by Griff Hosker
Rolf took me to one side. “I envy you my friend. We are bodyguards only. We do not go to war. If we did not practise each day then I fear we would forget what a sword is for.”
“You could ask to be relieved of your duty. The Empress must be safe now for she has a husband.”
Rolf shook his head, “There have been two attempts on her life already. One was a poison. We caught the woman but she managed to take her own life with a draught of the same poison. The other was an attack in the forest. Karl’s quick reactions saved her that day. We would have caught and tortured the assassin but he tripped and broke his neck whilst fleeing from us. Someone wants her dead. There are many who wish the throne of England for themselves.”
“I did not know but having seen Juliana and her husband I am not surprised. The only child of the King who supports the Empress is Robert Earl of Gloucester and he is in England.”
“And I hope he stays there for he must secure the throne for the Empress when the King dies. I do not think her husband can win it for her.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the Empress. She swept in and looked every inch an Empress and the daughter of a king. She was stunning. The three of them, the Empress and her ladies had obviously gone to great lengths to impress us with their appearance. Matilda, however, stood out. I could not take my eyes from her. Perhaps the heavy red wine had gone to my head but I felt intoxicated just looking at her. When she coyly smiled at me I felt my heart race. I am ashamed to say that all my thoughts of Adela left my head. I was a shallow creature who could be swayed by a smile and the hint of perfume.
“Come, Alfraed, the wounded hero shall sit next to me. I would hear from your own lips of your great deeds. My ladies shall sit between the other warriors for you are all dear to me.” She came over to Wulfric and gave him a medallion made of gold. In the centre it had her image cast into it. It was a smaller version of the ones she had given the Knights of the Empress. “And you Wulfric of Stockton, this is for you. I have heard how you saved the life of my champion. You may not have the title of a knight but you have the heart of one and I would be honoured if you would champion me as the others do.”
Wulfric blushed and clumsily dropped to one knee, “Empress it would be an honour!”
She took his hand and lifting him to his feet kissed him on both cheeks. I was at the side and I saw his face. He was enchanted, quite literally, by her presence. From that moment on he was as fervent a follower as we were. The ladies sat down and we followed suit. All thoughts of treachery and plots disappeared. We only had eyes for the three visions of loveliness. The five of us were warriors who were used to war and wounds, battles and blood but that night we were just men entranced by the beauty and conversation of three ladies.
Despite my enjoyment with the company, the food and the conversation, my arm began to ache. It had been hard enough eating one handed as it was but when my whole left side began to throb I became distracted. The Empress was not only an astute woman she seemed to know what troubled me. “What ails you, Earl? I see pain upon your face.”
“It is just the wound.” I laughed, “I have been fortunate thus far and avoided wounds. Perhaps it is a sign that I am getting old.”
She leaned over my body to my left arm and sniffed the wound. I was intoxicated by her perfume and briefly forgot the pain. “There is no smell of putrefaction.”
“It will pass.”
Wulfric, who was normally silent, voiced his own concerns. “My lady, he has not been right since he took many blows on his shield at the attack on Coucy’s castle. When he fought the single combat he dropped his shield. There is something wrong with the arm. He thought to hide it from us but we knew that there was something amiss.”
She frowned, “Then I will have my physician look at it in the morning and Margaret will bring a potion this night to aid your sleep.”
I laughed, “I think the wine alone will make me sleep.”
I resolved to smile for the rest of the evening and avoid scrutiny of my arm. Wulfric was correct. I had not been able to use my left arm as I should have been able to since that first attack. I feared I had some wound which was deep within and would never heal.
As the evening went on Wulfric showed a side I had never seen before. He began to relax and to drink more. He could hold his ale and his wine and he did not become unpleasant. However he did begin to sing, at Judith’s request, some songs and he had a fine voice. The songs became more and more ribald. I feared he had offended the Empress and tried to quieten him.
Matilda put her hand on my right hand and said, “I am not offended. It is good that we laugh so. I have not laughed so much in years. Your sergeant at arms has a gift from God; he has a fine voice. Let him use it.”
And it did make all of us smile. I think I was not the only one who was sad when the ladies retired for the night. Before she left the Empress came to me and, putting her hands on mine said, “Thank you for the evening Alfraed and I will send Margaret with the potion and the salve. The Empress needs her knights. Who knows when danger may strike?”
After they had gone Wulfric engaged in good humoured banter with Gottfried. Karl fell asleep and Rolf joined me by the fire. He pointed to my left arm. “Did the feeling go from your arm from here to here?” He moved his hand from my shoulder to my fingers.
“Aye.”
“And you found it hard to grip and to move.”
“Aye.”
“I have seen this before. Despite the Empress’ words I am not certain that her physician will be able to cure it. I knew of an older knight, when I was a young squire, who suffered in the same way. In his case it was the result of a hammer on his shield. He lived to a ripe old age but sometimes, in the middle of battle and for no reason, his left arm would not function. After a while feeling would return.”
“How was he able to fight?”
“He had well trained horses and his shield was tightly strapped to his left arm so that when the feeling left him he was still protected.” I nodded, “You could do worse than copy de Coucy and have a plate over your left shoulder. That is where you are vulnerable, even with a tight shield.”
“Thank you my friend. We never know when we will suddenly become old do we?”
He laughed, “You are not old. You are younger than I and I do not feel old. This is caused by the death of your wife. It may seem harsh but you must forget her or put her deep within the back of your mind. She would want you to become stronger following her death and not weaker. Would she want you cloistered in a monastery?”
I laughed, “No, not Adela. She loved life.” I nodded, “You are right and I have William to look to. Until he becomes a man I must be mother, father, lord and mentor to my son. He does not need an old man yet.”
Wulfric and Gottfried picked up Karl and carried him to bed.
Rolf stood and clasped my arm. “This has been the most enjoyable night I have had for some time. Thank you for your company.”
“And thank you for your company and your advice. I know it comes from the heart.”
Once in my room I took off my sling. I regretted that my squires were in the warrior hall. How would I undress? Almost before the thought had disappeared into my head the door opened and Margaret came in with her jar of salve and the leather bottle. She took one look at me and shook her head. She put the jar and bottle on the table and said, “Come, my lord, I will help to undress you.”
I was embarrassed, “No, Margaret, it is not seemly.”
She laughed, “You think you will be the first man I had seen naked. You have nothing I have not seen before. Come, my lady commands me to tend to you.”
I surrendered. She was very gentle as she took my clothes from me. She was careful not to cause me any more pain. I do not think I had ever seen such a gentle woman.
As she laid my clothes on the table she said, “Lie on the bed so that I may tend to your arm.”
She brought over the salve and removed my bandage. In the ca
ndlelight the wound looked red and angry. I saw bruising running all the way up the arm. She sniffed the bandage. “You will need this no longer. The wound is healed or it is healing enough to need God’s air upon it.” She gently began to dab the salve around the wound. It smelled very pleasant with a hint of rosemary and there was something in it which had heat. Seemingly satisfied she rubbed more of the aromatic salve on the rest of the arm. She had a touch like the professional masseurs in the baths of Constantinople. “There, now I will give you a draught of this potion. There are herbs within this too. It will help you sleep and it has powers to heal from within.” She looked deep into my eyes, “In the body, the head and the heart.”
“Are you a witch, Margaret?” I asked the question for she seemed to read my mind.
She laughed, “My mother healed in my village and some said she was a witch.” She shrugged, “I know how to heal and I know how people think. If that makes me a witch then I am a witch.” She poured me a small goblet of wine and added a few drops of the potion.
“What is this?”
“Nothing to fear. Now drink it.” I did as she commanded. “If you shout out in the night then I will come to you. Our rooms are just across the corridor.” She leaned over and kissed me on the forehead like a mother with a sick child. “Now sleep, my lord, and you will be a new man when you wake in the morning. I promise you that.”
She covered me with a quilt and after blowing out the candle left. I smiled as I rolled over to sleep. I felt like a child again. I fell asleep quickly and dreamed. The dreams were little flashes and pictures which made no sense. I saw Adela nursing Hilda then an axe came through a door and I saw a grinning and bleeding de Coucy above me. I saw the King leading a charge of warriors and I saw my castle burning. I woke and found myself sweating. I suddenly realised that I was not alone. I could smell Margaret.
“Who is there?”
A low female voice whispered, “You cried out. I came to see why.”
A shadow came towards me and slipped beneath the quilt. I felt gentle fingers on my chest and then I was being kissed. I did not resist and I kissed back. I had not felt this way for years not since …
“Matilda!”
Her husky voice was close to my ear as she said, “Not tonight. We are just two people who should have been together for all time. That can never be but for tonight we are as one. Fear not, Margaret stands guard outside the door. Do not fight this, my love. It was meant to be.”
I do not know if it was the drink I had consumed or the potion but I did not fight it. To my shame I wanted this and the two of us lay together all night and made love. We dozed and woke. We spoke and we embraced but mainly we made love. As the first hint of light began to come through the slit in the wall the door opened and Margaret’s voice hissed across the chamber, “My lady. You must be hence. The servants rise.”
Matilda leaned over to me and kissed me one last time. “This was not wrong, Alfraed. God sent my child husband to fight and returned you to me for one night. My prayers have been answered and for the only time in my life I have been held by a real man whom I love. We can never do this again but I shall cherish the memory of this one night to my grave. Thank you,” she hesitated, “my love. And I pray that God will reward this tryst with a child. It is my fervent hope.”
I held her hand, “You cannot leave me now. Flee with me and we will find a new life together.”
“Flee? To Constantinople perhaps?” She too had read my mind. “That was my idea once my love and you persuaded me that it would not end well. You were right. We both have responsibilities. If we fled then England and Normandy would be in turmoil. Your home and people in Stockton would be razed. Would you want that? The price we pay for the peace is our unhappiness. Know that I will think of you always and I know that you will think of me. In the next life we shall be together.”
She left the room and I closed my eyes. Suddenly the wound in my arm seemed as nothing. It was the wound in my heart which would never heal.
When I rose and met the Empress and the Swabians for our first meal of the day it was as though the previous night had never happened. There was no sign from either Margaret or the Empress of the events of the night. I felt confused. We had just finished when a small man, I recognised him as a Greek, appeared at the door. The Empress smiled at him, “Ah Basil.” She looked at me, “This is my physician. He will examine you. If there is a cure for what ails you then he will find it.” Her eyes met mine and that day began a conversation without words. I knew the meaning of the look.
When Basil spoke, in my chambers, he spoke in Greek. “The Empress said you came from the Great City. It is good to speak my language rather than the jabber they use here. That way there will be no confusion.” He sniffed my arm and smiled, “I see the witch has been at work. Fear not she has skills but not I think the skills you require. Tell me how you came to be wounded.”
I told him all and, mindful of Wulfric’s words, included the first blows.
He nodded and began to feel around my elbow. “I will just try something.” He opened his leather bag of instruments and took out a scalpel. It was thin and sharp. He smiled. “Look away and then tell me if you feel anything.”
He held my hand and I felt pain as he stuck it in my palm, “Ow!”
“Good, and now?”
“Nothing.”
“And now?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
I felt a pain in my shoulder, “I felt that.”
“It is what I expected. You may look at me now.” He held my elbow. “The problem lies here and there is, I am afraid, no cure. You felt no pain when I stuck my scalpel into your elbow. The effect will occasionally spread. I fear that in your world you will have to endure many blows to the arm and they may well spread the numbness down your arm. One day, perhaps, the numbness will remain and you will not be able to use your left hand and arm. There is nothing I can do. The only solution would be to stop being a knight.”
“I cannot do that.”
“I know. Then you should continue to use the salve but just on your elbow. I will have the witch prepare a large batch of it.” He shook his head, “She will enjoy that! And if you can protect your left side then so much the better.” He stood and said, “Perhaps padding on the inside of your shield?”
“That may be a solution but it would have to be hidden. If my enemies know of my weakness then…”
“Quite so.”
After he had gone there was a knock at my door and my squires were there, “Good. You may help me to dress and then I have a task for you but it is one which must be carried out in secret.” As they dressed me I thought about the previous day. It had changed my life. I knew that. The Empress was quite right. We could never be together, not unless her husband was dead. If she had a child then things might be different but Henry would never rest until he had a legitimate male heir. And I was now a wounded warrior and would be so for the rest of my life. My reputation was such that I would always be sought out in a battle. As Earl of Cleveland, champion to an Empress and a King, I had nowhere to hide.
Once I was dressed I confided in my squires. “You are my oathsworn and within these walls our words remain. Is that clear?”
They all nodded, “Aye my lord.”
“My arm will be weak now. I need the three of your to pad my shield on the inside but make it so that no one knows. I also need shorter leather straps so that the shield will be tight to my arm.”
Leofric was the thinker, “That will make it harder for you to fight on horseback, my lord.”
“I know. I will have to learn to fight differently. When we return to Stockton that will be our task to give me skills I do not have now so that I can be stronger than I am now.”
They left to find my shield and I knew that they would do a good job. They were loyal.
The King and the Count of Anjou returned just six days after we did. Sir Richard sought me out. He shook his head, “It was fortunate that
the King followed his son in law. He nearly walked into an ambush which would have slaughtered them all. Even so he lost heavily. The King is not happy.” He lowered his voice, “He told him to father a son quickly or he would have the marriage annulled.”
I suddenly felt guilty. What if the Empress was now with child? That child would be mine and not her husband’s. A shiver ran down my spine. That wild night was just a memory; would it be a memory which would return to haunt me?
Perhaps the King’s words had had an effect for Count Geoffrey sought out the Empress and we did not see them until the evening feast. The Count strutted as though he owned the whole farmyard. I was seated next to the King and the Count sat amongst his knights at the opposite side of the room. I saw the disappointed look on the faces of Rolf and the Swabians. They would have preferred our company. The Empress, however, kept up the mask. However when she glanced over at her father our eyes met and we spoke.
King Henry was quite concerned about my wound. “My daughter’s physician has told me of your injuries. I am sorry. If I had known what would happen then I would never have agreed to the combat. I was tricked.”
“We cannot change the past. Who knows, if we had assaulted then the outcome might have been the same save that de Coucy might have escaped. At least one of your enemies has died.”
“Aye and the serpent of a daughter and her husband are now in Paris where they conspire with Louis. I have heard that he is making moves to marry his idiot son to Eleanor of Aquitaine. That is a dangerous prospect for Normandy; we would then be encircled. The sooner my daughter has an heir the better.”
“Amen to that.” Sir Richard was as aware as I was of the danger of a civil war after the King’s death.
We ate well that night. The King’s favourite food, lampreys, was served. I did not particularly enjoy them and I played with them just to satisfy my host.