Henry had spent more time hunting here than either of them. He was welcomed at the lodge and all were thankful to get warm and dry while they ate. Most of the men fell asleep next to their bowls.

  The rain stopped before they bedded down, and Eustace was at him to saddle up again. The man was truly smitten by Mary. Well he could understand that. The count was past his prime and she was a youthful delight. He was probably reliving his youth through her. Besides, he had always thought of Mary as the wanton sister. He had many times had to stop himself from dragging her to his own bed. She had cock teased him mercilessly, daring him to.

  * * * * *

  Raynar could tell by the size of the drops that this rain would fall for hours. He had lived rough enough times to know never to fight the weather. He pulled into the first inn at Romsey and told the bowmen that they were allowed to order any food, plus food for the saddle bags, but only enough ale to quench the thirst. The innkeeper was told to wake all at first light. The man stirred his people to serve them quickly. This was the slow season and paying business was welcome no matter what the hour.

  * * * * *

  The watchers up the highway had given the signal. A raven's call. Then only one whistle, which meant only one rider coming. He must be crazy to be riding through this storm. Scarface motioned the outlaws to stand in the highway and stop the rider.

  The outlaws spaced themselves and drew their bows. The horse was in a fast walk. All the speed that was prudent on a slippery track in the pelting rain. The rider was wearing the cloak of a royal courier. Not helping him could land you in goal. Hurting him was a death sentence. The rider stated the obvious and warned them to let him pass.

  From his hiding place in the bushes, Scarface ordered them to take him prisoner. They circled him and dragged him from his horse before he could draw his short sword. He yelled and complained and threatened and thrashed in their arms, but there was no escape. He was bound and rolled under one of the temporary roofs that the outlaws had made to keep themselves half dry.

  "Well if he is out in this, then perhaps others are too," said Scarface. "As I said before, my lord has just rescued his daughter from a betrothal by rape, but we expect the rapist groom to give chase. He and his men are dangerous. You are to shoot to kill."

  The outlaw band looked at their chief and he nodded. They went back to watching. They knew there would be killing when they had seen the size of the purse that had been offered as the first payment for their help.

  The chief damned the rain and he damned the forest. He was tired of being on the run. He had heard that all over the kingdom outlaws had been pardoned by sheriffs who were supporting the charter of the new king, but not in the west counties and Cornwall. Oh no. The earls there had refused to support the king's charter. Some of the younger lads had made their way to Winchester when word came that the king was recruiting bowmen, but he had heard nothing back. They were either dead or slaves by now.

  He went back to the makeshift roof where the courier was lying and pulled his cloak tight under his hood. "Don't worry lad. I'll let you go as soon as these Normans leave us. Just stay quiet and
don't try to run. They've got crossbows."

  Scarface left his crossbowmen and came under the roof. The chief looked up and told him. "This lad goes free afterwards so don't speak around him. We haven't been paid enough to attack a king's courier. You shall not harm him."

  Scarface smirked. Fools. They would save the kings courier yet kill the king. He reminded himself to make sure that all bolts were aimed at the king just to make sure he was hit by something. The forest suddenly became quiet. It had stopped raining. Bloody country. Once he had his honors for this days work he was moving back to the D'Oc where the sun shone every day.

  There was another raven call and another single whistle. "Bloody road is busy tonight." He motioned to the outlaw chief to order his men to block the road again.

  They expected a second royal courier. They often rode in twos. It was just a farm lad but he was riding a good horse. The lad spotted the bows and halted of his own accord. He was dragged to the ground and then pushed towards the bushes. He tripped and the chief bent over him. Something was put into his hand and he stared at it, blinking at it and rolling it in his fingers. He bent low and whispered to the lad.

  Scarface strode close and pulled at the chief's cloak. "What was he saying? What is that he gave you?" The chief held out his hand and dropped something small, sharp, and heavy into his hand. He held it up to see. It was just an arrow head, but with a wicked design. Designed to pierce mail. "What did the lad say?"

  "Oh, just that he has been sent on an errand by his father and it is his father's horse," the chief motioned silently for his men to stay alert and to keep their arrows nocked. "This lord we are working for. Would he be the Earl of Cornwall?"

  "It's not needed that you know his name. You have taken his coin. Forget the name, as you will forget this days work after you are paid."

  The chief tried again, "The girl with him. You say she is his daughter. She does not look Norman. She looks English."

  "What does it matter. He is rescuing her," replied the Norman.

  "So she isn't kin to Queen Edith then?" he asked. He was prepared for Scarface's reaction. He raked the end of his bow across the man's eyes and then kicked Scarface in the shins. The sword that Scarface had tried to draw dropped back into its scabbard. The chief kicked him hard in the balls and the man crumpled to the ground.

  A crossbowman was leaning against the tree watching, and he reached for his weapon at the first kick. He was just swinging it around when he had his arm pinned to the tree by an arrow. The other Normans held their hands away from their sides as they stared down the shafts of a dozen arrows.

  "Take their weapons and their purses and bind them." The chief began yelling a sequence of orders. "Run to the watch on the road and tell them that we make for Wareham. The girl is in Wareham. They are to tell that to any armed men that use this road. Also tell them to keep these pigs tied up until they hear different."

  He pointed to the king's courier. "Release him and give him his horse. Tell him to stay well clear of Wareham unless he is looking for the Earl of Cornwall." He whistled to gather the men around. "Bring the Norman's horses. We ride. Those without horses will follow on foot and look for us in Wareham forest." He helped the farm lad to his feet. "Sorry lad. Here is your bodkin back. We ride with you."

  * * * * *

  Despite Eustace’s urging, they had tarried long enough at the hunting lodge to eat a hearty breakfast. All of them knew that this would be a long day and a good breakfast was a trustworthy ally.

  Henry knew this forest. As the closest royal forest to Winchester, the Forest Law had been strict here. As they rode along the forest cartway he became uneasy. There were men in the forest moving on the game trails. Men with longbows. That was an offense against the Forest Law, but Henry was in too much of a hurry to make an issue of it.

  At the next major fork in the road, two verderers were waiting for him. They bowed and told him that a party of Norman lords had taken the left fork just before the rain began last night. He looked at them quizzically but decided that they must have been from the lodge. The verderers also carried longbows. They had horses with them and they fell in step behind his troop.

  At the next fork there were three more bowmen. Near the edge of the forest two more on foot waved them down. Desperate looking characters, perhaps outlaws. The verderers at the rear of the column swept forward passed the king and were first to the outlaws. The original verderer spoke with the outlaws and then the two men disappeared back into the forest. He rode up close to Henry. "There was a trap set here for you last night. If you had kept riding you would be dead by now. The trap is undone. The message from the bowmen is that the girl is in Wareham."

  Henry and Eustace looked at each other and the same thought ran through their heads. They had been fools. This wasn't about Mary. Eustace was the first to speak. "Henry, return to Winchester and get your army. You may need to march on Cornwall."

  "I cannot march on Mortain," Henry replied. "Not with my brother Robert still in England. You know that. You witnessed the treaty at Alton."

  "Then go back to Winchester for your own safety. I will find Mary," said Eustace. "Without you the trap is for naught. Mortain may simply give her to me."

  "We stay together, but we will go slower and scout for ambushes." He spoke to the verderer who had spoken to the outlaws, and the verderers rode ahead to be scouts and point men.

  By the time they reached Rincewed they were trailed by another dozen mounted bowmen. The last lot were waved on their way by children. Moreover, in every village other men were trading signals with the bowmen. They were not just forest men. At one farm there were two immense wool drays parked and four carters with huge bows fell in behind, riding the giant cart horses.

  When the horses forced Henry to take a rest so they could drink at a stream, he approached the bowmen. His guards jumped to protect him, as did Eustace, but Henry waved them to ease.

  "Why are you following me?" he asked the nearest bowman, one who had children wave him a farewell.

  The man's head gave a twist and a nod and he answered, "You're the king ain't ya."

  When Henry confirmed this, the man quoted the call that was being spread through every village as far as Cornwall. "I got the call about two hours before dawn. I sent my lads ahead to spread it further while I waited for you by sitting on my fence."

  "How did you know we had not passed?" asked Eustace.

  "Only one set of tracks of shoed horses had passed my fence, so we figured that was the earl."

  "Who sent you?" asked Eustace.

  "A friend," was all he would say.

  They rode long and hard. They now knew the direction, but they trod warily looking for other ambushes.

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  The Hoodsman - Ely Wakes by Skye Smith

  Chapter 36 - Tracking Mary on the road to Cornwall in October 1101

  Raynar and his bowmen overslept. The innkeeper left them sleeping until he had a meal readied so that he could entice them into spending more coin. It was the smell of meal that woke the men. The innkeeper read the exhaustion of the men well. They ate heartily before leaving.

  At the fork that led over the ridge and into Yten forest, they searched for tracks. The nights rain had washed the road clean. Raynar was cursing his luck when they heard a low whistle from the bushes. A hooded man appeared and all he did was point to the forest way, and then he was gone.

  "Looks like the lads got at least this far last night," Raynar said to the young bowmen as he remounted. "They've earned their furlough if we have the way pointed out to us." They entered the forest and Raynar felt a shiver that was not from the cold. He had used this cartway before, and each time he had done so, a member of William the Conqueror’s family had died. He looked up to the skies and pleaded with the fates not to repeat the pattern this time.

  They pushed on, and on. The road was mucky and slippery but they and the horses were rested and fed. At each fork there was a hunter's mark
er pointing the way. Near the far edge of the forest they were waved down by two bowmen in hoods. They were told of the sprung trap, and of the girl being taken to Wareham, and of the king on her trail about an hour ahead of them.

  * * * * *

  At first light Mortain was in a foul temper. He had expected news of Henry's death at the hands of outlaws by now. By now he had expected to be gathering his men from Wareham and returning to Winchester to surprise the palace and capture the queen. Even if the trap had not worked, he had expected a messenger saying as much. There was nothing he could do but to continue to Wareham and wait.

  He dragged the girl from his bed. Last night on the supper table she had just lain there like a nun while he took her in front of witnesses, and she did the same when he took her again during the night together in this bed. He was so angry at her lack of response that he had seriously thought of giving her to his men. He was glad he hadn't. Since he didn't know the outcome of the trap, she still had value as a hostage. He wondered if Eustace would trade Henry for her.

  He pushed her towards a maid of the manor and told her to get her ready in riding clothes, and then went to join his men for food. The whole time he was eating, he kept yelling to the maid to hurry up. Finally Mary limped into the great hall and sat stoically in front of some food.

  "See her limp," he told his men. "She got well fucked last night. She'll be sore for days." His men laughed and leered at the young beauty.

  They saddled up and mounted their horses for the ride to Wareham. He was consoled by one of his knights, "If the trap did not work, then Henry will still be on our trail. We will lead him straight to Wareham Castle. Our men hold it, two hundred of them, and we will take him prisoner.

  By nightfall you will control the king and therefore the palace, and the worst that can happen is that you will be paid a king's ransom. If you play it right, you could use a captured Henry to trap his brother Robert as well, and then you would become the regent of both Normandy and England."