by Griff Hosker
“I did not think, before I came here and saw my uncle, that this was the work of a knight.”
“And it is rare to see a lord toil as my son does. I did the same but it was not digging a channel for water. A knight who is worth anything is not afraid to get his hands dirty. See, Sam, how his farmers smile. Listen to their banter. William is one of them. They will fight for him harder than had he stood where we stand and watch others toil. Loyalty cannot be bought. It has to be earned. His men marrying the locals will bond the whole manor.” I looked at his thoughtful face. Since becoming my page, he had changed physically. He had had to work harder. He had grown an appetite and he was taller and broader. More than that he was more confident now. “And you, Henry Samuel, would you still be a knight?”
He grinned and was, once again, the little boy I had first taken north. “Of course, grandfather! This is the greatest education I could have. Father Harold is a good teacher but this is a better classroom and preparation for knighthood. I know I have a long and arduous journey but I am content. I will manage it.”
Word reached us from Durham once the road south was opened. The Sherriff of Westmoreland had been tried by a jury of his peers. Sir Richard of East Harlsey had been one of them. He was sentenced to death and awaited confirmation from the King. More, in absentia, Sir Eustace of Rothbury was also sentenced to death. We now had to await the return of the King from Gascony.
With the roads open and travel possible I summoned my knights. I wished to destroy Hobkirk before they could raid the lands around Carlisle. I asked for them to reach Elsdon by the last day of March. The Scots had not sought vengeance, yet. I had been in the north long enough. The winter had done my aching joints little good. My son was hardy. I ached from wounds and scars on every part of my body. Was my son content? One evening as we sat before a roaring fire and sipped the last of the captured wine, I asked him of his future. “You know that you can have another manor in the Tees Valley whenever you choose, William?”
“Aye, father, and one day I will write to you and ask for one but I cannot leave here yet. I have plans.”
“Plans?”
“The Roman fort still has good stone. We now have more wagons and horses. When Hobkirk is no longer a threat, I would rob the stone which is at the fort. We need a stone wall. I know what we did to Sir Malcolm’s hall. I would not have that happen here. I will make stronger walls for my people and I will build towers on my gates.”
“Elsdon is a small manor, William. You cannot justify a garrison the size of Stockton’s.”
“Nor would I wish to. I have good men in the manor. They all have sons. I would make them warriors. They will be like the men of Bellingham. They will not go off to war as your men do. They will guard these walls. They will have helmets and armour. When all of that is done then I will ask for another manor.”
“And a family? You have no bride and you are not getting any younger. I have grandsons but I would have more. Remember William, I was the only one to survive from the blood of the Warlord. You owe it to him to be married and carry on the line.”
His face fell, “I know father and that is something I cannot control. I know that I must marry a lady.” He shook his head, “I know not why for there are many here who would make good wives.”
“I know, but you also know that a lady needs skills which the women like the Yalesham widows do not have. She has to play hostess to men like the King. Would they be happy to do so? I agree with you that they would make good wives but not for the lord of the manor. It is a fact of life.”
He retired that night looking as though he bore the weight of the world upon his shoulders. He had learned much already but he still had a long journey ahead of him.
Henry Samuel and Mark had much to do also. Our horses had spent the winter in stables. They needed to be groomed and refreshed with new grass and daily exercise. They had mail to clean and to repair. My son was lucky. Tam was one of the best weaponsmiths I had ever known. We had him fit an aventail to Mark’s helmet. My grandson was still growing and would have to wait until he was fully grown to have his first real helmet. I did not think that he would be in danger when we rode to Hobkirk.
In theory, we could have taken just the men of the three manors. Hobkirk had no real castle and we had already slain their best warriors. Others from the clan would have found their way there but I did not anticipate either a siege or a long battle. It would be a hard-fought fight and that was why I wanted my men of arms. Ridley the Giant and Padraig the Wanderer had few campaigns left in them. This one would suit them. The men my son had found raiding his cattle would be the ones we would face. The Scottish clans had threads which bound them to other clans. Men would come from even more inhospitable places further north. We would have men to fight but they would be unlikely to be mailed.
Sir Fótr and Sir Gilles were the first to arrive and they brought news. The Earl of Chester had appointed his own man as Sherriff of Westmoreland. I had not heard of Alexander Bachucton but I assumed that the Earl knew his business. I had written to him and told him of the treachery of the one now incarcerated in Durham. The Earl would have chosen carefully. Sir Geoffrey had been able to spend Christmas with my daughter, Rebekah. He now had another son, Geoffrey. Isabelle had given birth to a daughter, Isabelle. I was pleased. We also heard the news that the King had announced his wedding and it would take place the next year. As a senior earl, I would be expected to attend. That would necessitate a long journey to London with my wife.
Gradually the castle filled up as my knights and their men at arms arrived. I saw that none had brought their war horses. All rode palfreys. My knights knew that this would not be a noble war fought against mailed knights. It would be a scouring of vermin. When you hunted rats then you went prepared. When David of Wales arrived, I had him send Mordaf and Gruffyd to scout out Hobkirk. They were not only good archers they also had the ability to hide in plain sight. They returned after three days by which time all my men had arrived at Elsdon. I had one hundred men at arms, knights and archers. Sir Ranulf had another thirty he would bring.
Mordaf now had white hairs amongst the black yet he was still bright-eyed and keen. “They are gathering men, lord. There appears to be a lord leading them. We watched the village and saw one who wore spurs. He seemed to be giving orders. Men were arriving from the north all day.”
Gruffyd nodded his assent, “If you want my opinion, lord, this was a mustering of mercenaries. I saw some wearing the remnants of surcoats. Others had helmets and shields. One or two came on sumpters or ponies.”
“Numbers?”
More than a hundred lord. There are two warrior halls and we could not count those within.”
“And the defences?”
“They look to have built a wooden tower and it is attached to one of the halls. My guess is that it is there to give warning.”
Mordaf was an astute man and he said, “And they have had a hard winter. The villagers we saw had a lean and hungry look. We saw few cattle and sheep. They are desperate to raid, lord. They need English beef and mutton!”
“You have done well.” I held a council of war with my knights. “I want this place destroyed. We will disperse the people but I will not risk our men in an assault while they are behind their walls. We would win but I would not risk the losses. I will send David of Wales and our archers to watch. We will head for Bellingham and bring the main body from the south and east. Sir Ranulf, you will advance from Otterburn with Sir Richard. My intention is to catch this warband in the open when they head to raid the lands south of the wall. It is now the time when the lambs and calves have been born. They will leave within a week. Had they all arrived already then we might have been too late. David and his men leave tonight and we leave in the morning. We wait out of sight. I have studied the maps. There is a road they will take south. We can intercept them. We will head through Falstone and follow the Tyne valley. Wolflee Hill will give us somewhere we can use to ambush them.”
Sir Robert asked, “How do you know of such a place? I was lord here and I did not know of it.”
“When we stayed in Bellingham, I spoke with Erik the Crusader. He is like a walking map. He knows the land well. He knew of Hobkirk and Hawick. He told me of this hill. It is an ancient feature and his Viking ancestors had fought there. The saga was passed down. A good lord of the manor talks to his folk. They have knowledge which is not written down!” He smiled and nodded. “It is far enough from Hobkirk that they will find it hard to flee back to their nest. David of Wales and his archers can trail them too.”
“And we are within the law, lord?”
I smiled at Sir Ranulf, “If they are armed men heading south from Hobkirk then the only place that they can be heading to is England. We do not let them raid this time. I will bear the responsibility. I am happy about the position.”
I briefed David and he and his men left shortly before dark. They would camp on the road. I wanted their movements hidden. Before we left, the next day, I impressed upon Sir Ranulf the need to go steadily and to stay hidden. “David will send a rider to you and when he reaches you then you attack Hobkirk.” After speaking to my son, I was more confident about Sir Richard than Sir Ranulf. Sir Ranulf still needed to be coached! I then chose the horse I would take. Like my men, I would not risk Eagle. I chose one of the palfreys we had taken from Sir Malcolm’s stables. She was a good horse and could bear both my weight and that of my mail.
The valley of the North Tyne had fewer homes than anywhere else I had visited. It was a lawless land. It had been ravaged so often that the ones who lived there were little better than hermits. They eked out a living in the forests. They hunted and they fished. There were few tilled fields. The further north we went the more we heard the Scottish language. We did not bother them. They were obviously not the ones who raided. When we halted and camped it was in fields and clearings in the woods.
The hill was all that Erik had said. If it had not been in such an isolated place then I would have expected a castle. It dominated the road and the river. The river was no longer the Tyne. It was a burn and needed no bridge. I knew not its name for we were now in Scotland. Camping in the lee of the hill and hidden from the road from the north I set men on the top to watch. We waited.
We had but a day to wait. It was Ged Strongbow who brought us the news. “They are heading this way, lord. They move like ants with little order but David of Wales thinks they will reach the road and the hill by this evening. He thinks they would camp here. He has sent word to Sir Ranulf and Sir Richard.”
That made sense. We had found evidence of others who had camped here. I had the men mount. I sent half of the men and knights across the burn. They hid in the forested land there. I took my own men down to block the road and had my son with the rest of the men on the hill. They would be the ones who charged and used their horses. My men and I would be the bait. There would be just fifteen of us but I hoped that my banner would draw them to us. Ridley and Padraig flanked me. I had with me the most experienced men from Stockton. They were also, like me, the oldest. This would be our last battle.
The valley was on a north-west to south-east alignment. The dusk would come earlier. I heard the Scots before I saw them. They were noisy. This was their land and they had no scouts out. They came as a warband with the horses followed by the sumpters, then the ponies and, finally, the mass of men who were on foot. I said, without turning my head, “Mark and Sam, your task is to watch my back. You take no chances at all!”
“Aye, lord.”
I heard Henry Samuel draw his short sword. I hoped he would not need it.
I had chosen a place to wait which was hidden behind a bend in the road. My son and his men were just out of sight in the slope of Wolflee Hill. As the leading rider, a knight, turned and saw me he drew his sword and shouted. We were closer to them than they would have liked. I saw the men at the fore looking around. My two bands of men were well hidden. They were back from the road. As soon as the enemy reacted, they would charge and my archers would rain death upon the men at the back of the warband. I saw a hurried conference. Then the knight pointed his sword at me and yelled something, I guessed it was ‘Charge!’ They hurtled towards us. They roared war cries!
“Wait until I give the command.”
“Aye, lord!”
We had mail, good horses and better weapons. They were a mob. Then my men launched their flank attack. Horns sounded as my son led one half of my men and Sir Robert the other. They fell upon the flanks and rear of the column. The trap was sprung.
“Now!” Even as I spurred my horse, I saw the realisation that they had been trapped dawn on the leaders. The knight at the front tried to rein in but the ones close by kept coming. I lunged with my spear at the horseman on the sumpter. He was lower than I was and he only had a sword. My spear ripped into his shoulder and knocked him to the ground. Ridley the Giant’s axe took a head. Then we were among the few horsemen that they had while up ahead there was the crash and clatter as my horsemen hit the sides of the column. I rammed my spear into the face of one Scot as another hit my shield with his spear. One wild Scot ran, on foot towards me, swinging his axe. He hit my horse’s head, splitting it in two. I knew what was coming and I kicked my feet from my stirrups while hurling the spear at the axeman. I was lucky. It hit his right shoulder. Then my dying horse fell and I hit the ground on my left side. My shield bore the brunt of the fall but I was winded. It was my leg which failed me. When I had been younger, I would have leapt to my feet. Now I had to draw my sword and use it as a crutch to help me rise up. Four of the men on ponies saw their chance and they charged me.
I heard a shout and Mark and Henry Samuel forced their horses over my dead mount towards the four of them. Mark held the standard in his left hand as well as the reins. In his right, he held his sword. He did not hesitate. He might have been a poor rider but his lord was in danger and he rammed the standard into the face of one of the men while swashing at the other with his sword. Whatever shortcomings he had as a rider were more than compensated for by his strength. The standard knocked one rider from his pony while the swinging sword made the other swerve. Henry Samuel rode fearlessly at the other. He had been taught well and he protected himself with his small shield. The Scot thought he had a boy to face and he thrust his short spear at my grandson. The buckler deflected the spearhead while Henry Samuel’s sword hacked into the arm of the mercenary. It was not a powerful blow but the edge was keen and it not only broke skin, but it also struck bone.
The last of the four came directly for me. The charge of my squire and page had given me the chance to rise. I held my shield and put my weight behind it. The bandit’s spear hit my shield and I thrust up with my sword, along the side of the pony. I forced the tip up into his ribs and his chest. His blood spurted and then the pony was beyond me. Ridley and my men at arms reached my side. They formed a half circle around the three of us. It did not matter. The battle was over. The raiders lay dead. A handful had escaped justice. William had slain the knight and I was given his palfrey. I clambered up on his back and surveyed the battle site. My men went among the wounded and ended their pain. Mark and Henry Samuel stayed close to me as did Ridley and Padraig. My life had come close to being lost and they took no chances.
When all was done and we had taken that which we needed we rode towards Hobkirk. We saw the flames, in the dark, as we neared it. Sir Ranulf and Sir Richard had taken it without loss. The women and children had been sent away. They would find relatives but none would live in Hobkirk until it was rebuilt. That might take a generation.
That night we camped by the burning village. Its fire kept us warm and we feasted on the slaughtered animals.
I spoke to my page and squire, “Mark, Henry Samuel, today you came of age. You saved the life of your lord.”
Ridley nodded, “Aye, lads. We must be getting too old that two lads, one who does not shave, did what we have done for many a year. My lord, I think this is God’s way of te
lling us to hang up our swords. You almost died.”
“But I did not. Yet you are right. My oldest warriors, you have risked enough. When we return to Stockton then you shall join Henry Youngblood and garrison my castle or you may farm if that is your choice.”
“And you, lord?”
I saw my knight’s faces turn to me. I shook my head, “I am a border knight. These last months have shown me that I still have work to do. We return home and I will await the punishment for our actions.”
“Punishment, father? Surely you mean reward!”
I laughed, “You will learn that doing your duty does not always guarantee reward. I have been away from Stockton for long enough. Whatever the punishment is I will take it. Your Yalesham widows have shown me what happens when a knight neglects his duty. I will go home and tell Sam’s mother that his father would have been proud of him today as I am proud. The blood of the Warlord still flows in the veins of its warriors.”
Epilogue.
Summer came and still I had not been censured. The King’s wedding was to be in Canterbury at the cathedral there. My son had also been invited. As we were travelling with my wife and her ladies, we allowed a month for the journey. We would take it easy. I wrote to the Sherriff to ask him to accommodate us at York. William had left all of his men at Elsdon. They now knew their task as well as any knight. The border would be safe.
My wife did not ride and we had a wagon in which she could travel. It was functional rather than elegant but Margaret was a hardy woman. She and her two ladies had shelter from the sun and cushions to ease the bumps. We stayed at East Harlsey for our first night away from Stockton. After York, we would travel south and head to Lincoln. William had left his castle in safe hands and the border was in the safe care of Sir Richard. The bloody border was less dangerous for we had scoured it of our enemies.