by Griff Hosker
“Good.” He waved a hand around the other nights gathered around the table, “You know most of the other knights.” I recognised Richard D’Avranches, one of the King’s oldest friends. The others were minor Barons. Where were the counts? The most important, William, Count of Ponthieu was absent as were the other leaders of western Normandy. I had expected them to be there. The King returned to the map. “They have come across Blois. I have not heard from Stephen or Theobald yet but I hope he and his men will join us soon. I have sent messengers. Here, at Dreux, Baron Hugo of Dreux will slow them down. I hope that we shall have enough men to face them within a day or so. How long will it take for Anjou and his battle to reach us?”
“It could take five days or more.”
“That may be too long.”
“How many men do we have, your majesty?”
“Sixty knights and an equal number of men at arms; forty crossbows and thirty archers.”
“That is not a great force.”
One of the barons, Sir Hugh D’Evreux said, “We have a hundred other men who are armed.”
The King waved an irritated had, “And they will not stand! They are farmers, swineherds, potters and tinkers! They can guard the animals and the camp.” He looked at me, “Have you archers with you?”
“Just two.”
He nodded disappointed, “Still they increase our force. How many men at arms did you bring? Have you brought your giant with the axe?”
“I have two men with me and one is Wulfric.”
“Good then keep him close by us. I will feel safer then.” We spent some time assessing which way they would come.
“Any ideas?”
Everyone looked bereft of answers. I ventured, “You say they outnumber us?”
“You know these reports, Cleveland, they come from the ones who have fled them and we know not if they are exaggerated or not. If we divide the numbers reported by two then they outnumber us by four to one.”
“Then the answer is clear, my liege.”
“It is?”
I had everyone’s attention. “Of course. They will come here for you. They have overwhelming numbers and their strategy will be to defeat you in one quick battle. Normandy would then be theirs. If we waste time and men seeking them out then we merely weaken ourselves. We wait here and make them attack us. The castle becomes the rock on which we stand.”
“It does not suit me to wait for war. I like to attack.”
“And you do attack, my liege. If we have scouts watching for them then we will know when they are close. Attack them as they approach. They will need to build a camp. They will be riding palfreys. We use our knights and our men at arms to strike their best soldiers when they are in a column of men on horses tired from a day’s march. At the very least it should disrupt their plans and delay their own attack. That will allow more of your forces to arrive. It is what we did at Norham and it worked for they were surprised.” He nodded thoughtfully. “The Count of Ponthieu, will he be coming?”
The King gave me a shrewd look, “My messenger could not find him. If we had him and his knights then we would easily defeat these eastern rebels. Amaury is a poor general. I have defeated him twice.”
Richard D’Avranches growled, “Third time pays all.”
“Your plan is a sound one, Cleveland. Richard, I leave the planning of the defences to you. Have the camp moved to the west of the castle.” His old friend nodded and the King put his arm around my shoulder to lead me from the hall. “Come we will talk.”
Reginald hovered behind us, “What should I do, father?”
“Help Sir Richard.” As his son disappeared he asked me, “What do you think of him, Cleveland?”
“He seems pleasant enough but I prefer to judge a man when I have stood with him in the line of battle.”
“As do I. You have a shrewd and quick mind. You saw that William of Ponthieu was absent. It is disturbing me too. Some of my nobles think I am getting old and Geoffrey of Anjou is a frivolous young man. They see weakness which they hope to exploit. It is true I am no longer young.”
“The Count of Anjou is maturing rapidly, my liege. He is not the same as he was. Perhaps that is fatherhood. He and his men have impressed me. They are still young and raw but they will not go hurtling after the enemy as they did the last time we fought. I think that they are a useful addition to your army.”
“Good. I am relieved. Did my son mention this champion of theirs?”
“He did but I judged the reports to be without evidence. I think it is a ruse.”
“A ruse? How so?”
“It makes us think that they will not fight but have a single combat to decide the outcome. They will not do that if they outnumber us. A single combat is a risk. A battle when you have more men of equal skill and overwhelming numbers is predictable. The larger army will win.”
“That is not like you, Cleveland, you are normally optimistic.”
“I am saying, your majesty, that is what they believe but although we have smaller numbers all of your men are fighting for you and for their land. I would rather have this small army than one made up of men seeking gain. They have many mercenaries in their army. They have, from what your son told me, treasure hunters from the east. They come for easy pickings. They see Normandy as a corpse to be picked over.”
The King’s face brightened, “So if we bloody their nose first then they may become disheartened.”
I nodded, “In England locals like to fight with their fists. Coming from the east I found it strange for there we wrestle but I have come to admire the skills. Sometimes you have a much smaller man and he fights a giant. If they were wrestling then the giant would win but I have witnessed small men darting in and giving a rapid flurry of blows and then retreating before the giant can land a single punch. By weakening the giant the smaller man wins, eventually.”
“And the small man always wins?”
“No, for too often the smaller man becomes over confident and allows himself to be trapped by the arms of the larger one. That is what we avoid. We hit them where they are weak and we are strong and then we fall back. They will have to live off the land. If Blois and Anjou come to our aid then we have a good chance.”
“I brought you here quickly for I thought that they would use this champion of theirs now that I have considered your words I agree with you. They might not even have a champion.”
“No they may not but it tells us that there are enemies who were in England at the tourney who spread the word that you now have a champion. I fear, your majesty, you have plotters in the west as well as in the east.”
“Aye and there you are right. It is why I leave my son and Roger of Salisbury to guard my capital and the west.” He smiled at me, “And you to guard the north.” He stopped, “I heard that you let the Scottish usurper go and did not report the incursion from Scotland.”
“I judged that it would have been irresponsible to begin a war and I let the usurper go to weaken the Scots.”
“You did right, Cleveland, and the usurper has been defeated. I know not his fate but when this is over you should return to England and not Anjou. I have need of you and your mighty arm. I fear I need to stay here.”
Over the next two days more knights and their retinue struggled in. Our numbers were not swollen by many but we would have a fine array of standards. Scouts reported the enemy still besieging Dreux. The King could not afford to raise the siege. It would, like a pawn in a game of chess, have to be sacrificed. I sent Griff of Gwent and Ralph of Wales with some of the scouts and when they returned we had a much better assessment of numbers. The enemy numbered over five hundred. Almost a fifth was made up of knights and two fifths the men at arms.
We had a party of men waiting at the village of Nonancourt. They would tell us when the siege was over. It would afford us the opportunity to spring our ambush. I went with my small conroi to spy out the land. The Avre twisted and turned through thick woodland. The roads were not straight. When I re
ached Nonancourt we were less than six miles from Dreux. There were bridges where the enemy could be slowed up but the river was easily fordable. I found a good site for an ambush close to Breux-sur-Avre. There was a rise to the north of the road and the domed shape of the hill meant that a force of knights would be hidden there. If the rebels had no scouts out then an attacker could sweep down the hill and rout them.
When I reached the King I told him all. He nodded, “Then we will execute your plan.”
We had just finished when riders rode in, “Your majesty, the Count of Anjou is half a day away.”
“Excellent! Then we can now face our foe with better odds.”
“We could have even better odds, your majesty, if we had the garrison from Dreux.”
“But they are lost to us.”
“Not necessarily. The scouts report that the castle is surrounded but the main attack is from the east. To the west they have men watching for the garrison’s flight. If we attacked those guards then the garrison would be able to flee. Are there women in the castle?”
“No, the Baron is a widower and his sons have not yet taken wives.”
“Then we can try.”
“We?”
“I will take my men and the archers; archers are good at knife work.”
“I cannot afford to lose you, Cleveland.”
“And you will not, my lord. I am trying to sway the odds in our favour.”
“Very well but if the alarm is raised, then flee.”
“Have we someone who is known to the Baron?”
“His cousin is Ralph of Mortain. I will seek him out for you.”
I gathered my men and squires. They were pleased to be doing something. Sitting idly by was not what they enjoyed. While they were preparing Ralph of Mortain joined me. He was older than I had expected. My face must have shown my doubt for the old knight chuckled, “Do not let these grey hairs fool you, my lord. There is plenty of life in this old dog and besides I hear you have a madcap plan to relieve the siege. I would be party to this!”
The twenty archers arrived under their captain, Gilles. I gathered them around me. I explained our task. I had learned that telling those who fight for you all the details made them fight better. “We ride within the hour. I want to be within sight of Dreux soon after dark. Make sure you have sharpened knives for you will be slitting throats this night. We kill the guards as silently as we can. Sir Ralph will then approach the castle and tell his cousin to leave. Each of you will have an extra horse for you will need to make a speedy exit.”
Sir Ralph asked, “You say ‘you’ as though we will be without your leadership.”
“I am taking my men to distract the enemy at the main camp. We will make them think they are being attacked from the north. It will give you and your cousin time to flee. I am leaving two of my squires with you for they know my plan and they know how I work. William and Leofric are the best men I know for this type of work.” I saw the two of them swell with pride at my fulsome praise.
“But that means you will just have five men to help you.”
I grinned, “That is all I need.”
My men donned black cloaks. We bade farewell to Sir Ralph and the archers close to Dreux. We could see the ring of camp fires. It was like a necklace around the neck of the Baron of Dreux. We headed north. We could see the brighter fires of the main camp to the west of the castle. We had left our shields at the main camp for we would not need them. This would be knife work. We walked the last two hundred paces. Leaving John with the horses we headed towards the camp of the ten sentries. Two were watching while the other eight lay asleep around their fire.
Griff and Ralph’s arrows struck the two guards. They were so close that they hit them in the throat and the two died silently. Their bodies hitting the ground made two of the sleepers turn in their sleep but by then we were among them. Wulfric had an axe and a short sword. He was able to kill two men at once. Three of those who died actually made a sound before they were killed but it was like the sound of someone talking in their sleep and no one was disturbed.
When they were dead there was silence. In the distance we heard the sounds of the other camps. It was the usual noises of men talking in their sleeping, snoring and farting. Every camp was the same. It was a background noise that you were used to. The sentries would listen for other noises but these sentries were dead. Wulfric gave a low whistle and John appeared with the horses. Griff and Ralph used a brand from the fire and they headed through the trees to close with the tents which were just a hundred paces from where we were. Roger and John led the archers’ horses and Wulfric and I held the spears we had taken from the dead sentries.
We waited. Even though we were expecting it we were surprised by the brightness of the arcing arrows which Griff and Ralph released. They loosed five each. The first had just struck when they raced back to us. They had struck a number of tents and there was a sudden flare of flame as they caught. Then we heard the shouts. We headed north east. We had smelled their horses and heard their animals. They had horse lines there. As we galloped towards them we saw other guards racing to the main camp for the shouts were now much louder. The men who fell to our spears died without knowing who we were. We were like black wraiths in the night. John leapt from his horse and slashed the ropes holding the horses. We slapped their rumps with the flats of our swords and shouted. They stampeded to the north in panic.
Turning, we made our way west. With our black cloaks we would be difficult to see. This would be the hardest part of the journey for we had to make our way through woods. It would be easy to get lost. Had we not had our two archers with us then I am certain we would be there yet. They had an unerring knack of finding trails in the dark. When we saw the road ahead I breathed a sigh of relief. I could hear shouts from the south around the castle. It was then that my thoughts turned from our predicament to that of Sir Ralph and my squires. Had they achieved our objective?
“Head for the castle.”
Wulfric said, “But my lord the plan was to go back to our main camp.”
“And now I am changing it.”
There was a small road leading south and we headed down it. I heard the clash of arms ahead. I drew my sword and galloped. We burst upon a skirmish. I recognised Sir Ralph and my squires but the others who fought alongside them were unknown. They were being attacked by a force of rebels. Even as I hacked down at one of them I wondered whence they had come. I would discover that later. The six of us slew and wounded eight before they even realised they were being attacked. In such close quarters Wulfric’s axe was worth ten men. Skulls were splintered and shattered as he carved a path to our beleaguered comrades.
“Sir Ralph, fall back up this road!”
Our sudden attack had relieved the pressure and the knot of knights and squires hacked and slashed a path to us. Ralph of Wales and Griff of Gwent used their bows to target white faces in the dark. I saw shields rise as the enemy sheltered.
“Fall back!”
The men who had attacked Sir Ralph were on foot and we soon outdistanced them. “Griff, you two wait here and slow down the pursuit. We will head back towards Nonancourt. Join us there.”
“Aye, my lord.”
Dawn found us at the rear of the refugees. We had kept a close watch on pursuit but our archers had kept them from us. I found Sir Ralph. He was riding with my squires and four other knights as the rearguard.
“What happened, Sir Ralph?”
The knight next to him whose arm was in a sling said, “It was my fault, my lord. I am Baron Hugo of Dreux. I did not want to leave my servants to be enslaved. We moved too slowly and were attacked.”
Unexpected events often spoiled perfect plans. I would probably have done the same but it had almost spoiled a good plan. “But you are safe and can fight another day.”
He nodded, “And your squires are as brave as terriers. We owe our lives to them. They charged the men who ambushed us. They have reckless bravery.”
I turn
ed to look at my son and Leofric. To my dismay I saw that they were both wounded. William saw my face and gave me a wan smile, “It is not so bad father. I bound Leofric’s arm and he bound my leg.” He laughed, “We are truly blood brothers now.”
“You will have them looked at by a healer when we reach the King.” The bloody bandages were a reminder of how parlous our existence was.
“It was worth the wound, my lord.” Leofric waved his good arm at the knights. “We have increased the number of knights by four and the men at arms by twelve.”
I could only blame myself. I had brought them up to behave and think as they did. They were younger versions of me. A man cannot change his nature. This would be the way things would go from now on. William’s life would be in danger each time we went into battle. I could no longer leave him guarding the horses. He would not bear it.
Chapter 18
The King was delighted with the results of our raid. After making sure that Wulfric took my squires to the priests I said, “But now they will come. You majesty needs to plan the ambush and prepare our defences.”
He swept a hand around, “Sir Richard has had ditches dug and stakes planted. They will have to bleed to reach us. If the ambush works then we may have parity of numbers.” He looked at me. “You know what that means do you not?”
“They are more likely to challenge me to fight this Black Knight.” He nodded, “I am ready.”
Leofric and William’s wounds, whilst not serious meant that they would not be fighting for some time. Although disappointed, both had learned much over the last few months. They took the news stoically. “It means your new warhorse will have a great deal of attention, my lord.”
One effect of our raid was to raise the morale of the whole camp. It was not just the boost in numbers it was the fact that we had effected their escape from under the noses of the enemy. Our standing had never been higher.
Count Geoffrey had not emptied his land of knights for Angers needed guarding but his force reinforced us by a further twenty knights and forty men at arms. I noticed that the five young knights who had been training with us now had a swagger as they strode around the camp. They also stayed close together. Count Geoffrey now had his own oathsworn. I knew from experience how valuable that was.