[Norman Conquest 02] Winter of Discontent (50 page)

With a frown, because a young maid wanting to attract a husband found such stories disturbing, Lora asked
,
“And Sir Alan?”

Anne’s face lightened and she gave a smile. “
He’s a
s different as can be. He was nineteen and I woke up to find myself naked in his bed,” she said with reminiscence. She laughed at the startled look on Lora’s face. “I always say that to tease people, although it’s true. I’d been riding through the forest near Alresford, well-escorted I’d thought. We were set upon by a band of robbers in ambush, and all but my maid Bathilda
were
killed, and she was ravaged. I had been thrown from my horse and was unconscious. Alan
killed the m
en
about to ravish me and
brought me back here, to the Old Hall where he was
then
living as he’d only just started to build this palace. He tended to my wounds. That is another story in itself. I had a badly broken leg, broken ribs and a deep cut to my thigh from when I was thrown by the horse. Alan does now admit that I could have traveled some time before he finally gave approval for me to go home, and that perhaps he didn’t need to inspect my ribs and leg as oft as he did.” She smiled again at the memory. “I hated to be confined and made
his life h
ell, even though he treated and dosed me and read to me, and let me read his books. A very educated man is my lord.
He p
robably has more books in his personal library than the king.”

“And you fell in love with him?” asked Lora.

Anne sighed and then gave the other girl a quick smile. “Nothing is
ever
that simple. He’d taken care, with the greatest of respect, to make his interest in me known. I was rude and unresponsive both before and after I returned home, giving little thanks for my deliverance. I’d just escaped a very unpleasant marriage and for the first time in my life was in charge of myself and what was going on around me. I
enjoyed
being the lady of the
manor
at Wivenhoe, running the estate and dealing with all the problems and decisions. Aelfric had refused to even let me chose dinner and kept the purse-strings tight in his own hand. No, Alan saved me twice more. The first was when the Danes landed at Wivenhoe in the
y
ear
’67. Alan led a small force that defeated the much larger contingent of Danes, who’d laid waste to much of Lexden Hundred- looting, murdering men women and children, raping and torturing and taking away men and women for slaves. He had just a handful of trained men and a bunch of farmers wielding pitchforks and sharpened sticks. What happened a few weeks ago was child’s-play in comparison.

“By then I was resisting mainly out of contrariness. What finally made up my mind was when the
sheriff
tried to take Wivenhoe from me. I never did locate the
landbo
c
. I was to be forced to marry a man of
the
sheriff
’s
choice, or lose my land. Marrying would of course mean that my land would be owned by my new husband anyway. Having to marry, I made my own choice, with no regrets at all. My only difficulty was that his bed was already occupied, so I had to take some… forthright… action to put myself in there in place of Edith,” completed Anne.

“You have a husband of many parts,” commented Lora.

“And some of them more useful than others,” said Anne with a saucy smile. “Seriously, the Benedictine’s loss
of the services of Sir Alan
is our gain. Another failed monk, like Osmund.” She paused before continuing, “No, not ‘failed’
-
both found that the path for their life didn’t lie in a monastery.”

“Why did they leave?” queried Lora.

“In Alan’s case he tells me it was for whoring. He was found in the bed of a noviate nun, although he says that he was always in trouble before that. From what I hear of Osmund
that
in his case it was because he asked too many questions and didn’t respect authority if he felt that the man didn’t deserve respect.” Anne reached forward and patted Lora’s hand. “You’ll do alright with Osmund. He’s gentle, thoughtful and loyal. All the qualities you want in a husband
- o
r a dog! He also has a good position and
a
moderate estate, is young and not
at all
ill-favoured in appearance. You’ll be able to train him well enough. The only problem you may have with him is that he’ll be so intent on his work and his books that he’ll overlook you. But that can soon be remedied by use of a firm grasp on his short-handle! Now, judging by the hubbub downstairs, the mid-day meal is about to be served and we had best join the others.”

Indeed, downstairs the tables had been set up and most of the household were either seated or gravitating to the tables. Alan was there, hot and sweaty and with his
old
brown
woolen
tunic and trews streaked with the semi-liquid animal fat used to lubricate the catapults. Anne endured with equanimity a ten-minute diatribe from Alan as to the problems he had experienced and in particular the problems with the crews’ attitude to training. It wasn’t her problem and her input was not expected, but it made Alan feel better
to let off steam.

Lora was sitting next to Osmund and had asked him how his work was progressing, nodding and pretending interest. After a tasty but relatively simple meal of pork pies and braised chicken with herbs, with two dishes of braised vegetables followed by cheese and fruit, Anne suggested to Alan that they share the hot-tub for a relaxing bath, which offer he accepted with alacrity. Anne gave Lora a slight wink. Lora then asked Osmund whether he could show her the spring and pool just inside the forest, to which Osmund with a slightly surprised expression agreed readily enough.

“Is it safe to go into the forest? Are there bears and wolves?” Lora asked with apparent anxiety. While she was receiving reassurance from Osmund, Anne moved a finger to attract Lora’s attention and then rolled her eyes to indicate that she was overdoing it. After all, Lora was not a city-girl but a country lass who’d lived all her life just five miles away.
‘
Osmund might be gullible but he
isn
’t
stupid
’
Anne mused.

After a pleasant hour or so soaking in the hot
-
tub, followed by a leisurely afternoon in the bedchamber, Anne caught up with Lora after the evening meal. “How did things go?” she demanded.

Lora gave a demure smile and replied
,
“We had a pleasant walk, hand in hand. The pool is quiet and peaceful under the large overhanging trees. We saw some deer come to drink.
We had a
delightful talk, a kiss and a cuddle. And you are right, a firm grasp certainly does get a man’s attention.” She reflectively licked her lips and touched her left breast. “Messy, though,” she concluded.

Anne gave a light peal of laughter and instructed
, “Come back on Saturday and see Osmund again. I can recommend the bath
-tub
!
”

Alan was sitting with a rather wild-eyed and worried-looking Osmund and after hearing the story replied
,
“Well, at least now you have another interest in life! Don’t worry about having offended her by taking advantage of her! You’ve been set up! Just sit back and enjoy the ride!” he advised with a cheery laugh.

Alan sat in the office
at Westminster Palace
of Herfast
,
the
newly-appointed
Chancellor. The prelate had risen and given Alan an effusive greeting, brushing
from his tunic and hose
some crumbs from a hastily
snatched meal as he did so. Although an ordained priest it was
some
years since he had served God, choosing instead to serve
as King William’s secretary.
Alan counted the wise old man a friend and would have been much more comfortable to receive a grunt of acknowledgement and a wave towards the wine jug. Clearly Herfast wanted something, presumably on behalf of their master King William.

“My dear boy, I’m delighted to see you again. I hear that you’ve been busy with the Danes again! Eventually they’ll learn to give you a wide berth! And how progresses Anne’s
current
pregnancy? Excellent
?
Thanks be to God!”

As Alan sipped his cup of mead
Herfast
said
,
“You’ve no doubt heard that the Manceaux, not content with revolting and expelling the Normans from Maine, have now proclaimed Hugh as Count of Maine? The king is absolutely furious and wants to collect every man he can and burn Le Mans to the ground!”

“He’s having a difficult year,” said Alan with a
thoughtful
nod. “Maine secured
William’s
southern border after he seized control five or six years ago. Hugh
i
s unlikely to attack Normandy
,
but now the Angevins’ civil war is over Fulk of Anjou is likely to try and see if he can annex Maine, which would really be a threat to the southern border of the duchy. Dealing with the Northumbrians and Danes in the
n
orth, the Welsh in the
w
est and scattered revolts in the
s
outh here in England have had
William
running in circles like a headless chicken. What’s he going to do about Maine? Return to Normandy?”

“I understand he’s intending to send William fitzOsbern back to Rouen to hold things together until he finishes with the Mercians and has them back under control,” replied
Herfast
.

After another five minutes or so of chat the Chancellor put his cards on the table. “To business,” he said brusquely. “The king thanks you for your information about the Danes, which you obtained through your trading connections- and may I say how happy I am that those connections flourish under Anne’s hand even though others stand as the front-men. As I have previously mentioned, the king has his own sources of information, which I am privileged to co
-
ordinate. King William learned early in life the value of good and timely information. The death of several of your guardians defending you and your own near-murder does tend to do that
!
” After a
brief
pause he continued
,
“You indicated that the Danes will move this year. My information is more specific. They’ll move to York later this month. I have spies well placed on the Danish camp and others in the camp of the Aetheling. I currently have the means to receive that information. When the Danes move, I will not have that information
. I will retain the spies, but
my lines of communication will be sundered.”

Alan sat quietly and his only response was to raise one eyebrow interrogatively, offering nothing.

Herfast
continued
,
“I have sitting before me somebody who can provide the answer to that problem. A man who has genuine Danish
snekke
longships that can slip back and forth amongst the enemy without being noticed and provide me with communication with my spies.”

Alan frowned in concentration and raised a finger to still further comment before taking a large sip of the excellent wine and returning to his ruminations. He though deeply for over five minutes, eyes closed, before he replied
,
“I’ll think about it tonight. Are you free for breakfast? At your house? Good
.
Until tomorrow!”

*
* 
*
*

Alan sat at table in
Herfast
’s large and lavishly appointed house near St Paul’s Cathedral
, having need to take
only a short stroll from
Holebourn
Bridge through Newgate. The city was already bustling and the streets were crowded despite the early hour. Alan was a little disappointed at the fare provided, as it appeared that
Herfast
was one of those whose religious observations required two days a week fasting and Alan was breaking his fast on porridge sweetened with honey accompanied by day-old bread with a sop of mead.

“As I understand your request, you want to use a Danish-built
snekke
longship to transport your sp
ies
backwards and forwards,” he said.
Herfast
nodded his agreement and Alan continued. “Not a bad idea, but I think we can improve on it. King William is going to have no way of keeping track of the Danish force. I understand the coastal land in North Lincolnshire and Yorkshire’s East Riding is very flat and marshy. It would be almost impossible to scout properly. The Danes will move about by ship, probably moving often. King William has no ships to move his men to follow the Danes and bring them to battle. If the Danes stay on the coast, trying to get an army across the marshes to engage them would need a miracle, and even if it could be achieved they’d just get in their ships and slip away to the next town much faster than an army can march. The other problem would be that, while they may lack some of William’s skills, neither the earls nor
Swein Estrithson
are stupid. They’ll have their own spies in
our
camp and I’m sure that they will notice repeated visits by a longship rowing up the river and delivering mysterious Dane
s
, who then disappear again. I’d expect that your sp
ies
will come to a quick and brutal end in very short shrift.