by Smith, Skye
"My brother Odo would disagree. He has lost many horses recently," William said thoughtfully, staring at this very young man in a monk's cowl. "Last time he took an army towards Scotland, he met a hungry enemy, and to the hungry, horse flesh tastes sweet."
"So, will you continue with this plan without Harald?"
"Different. Without an ally to cover my back in the North Sea, I have to make sure that the kingdoms of the North Sea are weak. Denmark without the Danelaw of England is now just a minor kingdom, albeit they still have a large fleet. This new alliance of Denmark, Saxony, Frisia, and Flanders is worrying, but it revolves around my wife's brother Robert, and eventually he will again be friendly to us. Perhaps if I allow Brugge to control all of the trade going north."
"So you can look to the south and the east?" interrupted Anso.
"My cousins are racing ahead of me there, and are looking to France and to Rome for their guidance. Yes, my next stage is to convince the Normans already in the east to kneel to me. That means keeping Philippe and Paris weak. I curse the rebels that have kept me so busy in England. My absences from Normandy have cost me dearly in Flanders and France."
"So, you have lost interest in England, then?"
"England, bah," William jeered, "a kingdom of farmers and peasants. Let them grovel in the English mud. I went there to split it with Harald. He in the North, me in the South." He swept his long arm across the Roman Sea on the wall's map. "That is what interests me. Always has." He turned and looked towards Edgar like a man who had just made his mind up.
"Edgar, come," William raised his voice to be heard. Edgar stood and walked to the map. "Edgar, I welcome you to my home, but I cannot allow you to return to the British Isles because rebellions form around you. I cannot allow you to return to Flanders, because you would be too useful to my brother-in-law Robert. I cannot allow you to return to Paris because Philippe will again send you to vex me from the fortress at Montreuil Sur Mer.
Instead, would you agree to visit the courts along this coast on my behalf?" He pointed to the western coast of the Roman sea that faced Rome. "I want to control one of the pilgrim routes, and the only one left to me is a route by ship. I need someone to visit the ports on this coast and report what they find."
William turned towards Anso, "There, your task is complete. Edgar is safely delivered, so you may leave us, and leave Normandy."
Mathilde interrupted. "I have already invited him for the night. He has many stories that will entertain us."
"No doubt I could talk warrior talk with him for a month," replied William, "but his presence makes me uncomfortable. My gut tells me either to send him on his way, or send him to my dungeon for questioning. In deference to Edgar, I offer him free passage away."
"Then I will be away," bowed Anso, "but here is a present that may bring you closer to your goal of a pilgrimage route." He opened his map pipe and pulled from it two scrolls rolled together. "The larger is in Latin, and the smaller in French. They are a summary of the Writs from Cluny. If you wish to enter the pilgrim business, then a good first step would be to help protect pilgrims and other non-combatants in all of your lands."
"You are insolent, monk knight. Do you think I am not aware of the preachings of Cluny, when a dozen bishops bow to my will?" William's face was turning red.
"And have any of them bothered to translate it for you?" asked Anso quietly. "Or do they simply tell you the parts that fit to their own devices."
There was a shocked silence around the hall at Anso's impertinence. It was broken by the sound of Mathilde snorting into her hand in a hopeless attempt to stifle a laugh. "I am sorry, my husband," she said when she could finally trust herself to speak, "but I fear he vexes you for the very same reason he interests you. He is blunt." She took a large breath. "There was a time when you surrounded yourself with such blunt men. Take the scroll from him so he can make the next tide. I will read it to you tonight."
William looked up. "Captain, please escort Anso to his ship to make sure there is no confusion with the port master." He noticed that Edgar seemed to be holding his breath until both men had left the hall with the captain carrying the weapons.
"Edgar, who is that man?" demanded William. "He looks at me like a perched Eagle would look at a hare." He was too late with his question for Mathilde already had Edgar and Henry in tow to show him to his room.
Later that afternoon, when Edgar joined William and Mathilde on the roof of the tower to watch the sun set over Bayeux, Mathilde said, "You can ask that last question about Anso, now that he is safely away. Edgar, who is that monk knight?"
Edgar held up his hand for them to be patient while he framed his answer. "He is a man who, despite his youth, has lived many lifetimes. He was born an English freeman peasant, which means he wishes William dead, as do all English freemen. His is the champion of my sister Queen Margaret, though she daren't call him back to Scotland until she is ready to be widowed. He is the darling of Frisian seers. They believe he has been sent by Freyja's Valkyries to smite down rapists."
Mathilde crossed herself at the saying of the goddess's name and then spat on the floor and touched wood. "Has he smitten many?"
"Many," replied Edgar, "but in these troubled times, it is a mission without end."
"There must be more," said William. "As a monk, he can read, but that does not explain his battle knowledge."
"He has learned much from another monastery knight, Hereward of the Abbey of Peterburgh."
"Edwin's man. That Hereward? Ely Hereward?"
"The same."
"I hear that Hereward is in Flanders. He vexes me too," stated William. "It is an interesting idea, though. Knights attached to monasteries or even as monks. That would save me having to provide them honors of land to support them." His eyes widened at the thought. "And I could send them across counties and kingdoms without them being attacked for being my knights."
Mathilde laughed. "To enter a monastery, your knights would first have to give up women and rape. There is no chance of that." She silenced them to watch the sun touch the horizon.
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END OF Courtesans and Exiles
The adventures continue with Book 8, the Revolt of the Earls
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The Hoodsman - Courtesans and Exiles by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13
