The Fallen Crown (4 page)

Edgar shouted, "It is my brother!" I looked to the right and saw the other falconer, Edward, galloping to catch us up.  I now had three archers I could take with me.  Unlike Philip and his archers Aiden and his men could loose from the back of a horse. They would be my surprise.

As I had suspected while Osbert Cumin had been disporting himself he had had men keeping watch.  As we approached the village from the south I saw confusion.  "Philip, ride! Go across country!" His men wore little or no armour and so they made good speed.  Many of my men had spears and they prepared to use them.  Some held them overarm to thrust while others held them underarm to punch.

I saw the enemy knights and men at arms, it was hard to tell which was which, as they fled north to the old Roman Road. Philip of Selby was riding the rougher route across fields but he would soon be in a position to send arrows after them. Had Osbert not panicked he might have seen that I came at him with just eleven men at arms and two squires.

He had a force which was fully mounted.  I estimated there to be about seventy men.  The thirty who galloped towards the road and led the others were the ones in armour and mail. The others, while mounted, had merely a helmet, shield and a sword. More importantly they had poor horses.  Some were sumpters. We began to gain. We rode down the road.  I saw Aiden break from cover and begin to release arrows.  He was less than fifty paces from them and he was deadly.  Edward and Edgar began to release too. Eight men fell to twelve arrows and then we were amongst them!

One nasty looking Scot was trying to clamber aboard his horse while clutching a candlestick from the church.  I lazily swung my arm as his head appeared above his saddle.  I took half of his head off. Edgar and Edward were loosing arrows and targeting those who looked as though they might turn and fight.  We wanted them driven into Philip's arrows.  My two squires were using their spears well. It gave them an advantage over men who were fleeing. Once a crowd of men run it quickly becomes a stampede as they try to avoid being the last man. The hedges, ditches and thin saplings channelled them in the road and they barged into each other.  I saw one man thrown from his horse as another barged him out of the way.  His head cracked against a tree.

I looked ahead and saw that the much wider Roman Road lay ahead. Those we pursued thought it meant they had escaped, for they would have more room and be less crowded.

I heard the wail as the arrows began to fall from Philip's ambush.  Osbert and his knights, all seven of them, fared better than most.  They had long shields and their armour was well made but many of the men at arms fell.  Then, when the ones without armour came past my archers, more fell and the saddles were emptied. Shouting, "Leave them for the archers." I spurred Rolf.  I wanted to close with the men at arms and the knights.

As we headed down the bank I could see that we had thinned them out considerably.  Osbert Cumin' s banner still flew. They were beyond Philip and the archers now.  I think they must have thought they had escaped us.  We settled into a steady rhythm. I did not want our horses blown before we caught them.  I knew that we would catch them. Sir Harold would stop them.  He did not have to hold them for long because we were just three hundred paces behind them and on this old Roman Road it would be hard for them to lose us.

I knew where Harold would spring his ambush.  A wood was split by the road.  When the Romans had built it they had cut it back by twenty paces on each side.  Over time saplings, scrubby growth as well as some substantial trees had grown. Effectively there was cover to within ten paces. I turned and shouted.  "Let us put some speed on.  Sir Harold will soon spring his trap."

They needed no urging and we began to steadily increase our speed. I heard the clash of arms before I spied it.  Harold had led his men at arms in a broad charge two ranks deep.  That was important as it stopped any man at arms being isolated.  He cut the enemy band in two. We were close enough for me to see him wheel to the left and cut off the vanguard from the road ahead.  We road obliquely across the rear of their lines to stop the rearguard escaping too.

They turned! A chase would see them all slain and it was Osbert Cumin who lead the rally.  He turned and with his standard bearer rode towards us.  That suited me.  I wanted no man to fight my battle for me. "Gilles and Richard stay out of the front line!

"Aye sir."

When I saw arrows pluck three men at arms from their saddles I knew that Aiden and his two falconers were close by.  It seemed to act as a spur to our enemies who charged and roared their war cries. A knight with a black surcoat charged at me.  He had a war hammer. I saw that the black surcoat had a white bird of some description upon it.  It was unusual. I focussed on the war hammer. Where would he strike? His body betrayed him.  I saw him beginning to stand in the stirrups.  He would go for my head and use the spiked end. My secret weapon was Rolf. He could turn on a groat. At the last minute and, as the hammer came menacingly towards me, I jerked Rolf's head to the side and guided him with my knees.  I flashed in front of his horse.  His hammer struck air and my sword swung across his chest.  He tumbled from his saddle and I heard him scream as Wilfred's horse's hoof caught and cracked his head.

Osbert Cumin took advantage of my distraction. I had turned Rolf and he rode directly at me.  He still had a lance. I had no shield to bring before me.  It was on the wrong side.  I jerked Rolf around even as the lance head came towards me. Wulfstan said I had the fastest hands and I swung my sword more in hope than expectation.  I caught the tip of the spear and pushed it away. His face was filled with impotent rage as I galloped past him.  We both turned but Rolf was quicker. I stabbed forward and Cumin tried to counter with his lance.  It was the wrong weapon.  He could not control it and my sword slid along his mail and into his side.  He jerked his horse's head away and my sword came out bloody.

I yelled, "Yield and you shall live!" The ransom was immaterial; I wanted the leverage of a prisoner who was related to William Cumin.

"Never!" He discarded his lance and drew his sword. He charged at me. 

I pulled back on Rolf's reins and he reared.  His hooves flailed before him and Osbert Cumin's horse shied away.  It was natural. I brought my sword down hard.  He raised his shield to block it and managed to do so but my sword was well made and perfectly balanced.  I had powerful arms and the shield was split in two. More than that the sword struck his shoulder as it sliced down and I could see that he was hurt. "Yield while you can."

"My brother will avenge my death!"

He was brave and he raised his sword to bring it across my  neck.  I lunged forward and my sword slid above his cantle and into his stomach.  He fell to the ground. He lay still. I shouted, "Osbert Cumin is dead! Yield and you shall have your lives!"

The three knights and their squires who had survived the last attack did so but the men at arms tried to flee. Wilfred led my men in a chase north.  None reached Durham alive. Harold and his men at arms took the swords of those who had surrendered. Loading the arms and armour on the captured horses I sent Sir Harold and his men back to Walworth.  We would spend the night there. I stayed with Sir Tristan's men and we burned the bodies of the dead.  We did not want vermin and carrion attracted by the rotting dead. I did not burn Osbert of Cumin.  I had his corpse wrapped in a shroud.  We would take it back with us. Our own dead we would take back home for burial.  There were four.  Three had died outright and one of his wounds. All were irreplaceable.

Wilfred and my men returned as the first plume of black smoke rose. I looked up as Wilfred reined in.  He nodded and pointed to the line of horses and mail behind him.  "They are dead. I think that Alf will be using this to melt down and make ploughshares and bill hooks! They had poor protection.  It is no wonder that they ran."

"It is well that some good will come from this but I fear we were too late for Walworth."

Wilfred said, "There were people still alive when we arrived. Perhaps they can rebuild."

Gilles was thoughtful.  "Piercebridge is close by, Lord.  If there was a garrison and a knight then the people of Walworth could flee there; could they not?"

"They could Gilles."

It was strange that the same idea could come from one so young and one so old.  It was what Tom of Ulnaby had said. I could almost hear my father chastising me.  He had ever been aware of the need to care for the ordinary folk.  He had come from such stock.  He had not been noble born.

Philip of Selby had done a good job at Walworth.  He had cleared away the enemy dead and his men had started to cook the dead horses. They were two that had belonged to men at arms and had fallen during the fight at the village.  It would be hot food and welcomed by all. The smell of cooking meat seemed to make the village normal again. What he had not done was to bury the dead.  I knew why he had not done so.  We had no priest with us.

"Have the dead of the village taken to the church." I looked around and spied an old man who had survived the attack.  "What is your name?"

He bowed and said, "John of Walworth."

I pointed to the bodies being carried by my men. "I would bury your dead for you but I know not the families. I will say words over them but I need you to make sure that families are not separated in death."

"Thank you lord.  That is thoughtful.  I know them all. I will tell you.  I have lived all of my life in this village.  Perhaps I have lived too long. Are we destined never to have peace in our lifetime?"

I put my arm around his thin shoulders. "Peace will come one day; that I swear and I also promise you protection."

He looked sceptically at me, "Those are words I wish to hear, lord.  I pray that they are meant."

Some lords would have had his nose for such an insult.  But he was right.  Words were cheap and mine had been glib.  If I promised protection then I would have to deliver it. I cursed once more the procrastination of the Earl of Gloucester.  If he had acted sooner then the civil war would be over and I would not need to leave this land so unprotected.

It was a small church.  Half timbered the only extravagance was a single bell in a wooden tower.  It was not a large bell but a symbol of the hope the people had had.  I spoke words as the people were buried. The body of the burned priest was a gruesome one to wrap in a shroud. Aiden and his men took that upon themselves.  They had watched the cruel incineration and felt guilty. They had avenged the priest.

As we sat around the village eating in silence I looked at the villagers. We had reached the village just in time for the enemy had not had the opportunity to slay all that they intended.  There were still sixty villagers left alive. They could farm again and raise families but only if there was protection nearby. Gilles had been right, Piercebridge was the best place for a lord of a manor to use. It was better placed for a castle which could control the valley and the land around. In fact even without the horror we had witnessed I needed to ensure that the river crossing was protected. I needed a lord of the manor who could defend the river and watch over the land between Gainford and Yarm. I ruminated as I ate and I made my decision. That did not mean I had a lord of the manor yet, for my choice could refuse but I always slept better when I had made a decision.

We left the next morning. At first light I sent one of the captured squires back to Durham with a demand for ransom.  It was a ransom worthy of the crime. Osbert Cumin's corpse was included in the demands.  I had no doubt that his uncle would wish to bury him and it served my purpose that William Cumin would have a constant reminder of the dangers of crossing me.

I looked down at the expectant villagers. "I am the Earl of Cleveland and Warlord of the North.  I am sorry that you have been left unprotected and I give you my word that order will be returned.  Durham is now a nest of vipers but I will rebuild the castle at Piercebridge and I will garrison it with stout and doughty warriors. If enemies threaten then flee there and send to me.  I leave you four horses we took from the raiders.  It is small enough recompense for your loss but you now have the means to seek help." All the men had taken a helmet and a sword from those which we had captured.  "You now have weapons and you must realise that it is better to die defending your families than live and watch them abused!" The men nodded. "By midsummer there will be a lord at Piercebridge!"

I had not spoken thus for applause and accolades but I received both and I felt ashamed.  I had done little enough to deserve this.  I had left them vulnerable and when I came, too late, they thanked me for that.  I was angry with myself.

I waved Sir Harold and Philip of Selby next to me as we rode the short way back to Piercebridge. "What thought you of my words?"

Sir Harold knew me well.  He had been my first squire all those long years ago. "You are right, lord.  We need a lord of the manor here. This is as important a place as Yarm."

He stopped and I smiled, "There is a but in your unspoken words Harold."

He smiled. "You can read minds now, lord. I see no lord you can put here.  We are stretched thinly enough as it is. Do you wish Tristan or me to come?"

"Would you?"

"I would obey my lord for I owe all that I have to you."

"But you would not be happy."

"No lord. I like Hartburn.  It is a fine manor and I like the safety your castle affords my family but I am your oathsworn and I obey you in all things."

I nodded, "And you also know that I would not order a man to do that.  I could ask but I will not ask you Harold. You took on Wulfstan's Hartburn and have made the people love you as they did my mentor.  Philip, would you be lord of the manor at Piercebridge?"

I knew I had taken him by surprise for his mouth opened and close.  I smiled and said not a word.  He regained some composure, "Lord I am just an archer."

"As is Dick and yet he is now a knight."

"But he is not lord of a manor.  Make him lord of the manor of Piercebridge, lord.  He deserves the honour far more than I."

"Your words do you credit.  Know you that I offered Sir Richard a manor and he refused.  You may refuse and I will think none the worse of you. I will still knight you and I will seek another for Piercebridge." He rode in silence.  "When your uncle offered me your service he confided in me that he hoped you would fulfil his expectations.  I believe you have met them.  If you accept my offer and become a knight then I know you will have exceeded them."

He shook his head, "Do not misunderstand me lord.  I wish to be lord of the manor but I know you well enough to realise that you expect honesty and I am not sure that I could be as good a lord of the manor as Sir Hugh or Sir Harold."

I glanced over to Sir Harold.  He nodded and smiled, "If that is your only worry, my friend, then I can tell you that all of us felt the same burden. When you ride around your manor and men knuckle their heads and say 'lord' to you then you feel a fraud.  At least I did. Eventually you will earn that respect.  I warn you this though; it will change you. You will find that your feet sink into your manor and become rooted there."

"What of my archers lord?  Would you keep them with you?"

"They are your men, Philip and they are vital to my plans.  You need men at arms to guard your walls but you need men who can ride as  far as Durham, Gainford and Barnard to keep watch for our enemies. Your men are fine archers.  With training they can become archers who are also men at arms."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Under your hand I believe so!"

He smiled, "Then I accept."

"Good.  I will leave you at your new manor.  Before I leave for the Empress I will ennoble you. William the Mason will come to help you build your walls. Tell the people that this year will be free from tax but this time next year they will become part of England once more.  They will pay for that privilege."

Philip spent the last two miles picking Harold's brain.  I had deprived myself of half of my archers and Dick would not be happy but it was the right thing to do.  I knew that.

When I reached Stockton I saw that Dick had returned. He waited until we had taken off our armour and washed before he approached Harold and me.  That in itself told me that the news was not urgent. Sir John and Sir Tristan joined us as we sat around the table. Gilles and Richard made to leave but I waved them back.  "One day, God willing, you two shall be knights.  It is right that you hear how knights plan. Stay."

Clearly awed by my knights they made themselves as inconspicuous as they could.

"The Empress sent you her warmest greeting, lord, and this token." He handed over a seal.  "It is the manor of Liedeberge, between Hereford and Gloucester." I took it and watched Dick's face. Like Harold he was as honest as the day was long on Midsummer's day. "Aye, lord, it is close to Wales and subject to raids.  A rebel held it and I think she has given it to afford her some protection there." I nodded.  Did she think I could split myself in two? Dick continued, "There is a garrison there and Sir Miles has promised to watch over it until you are able to visit yourself."

I put the seal around my neck. It was a symbolic act for my knights. I now took on that office and it added to the burden of the others I carried. The Empress was protecting herself not only against the Welsh and Stephen of Blois but her half brother.  The manor would warn him that Wales was not his own petty fiefdom.

"And the campaign?"

"The Empress and the Earl are busy recapturing the lands which Stephen took last year." None of my knights afforded Stephen the title he had usurped. "The Empress said she had no need of your army." He hesitated.  "She spoke with privately when her advisers were not close by.  She said she needed the north strong again.  She feared her uncle and his intentions."

I nodded,  "King David plays a dangerous game."

"She has high hopes that the Bishop of Ely can prevail in the east and then London will be squeezed in the middle."

Sir Harold shook his head, "It is a shame that the Earl of Chester changed sides once more.  Had he held Lincoln then we might have been able to take York and the war would have been virtually over."

"It is much as Philip of Selby said.  There are many, his uncle included, who wish to take the side of the Empress.  The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester anointed Stephen and they cannot do aught until the crown is fallen from his head."

I looked around at these. Wulfric and Edward were not there but other than that I had my most trusted of knights.  I felt I could speak openly. "I intend to make Philip of Selby lord of the manor of Piercebridge.  I know that deprives us of twenty archers but my visit to the lands west of here made it obvious that Sir Hugh is in great danger."

Dick nodded, "I can train more archers lord. Already the bowyers and fletchers have made great stores of both arrows and war bows. If I have this summer then I can field another thirty by autumn."

"Good for we shall need them.  This news from the Empress is as good as we could have hoped.  I know that the Count of Anjou is preparing another assault in Normandy. Already our forces control much of Normandy. I see hope that the war there may be over even though the one in England is far in the future. It is to be hoped that our armies will be swollen when that side of the water is safe."

My immediate priorities were Durham to the north and, more urgently, Fitz Mandeville in the south. I decided to seek out Edward Fitz Mandeville and bring him to battle at the end of May.  Sir Richard of Yarm had his scouts out and I knew that while Sir Edward was rebuilding Malton he was content to try to extend his control of the lands to the west. He risked antagonising the Earl of Chester but I did not think that would worry him. When I told my knights, they concurred.  They would prepare for the campaign. To that end I travelled to Normanby.  Wulfric and Edward were the closest of my knights to Malton. I visited Wulfric first as I was keen to see how his castle was coming along.

He had built a sturdy motte and bailey with a stone gatehouse. He had a garrison who would defend his home when he came with us.  Wulfric had no wife. If he wished a woman he took her to his bed.  When he fell in battle, as I knew he would eventually, it would be the end of his line.  As he took me around his castle and then to the former castle of the De Brus I told  him of Durham and my plans for Piercebridge.

He nodded his approval, "Philip is a good archer.  Archers are meant to be behind walls.  Me? I like to ride my destrier, Roger, and use my war axe where I can swing!"

"I know, old friend, but now that you have a manor I would advise a little more caution.  These people have just become used to a lord who will protect them.  Do not abandon that."

He looked offended, "Lord, do you doubt my right arm?"

"No but we all know that someday a young version of you will come along!"