English Knight (17 page)

“Your men are brave and loyal and we have had a good day.” He hesitated, “But tell me, how do we divide up the spoils?”

I laughed, “This is the largest haul we have yet made. We will decide when we get home.”

Although the raiders from Scotland had had few coins about their person there was enough to give everyone of my men some silver.  I gave one of the knight’s horses to Sir Richard as well as one of the suits of mail.  The other suit of mail I gave to Edward and he was grateful. The swords were of dubious quality.  The better ones were given to those who lacked one and the rest of the weapons were given to Alf to make into new ones. The whole community prospered and there was a joyous atmosphere that evening. My father, of course, agreed to give the land around the Hart Burn to Tom and his son. Branton nodded his grateful approval. They had gambled much when they had followed us north and he was relieved that we looked after his men.

Father Peter and Faren saw to the wound of William of Jedburgh.  Having given his word he was allowed to wander the castle freely although we kept an eye upon him. That evening as we ate my father questioned him.

“Why on earth did you come all the way from Jedburgh to raid my small manor?”

“The ones further north are too well defended. We could go west but it is a short road down to here.  The Romans built well. And we heard you had cattle.” He shrugged, “The news of prosperity travels far in this poor land.”

“It will cost your family I think.” My father looked at me, “What ransom did you ask?”

“I asked them to decide.  If it is not enough we can send them back his ears.”

I thought Ralph was going to choke on his food. My father laughed, “I think William of Jedburgh, that I will decide if the ransom is enough.”

I shrugged, “If this is the quality of Scottish knights then we will have more when others seek to rob us”

My father frowned as he stared at me. He hated rudeness more than anything and I had never learned to curb my tongue.

Sir Richard said, “Before you censure him my lord you should know that he took on three knights, on foot and defeated them all. I have never seen such speed in a sword. Sir William and his fellows were brave but they were no match for your son.  Is that not right, Sir William?”

Our guest nodded. “Sadly I must agree. I am used to fighting knights who fight on horses.  Your son used a spear as a lance and then managed to kill one of my best men with a single throw.” He waved a hand at Wulfstan and the others.  “Had I known that there were two knights and five Varangians then I might have tried elsewhere.”

“A costly lesson, but at least you are alive to learn it.  We will try to make your stay as comfortable as we can.”

“I hope that it is not too long, Baron Ridley. I will have to seek my fortune in the Holy Land.  It is said that a man can make a fortune there.”

“Perhaps or you could just run your manor well.” My father was a kind man.  I am not so certain we would have experienced the same hospitality had the roles been reversed.

I could not wait to get back to the castle. Scanlan refused to stay at the hall and he came with us to Stockton.  He mixed the mortar whilst we laboured.  We also had William’s son for his work at Norton was done. Wulfstan came with us as he wanted to see the progress we had made. He stood with me by the river and looked up at the tower.  “There will be three floors?”

“Aye and a small tower at each corner.” I pointed to the river.  “The river will protect us yonder and with a moat, a curtain and a drawbridge we could laugh away a siege.”

“It would be strong I grant you.  Well I will join you in work today my young apprentice. I cannot have you becoming bigger and stronger than me.”

The addition of Wulfstan meant that the building raced on. He was both strong and hard working. A week before midsummer saw us ready to begin the final floor and the four towers. The shell would soon be finished. Scanlan was on the second floor helping William with the mortar when he shouted, “Armed men on the southern bank my lord.”

Each of us grabbed our arms.  Ethelred hurried from his ferry.  “Should I fetch them, my lord or send to Norton?”

Wulfstan peered across. “They are not knights and there are but five of them. Edward, take your weapons and Alan; accompany Ethelred.  Do not set foot on land until you know their intentions.”

We watched the ferry as the three men hauled it across to the other bank.  Surprisingly Edward allowed it to land directly. The five armed men boarded and they pulled across.

I put on my tunic to greet them.  I did not see them approach.  When I did, finally see them, I had a surprise.  One of them was the fellow who had drunk too much and had a rusty weapon in Northallerton. Wulfstan was talking to them when I emerged. He was grinning.  “It seems that Wulfric here took offence at my words. I saw the man blush.  “He became sober, cleaned his weapons and decided to become a warrior once more.” Wulfstan nodded at the others, “These fellows fought alongside Edward.  All seek service with you, Lord Alfraed.”

I looked at them one by one.  All had a leather jerkin.  Two had bows and all carried a sword.  One had a poleaxe. “Take out your swords.” I saw that they were all sharp and rust free.  I glanced surreptitiously at Edward who gave the slightest of nods. “Very well, if you will swear allegiance you are my men.” They all knelt and offered their sword hilts to me.

“Welcome to your new home.”

I looked up at the tower.  William leaned out.  “That is all that we can do, my lord, until we get more stone.”

“Then we will all travel back to Norton and I can introduce you to my father and the rest of the garrison.”

As we rode back we were able to discover all the latest news.  Although they had all spent the last couple of months in Northallerton it was close enough to York to hear the gossip. The most interesting news was that King Henry was back in England.  The disturbing news was that his tax collectors were in the south part of Yorkshire and were rigorously enforcing their lord’s wishes for money. We would soon need money from our tenants.  I did not look forward to collecting it.  They were not well off.

We spent the next week preparing for the midsummer holiday. My father had decided to hold a market on that day.  Many of the farmers and their wives had spent the winter and the spring making clothes, pots and items carved from bone. The market would give everyone the chance to buy and sell their surplus as well as giving us the chance to celebrate a year since we had come. My father paid for a barrel of beer from Sarah Ale Wife and had Tom, and his son, hunt some of the deer from their land. He made sure that the two were recompensed.

Poor Sir Richard felt out of the celebrations.  Everyone, even the five new men at arms, was familiar to someone in the castle.  He ended up talking to our hostage.  William of Jedburgh’s leg had healed well and he now only had a slight limp.  He and Sir Richard had enjoyed some practise with weapons and so they sat away from the rest of the community and chatted.

For everyone else it became the ancient ceremony of courtship. The farmers brought their daughters to the castle and they had garlands of summer flowers in their hair.  The men at arms had been celibate since arriving and the sight of so many pretty young girls sparked many a romance. We already had a long standing romance of our own. Wulfstan and Faren often spent the night together.  My father had told me privately that as soon as Wulfstan wished he would free Faren and they would marry.  I could not understand why Wulfstan had not asked for her freedom and her hand.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day.  I just sat back and watched the games that were played and listened to the music. These were my people.  These were the farmers and workers of the manor.  I looked over to my father and saw the joy on his face.  He was remembering such days before the Normans came. The ale flowed freely although I did not drink much. I was more used to eastern wines than English ale but I drank and I toasted sociably. I also ate sparingly of the food.  That was not because I was not enjoying it; it was delicious.  It was more that I wanted no-one to go hungry.  Many of those who enjoyed the festivities struggled to have enough to eat. This was their opportunity to fill themselves with well cooked food. The spices we had brought from the east made all our food special.

I found myself smiling as various couples came and asked my father’s permission to wed.  The red flushed cheeks bespoke sudden passion in some. Sir Richard and Sir William seemed bemused by it all. As twilight settled and people looked as though they were ready to depart, my father stood.

Everyone applauded and was then silent.  “My friends; this is our first Midsummer feast.  It will not be the last,” There was huge applause at that. “I am pleased that many couples have decided to marry.  Father Peter will know the marriage ceremony without the book soon!” There was laughter at that. “For myself I have to say that I am happy that Good King Henry gave me this manor for it is all that I hoped it would be and now, before you all depart, I have an announcement to make.” Everyone went silent in anticipation. “My son Alfraed has shown himself to be a great knight and a worthy leader.  It goes without saying that I am proud of him but he is young. There are many who are older than he is and are yet to be knighted, however today I confer on my son the title of knight. Come forward Alfraed.”

I stood before him, really pleased that I was almost sober.

“Kneel.” I knelt. He dubbed me on both sides of my head. “Rise Sir Alfraed of Stockton.”  Ralph handed me my spurs and gave me an intricate silver ring, my new seal.

And so I became a knight.  In an instant my father had created a new manor.  I hoped that this was legal but I would worry about that later on. I stood and everyone applauded.  I was amazed to see Sir William and Sir Richard applauding and cheering as loudly as any.  When the cheering died Wulfstan stepped forward, “And now, my lord, that my apprentice is spurred I would like to buy the freedom of Faren and take her to wife.”

This had obviously been planned for my father said, “I give Faren her freedom and welcome.”

The midsummer feasted ended as joyfully as any could have imagined.

When I awoke I did not feel any different.  I knew that something important had happened but I was the same warrior I had always been. I woke Harold and the two of us left for my castle.  My father had deliberately named it the manor of Stockton, for me.  I knew that was important. This marked it as mine to hold for my father. I wanted to get there as soon as I could.

Alf and the villagers were within the walls when we arrived.  The children were up and many of the women but the men still drunk from the excesses of the feast. I rode through an open gate.  There was no danger but this would all change when I moved in with my men at arms.  Then we would keep a secure watch on the gate and the river.

Although there was no gate on the tower we could still gain entrance that way. The lower level would be the stables and we allowed our horses to rest in the cool of the stone tower.  Whilst Harold fetched water and hay I ascended the tower.  We needed more stone but Olaf had promised me fresh supplies by the end of the week. I was a realist. The quarried stones which remained were few in number.  We had enough for the tower and the gate through the curtain wall but that was all.  The curtain wall itself would require stones from a different source or we would have to quarry them ourselves.

I looked at the hills to the south and east. One day I would have to visit those lands; apart from Hartness they were our nearest neighbours.  I knew that there was a priory and I had heard the land around Guisborough was also owned by the De Brus family. I wondered if it was the same man who owned Hartness.  I doubted it for Guisborough was a rich manor yielding wheat. I rubbed my hand along the stone of the wall.  It came away dirty.  This castle would need finishing first.

One advantage of my tower was that you could see all of those who wished to use Ethelred’s ferry.  Word had spread and many travellers saved time when heading for the north by coming directly across our river.  Ethelred had begun to employ men to help him. It was a well made ferry.  He now had a rail running along two sides and the first rope he had used to haul the ferry across had been augmented by a second. It was a swift passage even at high tide. Ethelred himself now dressed in finer clothes.  He also showed himself to be a clever man by becoming a trader.  He had his men travelled to York and Northallerton to buy goods which he resold. Norton held a market each Saturday and Ethelred built up his fortune. He made profits. I knew that my father would become richer as a result.  Ethelred had more monies for us to tax. We now made our own money and my father produced copper coins which we used to pay for small services.  We were still on the lookout for a miller.  The women of the farms and Norton had to grind by hand.  It took hours each day.  A mill could change all that.  I knew that, once my castle was finished he would have a mill and mill pond built.  That would supply us with fish all the year around.

When my reverie was ended I wandered around my new manor.  I was greeted by smiles.  A weary Alf bobbed his head when I passed his smithy. “A grand party, my lord. It had been a good year.”

“It has.”

“And we were spared Vikings this year too.”

I was surprised, “Vikings?”

“They still raid although not as frequently as they used to. Sometimes six months go by without a raid.  This last year is the longest anyone has ever known without a visit from the dragon ships.”

“What do they come for?”

“Slaves and animals.” He pointed to the north. “We just head as far north as we can when we know they are coming.  They don’t like to stray too far from the river. Olaf and the fishermen were usually fortunate enough to spot them at sea. Ten years ago the bastards came out of a fog and they took many on that raid.” He nodded towards the tower. “When you are here, sir, we will be safe.”

I had thought Vikings were a thing of the past.  The ones who travelled through the Rus to Miklagård seemed to me the last remnants of the Viking raider.  Apparently I was wrong.

I used our walk around the village to plan what it would look like when I ruled there.  We already knew where the ditch and moat would be. They were marked by a line of river sand which William had used as a marker. The moat would run along the other side.  Even if we were short of stone we could still build a moat and, with the stone of the tower for protection, we would be safe there.

We had a leisurely ride back to Norton. We went the long way, through the Hart Burn. I was anxious to see how the two Toms had settled.  They were not where I had expected.  There was a piece of flat land close to the burn but they had not built there. Harold pointed to the reason.  “Look sir.  The land close to the river is very verdant. This burn bursts its banks when it rains heavily and the land is flat here. Any house would be flooded every time it rained. Tom is no fool.  If we climb this bank I am sure we will find him.”

He was right.  At the top of the bank they had cleared trees and were making a wooden hall.  Despite having only one good arm to use effectively Old Tom was still doing his share. They stopped working when we arrived. Tying our animals to the trees Harold and I helped them to move some logs.  The extra hands made light work of it.  “We can bring the men to help you Tom if you desire? It would not take us long.”

Old Tom shook his head.  “No sir, you and your father have done enough. Besides I want our blood and sweat to be here.  We have had no home since the Normans destroyed our old one.  This will be my last home.  I shall die here.  I would rather build it myself.”

I understood.  They were almost exactly the same words as used by my father. Both my father and Tom had lived much longer than most men.  They were unusual.  They were seeing old age.

Four days after the feast the ransom arrived. William’s younger brother arrived with an escort of four men at arms. I saw the worried look on his face.  He thought he had not brought enough.  He looked at my father who shook his head, “It is not mine to collect.  My son was the victor.” He stepped aside.

Robert Fitzjedburgh lifted a small chest from the sumpter. He handed it to me.  “My father says that this is all the gold he can raise and hopes that my brother can keep his ears.”

I caught sight of William who coloured.  I think he knew at that point that I would let him go no matter what the ransom was. I opened it and saw that it contained gold. I was about to count when Robert said, “There are thirty four gold pieces, my lord although some are smaller than others.”