King in Waiting

by Griff Hosker

  There was a hedgerow along the road which meant we had to seek a gate. Once on the road, I turned to head back to the crossing over the water. The steam from our horses would be visible to the Welsh, but they might think that we were their own men, for we were approaching from the Builth side. We turned a bend and I saw the Welsh and their animals. They were 300 paces from us and approaching the stream. They saw me and I heard them shout. I dismounted and, tying Eleanor to a tree, took out a handful of oats to feed her as my men also dismounted. The Welsh approached slowly and we had time to prepare.

  I chose a war arrow and peered towards the Welsh. There were more than thirty of them, all armed. I saw some with bows while others had spears and swords. Most had helmets, and those without bows had shields. My guess was that these were not brigands but served a Welsh lord who had sent them on this chevauchée. The Welsh stopped when they saw the line of men at the top of the slope.

  “A stand-off, eh Captain?”

  “Not for long, David, the baron and his men at arms will come soon, and we will seem an easier prospect than mailed men. For the moment, we watch.”

  I saw a debate going on amongst the Welsh, but while the leaders debated close to the old bull and four cows they had captured, I saw ten Welsh archers head towards the road. I pointed my bow. “There are our first targets. Spread yourselves out and choose a Welshman to hit.”

  We had the advantage of height and the fact that we were on the road. Already, the snow had turned to slush beneath our boots, and I was glad that I had paid for better boots. The Welsh archers were struggling through the snow which was knee deep in places, and they congregated towards the road where the snow was thinner. The ford was 180 paces from us, within our range. In the distance I heard a horn, which told me the baron had reached Robin and was letting me know.

  The Welsh archers hurried as they heard the horn, for they knew what it meant, and I shouted, “Loose!”

  The Welsh leaders then took their knives and slew the bull and the cows. It was a vindictive act to deny us their milk and offspring. It hardened my heart. I had intended to wound the Welsh archer, but now, I aimed for his chest. He was pulling back on his bow when my arrow threw him to the ground.

  My archers had also aimed well. Two Welshmen had taken shelter behind a tree, and as soon as they emerged, they were dead men. I saw the baron and our men galloping down the road. The sheep fled in panic at the sound of the hooves, getting in the way of the Welshmen, who were heading for the road. They flooded over the ford, but there was little order or organisation to their flight; they were just escaping the mounted men. Mounted men at arms, not to mention the baron, his squire and his two sons, all of whom were armed as knights, were a daunting prospect.

  I ignored the archers who had crossed and aimed at the leader who had ordered the slaying of the bull. My arrow hit him but did not stop him. He wore mail beneath his tunic. Cursing myself for my poor choice of arrowhead, I drew a needle bodkin. He was now less than a hundred paces from me. I saw his bearded faced beneath his round helmet. He looked on his death as the arrow sped down to tear through his mail, into his chest and out of his back.

  I took another bodkin. If one man had mail then the others might too. I sent an arrow at the man next to the dead leader. He had a shield and was urging his men on. They were falling like flies as my men sent arrow after arrow into men struggling up either a slush-filled road or wading through knee deep snow. My arrow hit him in the neck and even though he had a coif, he fell. Men grabbed shields from the dead to defend themselves as the baron and his horsemen tore into them.

  Behind me, Lewis Left Alone shouted, “Captain, I hear horsemen behind us.”

  They had to be Welshmen and were probably from the castle. “Turn, and have bodkins ready!” The baron and his men would have to deal with the raiders. This was a more serious threat. “Follow me and spread out behind whatever cover you can find!”

  We ran back to the horses and stood beyond them on the Builth Castle road. I saw the horsemen. There were eight of them and they were men at arms, led by a knight. I picked out a bodkin. The Welsh knight shouted something and lowered his spear. He held his shield tightly to his body. He was not helped by the slushy nature of the road which meant his horse’s hooves slithered and slipped on the surface. I waited until he was seventy paces from me before shouting, “Release!”

  My bodkin hit him in the left shoulder. He dropped his shield to expose his side, which Mark the Bowyer sent an arrow into. His quick-thinking squire, who had managed to avoid being hit, grabbed the knight’s reins and led him back up the road. Four of the horsemen followed him, but two others lay dead. One had been hit by four bodkin arrows.

  “John, take the new men and keep watch here. The rest with me!”

  By the time we reached our first position, the battle was over and the baron was disposing of the wounded. I turned and headed back to the dead men at arms. “Search the bodies and collect the horses. It is over and we can go home!”

  I truly thought it was over, but it was not. The baron and his sons rode up to me, his face effused with the joy of victory. The enemy had been routed and most of the animals recovered, but the smile left him when he saw that Welsh nobles had led their men against us. “We have been too gentle with our foes. There are four Welsh farms between here and our castle. We will take payment for the cattle killed! The Welsh will have the hard winter, not my people.”

  And so we rode, not directly home but along a small road which passed the four farms which were in Wales. We had little to do save to watch. He and his men at arms, as well as his four archers, took every animal and sack of grain the farmers owned. When one farmer objected, the baron’s sons beat him. It was unnecessary. I had grown up around people like the Welsh farmers. What had been done to the baron’s people was bad, but this was worse, for it was entirely vindictive. We drove the cattle, sheep and fowl back to Wigmore Castle. Darkness fell, but by then we were back on the baron’s land and a road which was dark against the white snow.

  The baron asked one of his men to fetch me as we neared the castle.

  “You did particularly well, Captain, although it was dangerous to anticipate the Welsh route. What would you have done if you had failed to find them?”

  “I knew we would find them, but if they had evaded me, we would have been closer to the Welsh castle. My way was the only way to catch them and retrieve the animals.”

  He nodded and watched my face. “You disapproved of my actions with the Welsh farmers?”

  “It has nothing to do with me, my lord.”

  “You would not have done what I did?” I remained silent. He sighed. “We live on the border here. You have seen my garrison. It is small, and more often than not the Welsh are able to raid at will. Our people have suffered greatly in the past. Simon de Montfort’s rebellion has taken men away from the border, and what happened yesterday is a foretaste of what might happen more regularly. I lost men at Lewes who might have defended this land against the Welsh. When you have lived here longer, then you will understand.”

  I said nothing, but I doubted I would be there for long. As soon as Lord Edward was rescued, then I would return to his service. Until then I would follow orders, but I would not enjoy them.

  We feasted well, and then the snow began to melt. It was a gradual process. The air did not seem any warmer but it must have been. The melting snow brought more misery, for the castle wards were turned into mud baths, and it was hard to keep anything clean. Worse, we still could not ride to Wallingford, as the roads to the south of us were still affected by snow. We practised. We used the butts, and we worked each day to improve our skills. When our shoulders ached, we used our swords. The men at arms of Wigmore were, at first, sceptical about our sword skills, but when I laid two on their backs in my first bouts, they changed their opinion. The baron’s two sons were also interested in the bouts, and they joined us. Both were strong youths and had skill.

  The damp months of January a
nd February passed productively. Over those weeks Baron Mortimer began to hire men at arms to replace those he had lost at Lewes. The mood in the land was changing, and men who had hidden now emerged, and swords for hire sought a lord behind whose banner they could fight. Baron Mortimer went around his manors to speak with the knights who lived there. He was preparing them for war, too.

  I was not invited to dine again, but Lady Maud made a point of speaking to me every couple of days. I could see that I intrigued her. It was partly due to my age, for I was just four or five years older than her sons, but while they were still boys, I must have appeared mature. I deduced that from the way she spoke to me, as she seemed to enjoy confiding in me. It was from her that I learned that I would be riding to Wallingford in the first week of March. I was to find my way into the castle and try to speak with Lord Edward to tell him that we had plans to free him. I knew it was risky, but it had been almost a year since his capture, and there had been no attempt to rescue him. Lady Maud, her husband and the other lords thought the time was ripe.

  The real reason for the decision became clear when Gilbert de Clare, the Earl of Gloucester, came to visit. He had changed sides and was now an enemy of de Montfort. He arrived at the castle after dark, and cloaked. He was disguising the fact that he had turned coat. I only knew of his arrival when I was summoned to his presence, as it was a secret meeting. Two of the baron’s most senior men guarded the door. Inside were just the earl, the baron and Lady Maud. This was, indeed, clandestine.

  Gilbert de Clare was a dangerous man. His support of Simon de Montfort had enabled the Earl of Leicester to defeat King Henry at Lewes. I liked not the fact that he had changed sides, but I was merely an archer, and my avowed intent was to rescue my lord and return to his service. The fact that he was the same age as I unnerved me a little, though he seemed pleased to see me.

  “This is the man then, the famous archer? I would say he appears little more than a boy, but I know men say that behind my back. Can you do it, archer? Can you get inside an enemy castle and deliver a message to Lord Edward? Can you help effect his escape?”

  “So far, my lord, I have been told little other than I have to get into an enemy castle and speak with Lord Edward without anyone knowing, and then escape. What do I need to tell him?”

  I spoke in a matter of fact voice. I saw Lady Maud smile, and then the Red Earl burst out laughing. “Well he has a sense of humour, I will say that for him.”

  The baron said, “You are right to mock us, Gerald. I know that we ask much of you, but all who know you speak highly of you. Your fame precedes you.”

  “And that fame will make it hard for me to enter the castle, for many men know my face, my lord. However, leaving that aside, I take it that I do not enter the castle merely to chat to Lord Edward? I assume that there is a plan?”

  The baron nodded. “We believe that he is allowed to ride each day with Henry of Almain and a company of guards. We wish him to do so every day for a period of, perhaps, seven days. Each day he should ride a little further so that by the eighth day the horses will be tired. We will have fresh horses ready, and we will know their route, for we will have watched for seven days. You and your archers will ensure that when he escapes, there is no pursuit.”

  I nodded. It was an audacious plan, but it had merit, and I saw how it could succeed. “So, Lord Edward would determine when the rescue will take place?”

  “That is the beauty of it.” He patted his wife’s hand. “And it is all from the mind of Lady Maud. The hard part, as you so rightly say, is getting into the castle. How will you do it?”

  “To speak truly, I do not know yet, but then I have not seen Wallingford. I would need to scout out the castle and take a couple of days to formulate a plan. I should go now, and then I can return here and tell you what I have devised.” They all agreed it was a sound plan. “I will take just three of my men, for it needs to be done in secret, and a larger number would merely attract attention.”

  “You have thought this out well, archer. I can see that your choice was a wise one. I confess that I thought I had made a wise choice when I sided with de Montfort, but he is a damned Frenchman who rewards only his family and his French friends. I was a fool to believe in him!”

  I now had a better insight into the reason for the Earl of Gloucester’s change of coat.

  I told my men that I would be leaving. The three men I chose to accompany me were obvious: John of Nottingham, Jack of Lincoln and David the Welshman. Leaving Robin of Barnsley in command, we left on the last day of February. It was over a hundred miles to the castle, but we had company until Gloucester, as Gilbert de Clare accompanied us. He seemed keen to talk, mainly about my service with Lord Edward. He seemed fascinated by the future King of England.

  As we neared his town I said, “My lord, I hope you do not take offence, but you seem to admire greatly a man you fought.”

  “It was not him I fought against. Do not forget that Lord Edward once also favoured Simon de Montfort, the Frenchman and his honeyed words that deceived the two of us. It was his father I fought. I had lands taken, and I petitioned to have them returned to me. King Henry rejected my petition. To speak bluntly, I would have Lord Edward as King of England in a heartbeat, but that is not the way it works. His father, faults and all, is still the king. I will have to hope that you rescue him, and that I can persuade him to have his father return my lands.”

  Chapter 11

  It was easier riding once we parted, for we travelled quicker, and I did not have to worry about my words. We only had swords and two bows with us, though I did not think we would need them. It was another reason for my choice of men – these three could handle themselves in a fight. We had a story already: we were heading for Southampton to take ship for Gascony. Men were always needed to fight over there. I had a purse to pay for inns, and we wore simple garb which did not identify us as Lord Edward’s men. I had allowed my beard to grow as a result of the wound to my face; I did not like the beard and I would have shaved it off were it not for this task, but now it provided an effective disguise as it hid my face and made me look a little older. It had been a risk taking Jack of Lincoln, for he had his split nose, but there were many such men in England.

  We found an inn at Brightwell. There had been a castle there, but Henry II had pulled it down and there was no longer a lord of the manor living in the village. We were just one mile from Wallingford. We feigned an injury to Jack of Lincoln, so the innkeeper did not seem suspicious about our remaining there for three days while he ‘recovered’. It gave us the opportunity to travel the area.

  I went with David the Welshman towards the castle, having left my sword in the inn. I would not gain the castle through force of arms. I needed a cunning plan, for I was not sure how I would gain access. We could stay another two or three days and not arouse suspicion. I decided that the first day we would merely scout and try to discover weaknesses in the castle’s defences; we were not trying to storm the walls but sneak inside.

  The innkeeper had said there was a town close to the castle although the Black Death, which had arrived in the town sixteen years earlier, had decimated the population. He told me there was an inn. I made up a story about a fictitious friend who might have served in the garrison as an excuse to visit.

  My plan had been to go into the town and drink; that way we could talk and then go outside to marvel at the magnificent castle, which had been a bastion of Matilda in the anarchy. Men at arms and archers were renowned for their appetite for drink, and they might let something slip whilst in their cups. However, as we neared the castle and town, that plan changed. There was a great deal of activity, and the gates of the castle were wide open. Not only that, there were people moving freely between the town and the castle. It was too good an opportunity to miss.

  “David, I will try to get into the castle. Follow me as though you do not know me. Go to the alehouse and drink.”

  “Are you sure, Captain? If you are taken prisoner then
it will not help Lord Edward.”

  I understood his concern, but we had been sent an opportunity, and it would have been foolish to ignore it. “I will be careful, but this plan necessitates my gaining entry, and this looks to be the best way.”

  He nodded and I hurried ahead towards the town. I saw men toiling with sacks, boxes and barrels. They were carrying them into the castle. To me, it looked as though they were preparing for a siege. I saw a man carrying six live fowl. He was struggling to control them, and they were batting him with their wings as they tried to escape. I daresay that, stupid though they were, they had enough sense to know that they were going to their doom.

  I was just ten paces from him when two of them escaped his grasp. They landed and, having had their wings clipped so that they could not fly away, ran back towards the town. I whipped off my cloak and threw it over them. In the dark, they stopped, and I was able to grab the cloak and wrap them within.

  The man smiled and transferred one fowl so that he held two in each hand. “Thank you, friend. If you would carry them with me to the castle kitchens there is a beaker of ale for you in the tavern in the town.”

  “There is no payment necessary, for I am bound for the castle anyway. I seek my cousin.”

  “Then this is well met.”

  A suspicious sentry saw my cloak as we approached. “What is this, Rafe? What does your friend hide in the cloak?” There was an obliging cluck from within and the sentry grinned. “Ah, I see your friend knows how to transport hens! Pass.”

  And with that, we were in. God smiled on our venture, and I said a silent prayer of thanks for the simple ruse which had allowed me inside the outer ward of the castle.