by Smith, Skye
Eadric shrugged his shoulders to Hereward. "I have to go with the Welshmen. After how we humiliated the Normans in Hereford, if William captures us here, he will slaughter us for sure. Listen, we will go back the way we came for say, a dozen miles and there set up a defensive camp. If things go badly here, then make a run for our camp."
When Edwin returned he looked glum. "We are fortunate that we took this garrison prisoner rather than slaughtered them. I was able to explain to William that they were ravaging my lands beyond reason and I had come to protect my folk from them. I also told him that I was still willing to marry his daughter in order to bring peace to his kingdom."
"And what are his terms?" asked Hereward. Since the escape of the Welsh and Eadric, the Normans had completely surrounded the now much smaller English camp.
Edwin called his men close. He raised the volume of his voice. "William of Normandy is here with his army. I have made terms with him." The men shushed each other to hear. "We can leave this field unharmed. He has declared a peace. No one from either side is to commit violence.
We can take our weapons, but not our armour nor our mounts.” There were many moans, and anger from the men who were about to loose a fortune in armour. "You are to split into small groups and go directly home to your villages." There was more moaning about long walks. "I am to travel with William and petition his wife Mathilde to reinstate my betrothal to her daughter."
"So you are to Winchester?" asked a voice from the center of the men.
"No, Mathilde travels with William," Edwin replied, "She was crowned as the Queen of the English on Whitsun in Winchester. I will be traveling with her, and surrounded by William's army."
"Will the archers loose their string fingers?" someone yelled.
"He stated no violence. So no. You keep your fingers." As he spoke Edwin prayed that this were true. Norman knights were quick to take the fingers of captured bowmen.
Raynar walked to his mare Abby and unhooked the rush mat in which he carried his weapons. He rolled all his weapons and anything that looked valuable into the mat so that none could be seen, and he practiced balancing it on his shoulder. The possibility of losing his fingers relieved any shame he felt as he rumpled and dirtied himself and tried to look like a farmer, and not a bowman.
The other men were taking everything of value from their horses. Some had even shouldered their saddles, though they were too heavy to carry far. The shieldmen lost the most, for they lost their precious and expensive mail. Many would never be able to afford more, so until they took someone else’s from a battlefield, they were finished as shieldmen.
Raynar joined a column of grumbling men walking north. The Normans from the bailey jeered at them, but no one threw stones or struck them. They funneled past a patrol that was checking to make sure no one had something they should not have. When it was his turn with the patrol, there was shouting behind him. Abby was pushing her way through the column of men to follow him.
The guard used most of his English words to say, "No Horse!” Raynar heard another laughing and saying in French, "What you say is true, that is no horse. It must be for his plow. Let it go unless you want to be the one stuck riding it." Abby must have understood, because she pushed Raynar through the guards with a flick of her nose. There was a short and magic moment when both English and Norman laughed together, and Abby was slapped on the flanks by the guard and was through.
When they reached the first rise above the town, they looked back and saw Edwin's servants packing his personal camp, and Edwin riding towards William's camp on his black Frisian stallion. The men were grumbling about how they always landed in shit, and the lords always landed in clover. "Life's tough for an earl," one man said in a loud voice, "the poor lad has to go and play with them fancy court women as punishment for leading us into this shit."
Raynar yelled back, "Just thank the fates that we are Saxons. If we were Danes they would slaughter us rather than let us go.” This started a lot of talk amongst the men, and made them impatient to leave for home.
Hereward was walking up the column telling everyone to quick march back the way they had come and they would find help and protection waiting for them before nightfall. When he reached Raynar, who now had the only horse, he asked him to mount up and go and find Eadric and the Welsh and tell them what had happened, and to wait for them. "Tell them to be on guard for Norman cavalry trying to flank us."
"Here," said Raynar, "you take Abby and go. I have business down below."
Hereward knew Raynar's mind. He knew the lad had sworn to kill William the Bastard. "Don't be a fool, man. William is surrounded by his entire army. They will be watching for us thinking that we will try to steal our horses back, and they will catch you and string you up as a horse thief."
Raynar was silent while the words sank in. He had not been this close to William since Wallingford on the Thames. "But, I may never be this close to him again."
"I wish you were right, but you are not. To come onto us so quickly, William's army must have already been on the move north. If you want to do something useful, then stay ahead of the army and find out which street they are taking to the North. Get that information to Chester before you loose an arrow at William."
Raynar took his sword, quiver, and bow out of his mat and hung them on his saddle. He climbed up and began riding towards Eadric. The men who had laughed at his farm nag before, were now silent as he cantered by. He kept looking back at the column of English walking behind him, and at the motte with the remains of the English camp in front of it, and at the mass of mounted Normans moving towards the town. He had heard many times of how vicious was Norman vengeance, and he hoped that this old Saxon town would not now be punished.
Raynar kept riding, stopping only at copses of trees that would give good cover to archers. In each he would call out for Eadric. Sometimes he would be answered by folk working in the woods. Mostly there was silence. It was dark before he was found by Eadric's picket. It was too dark to easily pick one's way to the main camp which was deeper in the woods, so he made his bed with the pickets and was offered a bowl of a very plain and cold bean stew. It was delicious.
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In the morning he had breakfast with Eadric and passed on Hereward's message. The Welsh bowmen were anxious to leave for Herefordshire, and then back across the border to Powys. Eadric promised that he and his men would wait for the walking men to cover the retreat, but then they would be heading back to Chester.
Raynar told Eadric his own plan, which was to wait near Warwick to see which way north William would choose, and then take that news to Chester. He packed his saddle and headed back towards Warwick. Hereward and the others were less than a mile away, and he told them to keep walking, and that Eadric was waiting for them. It took him less than five minutes to brief Hereward on what Eadric and the Welsh were planning.
Alan wanted to come with him to spy on William, but he was now on foot, so that was not possible. "You don't need to wait for me in Chester," Raynar told him. "Get back to the Peaks where you will be safe.” He waved a fair thee well to his friends and then urged Abby on, south back to Warwick, south to stay close to William the Bastard.
THE END of Frisians of the Fens
Watch for the next book The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses
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The Hoodsman - Frisians of the Fens by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13
