Outlaw (Aelfraed)

by Hosker, Griff

  I sank into the seat which was behind me. I had not seen that coming but as I watched the fire flicker and flame things suddenly made sense. Harold had been running to Calum and not me; no wonder he was upset. The flustered looks on their faces and the sudden tidying of the bed chamber; they were getting rid of the evidence. The turning of the back in the bed; it all became clear as though someone had removed a veil from my eyes. Then suddenly another thought hit me; if Sarah knew then so did the Queen! I felt doubly used and deceived. All the protestations of love were empty. “Sarah. Thank you for telling me.” I stood and enfolded her in my arms. “Let us go back to how it was, where you and Thomas are my friends.” She thanked me through a flood of tears.

  “Thank you, my lord.”

  “In future Thomas I would prefer to know things sooner rather than later.”

  He nodded, “Yes my lord but you know what wives are like.” He heard the words he had said, as though spoken by another and he reddened.

  I smiled. “Yes Thomas I think that I can say now that, I do know what wives are like.”

  When I left the hut I headed directly for the Queen’s chamber. I opened the door and pointed to the two servant girls. “Out!”

  They fled fearing my wrath. The Queen lay coquettishly on the bed. “My lord is this to be the future? You come here demanding me at all hours of the day and night?”

  I was so angry that I ignored her flirting. “Just when were you going to tell me about Gytha and Calum.”

  If I had poured a bucket of cold water on her I could not have had a bigger effect. She sat up and covered herself with an animal skin. I have no idea why. Perhaps she thought I was going to attack her and it would, in some way, defend her. “Who told you?”

  “Well obviously not you. Not the woman in whose arms I have been for so many nights. Not the one person I thought would tell me. Why did you not speak of this to me?” I could not understand it. She would have had more chance of my attention if I had known my wife had another.

  “I wanted them to be together for I wanted you. I knew that Gytha would not question your presence with me for she and Calum were lovers and then, when I came to England,” she tailed off weakly, “I knew you would be angry and I did not have the courage to tell you.”

  “Well I am angry now, my Queen. No man likes to be made a fool of, especially not by a woman or in my case two women!”

  “It doesn’t change things between us.”

  “Doesn’t it? I don’t know!”

  With that I stormed out. I was so angry that if I had stayed I would have hit her. Walking across the yard I shouted, “Osbert! Training swords. I am out of practice.”

  By the time I reached the barn, which we used to practise in during the winter, Osbert and Branton were there. I picked up the small shield we used for training and the wooden sword. Branton placed my training helmet on my head and I faced Osbert. I had not had the opportunity to fight since I had blinded Duff in the summer. I had been too busy organising and plotting. I needed this!

  I swung my sword hard at Osbert’s head and he just managed to get the shield there in time to protect his head. The blow was so hard that he took a step back and I heard the sharp intake from Branton who had rarely seen his brother forced backwards. Before he could recover I punched forwards with my shield before he could swing and then swung the sword at his knee. I felt it connect and he sank to one knee. I swung the sword up and hacked at his neck. When I saw that he could not counter with his shield I stopped the blade as it touched his neck. He put down his sword. “Well my lord. I do not think that the Normans will stand up to that onslaught.”

  Branton came over and looked askance at his brother. “Were you letting Lord Aelfraed win?”

  In answer Osbert stood and hit his brother in the stomach with his wooden sword. “Fool!” Then he looked at me with concern in his eyes. “Are you alright my lord? I have never seen such fire in your eyes and I feared for my limbs. I have never felt such blows before.”

  “I am sorry Osbert. Let us just say that I was taking my anger out on you. I am sorry.”

  “No, my lord. When I follow you in battle from now on I shall have an inkling of what the poor sod on the other end of your blows is feeling. My job will become a lot easier. God help the Normans when they come!”

  I put my arms around the brothers. “Come let us broach one of Goody Sarah’s casks. I have a thirst on me.” That is the way it is with men; none of this putting on a face and a show; none of this deceit but just simple honesty. I began to yearn for the chance to fight the Normans. The sooner they came, the better.

  In the event it was late spring before we heard of the arrival of large numbers of Normans in the north. It was rumour at first. Refugees fled to Earl Morcar’s city telling of being displaced from their lands by new Norman landowners. In some cases the owners had died at Senlac and Stamford but others were forcibly ejected from their homes. The warning was sufficient for us to rally the lords in the north and prepare for war in earnest. Aethelward held off calling the fyrd up until they had their crops in the ground. We organised, instead, scouts lead by Sergeant Branton and incorporating men from all the other lords. They roamed the land for thirty miles south of Jorvik and we knew that we would have enough time to call the fyrd and meet them. Strangely Edwin returned to Mercia, ostensibly to raise his troops but he chose the moment that the Normans began to filter north. Perhaps I was judging him on his past performance, who knows? My belief was that he was avoiding having to actually fight the Normans. The advantage was that Morcar did everything which Aethelward asked of him.

  We held a conference at Jorvik. “We need to meet them on a ground of our choosing, one which does not suit their horses.” He looked at us all. “That means north of Jorvik!”

  Morcar paled. “You would abandon Jorvik?”

  “No, my lord. We place in Jorvik men to defend the walls and evacuate those others who would just eat the garrison’s food during a siege. If their leader is foolish enough to besiege you then that suits us for we can attack his lines and have the advantage we desire. We will withdraw north to the hills close to Helmsley and Osmotherly. The ground favours our shield wall and there are many streams there where we can anchor our flanks,”

  Had Edwin been there he would have argued, I knew that but Morcar saw the wisdom in the plan. “I will send away those who are not fighting and begin to bring in the stores.”

  “Your men at arms we will need. Keep archers and spear men. We have a sufficient number from Lord Ridley and Lord Aelfraed.”

  We then returned to our homes. The Queen was now noticeably pregnant and it had reduced her demands for my body to a mere once a day rather than all night as it had been. I tried to persuade her to go to Jorvik or even Fife but she was calm as she explained her reasoning. “I do not wish to be in a place from which I cannot run because it is under siege and I do not want to move. It is uncomfortable. Sarah and the girls are excellent servants and they will deliver our child. I am safer here than I am in Jorvik.”

  Neither of us could fault her logic but we left a garrison of twenty warriors to protect her. We had begun to move east when Branton’s riders rode in. “My Lord, the sergeant sent us. There are Normans close to Wetherby and they are heading for Jorvik.”

  I turned to Aethelward. “Continue organising our men. I will ride to Branton and organise the archers. We will meet you by the white horse.” The white horse was an ancient carving in the hills and seemed appropriate bearing in mind it had been Harold’s sign.”

  Aethelward agreed. “No heroics boy. I need you as the rock in the shield wall. Remember you are still a Housecarl. You and Ridley are the last of the Housecarls now.”

  I wore my mail armour and took Sweyn, my biggest horse. He was not fast but he could carry me long distances. I also had Boar Splitter, my spear and Death Bringer, my axe. I was going to war and I knew not when I would return to Maiden Bower. The Queen and I always parted each morning as though we would not see
each other for a while. She enjoyed the passion of our goodbyes and I was happy to play along.

  Branton had gathered all of his scouts together and I could see that they were a healthy number, sixty of them; each man with a bow and a quiver. “Well done Branton. Where are they?”

  “They are heading for Jorvik down the Selby road. There are two thousand of them. About a hundred knights, another thousand light horse, a hundred crossbowmen and eight hundred foot. We still have six scouts out but they are well to the west and have not reported in yet.”

  “Send a rider to bring them to the white horse.” He shouted an order to one of his men who galloped off. “Any siege weapons?”

  “No, my lord.”

  I was relieved. Siege weapons would have caused a problem for us.”Who is their leader?”

  “William of Perci.”

  “Is our Norman friend with them?”

  He knew I meant Guy of Evreux and he grinned. “No my lord, I saw many little pricks today, but he was not one of them. “

  “Good. Now we are going to meet them north of here. When they reach Jorvik they will find it barred. Do you have any of Earl Morcar’s men with you?”

  “Aye sir, about nine or ten.”

  “Right then send them to Jorvik with a message for the Earl that the Normans are coming.”

  While Branton went to issue the orders I looked at the fifty men who remained. We could ride and be with Aethelward within a few hours. We had time, before they camped to cause a little mayhem.

  “Branton we are going to annoy the Normans. I want your men to use the old arrows not the ones we intend to use against the knights. Is that clear?”

  Branton looked disappointed but he nodded. I then explained to him my plan and he grinned. “That should upset them. And I have the perfect place. There is a valley which runs parallel to the road. If we take that road we can appear like wraiths above them.”

  We could hear the rattle of armour from the other side of the low hills and I placed myself at the head of ten mounted archers. The archers were all from my demesne and I made sure that their shields were on their saddles and mine was on my arm. I wanted them to try to capture the hero of Fulford. I was counting on my notoriety and their impetuosity. The other forty men waited below the crest of the hill.

  I turned to address them. “Men of Topcliffe, today we begin to regain our land and we are the first to do so. Remember we are here to hurt them and I do not want any of you to get yourselves killed. If you do then you will be in serious trouble!” They laughed and that gave me confidence. We moved towards the ridgeline and I looked down the line at the eager faces. Raising Boar Splitter, I shouted, “Topcliffe!”

  We burst over the skyline and we could see them less than a hundred paces away. There was a thin line of mounted scouts who had not seen us. We halted and Branton ordered the men to loose their arrows. The scouts fell to a man as horses and men were struck with arrows. They then changed their aim to the foot soldiers behind them and two flights struck them before the horsemen at the rear and the front reacted. “Withdraw!”

  The men were awaiting the order and we galloped off in good order. Their crossbowmen were busy trying to load their cumbersome weapons and the light horse only had spears. We were safe. They were, however, good horsemen and they began to catch us. As we crested the rise, the other archers waited with drawn bows. Branton led his men through gaps in their ranks to wheel around and fill in the gaps. I wheeled to the left of the line and readied Boar Splitter. A hundred men thundered over the top of the hill to be met by a withering rain of arrows. I saw many men plucked from their saddles and fall to their death. Branton’s men kept up the rate. One knight had accompanied them and he galloped directly at me, his spear held in front of him. I kicked Sweyn hard and he lunged forwards. I knew that I had to avoid hitting the shield for it was designed to deflect blows; my uncle had told me that. I chose instead the less honourable but more effective target, his horse. I held the weapon over hand and stabbed down just as his spear struck my shield. The wicked point of the Norman lance flicked up but the metal rim turned it away from me. As I withdrew my spear I saw it was covered in blood. I had struck his horse a mortal blow. He turned amazingly quickly, far quicker than I and I saw him draw out his sword. I had no time to do so and I kept my hold on Boar Splitter. He hacked down at me and his sword struck my new shoulder armour. The blow hurt but it did not penetrate as the blade slid down the iron plates. His horse caused the brave knight’s death for it dropped its head and I could see his young face. I thrust Boar Splitter straight at the man’s eye and as it went in I turned and twisted. He gave a high pitched scream and fell to the floor, dead.

  I heard Branton’s voice, “My lord!”

  I looked up to see the knights now attacking. “Retreat!”

  Had there been no dead they would have caught us but, as it was they had to negotiate the dead and dying as well as riderless mounts. Within a hundred paces they had given up to reclaim their dead. I reined in as soon as I could. “Any casualties?”

  “A few scratches that is all.”

  “How many of theirs?”

  I think there would be at least fifty dead and perhaps half more wounded.”

  “A victory then.”

  “Aye sir, but your combat against the knight. I thought he had you with the sword.”

  “Thank Ralph and his new armour. It saved my life.”

  Aethelward and Ridley had already set up the camp below a small wooded knoll. I could see that it had been chosen with defence in mind and I envisaged the shield wall atop the knoll. The fires were already burning and I could see the ditch which had been dug in front of the camp. A warrior directed us to the safe piece of land which crossed it. As we looked down I could see the wooden stakes sticking viciously up. It would hurt both horse and rider.

  Aethelward was pleased when I told him the enemy numbers but less happy that I had risked death.” I said no heroics.”

  “There were none. I was never in danger.”

  Aethelward raised his eyes to the skies. “They will not be here before the day after tomorrow which means we have time to prepare our defences.”

  Ridley was always deep and thoughtful and he looked awkwardly at Aethelward. “My lord, how do you know they will come here? They could just besiege Jorvik. Or go elsewhere.”

  “They could; which is why Branton is going to draw them on by harrying them tomorrow. They cannot besiege for they have no weapons and thanks to my nephew they know that he is north of them. When they see the shields of Branton and his men, they will come.” Aethelward was counting on my name and notoriety to draw them on.

  We had just over a thousand warriors that day. Two hundred were armoured men at arms and a hundred were archers. The rest were an unknown quantity, the fyrd. Aethelward had been told what caused the disaster at Senlac Hill, the fyrd pursuing the Normans, and he sought to obviate that by placing the fyrd behind the thin line of men at arms and archers. If we were successful then they could pursue the enemy. “Your men,” he said to Ridley and me, “will be the key to success or failure. You will have to endure their horsemen. This is why I have placed us, as Harold did, on an upslope. Their horses will have to slow down but they will be looking for a weakness.”

  I looked at our men at arms; they were sharpening weapons and talking easily to each other. They were confident for they had never suffered a defeat. Those who had been at Fulford and Stamford, the few who remained, had left the battlefield with their weapons and the dead enemy remained. They would not worry about the Normans.

  Branton and his archers arrived shortly before dusk. He was grinning from ear to ear. “They are coming, my lord and they are angrier than a wrecked wasp’s nest.” He pointed to the south. “They are about a mile away.”

  “Did you lose any men?”

  “Just one archer, his horse fell and he was surrounded.”

  Aethelward looked at me, “They will know our numbers then.”

 
“Rafe will not talk.”

  Aethelward shook his head. “He will for the Normans are a cruel people and they will torture him. It matters not, Branton, in fact it may aid us for they will know that they outnumber us. Place your men on the flanks and put your horses at the rear with the boys. They are the horse guards today.”

  I turned to Osbert, “Now Osbert.”

  “Stand to arms!”

  Every man took his place, eager to face the enemy. I nodded to him, “Unfurl the banners, and let them know who we are.”

  Sarah and the women had busily sown the red horse on a white background and the huge banner looked magnificent as it fluttered overhead. Ridley signalled to his sergeant and his banner, slightly smaller but no less magnificent was unfurled. He had two smaller red horses on a green background. The Normans would have an incentive to close with us and that is what we wanted.

  One of the sentries on the hill shouted, “Riders coming in.”

  Every weapon was readied and then we saw that it was the last of our scouts coming from the west. The other archers recognised them and began hurling ribald insults at them.

  “Where the fuck have you been? Shagging sheep?”

  “Overslept?”

  “You’ll be late for your own funeral.”

  The leader rode up to me; he was one of Branton’s men. “Sorry we are late sir, we found a column of men. They were heading up the Roman road towards Ripon.”

  Aethelward frowned. “How many and who was their leader?”

  “There were about fifty knights, a few hundred horsemen, thirty crossbowmen and two hundred foot. They had no banners but were led by an older man dressed like you my lord and that Norman tosser from Jorvik; the one who doesn’t like you.”

  “Guy of Evreux!” He nodded.

  “And I would guess that the man dressed like you is Copsi.”

  “Uncle if they join with these then we are in trouble.”

  “No but I worry about Topcliffe for Guy of Evreux knows where you live.”