Housecarl (30 page)

He looked at me and I knew what
he was asking, “And those too wounded?”

“A sword in the hand and I will
send them to their god.”

Osbert shook his head, “No my
lord.  I am the sergeant at arms, it is my job.” Osbert left
to perform the grisly but necessary task of dispatching those too
wounded. Skipton and Scarborough came to my side with Ridley.”Where
to my lord?”

”Down to Naeburn where we have
some horses then we will find somewhere to hole up whilst we decide
our next move.” Out in the marches and by the river we could hear
distant screams in the dying September sun as the Norwegians
massacred the fyrd who had not made the walls of Jorvik. The army
of the north was no more and if Duke William came now then England
would be part of Normandy.

One of Branton’s men ran
up.  “My lord, no one ahead of us.  The trail to the leat
is clear.”

Right men let’s move. 
Aedgart, bring up the rear. Archers pick up any arrows as we go.”
Had any Norwegians been lying in wait for us then we would have all
died where we stood for we were exhausted, thirsty and hungry. God
was smiling on us that day for we made it to the trees unharmed and
unseen. We put the wounded on the horses after Branton and two of
his archers had taken three horses to find us a camp for the
night.

We headed down the road towards
the river.  We were of course on the wrong side of the river
for safety as Ridley pointed out to me. “If we get to the river
what then?  There are no bridges south of the city.”

“True but we can see what
mischief we can cause the Norwegians.  They think that we are
defeated and holed up in the city.  They do not know that we
have escaped.  We know this land and they do not.”

The Thegn of Skipton asked, “And
the wounded, the fyrd?”

“You are right.  They
cannot stay for it would not be fair.  We will make a raft and
ferry them across the river.  They can make their own way home
for they will be on the other side of the river.  We will send
two riders down to Harold to apprise him of the disaster and then
we can gather our strength and then begin the fight back.”

“Is it not over?”

I looked at the Thegn of
Scarborough.  “It will be over when our bleached bones lie on
the soil and we become part of the land for which we fight.
Norwegians do not take prisoners. Would you allow Earl Tostig to be
a tyrant once more?  Besides my friend the Normans are
coming.  This is not the end, this is the start of a war and
the lucky ones are the ones who are dead already.”

Stamford Bridge

September 1066

Although we found that we were
fewer in number than the guards Hadrada had left, we were all
warriors and most of us were mounted. Skipton had sent some of his
men at arms back as escorts for the fyrd and wounded for he had the
most casualties. Ridley and I had lost but three men each and we
loaned their horses to the lords and their sergeants. Branton had
found the fleet and, to our delight found that it was only guarded
by a few warriors.

“He has most of his men with
him.  If we attack the guards then he will have to send men
down to protect the boats and there will be fewer left to besiege
Jorvik.” I knew that the fewer men around the walls , the less
chance the Norwegians would have to capture it.

We left the horses on a bluff
and crept down at dawn to the boats.  Each boat had four men
guarding it. We counted the ships and saw that there were three
hundred.  Although we would be outnumbered if they all
attacked us by attacking boat by boat we could do much damage
before they could gather their numbers.

Branton and his archers had
collected arrows from the battlefield and were well stocked. We
used their skills to kill the sentries on the first five boats
before the alarm was raised. It was not combat, it was a massacre,
as sleepy warriors without armour staggered ashore to fight us. We
hacked holes in the planks of the ships, which had been dragged to
the shore, with our axes.  The damage we inflicted was
repairable but it would take time and in many ways it was petty; we
might not be able to bring them to battle but we could annoy them
and hurt them. When we saw a hundred armed warriors running down to
fight us I led my men back to the horses and we rode away, their
jeers and catcalls ringing in our ears. This was not honourable
war, this was necessary war.

We saw the fruits of our labours
the next day when Eystein Orri arrived with over five hundred
warriors. Hadrada had sent a sizeable force to protect his ships
and they looked to be hardened warriors whose presence would be
missed when the King came north. Our foray was over. That night our
messengers returned from King Harold with two of the King’s
retinue. “The King desires you to find out the whereabouts of the
Norwegian army.  We are here to act as messengers lord.”

It was to the point! “Right
lads, we head north!”

We moved cautiously with Branton
and his scouts ahead of us but the land was empty save for the
carrion which feasted on the dead of Fulford. I had expected
Norwegian patrols but there were none. As we approached the city
walls Branton returned. “There is a thin line of warriors guarding
the Mickelgate.”

“Any sign of fighting?”

He looked puzzled. “No. 
The sentries looked like they were there to stop anyone getting in
rather than attacking.”

I held a conference with the
other lords and Osbert.  “I had not expected this.  We
know that the Norwegians have not left and they have not taken the
city what is he up to.”

Osbert scratched his chin, a
sure sign that he was thinking.  “We need a prisoner or
two.”

“Can you do that?”

He grinned evilly.  “With
Branton and Aedgart I could have the King’s crown and be back in
Topcliffe before he knew it was missing.”

“Go then but,  Osbert?”

“Yes my lord?”

“Try to get one that speaks our
language eh?  It makes questioning a bit easier.”

They took five men with them
and, in the early hours of the morning they returned with three
bleeding and bruised prisoners.  Two of them were Norwegians
but one I recognised.  He had been a farm worker at
Medelai.  Ridley also recognised him. “Aidan!”

“So my brothers are here?”

“Yes and when they find that the
Runt lives they will have you all for breakfast. “

Aedgart’s blow was so hard that
it made me wince. “Be polite! You don’t need your balls to answer
questions.”

“What is happening in the
city?”

He spat a gob of blood out and I
am sure I saw a tooth amongst the mess. “The Earl of  Mercia
has surrendered the city and they are negotiating the terms.”

Skipton could not contain
himself.  “The craven coward!” I could not blame him for many
of his men had died ensuring that the Earl could escape to safety.
We all valued our men and none of the four of us would have thrown
lives away as needlessly as the Earl of Mercia did.

I put my hand on his arm. 
“This is not the time for judgements.” Turning to  Aidan I
smiled.  He had been one of the fellows of Edward and he had
enjoyed taunting me but I knew his mind. I could see that he
fancied that he had tied his horse to a wagon which promised
success, money and power. He thought they had won.  He did not
know, as we did, that Harold was on his way north and the unruly,
ill disciplined Norwegians would lose. “And if I wish to surrender
to Earl Tostig will he be in the city?”

More confident now he glared at
Aedgart and snapped at me, “You can crawl to Stamford Bridge where
the Earl and the King rest, preparing to slaughter your men ,
again.” The last insult was spat at me.

I nodded, I had the information
I required, and they were to the east of the city at Stamford
Bridge. I smiled at him, “Thank you.” Turning to Aedgart I said
coldly, “Kill them!”

Aidan screamed his insults but
they were in vain as the three of them had their throats slit and
they fell dead at our feet. “You may return to the King and tell
him Stamford Bridge.  We will scout out a safe route to get
there and meet you here.”

We knew that the main army was
at Stamford Bridge but were they on both sides? Branton reported a
wood about a mile from the bridge and we went there to hide our
horses. Leaving the bulk of the men to prepare a camp I went with
the two brothers and Aedgart to spy out the bridge.  Ridley
wanted to come too. I took him to one side, “I need you here should
aught happen to me. Skipton and Scarborough are good men but you
are a leader. I trust you Ridley and I feel safer with you at my
back.”

Mollified he agreed and, after
taking off our armour and helmets we took swords and daggers and
set off towards the river. Night came earlier this late in
September and soon made us difficult to see.  As the chill set
in I regretted not bringing my cloak but as we neared the bridge it
was too late to do anything about that. Branton had sharp ears, he
was the best scout we had and when he held his hand up we all
stopped. As we waited in the dark we heard the voices which had
been masked by our footfalls. Branton slid on to his belly and we
all followed suit.  I was the last man in the small line for I
was the biggest and, if I am honest, the least effective amongst
the four of us when it came to sneaking around.  I might be
the master of the shield wall but when it came to crawling around
quietly, I was out of my depth. All that I could see was Aedgart’s
arse rising and falling and I had to stifle a giggle; I knew not
why.  I could have stayed at the camp but I knew that it was
important for the eyes of a strategos to evaluate their defences
and not an archer who might miss some crucial detail.

I saw Aedgart’s grinning white
face turn to me and his hand gestured me forwards. Branton had
cleared a space and I saw that we were slightly above the bridge
and looking beyond it.  The fact that the bridge was but
thirty paces away told me that the bulk of their army had not
camped on this side. That gave King Harold an immediate advantage.
There were six men lounging on the bridge with beakers of something
in their hands, I assumed that it was ale. I focussed on looking
beyond the bridge.  What I observed made my hopes rise. 
There was no organised camp and, most importantly, no defences on
the eastern side of the river. The few camp fires told me that the
men on this side would not halt Harold. They had no idea that the
King was on his way and, as they had defeated the northern army,
and the city had surrendered they had won and they could wait out
those in the city. I saw the greedy fingers of Tostig all over
this. He would have been happy for the city to surrender rather
than have it assaulted and the booty taken by greedy
Norwegians.  This way it would be handed over formally, keys
and all.  Their defence was the river and that was all. 
From the camp fires I could see that they were spread out over a
large area.  Even allowing for the Norwegians who had returned
to Riccall there had to be at least eight or nine thousand men in
the camp, a sizeable force. I was worried that, after a forced
march from London Harold and the army would be exhausted, not the
best conditions in which to fight.

Suddenly I realised that I could
understand the guards on the bridge, they were Northumbrians. I
looked down and began to listen to their conversation.

“What I want to know is how come
it is us daft buggers who are stuck on this fucking bridge while
the Viking bastards are getting pissed on the other side of the
bridge?”

Another voice, less drunk
mumbled, “Keep your voice down! Remember what Lord Egbert said, if
we let them get drunk then we will have the first choice of the
booty when we enter the city.”

The first man, who looked
vaguely familiar spat over the bridge into the river. “That is a
fool’s dream these hairy arsed bastards can hold their ale. 
They could be as pissed as a churchman and still be able to get to
the booty first.  Lord Egbert is talking out of his arse. Now
if Lord Edward had said that…”

I then remembered where I had
seen the man; he had been with my brothers when they had arrived,
drunk, in the warrior’s hall in Jorvik. I did not think we would
learn anything else of use and I slipped back to return to Ridley
and the others. I was awoken, in the hours before dawn by the
arrival of King Harold, Sweyn and Aethelward.

They looked exhausted but
greeted me warmly. “Well nephew, I am pleased that you survived the
disaster at Fulford.”

Before I could give him an
account of the battle an impatient Harold shot an irritated glance
at Aethelward and took my arm.  “That is in the past
Aethelward.  Aelfraed, you scouted the bridge tell me now of
their dispositions.”

I smiled, “It is as though they
wish us to be victorious your majesty.” I relayed to him the
information we had discovered and the fact that there were
Northumbrians who were aiding Tostig.

“Well done Aelfraed.  How
many men are there west of the river?”

“No more than a thousand
majesty.”

“And your men can watch the
bridge without being seen?”

“Yes, I will send them out again
at dawn.”

“Jorvik has surrendered?”

“Aye but as yet they have not
handed it over.  Hadrada seems happy enough to wait and save
his men.”

“Well Morcar and Edwin may have
slightly redeemed themselves although I would have preferred them
to fight for we would have attacked his forces whilst they were
engaged.”

Aethelward spoke in the
dark.  “And the fleet?”

“We damaged a few of their boats
and they drew off a force to protect them.  Perhaps one in ten
of the army is now waiting some way south, close to Riccall.”

“Excellent that was well done
but it means, my lord, that we will need to leave a force here to
repel them should they try to reinforce Hadrada.”