by Griff Hosker
We left a stunned knight and his co-conspirators shocked to the very core by my father’s words. We said nothing until we were at the col which led to our valley. We stopped and my father looked down the Coquet Valley towards Rothbury. “He is guilty. Your instincts were good ones. Now the question is what will he do? He can abandon his masters or tell them what we plan. We will soon discover if that is the case. We will find out in the next day or so.”
I looked around. Padraig the Wanderer was no longer with us. He smiled at me.
Realisation dawned, “You left a watcher.”
“Of course. It is time we took the offensive. So far the action has all been initiated by our enemies. It is time for us to grasp the nettle! Let us see what they are about.” He smiled, “That has given me an appetite!”
It was late the next day when Padraig the Wanderer rode in. He dismounted and bowed to my father, “Sir Eustace rode to Jedburgh and then headed north. I saw a wagon with his wife and family. They headed south and east. Sir Eustace was neither stopped nor hindered despite that he rode with ten mailed men. Once it was clear that he was heading north I returned. I did right, did I not, Earl?
My father grinned and flicked a coin to his man at arms. “Of course!” After Padraig had gone, he turned to us, “So now we know. There will be an attack. If we had more men on whom we could rely we could attack first. We will have to endure an attack and then counterattack. I will leave on the morrow. I will do as I promised and visit, first with Sir Ranulf, and then the Sherriff. This should be just enough rope to hang Sir Eustace and to finally quash the ambitions of the Earl of Fife.” My father saw the looks on our faces and he smiled and, as we finished off a jug of good wine, he explained his plan. At the end of it, I was happy, although it was clear we were bait.
While my father spoke to my people before he left, and Matthew spoke with Mark, I took Henry Samuel to one side, “It is an education with your grandfather, is it not?”
He nodded, “I play chess each day with him. When he was ill it was three times a day. I can never defeat him, even when he gives me a start and he seems to know what men think before they know themselves.”
I nodded, “Be as a sponge, Sam, soak it all in. I am still in awe of him. I have been here for a year and yet he seems to know exactly what ought to be done. I feel safer, somehow, knowing that he is in the world.”
“The injury he suffered was severe. He had badness in it. Father Harold heard his last confession. Grandmother feared he would not survive but he did and, I know not how, he is stronger now than he was.” I nodded. “Uncle, be careful here. You live in a dangerous place. I have spoken to John and I know how close you came to death.”
“Yet each time I fight and survive it seems to make it easier for me to do so again.” He smiled. “Give my love to your mother, my sisters and your grandmother. I will return to Stockton one day. My place is here. I know my duty.”
Before he left my father spoke with me, “I hope to be back here within two or three months. It takes time to raise an army and, as I said, I have other lords to see. There is a conspiracy. How deep it goes we do not know.” I nodded. “I will return. Do nothing until I do. Watch and be vigilant but do not cross the border. You and Sir Richard can stand a siege. There are now two knights who can stop the Scots. Both are precious to me.” We hugged and I felt the warmth from him. He would not abandon me.
When he had gone, I could still feel my father’s presence. We had the same blood but he had endured events which I had not. I had to believe that this time would make me stronger. The day he left we began to make the changes he had suggested. We built new halls, cow byres, pig and sheep pens. I added another warrior hall close to the keep. The warrior hall in the lower bailey would be used by my people. I made certain that I rode every other day to speak with Sir Richard. We both knew that we would have to endure a violent war and we could expect little help from anybody.
My archers found a pair of enemy scouts two days after my father left. Garth had been determined to do so. The two men were good but mine were better. They were dragged behind horses into my castle. They had been beaten by my men. I saw bloodied knuckles.
“You two are spies. Who do you work for?” They spat an answer to me in Gaelic. It confirmed what we already knew. Fife was behind this. “You will become my prisoners. You may never be freed. Do you understand that?”
Suddenly one of them pulled a dagger from his boot and lunged at me. I had quick reactions and I punched my forearm to deflect the dagger in the air. Garth and Idraf’s swords were even faster than the two men and the scouts had their heads taken.
“I am sorry, lord, I thought we had searched them.”
I nodded, “Take their heads to the border and place them on spears. Their families will know that they are dead and the Scots will know that we know.”
That evening I sat and thought in my keep. I stared into my fire and I planned. We had all worked hard and were weary but I had needed to speak with those upon whom I would depend in the coming months. The next day I invited those closest to me to dine. Alan of Bellingham, Brother Paul, Roger Two Swords and Garth Red Arrow came to my keep. When Matthew and John had brought the food from the kitchens, I invited them to dine with me too.
“My father has begun a stone on a journey. It will continue to roll no matter what we do. I believe it was the right decision but it puts us in great danger. Sir Richard, at Otterburn, will be in even greater peril. I will visit with him tomorrow. The fact that Sir Eustace has gone to his masters in Scotland tells me that the next attack may well be on two fronts. We now know that he is a traitor but, worse, the Scots know that my father will bring an army from the south if we are attacked. That may make them act sooner rather than later. Hitherto we regarded the road from Rothbury as safe. We can no longer do so. Phillip the Priest, David, Dick and Tom the Miller will all be in as much danger as Cedric the Sheepman. We must have the mill protected.”
Garth put down his knife and picked up his beaker, “Lord, it is just two hundred paces from the gatehouse to the road and the mill. We are higher than the river. I believe we could send arrows to deter an enemy from investing the mill. Tomorrow I will test the range.” He sipped his ale and smiled, “We will warn Tom. I would not wish him to think he was under attack.”
“Good. I intend to have Tam cast a bell. We have enough scrap metal from the Scots and we can mount it in the keep. We will test it when it is finished. I am sorry that it will not be a bell for Brother Paul’s church although, when peace does come here, we might move it from the keep.”
Alan shook his head, “I am a devout Christian, lord, but I am not certain that this land will ever be peaceful.”
“I have to believe that it will be.” We finished the food and I said, “John, there is still some of the heady wine my father brought with him. Fetch it and a jug of water. We will enjoy its flavour and you can water your own.” Although it was warm, we had a fire lit. It was cheery and the castle could be cold at night. We took our wine and stood around the fire. Like me, my men liked to watch the flames dancing around the logs. Seeing the wood burning I said, “Alan, we have a need for timber to build the new buildings. Cut back the treeline. Even if we do not use the timber, we can store it behind our ramparts and it will add to the strength of the walls. It will increase the grazing for the animals.”
He nodded. I wracked my brain for more ideas. Alan put his hand upon my shoulder. “Lord, your mind must be a maelstrom. You have done all that you can. The people of the manor and all of your men are behind you. You have deceived no one and everyone knows the danger we are in. Believe me, we are much stronger than we were little more than a year ago before you came. We have more farms, more farmers, more people and everyone, even the Yalesham widows, are better off. You worry but your decisions are good ones.”
“Perhaps.” I was not certain. Had I done enough? “Roger, I will need just two men and two archers tomorrow when I ride to Sir Richard. Garth, we will not rel
ax our vigilance, send two men to the woods. As for the rest, they work under the supervision of the Reeve.”
We rose early every day. These were still long days and the weather was clement and so we worked hard. We had now endured a winter and knew how harsh they were. As I walked my horse through the lower bailey to speak with Tam, the young boys driving the sheep out to graze waved cheerily at me. They would watch the cattle and the sheep. The dogs we had would guard them too. The boys would not waste their time in idleness. They would collect stones from the river and practise with their slings. Sometimes they downed wood pigeons to enrich the pot. The alewives, cheese makers and butter churners waved to me as I passed. I could hear the mumble of conversation in the weaving hall. There were neither scowls nor depressed faces. I was greeted by the warmth of smiles and I heard the cheer of laughter.
“Tam I need a bell to be cast. Can you do it?”
“How big a bell, lord?”
“It needs to be heard by Phillip the Priest.”
He looked relieved, “Then it will not need to be too big. I have never made one and Black Bob did not make one either but in the workshop was Old Harry. He had worked at Durham and helped to cast the bell there. I enjoyed hearing his tales. I know the technique. We would use river clay and we would make a mould. Aye, lord. I can do it. When do you need it?”
I laughed, “Yesterday!” He nodded and laughed too. “How is Anne?”
“She grows and is healthy. Mary and the Yalesham widows all watch over her. Margaret, who recently wed, is also with child. Mary will be midwife to both women.”
“It is good. When danger comes, I will have all within my walls. You and the men of Elsdon will have to fight on my ramparts.”
“We talk of that when we practise on Sunday afternoons. We are ready. Your men have trained us well. I have good arrows and we have fine yew bows. If these raiders come again, they will leave their bloody bodies here at the manor. We will not relinquish what we have. We work for the small comforts we have. They wish to steal from us!”
I rode north feeling much better about my manor.
Sir Richard had also begun to make improvements. I had hoped that Sir James would have done so but he saw what he expected to see. Sir Richard looked at the tower and the manor with new eyes. The young knight was stripped to the waist and toiling with his men. They were digging a ditch. I turned to my four men. “Strip off and help the men of Otterburn. Matthew, John, take our men’s horses and water them.”
Sir Richard came over to me. He wiped the sweat from his body and face with a cloth. He waved the cloth at the ditch. “This is a fast stream. I thought to divert a channel to make a moat. It cannot completely surround the tower and village. I would have to change nature for that but we can protect the side from which the Scots will come.”
“A word of warning; we found scouts in the woods close to Elsdon. They may not attack the same way the next time.”
“I know and that is why we are building a new wall on the other side. When we dig the ditch, we find many stones. We build a ditch and moat first then a wall.”
“Do you ride to the border?”
“Every couple of days. We have seen no sign of intruders but they will be circumspect.”
“I am clearing the woods to give a killing ground around my castle and I am having a bell cast to summon the villagers.”
“That is a good idea. If I had a smith then I would have one too.”
“I will ask Tam to cast a second. If he can make one then why not two?”
“Thank you, William.”
“Of course, the real problem will not be the Scots. It will be the viper in our midst, Sir Eustace. He is clever and I think he will disguise his men. My father put fear in his heart. He will still work for the Scots but he will give himself some way out.”
“What do you mean?”
“He will use his men but they will be disguised and he will be absent from the attack. He is a snake but his men are well armed and well trained. When first I came here, I was given some who worked with me. They are hard men and veterans. I do not underestimate them.” I took him by the elbow and led him to one side, “Richard, if we are attacked, we stay within our keeps and we defend. Do not come to my aid and I will not come to yours.”
“You fear they will try to draw us out of our castles.”
“Aye. They will try tricks. They may try to use deception. You know my men and I know yours. I will ignore any request from one I do not know. We use our bells to tell the other of danger but we just hunker down and ride out the storm. When the battle is fought and won then we see how the other fares. If you find us dead then you can exact vengeance.”
“I will not need to do so for your father will visit them with the wrath of God and the border will be as a wasteland.”
I turned, “Come men. We have aided Sir Richard enough. Let us ride to the border and see what stirs there.”
I had with me; my squire and page, Jean of Landvielle and Alf Broad Shoulders as men at arms. Erik the Dane and Tim son of Tom were the archers. They strung their bows as we left Otterburn. The four were the newest men to join me and I wanted them to see the border. We passed the Roman fort and I saw the two older men at arms taking in the potential for defence. When we passed through Byrness I saw their faces harden. It was a visual reminder of the parlous nature of life on the border. People had lived and worked there and it was now inhabited by ghosts. John had good eyes. He rode just ahead of us. Since he had grown big enough to ride a palfrey he could see further. “Lord there are riders ahead, ten of them.”
Riders coming south meant one thing, the Scots. “Erik, Tim, dismount. John, you will be horse holder. Jean, Alf and Matthew, we will test their resolve.” I hefted my shield and drew my sword. The other three did the same. I saw that the men who came towards us were led by a mailed man at arms riding a palfrey. There were three other mailed men on sumpters and the other six had the hardy hill ponies.
I was talking to myself but I said, “I think these are more scouts and we have thwarted them.”
“Lord?”
“We put two heads on the road yesterday. They are sending more scouts to discover our defences. They should have gone across country. We can stop them.”
I saw their dilemma. They had four men at arms and I had but three. They outnumbered us but we were better mounted. Suddenly the mailed leader turned and shouted something. Six more men appeared. They were on foot. They would make a fight of it. I turned to my archers, “Erik and Tim, when they charge try to kill as many as you can.”
“Aye lord.”
“We stay together.”
My two archers moved to the flanks to allow them a better sight of the Scots. The first arrow hit the mailed man’s horse as the Scots closed with us. The second struck another in the shoulder. When they were one hundred paces from us two more arrows unhorsed two more men. The next arrows were sent just a heartbeat later and the mailed horseman was hit.
“Charge them!”
I spurred my palfrey and held my shield before me. The mailed horseman was retiring behind the men on foot. I swung my sword at the last remaining man with mail. He held his shield before him but my blow struck it so hard that he fell backwards over his horse. Even as we passed through them, I back swung at one on a pony. He jabbed his spear at me but it struck mail. My sword hacked into the side of his head.
The wounded man at arms on the horse shouted, “Back! Back!”
In the time it took for them to disengage three more men were hit by arrows and Jean and Alf slew another two. John shouted, “Lord, Matthew is hurt!”
I turned and saw that he had been speared in the leg. “Erik and Tim remount and make certain the Scots return home. Alf and Jean, collect the three ponies and search the bodies.” I dismounted and walked over to Matthew. The spear had missed his arteries but there was a great deal of blood. I tore a piece of material from one of the dead Scots and tied it above the wound. “John, take Matthew to Brother
Abelard. We will follow.”
My archers returned with the news that the Scots had returned home. We had gained three ponies, two poorly made hauberks, five swords and three spears. There were also eight daggers. John the Archer held out his two hands. They were filled with small denomination coins. “Considering they were so poorly armed and horsed they had much coin about them.”
“Hired men, mercenaries. That tells us the problem. They are hiring any who can hurt us.” I nodded, “You four share the coin. Leave the bodies here. It will remind them when they pass that I have the finest warriors protecting this land.
My encounter was a warning for Sir Richard. He nodded when I told him what had occurred, “I will now need to leave two men to watch the road at the fort.”
“Use your archers. Two men can control the road. The Scots are easily deterred. I fear that they now avoid the roads and use hidden ways into our lands. This time of harvest is a crucial one. They will seek to weaken us by preventing us from harvesting or stealing that which we do harvest. Keep a good watch on your animals.”
He smiled, “You forget, William, that I lived here. I have the cattle protected. Father Abelard has tended to your squire’s wound. He will not be able to ride for a couple of weeks.”
“I have John. He can take on Matthew’s duties.” I headed back to my castle knowing that hostilities had resumed.