by Griff Hosker
Mary said, “And what of a husband for me, father?”
I put my arm around her. “When your sister is wed there will be many young men who will be at the wedding. They will see the jewel that is my Mary and they will all seek her hand! We shall choose you a good one”
I had said the words not knowing if I had chosen well but her reaction showed that I had. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed my stubbly face, “You are the best of fathers although you need to shave!”
My wife slipped her arm through mine, “Aye, you are husband but you need to beat some manners into our son! He is patently not ready to be knighted!”
It was another lesson for my son. He had become used to banter and the humour of the campaign. He had thought to do the same in our home. He now knew that a knight had two faces; he had one for war and the company of men and then a second when he was at home. Over the next days, while the women threw themselves into the seemingly unending plans for a summer wedding, we spoke of the changes Tom would need to make before he could become Sir Thomas of Weedon. His poor attempt at humour resulted in a different Tom. He became quieter around his mother and sisters and took more time to help train Harry. He also spent more time with the other squires and men at arms for there he could be himself. I had been brought up without siblings. My mother had other children and when I had visited her, I had seen them but I had not had to grow up with them. I had learned how to speak to women when I married Eleanor and I had been lucky that she had been a good teacher.
As lord of so many manors, the time I had spent on campaign had left many tasks which I needed to complete. I had stewards and reeves in my manors. As soon as I arrived home, they came to me with problems to solve and payments to authorise. The time between our arrival home and Richard’s knighthood passed in the blink of an eye. The whole family were invited to Piddington for the ceremony of knighthood for once he was knighted, we would have to make the formal announcement of the marriage. Since I had been elevated my life had been changed. Eleanor and I had just had the priest and a couple of villagers at the church in Stoney Stratford when we had wed. Sir Henry and I were nobles and that meant we had to tell the King both as our King and liege lord. Sir George Dunbarre, a Scottish lord who had fought against the English and defeated them at Otterburn, had learned that to his cost. His daughter Elizabeth had been betrothed to the son of the King of Scotland. The Earl of Douglas had objected and the proposed marriage was annulled. The Scottish lord had come to England where King Henry had given him the manor of Somerton. He had now lost his homeland and was in exile. Life was not as simple for the nobility.
Sir Henry had no castle but a large and comfortable manor. Our wives got on and, on the night before the ceremony, while Richard held his vigil in the chapel, the wives and Alice gabbled on about the wedding. Sir Henry had a good cellar and I sat with him and spoke, as men do, of the state of the country.
“The Welsh still cause a problem for Prince Henry, Sir William.”
“I have heard.”
“It is good that he has knights such as Edmund Mortimer to help him control the main thoroughfares of Wales.”
“Aye, but is not Mortimer Hotspur’s brother in law?”
“He is but it is in Mortimer’s interests to support the Prince of Wales.”
I was not convinced. I did not like Percy and his tentacles appeared to be everywhere. I gave a guarded answer, “Perhaps.”
Sir Henry had many visitors and knew much about the lie of the land. “Dunbarre is back in the north. He is aiding the Percy and Neville families to keep the border safe. The Scots are rattling their swords again.”
“I do not mind Hotspur doing all that he can to keep the Scots at bay but I could never understand why he came to Wales to aid the Prince.”
“His father was granted the Isle of Man by King Henry. Perhaps that was the reason. He gained the throne through the intervention of the Percy and Neville families. He owes them much.”
I knew that for that had been the start of the friction between Hotspur and me. King Richard had lost his crown because of the Percy family.
The ceremony of knighthood went well. Richard had the simple white shift replaced with the coat of arms he would bear in battle. He was given his spurs and I gave him a sword. It was one I had taken in the Welsh campaign and was a good one. We left three days later with a wedding date in August decided. I had much to do myself. When we reached our home, I told my wife that I would need to ride to Middleham.
“But we have a wedding to plan!”
I nodded, “And you do not need me to do that. I need to go to Middleham to buy horses. War will come again and we will need better horses. Within the next year, we shall knight Thomas and Harry will then need a better horse. I thought to buy large numbers for we could sell them here at a profit.”
As soon as I used the word profit then the attitude of my wife changed. She had lost all when she was young and knew the penance of poverty was not for her. She agreed. I took half of my archers and four men at arms, along with Harry and Tom. The men at arms and archers were for the simple reason that we were entering Neville and Percy country. I was the King’s man and neither lord would dare to use their own men to harm me but the last time I had come north I had been attacked and had lost men. Consequently, we rode mailed and we rode good horses. We deviated to York for I wished to speak with Peter the Priest who ran an alms-house by the river. I regularly sent money to my old comrade in arms for he cared for old soldiers and that was a cause which was dear to my heart. He was getting old and when I saw him, I realised that he had aged considerably. Despite the few locks of wispy white hair, his eyes were bright and he still looked fit for a man who was over sixty.
He embraced me, “My lord, it is good to see you and your fine sons! I can see that they will be warriors like their father.”
“Peter, it was always Will and it always shall be between us. You know that titles mean nothing.” I handed him a bag of gold. It was made up of the coins I had taken from the men I had slain or captured in the Welsh campaign. Their horses, ransom and armour meant that I did not need them.
He gratefully took the purse. “You are too kind, Will. I shall meet you in the inn when my work is done.”
I nodded. It was late in the afternoon yet he still toiled. We used the inn, ‘The Saddle’ when we stayed in York. It was close to the river and to Peter’s alms-house, besides which the landlord was an old soldier and was honest. We were well served and we felt safe.
When Peter arrived, I ordered our food and ale. Peter would scrimp on his own food and I made sure that he had the largest meal which we could buy. While we ate my sons told him of our campaign. The old soldier in him was excited and his face lit up as Tom told of our chevauchée. He frowned when we mentioned Percy. I elaborated my suspicions and he nodded.
“We are close enough here to know of the Percy and Neville family. The old earl is a cunning man. He hitched his wagon to Henry Bolingbroke’s wagon and has been richly rewarded. Many men would be satisfied with such a reward but the old earl has delusions of greater power. Be careful, Will.”
“And the Nevilles?”
He sat back and drank some ale. “All is not well between the Neville and the Percy family. It has nothing to do with the north, I think that the Nevilles resent the rewards which Harry Hotspur has garnered. They were equal and now he sees the Percy family as pre-eminent. King Henry is a clever man but I sometimes wonder if he is too clever.” Peter had known Henry when he was a young man. Like me, he preferred his cousin, Richard!
“Thank you for your information, old friend. I would invite you to my daughter’s wedding but I know that you will not leave York.”
He nodded, “So long as there are wars there will be men who are hurt and none cares for them but the likes of me. That is where I gain much of my knowledge, for Ralph Neville and Harry Hotspur care only for their men so long as they can wield a sword. After Otterburn and the other battles of the north, I ha
ve many maimed men with no hope but for me. I give your daughter my blessing and best wishes.”
I nodded, “And they will be as valuable as any pot of gold for you are a good man, Peter the Priest, and it is an honour to have served with you.”
As we rode the short way to Middleham, the next day, Harry asked, “Why do not lords care for the men hurt fighting for them?”
“I know not. We do and I will continue to do so. Any man hurt fighting for me needs no alms-house. The family of our dead men will be cared for by us too.”
They both nodded and Tom said, “When I am a knight I will do so, too, for it is only right and proper.”
“Then remember that it costs. The Percy family like not only their fine castles but all that goes with that. They have the finest of armour and eat the finest of foods. We eat plainer fare and that pleases me for all else is vanity.”
As we rode, I reflected on the change in Tom. He was more serious now. As we neared the horse farm he said, “Father I am no longer a boy and I would have my man’s name. When I am introduced at Red Ralph’s horse farm, I would be Thomas for that is my name. I shall be knighted as Sir Thomas and it is meet that is how people see me.”
“Of course. That is your choice. And what of you, Harry? Would you be Henry?”
He shook his head and grinned, “No, for I am happy to be Harry! It is a cheerful name. I will change when I have to!”
My boys were both good warriors but they had different natures.
Mary, Red Ralph’s wife, was a good woman and she was also as skilled as Ralph had been when it came to raising horses. She had gnarled and reddened hands which were as tough as any archer for she worked hard, but her heart was a soft one and made of gold. I saw her about to curtsy and I would have none of it. I swept her in my arms and hugged her, “That is how I greet the wife of the man who made me the warrior I am. It is good to see you. The farm prospers?”
“Aye, my…” she saw my face and she changed her words, “Will. We had a mild winter and the horses which were covered all had young. I assume that is why you came; to buy horses.”
I felt guilty, “Aye, but it is good to speak with you and I thought to tell you of your son “
Her face beamed. She shouted to another of her sons, William, “Red Will, take the archers and the men at arms to the barn and then bring them to the kitchen. Mary, Maud,” she waved over her daughters, “take the Baron’s sons to their room!”
Red Ralph had not been a lord but he had used his money wisely and his hall was the equal of many a knight’s. His kitchen had a table which could seat ten and he had a large room which could seat twelve. We would be comfortable.
“Well, how is he?”
“He does well. We fought against the Welsh and he acquitted himself as nobly as any squire could. Another year and he may well be knighted.”
I thought she was going to burst into tears, “When he was taken as a squire, we had hopes but you say he is close? My son might be a noble?”
“Like my Thomas, he says he is not ready yet and that means that he is almost ready. I think both will be a knight next year.”
“Heaven be praised! You are a good man, Sir William Strongstaff.”
I sat and spoke with Mary, telling her of the wider world. Red Ralph’s children took Thomas and Harry on a tour of the farm. There must have been much to see for they did not return until called for food. I confess that while my eyes are the best on any battlefield, often I miss glaring and obvious events before my eyes. I saw Mary and Maud as Red Ralph’s daughters. I did not see them outside of the family. It took the girl’s mother to point out the obvious.
“I see that young Thomas is now a man.”
I nodded, absent-mindedly, “Aye, that he is.”
She shook her head, “Have you not noticed how he looks at my Mary?”
I looked up and, as I wiped my mouth with my napkin said, “They talk and laugh; that is good is it not?”
“Mary has seen fifteen summers and is now a woman. They are flirting. You are a man! Did you not do the same with Lady Eleanor when you wooed her?” I gave a blank look. If I had flirted then I was unaware of it. She sighed, “I suppose my Ralph would have been the same. They like each other, my lord.”
“Oh!” I looked again and saw she was right. My son had grown up, that much I knew but now he had taken one more step and it took me by surprise.
“Does it displease you?” I heard the fear in Mary’s voice.
I shook my head for it truly did not, “No, Mistress Mary, it is just that it has come as a surprise to me.” I saw her sigh. “What is amiss? Do you disapprove?” Women and their feelings confused me!
“No, lord, but it means another of my bairns will be leaving the nest. It is hard to bear.”
“Not yet, surely?”
“Mary is a woman and soon she will wish a child of her own. It is inevitable.”
I drank some more ale, “My daughter will be married in August.”
“Then we will see if this is a sudden flaring which will die or if it is an inferno which cannot be resisted.”
That night, as we made up our beds, I could hear the excitement in the voices of Harry and Thomas. I lay under the covers and said, when all had gone quiet, “Red Ralph’s children have grown. I scarce recognised the girls.”
It was as though a dam had burst and Thomas rattled on like hailstones on a wooden roof, “Mary is so funny, father, and clever too. Why she can read! How many children of farmers can read? She is a fine cook too. And…”
“And is there something else you would say to me, Thomas son of William, who is now a man?”
There was silence in the dark room. It was almost as if I could hear my son thinking. “I know not but I felt… I felt different tonight. I would normally have spoken with the boys but it seemed right that I spoke with Mary.”
“And when we return home?”
There was another silence. It was longer this time. I think Harry had stopped breathing lest he disturb the moment. “I would find it hard to bear the absence.” There was another silence. “Yet I know that I must.”
“Aye, for you are now a man. I have spoken with Mary’s mother. It was she who saw the flickering flames, not your half-blind father. Your sister is to be married in August. That gives you the distance to be apart. We will speak again after the wedding and you can tell me your thoughts. Until then remember that Mary is a maid.”
“I know, father. I am a man but I have honour for I am your son.”
We stayed for three days. Thomas and Harry spent some time with me for we were choosing horses for them but more often than not while Harry larked around with Red Ralph’s two sons, Thomas and Mary would be off somewhere, alone. I completed the purchase of the horses and, as we prepared to leave spoke again with Mary.
“My son admitted to me that he has feelings for your eldest daughter. I have told him to give me an answer after his sister is wed. Does that satisfy you?”
“It does. Mary would run off now and marry him.” She smiled, “Your son is very handsome! But she, too, has agreed to cast her eyes abroad to ensure she has made the correct choice.”
“Then we will return in September with an answer, one way or another.”
“Then I will prepare to say goodbye to my daughter for I have looked at them together. This is meant to be.”
There were tears when we left from both mother and daughter. Edgar smiled at the red face of my son. He said, “Do not worry, Master Tom, she will wait for you.”
For some reason that made him smile.
We were passing the Neville castle at Middleham when two riders emerged and rode towards us. I was not worried for there were just two of them but I remembered my last visit when we had been attacked not far from here. I saw that it was Ralph Neville, the first Earl of Westmoreland. He was about ten years younger than I was. I was surprised to see him here for his lands and castles in the west were of more importance.
“Sir William, may I have
a word?”
I nodded, “We were on our way home but…”
He waved a hand dismissively, “I will ride a few miles with you but I would have privacy.”
I nodded. I understood politics. “Thomas, Harry, give us space and keep others from us.”
I spurred Hart and the Earl did the same with his mount. “I know, Sir William, that you have not always trusted me.” I said nothing for he was now Earl Marshal, appointed by the King. He was the King’s brother in law. “I do not blame you. I was King Richard’s man and I changed sides. You were loyal to the end and the King knows that.” Again, I said nothing. “I was at Carlisle when word came that you were in York. I knew that you would come to Middleham and I rode here directly.” That told me much. He had spies. “The Percy family is up to something. There was a time when they included me in their discussions and plans but since before Glendower’s rebellion, I have been kept out of all of his plans. Why, they even dispute my right to be Earl of Westmoreland. I have heard that Welsh emissaries have been in Alnwick.”
“You have evidence?”
“No. My man who watches the castle saw Welshmen in the town and then they disappeared. When they returned, it was from within Alnwick’s walls.”
“Then tell the King. You are Earl Marshal and he is, as you say, his brother in law!”
“It is not as simple as that, Strongstaff. As I married his sister there are those who say I wish the crown.”
“Percy!”
He nodded, “I do not but if I speak against the Percy family then it might rouse unsubstantiated suspicions.”
I nodded, “But Baron Weedon who is known to be an enemy of the Percy family could risk his own position and tell the King.” He had the good grace to blush. “I can see your dilemma. Fear not, Earl, I too harbour suspicions. The next time I speak with the King then I will tell him.” I looked in his eyes. “I am pleased that you spoke with me for I have harboured doubts. I have looked in your eyes and I see no lie.”
“Thank you.”
“One favour I beg of you, my lord, Mistress Mary is a dear friend of mine. I would have her enjoy your protection for I fear my enemies may wish to do her harm.”
