Housecarl (27 page)

Aethelward clasped my arm. 
“I give you my word.”

All things considered Gytha took
the news well.  I think that the Queen had warned her of my
impending departure.  Her affection for me remained unabated.
Gytha told me that the Queen loved my honesty as well as my
courage. “It is a sign, my husband, of the esteem in which the Earl
holds you and the trust he places in you. I would be at your side
but I am afraid that I am a little ungainly at the moment.” She
glanced down at the bump which seemed to grow bigger each day.

“My uncle has promised to look
after you should…”

Tears sprang into her eyes and,
throwing her arms around me, she hugged me tightly.  “You will
return and I will still be here when that day comes.”

Our parting was tearful but
sweet and my men impatiently waited for me to mount. As I headed
north, with the Thames at my back I wondered when I would see my
wife again.  My men were full of cheer for the Earl had paid
for mail shirts for all of my men and arms and Osgar had given
Osbert an axe as the two had become friends. With the pack horses
laden and no pregnant woman to worry me we covered the two hundred
odd miles in less than five days.  We rode hard for we knew
that the Danes could land at any time. I sent the men at arms on
ahead to prepare Maiden Bower for defence and I retained Branton
and his archers as I went directly to Jorvik and the court of Earl
Morcar.

The Earl must have had word
before my arrival for there was a great deal of movement around the
city and I was pleased to see the defences being strengthened. The
Danes were not known to have siege weapons and if we failed to
defeat them then we would, at least, have the security of its Roman
walls to protect us. I was admitted as soon as I reached his
headquarters.  The warriors all knew me, I was the Hero of
Rhuddlan and bards wrote songs about me.  As I stepped across
the ancient portal I just felt dirty and tired, as un-heroic as it
was possible to feel.

I always liked Morcar.  He
was not as flamboyant as his elder brother, the Earl of Mercia but
he was earnest and brave.  He was a man on whom you could
rely.  Later, in more peaceful times he showed himself to be
resilient and resourceful too but that was in the future.

He greeted me like an old
friend, “Welcome Aelfraed.  Are you the vanguard? Does the
King follow?”

I shook my head. “No my lord.
The King waits for the Normans who threaten our south coast.”

He looked sad and downcast for a
brief moment. “I see intrigue here.  Earl Tostig chooses his
moment well.”

I wondered about that.  The
mysterious assassins were linked to the Normans and Earl Tostig by
my father. I thought about the damage the traitor could have
done.  He had been privy to all the debates and councils. I
was just grateful that my uncle had not trusted him and kept
valuable information to himself. “The traitor knows the city
perhaps we ought to look at changing the way it is defended.”

He looked at me curiously. 
He knew from the talks around the fires that I had been part of the
discussions with Aethelward and Harold before the battles in Wales
and I knew that he respected my opinion. “How so?”

“Everyone knows of our Roman
walls and the river so if we add defences which were not there
before then we may surprise an attacker.  He will see what he
expects to see.”

“Come we will walk the city and
you can advise me.” As we headed towards the river he added, “My
brother is bringing his Mercians to aid us.”

“And that too is worrying.”

“Worrying?  That my brother
comes to aid me?”

“No my lord but your brother has
the only cavalry who can stand up to the Normans and they will be
here in the north if the Duke attacks.”

He laughed.  “Aelfraed your
mind works in a different way to mine.  You are correct it
would be better if he was with the King but I fear that without him
we would have little chance.”

“How man men can we field?”

“With my brothers and the fyrd …
probably a little over five thousands.”

Not as large as most armies and
smaller than the King’s. I wondered if it would be enough.  We
had reached the southern gate and the river. “If they come by sea
they will have to head north from Riccall.  This is the first
place they would strike. If we damage the river defences then the
river will flood this land and make attack impossible. We could use
the other gates and protect them in different ways.” When we had
walked the whole area we decided to deepen the ditches on the other
sides of the city walls and sow the bottom with wooden
stakes.  I remembered how a few had been effective in Wales.
The Danes had destroyed all the towers but one and I suggested that
the Earl build wooden ones to allow us to defend it better.

That night as we supped in his
quarters he asked me how I would fight if I was the general. It was
the first time I had thought about commanding more than a handful
of men and so I visualised the chess board and imagined that Tostig
was my opponent. “Hadrada will have the advantage for he knows
where he will land and we do not.  We cannot keep the fyrd
waiting all summer for him or the people will starve. We need to
use the demesnes on the river to watch with riders and warn us when
they approach. Our problem will be gathering our forces
together.  The Danes have the advantage that they will all be
landing at the same place and be an army already.  We should
have some means of slowing them down.  Your brother’s horse
would be perfect for that.  I know, having faced them that a
charging horse is terrifying.”

“And yet you defeated them.”

“My uncle chose his defence
well.  If we can find out where they are and slow them down
then we can gather the men at arms and the fyrd can be raised. We
know that they will have to land in the south so perhaps gathering
the men at arms now in the city might save time but it will impose
upon the supplies for this city.  How are you fixed for a
siege?”

“Enough water but we lack food
and it is just spring now.”

“Then we must get more. 
Tell your lords to bring their own supplies when they are
summoned.” I shrugged, “My Steward will have to provide for my
men.” The Earl looked downcast.  “Fear not my lord for these
warriors fight as us.  Man to man with shield wall and axe. We
can beat them. If it were the Normans…”

He shook his head sadly, “I fear
that day is not long off Aelfraed.”

And he was right.

I left the next day to begin
gathering the men. I had given Osbert instructions for the smith to
produce better weapons for our fyrd.  They might not be
armoured but they could at least have a functional weapon which
might actually hurt someone. I had already asked him to begin
making helmets before we left but that was a long and hard process
and it was swords and spears that we needed. As we neared Coxold I
called Branton, “Ride to Lord Ridley and ask him to join me at
Maiden Bower and request him to get his Steward to cut a hundred
ash staves.” Branton knew me well enough not to waste time with
questions and he rode off while we headed to my home.

It was reassuring when I saw the
tower rising above the gate and the men at arms on the walls. 
Thomas and Osbert ran to me as I trotted through the gate. 
“Welcome my lord I have done everything which Osbert asked of
me.”

“You are a good man Thomas and
now you must begin to preserve meat.”

“Meat my lord?”

“Aye for I will be taking my men
down to Jorvik and we needs must provide for ourselves.” I turned
to Osbert.  “When Branton returns send him with his archers
and those of your men who are good hunters.  We need as many
wild pigs and deer as they can hunt.”

“It is spring my lord.”

I knew what he meant.  We
liked, whenever possible, to preserve stocks by only hunting the
older beasts in spring.  It made the rest of the herds and
flocks stronger. “Tell him to try to take older ones but we must
have food. How are the weapons coming?”

“Ralph has produced fifteen
spear heads and now is working on the swords.”

“Good when Ridley comes we
should have the spear staffs. We will need arrows too but Branton
needs to get the food first.”

“Aidan can fletch; I will set
him to work.” Osbert gestured at the floor of the farm.  “We
have enough goose feathers.”

“Thomas, warn the fyrd that they
will be needed sooner rather than later. We will not take the old
ones, they can work still and we will leave those younger than
ten.  The others will be needed as slingers.”

Thomas looked troubled. “It has
been a harsh winter my lord.”

“It will be a harder summer.” I
smiled, he meant well, “do your best old friend and go to Medelai
and bring any surplus.”

Thomas snorted, “It is easier
getting blood from a stone than ought from that man.  I know
he is Lord Ridley’s father but…”

“Don’t worry, Lord Ridley feels
the same. Osbert, send Aedgart, I think he will get the necessary
blood from this stone.” Osbert grinned Aedgart was his friend but
was one of the toughest warriors either of us had ever met.

Thomas ventured, “And the lady
Gytha, my lord, how is she?”

“Thank you for asking Thomas.
She blooms.  Being with child suits and she is with the Queen
in London so she will be safe. Lord Aethelward protects her.”

I could see the relief on his
face.  This was why we were fighting, for decent men like
Thomas against tyrants like Tostig and my brothers.  It was
why we would never be defeated because we fought, like Housecarls,
for each other.

Summer arrived and there was
still no sign of Tostig and his Danish allies. Morcar arranged for
beacons to be built and lit when the fleet was sighted. It all
meant that we were slightly better prepared.  The news that
the Normans were still in Normandy also helped us to sleep easier
in our beds. The delay increased the size of my retinue as my name
and reputation drew volunteers who wished to join my men. 
Osbert, Branton and Aedgart were more than up to the task of
finding the best and getting rid of the rest.  Ridley took
some of our cast offs, but not many. By early summer I had forty
warriors, fifteen archers and twenty five men at arms, fifteen of
whom were mailed.  The fyrd were all armed with spears. 
Most had a shield and many had a sword. Even the boys were armed
with daggers.  Ridley had a similar number with less mail as
his estates were not as rich as mine and I have to say that Gytha’s
dowry helped. Needless to say we were both proud of our men. 
We had spent the long early summer days in mock battles using
sticks and shields.  We had many bruises and occasionally it
became heated but we knew that we had better warriors for all
that.

The rider from the Earl of
Mercia arrived at the gates one day in August. We had wondered when
the message would come.  “My Lord Topcliffe, the Earl says
that the Danes have sailed and are heading west.”

“Ride to Lord Ridley and tell
him the same.  Where do we gather?”

“Easingwold my lord.”

Morcar had taken my advice and
was gathering his men away from the river.  I did not know how
long it would take them to reach our shores, that would depend upon
the wind.  I idly wondered whose side God was on; ours or the
pagans? I went to Thomas and Sarah.  “While I am away old
friend the estate is yours.  I know that you will look after
it and manage it well. If I should fall,” I saw Sarah’s hand go to
her mouth in horror, “It might happen. Then look after the land for
the Lady Gytha and my son. If we lose then Tostig and the Danes
will return but you have lived through that and will do so again. I
have not taken all the fyrd; when you are able bring our people
inside the walls. Ralph can make more weapons and you can, at
least, defend yourselves.” I was touched by the tears in both their
eyes.  Sarah kissed my hand and I embraced her and I clasped
Thomas’ arm. “Farewell my friends.”

“Take care my lord.”

As I mounted my horse I thought
that we all looked like seasoned warriors.  With twenty
mounted men at arms and ten mounted archers we were more mobile
than most and I wondered if we would be needed to travel south
after we had defeated the Danes to fight the Normans. I was
confident that my men could make a difference.  The fyrd
looked like warriors too and not the ill armed rabble I had seen in
Wales.  They all had weapons of war rather then weapons to
hand and the fifty men and ten boys followed the men at arms
proudly out of the estate.

We headed down the Roman
road.  I had sent word to Ridley and I felt a lump in my
throat as his warriors joined us.  He had fewer weapons for
his fyrd and less mail shirts but it was an impressive host and he
rode next to me, his retinue joining mine to fill the road. We
encountered other lords who were also heading south.  They all
looked enviously at our men and armour and, indeed, our numbers. It
pleased me that so many had heeded the call for I had worried that
there may be others like my father who were on Tostig’s side but
the numbers on the road made me think that my brothers were an
exception.

Easingwold was a huge armed
camp. The Mercians were a large contingent and you could smell
where they were camped from the horses and their distinctive aroma.
The two Earls had tents side by side and leaving Osbert and Aedgart
to sort our men out Ridley and I went to the two Earls to gather
intelligence. Morcar was delighted to see me and greeted me
effusively.  Edwin was more reserved but I think he was trying
to maintain the position of general.  In Aethelward and the
King’s absence he was the senior warrior. “When did the fleet sail
then?”

“One of the traders in wood who
use the port of Whitby said he saw them gathered at the Danish port
and they were boarding.”