Earl (3 page)

"Eager for war, young Hugh?"

He laughed, "No, my lord but eager for the profits of war."

"At the moment there are no enemies for us to vanquish but I believe that will change.  The whole valley prospers and that normally induces jealousy in others. The Scots are still our closest enemies."

We reached my castle at dusk after bidding farewell to Sir Hugh. As we dismounted I said, "Wulfric I wish you and my squires to dine with me this evening.  I am keen to learn what news you gathered."

"Aye my lord." I smiled for Wulfric preferred the rough company of his men at arms to that of my wife. He was a rough and ready soldier but Adela would not mind his manners. John and Leofric often dined with me.  Adela was keen to turn them both into gentlemen. Their backgrounds were lowly. I knew many such squires who never became knights.  Adela was adamant that the two squires would, one day, both become lords of their own manors. She had an unwavering belief in my ability to improve my fortunes and therefore the fortunes of those who served me. I was lucky to have her.

After bathing and changing I sat at the head of the table while I waited for the others to arrive.  Sir Hugh's question had been a good one. If neither the King nor the Bishop required me to go to war what should I do?  I knew that I could not raid the lands of the King of Scotland.  King Henry had forbidden that.  What else could my men do? Idle hands oft turned to mischief.

My reverie was ended when William burst in dragging his mother.  Adela shook her head, "He has been full of the journey my husband and is determined to tell me all!"

I laughed, "He was quite the centre of attention but he was a good boy my wife.  You can be proud of him as I was."

William then gave his mother a blow by blow account of all the places we had visited.  Wulfric and my squires entered whilst he was in the midst of it. They listened with amusement.  It made it easier for Wulfric as he was able to relax as William was the centre of attention.

Adela was the cleverest woman I had met, outside of the Empress and, as the meal drew to its close she knew I wished to speak with my men.  "Come William.  It is time for your bed."

"But I want to stay with the other men!"

That made them all laugh. I affected a stern expression, "Then you should know, young William of Stockton, that my men all obey me without question! It is time for bed!"

He hung his head, "Yes, my lord."

I grabbed him and hugged him.  "You did well, my son, and I am proud of you.  In a few years you, too, might be part of these discussions but for now go with your mother."

He brightened, "Yes father!"

Once he had gone I stood and poured my men some of the red wine we had brought back from our last visit to Normandy.  I sat and spread my arms, "Tell me all."

Wulfric began, "The Lord of Blois and his men were preparing to head west and visit Carlisle. There is a new castellan there, Geoffrey de Bois.  He is a distant relative of Lord Stephen."

"And what did you make of his men?"

"They are well armed and armoured.  They are paid well and I think they are good warriors.  They have great respect for Stephen.  They think highly of him and would follow him anywhere."

"What you are saying is that he would be hard to defeat."

"For others perhaps but we could take them. Erre and the others from Miklagård were not impressed by them."

I turned to the squires.  As I had expected it was the more thoughtful Leofric who answered first. "They came from the north east, my lord. They came through the wall to the west of Hexham."

"Think you they landed in Scotland?"

"That was where they were evasive my lord.  It was almost as though they had all been told not to say whence they had come."

I was intrigued.  "How did you question them?"

"I said that they would have had a warm welcome had they stopped at Stockton when they travelled north.  One of their squires blurted out that they had not come from the south but the north east and that the land there was cold and harsh. I could see from their reactions that he should not have said what he did. I said, as casually as I could, that Sir Hugh Manningham always kept a fine table. They did not recognise the name.  I deduced that they had not crossed through his land. That only left the gaps in the wall to the west."

Wulfric nodded approvingly at Leofric's logic. "That would make sense my lord. When they have visited Carlisle they can return from whence they came."

"You have all done well.  Tomorrow, Wulfric, send two of your men north to Hexham with a message for Sir Hugh. I will write a letter this night. I would know where they go, these men of Blois."

He nodded.  John ventured, "My lord his men are as loyal to him as yours are. They think he is a good man." There was a naïve innocence about John which was quite endearing. I hoped that others would not take advantage of such an innocent nature.

"He may well be, in his own way, John.  However he does not have the best interests of the Empress Matilda at heart and I do not trust him."

When they had left I summoned my steward and clerk, John son of Leofric. I dictated a letter to Sir Hugh.  I asked him to keep watch for Sir Stephen and his conroi.  I wanted to know what he was about.  Despite John's words there was something about Stephen and his actions that I did not trust.  Robert of Gloucester and the King had both chastised me for my suspicions. He was trusted by them.  Perhaps it was the memory of Stephen trying to abduct the Empress all those years ago when I had escorted her back to the Emperor. Men can change and Stephen, like me, had been much younger then. Perhaps he was a different person now.  I would watch yet.

As the first hints of spring began to show I threw off the lethargy of winter and looked to my castle walls and my men.  William the mason was already hard at work finishing off my gatehouse. I discussed with him the prospect of adding another large tower which would accommodate more men and add strength to the town end of the castle. He said he would draw up plans but that work would take a long time and much stone. I did not mind for I had seen greater castles than mine and knew just how strong they were compared to mine. He had drawn plans showing how we would make the town’s gates stronger.  That, too, would make my castle harder to take.  With doughty men on my walls it was hard to see how an enemy could breach them. Then I set about organising my men and assimilating my new warriors.

Erre and my new men would not fight as mounted men at arms; it would take too long to train them but there would be times when they fought alongside my dismounted men at arms.  Then their unique skills would come into their own.  We fought on foot. We practised using the six of them and Wulfric as the heart of my line.  I knew some of the others resented the place of honour being given to such new men but they had been brought up to fight and protect the Emperor. I knew that if we fought on foot then they would be able to stop anyone getting close to me.

I also set John to begin William's training as a squire. They used wooden swords, much as the Romans had done. John was firm with William.  He was a good teacher. The aim was to harden my young son up.  Each day they would spar for hour upon hour until William could barely raise his arm.  Adela had questioned this at first but I dismissed her concerns. Women could never understand what was needed to train a warrior. It was hard and harsh; it was almost brutal but it was necessary to forge young squires into knights. William's tears soon stopped and he learned what it was to be a warrior. It would not be long before he would be able to ride to war with us.  At first he would not fight. But that would be another stage on his journey. Campaigning was yet a further skill to be added.

Some of my men at arms had now become married, as had some of my knights.  It was a sign that they were getting older. When their wives became pregnant I was pleased for they would become warriors when they grew. Wulfric and Dick continued to train and seek replacements. It was too late if we waited until a warrior fell.  There had to be someone ready to take their place. The new men were kept at the castle where they could be trained until they were good enough to fight with my warriors.  I was acutely aware that we had been very lucky of late.  Luck did not last.

Close to Easter Sir Hugh sent me a message that Stephen of Blois had left the north by sea from the River Wear. That meant he had passed through Durham on his way east.  That disturbed me. He had been very close to my land and yet we had not seen him. Had he passed close by Durham?  What connection did he have there? Sir Hugh's diligence had paid off. I was just happy that he was away from my heartland.

It was as I was just finishing my sessions and preparing for the visit of the King's collector of taxes when I had a message from Robert of Gloucester. It seemed that the Welsh, under the leadership of Owain ap Gruffudd, the son of the king of Gwynedd, had begun to push north and east from the stronghold of Snowdonia.  They were ravaging the lands around Chester.  The Earl of Chester was secure enough in his castle but the rich lands of Cheshire were suffering.  I was ordered to march south with a force of my men to relieve the pressure on the Earl. It was a long letter and I took it as a sign of my recent elevation that Robert of Gloucester entrusted me with such knowledge.  He would be bringing an army from the south. He commanded me to meet him on the plains of Cheshire. I was urged not leave the north undefended.  The Earl of Gloucester only asked for a small force of knights.

Even as I sent riders to summon my knights I could see the Earl’s strategy. I would be the anvil and Robert the hammer.  When I approached the men of Gwynedd I had no doubt that they would outnumber me.  Robert of Gloucester was clever. When the attention of the Welsh was on me then he would fall upon them. I only sent for four of my knights. I would take just those whose manors lay close to Stockton.  My other knights would provide protection for our homes. The Earl had not said how many men he wished me to bring and I would not risk took many.

Sir Edward, from Thornaby, brought fourteen men; Sir Richard of Yarm sixteen, Sir Tristan of Elton ten and Sir Harold of Hartburn twelve. The bulk of the men in the conroi would come from my castle.  I took Wulfric and twenty men at arms and Dick and nine archers. I left Aelric at the castle to work with my new archers.  They would provide the defence.

As the knights were all so close they reached my castle within an hour of my summons. As was my wont I did not command, as was my right.  Instead I asked if they were ready for a campaign in Wales. I was delighted when they all enthusiastically agreed.

Sir Edward rubbed his hands, "The last time we fought the Welsh we came home with more cattle than there are in the whole of Scotland!"

Sir Richard laughed.  He too had profited from our raids against the Scots and knew this could be the opportunity to increase our wealth without risking revenge from those we defeated. "Do you have a plan, my lord? Or do we wait for the Earl of Gloucester?"

"I believe that the Earl is gathering a large army.  He is relying on our proximity to enable us to get there before him."

Sir Edward snorted, "So that we can draw the sting from this Welsh wasp!" Edward had been critical of the Earl’s strategy before. He had been a man at arms and saw every battle from that viewpoint.  His men loved him.

"I do not mind.  If the Earl is not there to give me instructions then I have a free hand."

Harold had been my squire and, I think, knew me as well if not better than any other. "How many men will you lead, my lord?"

"We will take forty eight men at arms, thirty six archers and half a dozen men to watch the horses and feed us.  That will give us a force of almost a hundred men; fast enough to evade an army and yet big enough to be able to do some serious damage.  Choose your own servants to look after your needs and your baggage. The bulk of the men at arms will be mine.  You will each leave enough men to guard your homes but I have sent messages to the other knights in the valley to keep a close watch on our own homes.  With a new Castellan at Durham and Carlisle as well as a vigilant Sir Hugh I think the normal Scottish raids may not materialise this year. I have a young priest from Norton, Father John, who will be our healer. I intend to leave Edgar here to command the men at arms."

Sir Tristan was the youngest of my knights. The son of Sir Richard he was Sir Harold's best friend. He was also the poorest of my knights. "Will we need our war horses, my lord?"

"We will take them.  The Welsh are a small people and whilst the land of Wales does not suit destrier the land of Cheshire does.  The sight of our fine horses charging them may help us win without even drawing a weapon."

"And when do we leave?"

"We will gather tomorrow at dawn by Sir Richard's Manor at Yarm.  I intend to make the journey in less than five days."

"You will take Aiden?"

"Of course, Sir Edward.  I will not run blindly into the Welsh defences. I want the element of surprise on our side. We have fought in that land before and Aiden is familiar with it." I rose.  "If you have no further questions then I suggest you leave to say your farewells."

Adela already knew of my orders and she was resigned to being alone again. I knew that when I was away she would spend much time seeing to the poor of our town.  She had a good heart and, having been a prisoner who was subjected to much hardship, she constantly sought to alleviate that in others. She improved the lot of the poor and the sick. My daughter, Hilda, had now grown enough to be left with Seara and Mary the slaves.  They enjoyed looking after my children. The problem was William.

As I was packing the clothes and equipment I would need he came in to watch. "You are going away?"

"Yes, my son, I am. The King wishes me to go to fight the Welsh." I knew it was the Earl of Gloucester who had summoned me but I found it easier to use the word ‘King’ for now that I was now an Earl too it might confuse my son.

"You said I could come with you next time."

I turned and faced him.  "Do not try to twist my words. It is not the behaviour I expect from my son.  I told you that when you were old enough I would take you.  You are not old enough as this request proves." I saw his lip begin to quiver. "See, this proves I am right. When you can take my commands without crying then, perhaps I will consider taking you."

He nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I can do that."

"However you have to be big enough to ride a horse alone, wearing armour and your helmet and you must satisfy John and Leofric that you can fight with a sword." I looked at him. "Will they say you are ready yet?" He looked at me and I could see that he was desperate to say yes but he knew it would not be true and he shook his head. I smiled, "See, already you are showing that you are growing and learning."

“I promise that I will soon be big enough to come with you and John and Leofric will say that I am ready.”

We left before dark. My wife held my children and I leaned down to kiss them both. “Aelric and Edgar will command while I am away and John son of Leofric will keep me informed of the situation here in the north.  I promise I will return as soon as I can manage."

"I know. Take care, my husband."

William said, “I will ask Edgar to continue my training!”

“Good!”

The sound of the hooves clattering through the bailey would have woken all in my town.  It could not be helped. I saw waved farewells from some of the young girls in the town as they saw their young men riding to war.  It was ever thus.  I hoped that all would return rich men and with tales to tell to their pretty ladies but I knew it would not be.  Some would fall and some girls would forever mourn their dead warrior.

We did not unfurl my banner, now complete with a wolf on the blue background with the two stars, until daylight when we were heading through Northallerton.  It told the world that the Earl of Cleveland was going to war. The column was strung out over a large part of the road.  There were sumpters as well as destrier at the rear.  We had tents and cooking pots as well as food to sustain us.  I hoped that we might find hospitality from lords along the way but I knew that our route would pass few castles.  We would be travelling over the bare backbone of the land.  We would cross the high moor. Even in summer it was a cold and sometimes inhospitable place.  It was another reason for speed.  There was little to be gained from a leisurely journey over the moors. It was still cool and the high ground would be even colder. It would be a good test of my new warriors so recently arrived from the east. That and the fact that they had to contend with horses would make their first few days a rude awakening to campaigning in England.

I rode with my knights in the van.  Aiden and two archers ranged ahead. I did not feel that there was any danger but it was a good habit to get into. Riding with my four knights gave me the chance to refine my ideas for the coming war.  I had fought in the county of Cheshire and the north Welsh borders before and knew that the land could turn against us in but a few miles.  It went from flat plains to thick forests to impossibly steep valley sides filled with rocks and gullies. It could prove a death trap for our horses.

"I intend to strike quickly as soon as we arrive. It will frighten the Welsh, give hope to those within Chester and will be our best opportunity to make easy kills."

Sir Tristan asked, "You do not intend to raise the siege?"

"Unless I miss my guess there will be many Welsh around the walls and they will outnumber us.  I do not doubt that they have prepared their own defences well but there will be one weak point. There always is. Aiden will find it.  We will attack quickly and cause as much damage as we can.  We then cross the Dee.  There is a hill fort, an old Saxon structure at Broughton. It is protected by a marsh but, more importantly it controls the main road along the coast from Gwynedd and Anglesey. It is the easiest way for this Owain to supply his men and transport his booty.  I intend to use that as our stronghold until the Earl of Gloucester reaches us."

"And how long will that be, my lord?"

"I am guessing, Edward, five days after we arrive.  Our journey is shorter than the Earl's and less hilly.  Once we have crossed the moor the going will be easier. It is flat and will make good time. We will annoy the men of Gwynedd so much that they will be forced to attack us."

"How so my lord?"

I waved a hand at the four of them. "Each day you will set out and raid as far as you can to give heart to the men of Cheshire and to take as much from the Welsh as you can. You have good horses and with four conroi you can cover a large area.  Owain will think we have an army. It will do your young warriors good to fight together under your banners.  They will compete with the other conroi for the most honour and booty."

Edward nodded.  He was experienced enough to know how it would work.  "But when Owain does come he will have the advantage for we are horsemen and we will have to fight on foot."

"And yet we have fought on foot many times and successfully too.  Besides we now have a secret weapon; the men who follow Erre.  Along with Wulfric they will form the heart of my defence."