Hoodsman: Saving Princesses

by Smith, Skye

  They crested a ridge and looked down at the farm. The carts were there, but there was no sign of folk or horses and no tracks in the snow. More worrying was that there seemed to be no pickets posted. There were fifty guards sent with the carts and there was no sign of any of them.

  As they approached the farm a horn sounded, so there were pickets. They pulled up beside the carts and dismounted. The carts were still loaded and still covered with oiled cloth, which was covered in snow. Raynar hailed telling them he was friendly, and the oilcloth of the closest cart flapped open and a hooded head poked out and said in a feminine voice, "Ray, my sweet." She was his lovely Margaron.

  Margaret told the quick version of the story. They had been caught by the storm, but did not trust the other travelers on the highway so they had pulled off to a likely farm hidden from the road. The farm turned out to be abandoned and the buildings had no roofs, but by that time it was too late to go on. The snow had trapped the carts. They had used the oilcloth coverings of the carts to turn each cart into a tent. Everyone was huddled in the carts and under the carts for warmth. They would not risk a fire, because it would betray their location.

  "Where are the horses?" asked Raynar.

  "There is a gully behind the farm, out of the wind. There is a guard with them," she said.

  Now men's heads were poking out of other carts. One of them was Cospatrick's chief huscarl. Raynar called over to him, "The next longhouse is but two miles. It will be warm there. Do you have any good reason not to make for it?"

  "We are half-frozen. Some more than others. The night was killing cold."

  "Those with problems can ride in the carts." He turned to his men. "Break up those ruins and make a few large fires. The cold is a worse enemy than any axemen fool enough to be out in this weather."

  He mounted again, and went to look for the horses. As he passed what was obviously the kitchen cart he told the men of it to make hot gruel, lots of it, and quickly. When he found the gully, he called out to the guard so that there would be no surprises. The horses, some hundred of them, were jammed together in the small space, but they seemed to be healthy. The guard was at the far end where the heat from the horses was collecting. They were the only warm men in the camp.

  It took an hour to get fingers and toes warm enough to work. It took another hour to hitch up all the carts and saddle the horses. The last thing they did was to finish the gruel, and the hot ale, and then they started towards the highway. The huscarls went first to make sure the highway was clear. Then they returned and roped their horses to the carts to help pull them up and over the ridge. It took over an hour of cold hard work before everything was on the highway again.

  Two shieldmen that had homes in Bamburgh were sent ahead to warn of their coming, and of their difficulties with the weather. They put anyone who was still shivering in the carts amongst sheepskins and blankets of felted wool, and then started northward along the highway. Margaret, in men’s felt trousers and a heavy wool cloak rode beside Raynar. Cristina stayed in a cart cuddling close to warm her mother, who was chilled to the bone and looking grey in the face.

  Within the hour there was a shout from the rear guard that riders were closing on them quickly. Raynar rode back and welcomed the other half of his bowmen. One of the men was still suffering badly from frostbite that had been frigid too long, and he was loaded into a wagon so he could remove his boots and rub and warm his feet.

  Raynar watched the man remove his boots, and knew the problem immediately. "Your boots are too tight. The blood is not reaching your toes.” The young man looked embarrassed and told him that they were boots his brother had outgrown.

  They reached the longhouse shortly after, but there were just too many of them to stop. Besides, it had taken hours to get them moving in the first place. They continued on even though it was snowing again. Those that lived in the area all agreed that Amble was the place to stop and wait out the storm, and it was less than three miles further on.

  The snow was deepening and the carts slowing and getting stuck. The riders came alongside the carts and used ropes to help tow them. Keeping them going was much easier than allowing one to get stuck, and cause all the carts behind to get stuck as well.

  Raynar wished aloud that the cartway had not been ice underneath the snow, but he was told by the chief huscarl to be careful for what he wished. "This is low land and this highway is mud in the winter. Think of the mix of snow and deep mud, and then thank our luck to have solid ice." By this time the huscarl and his shieldmen had reassumed their lead of the group and Raynar was pleased to drop back in the line to ride with Margaret beside Cristina's cart.

  If the swirling snow had not been so white, it would have been dark by the time they reached Amble. The ealders and the priest must have been waiting for them, because they rushed into the street and waved them towards a fortified manor behind the church. The messengers that had been sent to Bamburgh had assumed the carts would make it here and no further, and had asked for the town's help before riding on.

  They could see the grey mass of the sea to the east of them, and the wind bit deeper through their clothes. It was no wonder the manor was fortified, for the river mouth would be attractive to any North Sea raider. The manor consisted of three longhouses connected by walls, and a large barn also within the walls. Just getting through the gate was a relief because the walls and buildings blocked most of the icy wind.

  The men were shown through to two of the longhouses, each of which had a fire and braziers, and pots of steaming ale. The women were shown to the third, where the women of the manor took control of them.

  Thankfully, local men arrived to help unsaddle and unhitch the horses, because the fingers of the travelers were too frozen to work the knots and buckles. The carts all fit in the yard. The barn had been cleared of local animals, but had room for only the most valuable of the horses. The rest were pushed into the gaps between buildings where they were mostly out of the wind and oiled cloth was brought and lashed to form a rough roof over them to keep their heat in.

  All night the men would take turns walking the horses to food and warmed water, and then walking them back to their places, just to keep them from freezing to death. Cospatrick's chief huscarl made the rounds to access everyone’s health, and Raynar walked with him without being invited. It was clear that if they had not made it to Amble, that some and perhaps many, would not have survived another night in the open. The young bowmen had fared better than the rest, so they stood the watch in shifts.

  The lord of the Manor and his family were with the women. The chief huscarl knew him well as they were both Cospatrick's men. Raynar stayed close to the lord for most of the evening as the lord was starving for news from the south. Actually, in truth it was so that he could see more of Margaret.

  The only folks here who knew what had happened in the battle of the Bishop's house in Dun Holm were Raynar's bowmen, for everyone else had left Dun Holm before Comyn's army had arrived. The lord was a good listener but he urged the telling of the basic news and no more. He certainly did not want the women and children to hear the grisly details of the battle at the Bishop's house.

  It was enough for him to know that Comyn was now dead with his army, and therefore Cospatrick was still his Earl. He praised the Bishop for leading the axemen on towards York. Whenever axemen came together into a large group they became a wild force that would move and fight for adventure and profit, without much care to who they were preying on.

  Agatha could not stop shivering despite attempts to warm her, so Raynar asked the lady of the manor to give him a tour of her medicines and herbs. She called them by names different than Gwyn-the-healer had taught him, but by smell and taste he found what he needed and made a bitter infusion for Agatha to drink. She complained that it tasted poisonous but because it was Raynar who was handing it to her, she drank it down, and even sipped on a second cup of it.

  "She has been weakened by the cold, and I fear the chills are traveling to
her lungs," he explained to her daughters. "I hope we are quick enough with this tea that she will cure. If not then she will have to stay here and stay warm." Margaret tasted some of the infusion but she could not swallow the bitterness. The lady of the manor had watched the preparation and now knew the blend and was telling it to her cook.

  The men had all moved away from the fire to give more heat to the women. It also gave them enough privacy for battle talk. Raynar did not disappoint them. He described it in gruesome detail. While describing the collapse of the burning roof, all eyes were looking up at the huge thatch roof above their own heads.

  The huscarl then told of their farm camp off the highway. "We take roofs for granted, and yet the lack of one was almost our undoing. When the storm and the darkness caught us short of shelter we rejoiced to find that farm. We planned to build a small fire in the farmhouse and put the women in there, and then the men would take turns inside getting warm."

  He shrugged at the way of the fates. "Bah, the roof had long ago collapsed and we had not the materials or the daylight to fix it. We built a fire inside the walls but without the roof, the walls were shaking in the wind and we feared they would collapse on the women. We made tents out of the cart covers to wait for first light, but first light brought snow, and by then we were all so cold that we decided to stay in the shelter of the tents until the snow stopped.

  We had reached that terrible point where instead of being kept awake by the cold, you start to fall asleep because of the cold. " The men around him nodded in recognition their own brushes with that level of cold. "The bowmen saved our lives simply by rousting us to get up and moving about again."

  * * * * *

  * * * * *

  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  Chapter 10 - Saving a Princess at Westminster in November 1100

  At the sound of the cocking of a crossbow, Raynar held Edith’s arm tight and dropped straight to the floor pulling her down beside him. He then rolled on top of her as her shield. He felt a strong tug at his wool cloak and heard the screech of metal against stone. Their two guards had swung around and now were begining to run down the hall.

  "Stop, you guards, stop!" Thankfully they skidded to a halt. "Get back here now and position yourselves front and rear! That could have been a diversion to rob the queen of her guard."

  Raynar took his eyes off the man with the cross bow, who was disappearing around the corner at the far end of the hallway, and looked a half turn the other way. "To arms, it was a diversion!" he yelled. There were three men with drawn swords coming towards them. "Call out the guard, call out the guard!" Raynar yelled.

  One of the guards did him one better. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" he yelled.

  Edith beat them all with an ear-piercing scream, as the three swordsmen closed the gap to the guards.

  Raynar watched the swordsmen move. They were amateurs. They had lost the element of surprise and they had not yet spitted the guards with their blades. They should be aborting the attack and running for their lives. Damn, if he had his bow, two of them would be down by now.

  The men pressed forward with their swords, but they could not get past the longer spears of the guards. Raynar told Edith to stay on the ground, and he stood above her with his sword in one hand and his dagger in the other.

  The amateurs should have run. Now they were trapped. The combination of calls for guards, fire, and screams had brought a dozen guards. They tried to fight their way out and were speared repeatedly. Raynar grabbed one of Edith’s guards and told him to save the life of one of the attackers. He looked at Raynar as if he had misunderstood.

  Raynar was forced to shout above the noise of the fight. "Protect her!" he shouted at her guard, and then he ran to join the fray. Not to kill the attackers but to save them. Only his age and treasury garb saved him from being mistaken for one of the attackers. He pushed spears off aim, and blocked sword-thrusts. Finally the guards got the message. Keep them alive for questioning. In the end only one of them survived, but one was better than none.

  Immediately that the attacker was saved, Raynar returned to his ward. Her guards made apologies for their slow-wittedness. They were hoping that Raynar would not call them incompetent to the king. Raynar helped Edith to her feet and brushed the dust from her skirts.

  A guard's captain now arrived, and he came over to talk with Raynar. Behind him was a guard carrying the crossbow bolt. Raynar checked his Treasury Officer robes and showed them the hole. Raynar was not interested in the captain's questions. He wanted to get Edith safely to her chambers. The guards ignored his orders to accompany them, until someone whispered something into the captain's ear. The captain looked at Raynar and then ordered the men to do as Raynar had asked.

  * * * * *

  By the time they were sitting in the Queen's chambers, the entire palace would have known of the attack. Raynar was just wondering how long it would be before Henry would arrive, when Henry did arrive, and in a fury. They told him the whole story. He paced the room in a dangerous rage. Raynar tried to calm him, but he was deaf to reason. Edith trapped him against a wall and kissed him long, which finally brought back his reason.

  "Before your guards kill that prisoner we need to know who their intended target was," reasoned Raynar. "I saw the confusion on their faces with having to face the spears of two palace guards. As Gregos would say - all is not as it seems. They were amateurs to have failed and to still have been caught."

  "I want to know who sent them," seethed Henry.

  "That too. But the why's of it will come from knowing their target. "

  What Raynar had said finally filtered through the anger, and the King's mind became useful again. "You question whether the target was Edith at all?"

  Raynar put together his words carefully. A man's life was at stake. "The bowman would have aimed for the primary target, and if he was successful, then the swordsmen would not be needed. That bolt was aimed at my chest, but hit only my empty cloak because I was pulling Edith down. It was nowhere near Edith. I have enemies in this court, but I am beneath this amount of effort. However, I am wearing the clothes of your chief treasurer, Gregos."

  Henry kissed Edith one more time and then was away down the hallway calling for his guard. His anger had been replaced by curiosity.

  "Where is he going?" she asked.

  "To offer a lot of coin to the prisoner," he replied, "how else would one turn a paid assassin against his banker masters?"

  "Then it wasn't me they were after?" She sounded almost disappointed.

  "I doubt it. You are no danger to anyone until your first son is near to taking his first breath," replied Raynar.

  When Henry returned he was leading a woman who could have been Edith's twin. Her younger sister, Mary. The two men watched the reunion of the two women, sharing their joy and some fine wine.

  "Stop those thoughts, sire, they will lead you into temptation," chuckled Raynar.

  "What thoughts, what are you talking about?"

  "About bedding them both," Raynar's tone turned serious. "Edith is to be your wife and the mother of your children. I would suggest that you find a kindly husband for Mary, before the temptation destroys your marriage."

  "Hmm. Just this morning I was reading a dispatch from Cornwall that may lead to a solution."

  The men stood shoulder to shoulder and watched the two women cavort and shared in their happiness and laughter. "What was the outcome of the questioning?" asked Raynar.

  "Upsetting," replied Henry.

  "He didn't know anything?"

  "On the contrary, he cleared up many questions," said Henry. "The cost will be high to cover this mess up. A knighthood for him for a start."

  "Before you tell me all, I would like to try to think like Gregos, rather than just dress like him."

  Henry watched the two women trying on clothes. They were both the same size. They were twirling and dancing together, while the maid passed them accessories. "You are right, I mus
t send Mary away. Umm, please go ahead and make your guesses as to what I found out."

  "I think that the crossbowman was the only true assassin," began Raynar. "The three swordsmen were a diversion to allow him to escape. Let's see. They are lordlings, probably just young nobles come for the coronation. My guess is that someone told them that your bride was being attacked in the next hallway by an old man dressed as a treasury officer. And, oh, of course. They would have been told this by a beautiful courtesan. "

  "You already knew," marveled Henry.

  "I suspected when I saw the three being held off by our two guards. They had never fought outside of a fencing school. That is why I tried so hard to keep them from being slaughtered."

  "And the courtesan?" asked Henry.

  "A man could not tell them such a tale, else why was he not doing the rescue himself. She had to be dressed for the court to disappear into the guests. She had to be handsome, so as not be questioned further by the young blades. It was an ingenious plan. I was the target of the bolt. The bolt missed me. The arrival of the three blades gave the bowman opportunity to escape. Moreover, the three blades seeing me struggling with Edith, misinterpreted my intentions, and would have cut me to pieces were it not for the guards."

  "So you were the target?"

  "My body was the target, but not I. The target was Gregos, and still is Gregos."

  "So who hired the crossbowman?" asked Henry.

  "Bankers and guildsmen. Gregos will be the ruin of those lords of gold. Well, why not. It was they who were the ruin of this kingdom."

  "So Raynar, what would Gregos advise me to do?" asked Henry.

  "Continue to ruin them. Eventually they will become known to you, and you will have your proof."

  "No," replied Henry, "I mean about this incident. The whole court is curious and the gossip is spreading like a wild fire."