Warlord's War (The Anarchy Book 11)

by Griff Hosker

  With winds against us we had to tack, take in sail, let out sail, so many times that the crew were exhausted. It took another week to reach Cornwall and five more days to finally make Bristol.

  We had been at sea so long that we left the ship like drunks. It was dark when we reached the port. We would not be travelling further that night. "William, sail to Stockton. I have letters for my knights and for Alf. One of them and their men will return south with you unless the danger from the Scots is too great. I know your men are exhausted but this is important."

  "Aye my lord."

  I took a purse of gold from my ransom chest, "Take this in lieu of cargo."

  "My lord! This is your ship!"

  "And you have your livelihood to think of. Take it!"

  He reluctantly took it, "Aye lord, and do you wish me to return here?"

  "If you would be so kind."

  I took my squires and Henry to the Castle. My men would sleep aboard the cog. The castellan was surprised to see me. "We heard that you had died in Normandy, my lord."

  "A slight wound, nothing more. We will be staying but one night."

  He nodded, "That will not be a problem, lord. Would you dine alone?"

  "Alone?"

  "King Stephen and I normally dine together. I did not wish to offend you."

  "We shall dine with him. We can be civilised about this."

  When I told Henry that he was to dine with his mother's cousin he looked intrigued. "You captured him did you not, uncle?"

  "I did but he had fought many men and he was tired. He is a good warrior."

  "But you are better."

  I did not like boasting. "On the day, yes, I was. On another? Who knows?"

  My leg was bothering me less these days but I still walked with a limp. Stephen noticed it as I came in with Henry and my squires. He frowned, "You have been in the wars again?"

  Henry blurted out, "He captured Mortain and killed the traitor Stephen of Azay!"

  Stephen laughed loudly, "Thank God for some entertaining company! You are a frightening foe, Cleveland, but you have something about you. I shall enjoy this meal!" He turned to the castellan, "No offence, Robert, but the Earl's stories will be far more interesting than yours."

  The castellan smiled, "I look forward to hearing them myself.

  After so long at sea the food tasted like nectar but I watched how much wine I drank. I made sure that my squires and Henry took heavily watered wine. Stephen questioned me about the battle. It was obvious he had had no knowledge of Azay's treachery nor the plot involving the French. When we had finished he grinned, "It seems that, like you, Earl, I have raised a cockerel to crow in the farmyard!"

  "If he moves in French company then we both know how dangerous that is."

  "True. This new Louis is as tricky as the old one I fear!"

  Henry stared at Stephen, "Why do you not let my mother have the crown? It is hers and not yours you know!"

  Stephen nodded, "I can see how you would see that, Fitz Empress but is your mother strong enough to defend this land?"

  "She is strong enough to defeat you and have you held in this castle!"

  That took me and the castellan by surprise but Stephen laughed loudly, "And it seems there is another cockerel here! It was not your mother who beat me but the man seated opposite. If the Earl had been on my side then your mother and father would be in Normandy and I would be fighting them there. The Earl is the only reason that England is at war."

  That was not true and it was trite of him to say so but I would not argue for it was pointless.

  "When I am old enough I will fight you for this kingdom. We will have the Duchy by then for the Earl of Cleveland will help my father to conquer it!"

  Stephen seemed amused by the precocious youth, "We shall see, we shall see. And would you be a good king?"

  He nodded, "I would be like the earl and give the Scots a good thrashing and the Welsh! I would make England bigger and stronger." He jabbed an accusing finger at Stephen, "You have lost parts of England; the Palatinate, Cumbria as well as Wales! You have given away my mother's land!"

  "You are knowledgeable for one so young. I think you might make a good king. Sadly for you, however, my son, Eustace will be the king after me."

  I sipped my wine, "Your son who colludes and conspires with England and Normandy's enemies does not seem a good choice to me."

  For the first time Stephen's good humour left him. It seemed I had touched a nerve. Perhaps he had not thought deeply enough about his son's actions. He stood, "I thank you for your company. Remember me kindly to your mother Henry and it has been a genuine pleasure to meet and speak with you." He came to grasp my hand, "And once again I am mindful of the difference we could have made had we fought alongside each other."

  When he and the castellan had gone I said, "Come, we have a busy day tomorrow. It is time for rest."

  "You two like each other, Uncle Alfraed."

  "I think it is respect. He is a fine warrior but I do not like the way he rules. It is not honest."

  "Then when I am king I shall be honest and rule so that I have your approval."

  "Is that important?"

  He nodded, "It is to me." He looked up at me. "Earl, could I be your squire? I mean while we are in England can I be attired as Richard and Gilles? It will be safer for me and I could learn to be a warrior. I know that I have much to learn. My father does not take me to war but you can. You will keep me safe."

  He was right. He would be safer wearing my livery and masked with a helmet. He would not be sought out in battle. They would come for me. If you wished to hide a valuable sword then you place it among other swords.

  I nodded, "But if you are squire to me then you obey me and my commands." He nodded. "I will instruct Richard on the morrow. He will be your tutor."

  We left early the next day. The leaves were falling, the wind was blowing and the land was muddy. In Anjou you barely noticed autumn, here it was a warning of what was to be unleashed by winter which roared in like a wolf. I had used more of my precious ransom gold to buy horses for us all. It was a wise investment. The war had quietened down of late but it would flare up again. Now was the time to buy horses for they were cheaper. We bought enough sumpters to carry armour, weapons, arrows and supplies. Bristol had plenty; who knew what we would find at Devizes.

  We found barely twenty men at arms and no archers. Miles of Gloucester commanded those along with half a dozen of his knights. I could not believe how poorly prepared they were.

  The Empress burst into tears when we approached. I think there would have been tears for any of a dozen reasons but the combination of her son, me and the fact that the war was close to being lost made the iron lady break. It made Henry run to her to comfort her. "It is fine mother, your champion is here now. The war will change. We have the Warlord of the North with us!"

  Miles clasped my arm, "It is good that you are here!"

  "Where are the rest of our forces?"

  He waved a hand, "Wallingford, Gloucester, Bristol and Oxford; it is all that we hold."

  "Where is Reginald, Earl of Cornwall?"

  He looked at me and then the Empress, "Come Henry, I will show you your new quarters."

  My squires knew when to show discretion and they led my men and Henry Fitz Empress to the upstairs chambers glad to be away from the wind, the rain and the chill atmosphere.

  We walked into the ante chamber of the Great Hall and I closed the door for privacy. The Empress had her head bowed, "I did not know you would come."

  I shook my head, "The sun will rise, the moon will set and if I say I will return with your son then I will do so." Her tone and her body told me that she had done something which she knew would annoy and anger me. "What have you done?"

  I realised that I was talking to my ruler but to me she was the woman who had stolen my heart. We both knew that she had done something she should not have done. She raised her head and jutted her jaw, "We thought you dead! Word came from
Normandy that you had been badly wounded."

  "I was wounded but those who spread those lies are those who support Eustace of Boulogne the Usurper's son. What have you done?"

  "The Earl of Cornwall is with the Bishop of Winchester. He is arranging an exchange of my brother for Stephen."

  I sat down. My knee ached but, more importantly, I saw now that the war which was close to being ended would now last until Henry was a man.

  She saw my despair and put her hand on my shoulder. I felt her fingers squeeze. "I thought it for the best. We need Robert!"

  "No, my lady, you need men who are resolute and keep their heads: Brian Fitz Count, Miles of Gloucester, me! You do not need your brother. We sacrificed our greatest prize for..."

  "For my brother! He is the son of the king as am I!"

  I closed my eyes as I tried to come up with a plan which might still regain the throne for the Empress. I found none.

  Her hand stroked my hair, "Alfraed, I thought you were gone."

  I opened my eyes, "In your heart did you?"

  She shook her head, "No, you are right. In my heart I knew that you lived yet." She smiled. "You are clever. There must be a way out of this."

  "We need to leave Devizes tomorrow! As soon as the exchange is made Queen Matilda and William of Ypres will send horsemen to capture you and your son! This is no place to hold off an enemy. I should not have brought him! Had I known what you intended I would have stayed in Normandy and kept our son safe!"

  For the first time ever there was anger in my voice and Maud recoiled. My father's voice came into my head. I was losing my temper and he had told me that was always the way to failure.

  "I am sorry. That was wrong of me. Tomorrow we go to Oxford. It is strong and easy to defend. The garrison is loyal and I have sent for my men." She brightened, "But I fear you will never be crowned. This was our only chance and London will support Stephen, they always have. We must now work to make your son King. You need to let your supporters know that we now fight for Henry and not the Empress."

  She nodded and then said, "What about my brother?"

  The mention of Robert set my blood to boil once more. "I do not give a fig for your brother! I care for England and Henry! He will be King of England or I will die ensuring that he does!" I realised I was shouting for Margaret and Judith, her two women, burst in.

  "The Earl is just becoming a little over excited. Prepare our bags we leave tomorrow morning."

  They nodded and backed out. Once alone she put her arms around me and buried her face in my chest. "I am lucky that my father entrusted you with my life so long ago. I know I am a trial."

  "We must plan how to raise an army to fend off our foes. Winter draws on and campaigning will be hard." In my mind I knew that was not true. We had fought the battle at Lincoln in February. If a leader was determined then he would find a way to fight. My only hope lay in a paucity of numbers. The enemy had lost many men at Lincoln and we had at Winchester. The only sizeable numbers lay in my castle at Stockton. I dared not bring them all for that would open the gates to the Scots and they would tear my home apart. I had to keep that safe. If disaster struck again we had somewhere we could use as a refuge.

  The Empress sighed, "I have to tell you that I have come to an arrangement with King David of Scotland. There is peace between us."

  I knew then that the day could not get any worse. "Then, for the first time since I became a knight I must disobey you for there is no peace between the Scots and me so long as they hold one hide of England."

  Before she could answer there was a knock at the door and Margaret put her head through, "We have food in the Great Hall, my lady. Perhaps it will put the Earl in a better mood. He is obviously not himself."

  I smiled. Margaret was loyal to the Empress and she was reprimanding me for my outburst. "You are right Margaret; I was rude earlier. I am sorry."

  As I stood there was a twinge of pain in my leg. I winced. The Empress grabbed my arm, "You are wounded!"

  "It aches that is all. I have been travelling. It is nothing."

  Miles, my squires and Henry looked up as we entered. The Constable of Gloucester had known what my reaction would be to the news. I could not believe that he was happy about it. They had left two seats for us between Henry and Miles of Gloucester. When we were seated I turned, "We must leave tomorrow. This castle is too close to the enemy and too small to defend."

  "Where do we go, my lord?"

  I leaned in and said quietly, "Oxford." He nodded. During the meal I told him of the perfidy of Stephen of Azay and the trap into which we had nearly fallen. "So you see the war which could have been over in Normandy now limps on to another year and I cannot see the end of the one in England. It took years to bring Stephen to battle and to capture him and now he is free. Perhaps I should have slain him in battle."

  Miles shook his head, "Regicide is a heinous sin, my lord. It would deny you heaven."

  He was right but it did not stop me thinking that I might have ended the war had I slain him in combat.

  I spoke with Griff of Gwent and James the Stout as we prepared to ride to Oxford. "I know it goes against your natures but we need to watch our allies until we are certain that they are on our side. I trust those we brought from Anjou. If you suspect any then let me know and I will deal with them."

  "We will, lord."

  I mounted the horse which the castellan had provided. It was a good horse but it was not mine. I was wearing my repaired mail for the first time since the battle. It felt oddly heavy. I knew that I would need it. My shield hung over my cantle and protected my left knee. I now had a weak side. I would need to build up my muscles over the winter. An enemy soon learned your weaknesses and used them against you.

  I rode with Miles and my squires guarded Henry. Despite the objection of the knights who accompanied us I had my six men at arms guarding the Empress and her ladies. I cared not for the delicacy of their feelings. I seemed to be the only one who knew the dangers we faced. It was fifty miles, no more and yet the half day journey seemed to take forever. I had thought we had reached safety when I spied the distant towers of the castle. It was but six miles away.

  Robert of Derby had been tasked with ensuring that we were not being followed. He suddenly galloped up, "My lord, there are knights following. They ride hard and they follow a Flemish banner!"

  William of Ypres led Flemish warriors.

  "Sir Miles take my men at arms and escort the ladies to Oxford. Richard, guard Henry. Gilles you come with me." I turned to the knights, "Now we shall see your mettle. We will meet these warriors and bloody their noses! Are you with me?"

  "Aye my lord!"

  Henry opened his mouth to object and Richard snapped, "If you wish to be the Earl's squire then obey him in all things!"

  I whipped around the head of the borrowed horse. I would have preferred a horse I knew but this one would do. I left my shield hanging. I would pull it up when we went into combat. The six knights I led were young and all came from Gloucester. The fact that they had escorted the Empress from the rout at Winchester told me that they were not reckless and would obey orders but as that was their only battle it did not say much for their skills. My archers who followed us and the ten men at arms from Gloucester were my only support if the knights failed. I glanced at Gilles. He was no longer the half trained son of an archer. He had fought in the line and slain knights. I could rely on him.

  This was not a Roman road over which we travelled but one built in the time of King Alfred. It was not straight and only had ditches in places. Had the leaves not fallen from the trees in the recent storms then we might have stumbled upon the column of knights but Robert of Derby had sharp eyes and he shouted, "Lord! They are four hundred paces away!"

  I pulled up my shield, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, and drew my sword. The six knights had lances and they couched them. Gilles carried my banner in his left hand behind his shield and he carried a sword. I hoped that the sight of my banner mig
ht unnerve the enemy. If the Empress had thought me dead then it might come as a shock to the enemy.

  "Griff, have the archers support us. Go for their horses!"

  A knight without a horse could neither fight us nor follow us. We were not seeking glory, I just wanted to get the Empress to Oxford! As we came around a bend in the road and through a small stand of trees I saw them. There were forty of fifty men at arms and knights. Robert's cry had given us an advantage and I would not lose it. "Charge!"

  I held my sword before me and, along with Gilles, we led the six knights and ten men at arms into the mailed wall of men. In the initial contact my shield and my horse unhorsed one knight and my sword hacked into the arm of a second who was slow to pull up his shield. As the ones at the rear began to react to the danger arrows fell like raindrops amongst them. I saw horses, pierced by arrows, rearing and flailing their hooves. Our sudden attack had caught them napping. We plunged through their column. A large Flemish man at arms brought his sword around to smash into my shield. Normally I would have stood in my stirrups and brought my sword down on his head. My weak knee prevented that and, instead, I whipped around my horse's head to the left and brought my sword around into the middle of his back. It tore through his mail and into his flesh. Hanging on to his reins the warrior headed away from me.

  I saw an opportunity. The warrior's flight created a hole in the enemy lines and I exploited it. "Follow me!" I wheeled back through the enemy ranks. The backs of the men at arms and knights were now to us. As they turned they put their formation into further chaos. I stabbed through the gap between coif and helmet to end the life of one knight and then we were through. I glanced around and saw that four knights and six men at arms still followed me. The road was littered with the bodies of horses and men.

  "Griff! Hold them awhile and then follow."

  "Aye lord!"

  As we cantered down the road I shouted, "Well done! You have saved the Empress' life this day!"

  One young knight, Ralph of Cirencester, shouted, "Aye and we have ridden with the Warlord too!" They cheered. Here were four knights I could trust. It was a start!