by Mike Dixon
The ignorance of most soldiers appalled Robin. He had put his mind to studying to make good the poor education he had received as a boy. Harald and Alice had helped him just like they had helped Henriette.
'A toast to Mat Gough!'
One of the officers raised his tankard. It was what officers did when they didn't want to appear disrespectful towards their commanding officer. The archers raised their tankards but there was no chanting and few drank the toast. Robin kept his tankard well away from his lips. William was watching and he recalled something he had said as a boy.
'It not what people say. It's what they do. That's what matters.'
William had little time for words and was not very good at them. He watched people and was a poor listener. He formed opinions from the way people behaved. That was something to remember when you didn't want him to know what you were thinking. Words meant very little to William unless they were words of praise. Then he fixed you with his icy stare and burrowed deeply into your mind to see if you really meant them.
'Jack Cade! A toast to Master Jack.'
Someone proposed a toast and knowing looks spread around the crowd. Robin felt like an outsider. He raised his tankard as others cheered and watched them from the corner of his eye. There were people who seemed to know as little of Master Cade as he did. Others joined in as if party to a well-kept secret.'
'To John Amend All!'
Another toast was proposed with the same air of conspiracy. Robin feigned lack of interest and listened carefully to everything that was said.
***
Harald sharpened his quill and prepared to take notes. It was usual to keep a record when an officer was delivering an intelligence report. Today the officer was Robin and he had some disturbing news.
Commander Gough waved at the writing materials.
'Put that away. We need to keep it in our heads, not leave a record. From what Robin says, we could have a mutiny on our hands.'
The commander usually referred to Robin by his family name and rank. It was not his practice to call officers by their Christian names. The lower ranks were addressed in that manner. Officers only got the treatment if they had fallen from grace or enjoyed a special relationship with him. Harald could only assume that Robin had attained that latter status.
'You say at least five of my officers cheered loudly whenever the name Jack Cade was aired?'
'They were not just cheering.' Robin remained at attention. 'They appeared to be in on the act.'
'In what way?'
'They exchanged glances with one another as if they were part of a select group and the rest of us were outsiders.'
'You mean as if they were part of a conspiracy?'
'Aye, Sir.'
'That was a bit clumsy, wasn't it … behaving like that with so many people around?'
'Guy Gascoigne was encouraging them, Sir. I used to serve with him. I know how his mind works. He calls his band the Noble Company. He wants you to feel that you are part of a family. People on the outside want to get in. When they think something is being kept from them ... that makes them all the keener to join.'
The commander turned to Harald.
'What thinks you? He's your brother. You should know about him.'
'Not as much as Robin. My relations with Guy were always strained. I was at university when he was growing up and he left for France soon after. His relationship with my young wife was a cause of great distress.'
'But, from what you know of him, would you say that Robin's assessment is in character?'
'Oh. Yes. Guy has a very calculating mind.'
'Very well. I'll now tell you what I know about Master John Cade. I first came across him ten years ago when he was in the service of the Duke of York, here in France. He is a well-educated man and comes from a prosperous family in Sussex or somewhere like that … I can't remember exactly.'
The commander reached for a tankard of weak ale and took a deep draught. He wiped his lips on the back of his hand.
'At any rate, Cade got a reputation as a bit of an agitator. Some people called him a Lollard. I thought that was going too far. His motives seemed more political than religious and he was not short of praise for York, which was embarrassing and the duke was obliged to get rid of him.'
'The Duke of York is presently in Dublin,' Harald observed.
'Aye. They made him governor to get rid of him. He is of royal blood. Some would claim that he has a strong claim to the throne. There would be many in England who would join him if he tried to assert it.'
'And here in France,' Harald said. 'The troops feel let down. The way Edmund Beaufort handled the surrender of Rouen was the last straw. If it wasn't for the loss of so much territory and equipment, we wouldn't be where we are now. York suffered in the same way. They were continually letting him down.'
The commander nodded in agreement.
'So. Can we assume that Cade is planning an insurrection in support of York? If he is, there will be no better place to find recruits than here in France.'
He turned to Robin.
'What do you think?'
'I don't think Guy Gascoigne is planning to put the House of York on the throne of England, Sir. People like Guy don't like strong government. They do best when there isn't one.'
Commander Gough went to the window and looked out over the French line. In the twilight of a warm April evening, stretcher bearers were going about their business under cover of a white flag. They were collecting up bits and pieces of men who had been alive and well a few hours earlier. They would be reassembled and given Christian burial. The French had suffered heavy casualties over the past three weeks. It was not in their interest to press on with the siege. The time had come for renewed negotiations.
'Harald, it's time to talk to the Bastard of Orleans.'
He walked back from the window.
'Draw up a communiqué for Robin to deliver. Say that I am prepared to meet him at a mutually agreed place and suggest midway between our two camps … usual protocols to be observed.'
'What title shall I use?' Harald looked up from his note block. 'I've never had occasion to address him before. I can hardly use the name by which he is best known, even if he has no objection to it.'
Commander Gough thought for a while.
'He's lord of Valbonnais. Use that. Someone should recognise it.'
Chapter 10
Bayeux
May 16th 1450
Commander Mathew Gough climbed the steps of the church with mixed feelings. The town criers had been out and a large crowd was waiting for him to speak. He stood in the porch and surveyed the people below. Some would greet his news with joy. Others with apprehension. All but a few would be relieved. The big risk didn't come from French supporters in the crowd but from mutinous elements in his own army.
Harald Gascoigne stood beside him, in a dark gown, with the written agreement, signed in the presence of church leaders and bearing the seals of both parties. It was the best he could get and in many ways generous. The French had agreed that anyone wishing to leave Bayeux would be given safe-conduct as far as Cherbourg, which was still in English hands. Wounded soldiers would be allowed a month's grace before being obliged to leave. All property must be left behind.
About four hundred women would wish to accompany the men together with a much larger number of children. The French had charitably agreed to provide them with all necessary transport. Everyone else, including himself, would have to march on foot, carrying a stick in his fist as a sign that he was unarmed. The stick was the recognised symbol of a person travelling under safe-conduct.
Matthew Gough read the proclamation in English then in Norman French. Down below, Robin stood by with a detachment of the guard, ready to take strong action if there was a disturbance. There was none. Hostile stares were traded but no blows struck. The women in the crowd looked relieved. The men talked amongst themselves.
***
The cart swayed back and forth, slipping from on
e rutted puddle to the next. The fine weather had given way to rain. It swept along in gusts and blew through the tarpaulins covering the hooped frame above the wagons. Alice wondered how long it would last. The men were soaking wet and catching cold. Officers had been given accommodation in a barn the night before. Harald and Commander Gough had slept there. Robin had chosen to stay with his men and had passed the night in the shelter of a hedge. To her relief, Steven had been obliged to travel in the cart with her. He had wanted to march with the men but his father had refused him permission and had been supported by officers in the French guard.
They were not allowed to speak to the men but were able to convey messages. Some of the women were prostitutes and had no scruples about buying favours with their charms. They supplied a steady flow of information but it was difficult to judge its accuracy. Some of the men were said to have signed contracts to fight with the French.
There was talk of a visit by a Welsh gunnery sergeant who was serving with the French. The man certainly existed and Alice was prepared to believe the tales about him. He was alleged to have recruited a score or more of his countrymen to the French side. That made sense and so did the tales about the irregulars. The Spanish and the Flemish companies had gone over to the French but the English had refused.
That was what Robin thought would happen. He was still pretending to be on the side of the mutinous English troops. That was why he was sleeping rough with his men. The commander would normally have done the same. Alice guessed he had taken up the offer of a night in the barn because he feared a knife in the back. She was thankful that Harald had gone with him.
Harald had spoken with the commander about the warrant for his arrest in England and the charges of witchcraft that had been brought against her. Gough had vowed to look after their interests. He thought the people in Westminster would be desperately short of friends and ready to pardon anyone who would come in on their side.
On the previous day, a group of people had hurled insults at the English and thrown stones. Their venom had been directed at the Gascoignes. Now they were back.
'Loup … Loup … Loup!'
They shouted the French for wolf and waved a captured Gascoigne banner, torn and muddy but still showing the three-headed beast.
Their numbers were swollen by some hysterical women, screaming that the Gascoignes had murdered their husbands and raped their daughters. They were out for blood and the troops guarding the English showed little inclination to intervene.
An officer arrived and ordered the guard to be strengthened around William and Guy. William ignored the guard and stared icily at the mob. Alice knew the stare and had been intimidated by it on occasions. It told you that William never forgot an insult and would exact revenge one day.
A stone hit him and his demeanour changed. The cold, statue-like posture was transformed. Words were one thing for William. Actions were another. Something inside him snapped and he threw himself at the mob.
The guard tried to restrain him and he grabbed a sword from one of them. Heavily-armed men pounced. Archers with crossbows prepared to fire at the prisoners. Alice saw the sword yanked from William's hand and watched as one of the guard prepared to deliver a fatal blow. Summary execution was the penalty for a prisoner who attacked a guard.
It didn't happen. A cry went out and the executioner froze. An officer appeared. Guy was summoned and a discussion ensued. An agreement was soon reached. William's life was spared but he wouldn't go unpunished. Chains were brought and his feet shackled. From now on he would have to shuffle his way to freedom.
Earlier in the day, a prisoner had been executed for trying to escape. William's offence was far more serious. Alice wondered why he had been spared. The most likely explanation was that the French regarded him as an asset. Harald's nephew was like a cannon ready to explode. She guessed they wanted to deliver him to their enemies in England, where he would create havoc.
Chapter 11
Blackheath
June 10th 1450
Robin marched his men into the rebel camp and was greeted with applause. The welcome was totally different from anything he expected. His vision of Jack Cade's army was of an unruly mob of peasants supported by mutineers from the French war. Instead of men sleeping rough, he found neat rows of tents. Ablution pits had been dug and supplies of clean water laid on. It was a well-planned military operation.
They had landed at Dover two days earlier. The boat took three days to make the voyage from Cherbourg. He and his men travelled with Guy Gascoigne's private army. Henriette and the children boarded a separate boat with Harald and his family. They would join Matthew Gough who was throwing his support behind the government in Westminster.
Robin had never wanted his present role. It began when he agreed to spy on Guy. At first, he feared the mutineers would not let him into their secrets. Then they told him about Jack Cade and John Amend All. They turned out to be the same person. He became part of the plot and there was no turning back.
Some said Cade was going to seize London for Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. He would then cross from Ireland and they would trap the king's forces in a pincer movement. Others said the uprising was about overthrowing the earls and barons and establishing a government of the people.
Guy arrived in Blackheath before Robin. He said the two companies should keep apart and not display any affinity towards one another. Robin didn't ask why. Guy didn't give reasons. He expected people to do as they were told.
The welcoming party was from Kent. All were wearing full body armour and many were old soldiers. They belonged to the social class known as “gentlemen”. Three were sheriffs and two were members of Parliament. There was even a churchman amongst them. Robin had expected the sort of people who kept the company of the tinker and his friends. The people who greeted him could not have been more different.
They told him that they were about to fall back to the south. It was a tactical move and not a retreat. Their present position, just south of the River Thames, was too close to the enemy forces. They would retire to Sevenoaks, wait for reinforcements and prepare to do battle with the king's men.
King's men!
That was a term Robin had not heard before. In the past, the talk was about evil advisers and how they were going to rescue the king from them. Now the talk was about King Henry and his French wife, Margaret. Robin recalled that she was the daughter of René d'Anjou, a cousin of the French king. The rebels were saying that Queen Margaret had sold England to her French relatives.
In the space of an hour he had gathered enough information for his first report. Three trusted messengers travelled with him. Robin jokingly referred to them as his pigeons. He decided to brief one and send him off to Westminster.
***
Harald searched for his far-seeing glasses. He now had two pairs. One was for writing and the other for seeing things at a distance. A man had sought entry to the Palace of Westminster, saying he needed to speak to Commander Gough. The guard had brought him to Harald for identification.
'You know me, don't you, Sir Harald?'
He recognised the voice and had no trouble identifying the speaker once he had located his glasses.
'Good Morrow, Walter. What tidings do you bring?'
It was an arranged question and the newcomer gave the arranged answer.
'I come with tidings from a far-off place.'
The far-off place turned out to be Blackheath, which was on the south bank of the Thames and not far from the Palace of Westminster, where Harald was working.
Having dispensed with that formality, Walter began to deliver his message, which he carried in his head because Robin feared committing anything to writing. He described how they had arrived at Blackheath only to discover that Cade's army was getting ready to fall back on Sevenoaks.
'Do you think there's a risk that anyone might have suspected you were a spy?' Harald asked. 'I mean when you left to come here.'
'No way. I wasn't the only one to
do a bunk. The king had twenty thousand men camped just up the road, waiting to attack. We wouldn't have stood a bloody chance.'
'You say Cade's lost men?'
'I know he bloody well has. They weren't making a tactical retreat. They were running scared. I reckon Cade will have no more than four thousand left by the time they reach Sevenoaks. They'll be caught in a pincer movement. King Henry will come down from London and the Frogs will come up from the south.'
'The Frogs?'
'Yeah. Queen Margaret's arranged for that.'
'You mean she's arranged for the French to invade in support of His Majesty?'
'Yeah. Well. She's a Frog. Isn't she?'
Harald put a finger to his lips. They were in a crowded room with other military secretaries like himself.
'I didn't mean no disrespect, Sir Harald.' Walter did a rapid retake. 'I'm just saying what was said. I mean how they said about her.'
Harald made a note on his wax writing block.
'Did you see my brother Guy?'
'Yeah. I saw him and that bastard of his. Like you know, the Frogs nearly killed him for attacking a guard. He never stops. He was trying to pick a fight with Robin Perry on the way to Dover. Said he was betrothed to Henriette. Reckoned it happened in Rouen when she was a little girl.'
Harald wondered if William's mind was totally unhinged. Or, had Guy arranged for the betrothal of William and Henriette? Anything was possible in the wild world of lying and deceit that plagued his life. He wondered what his brother's next move would be.
'Did Guy accompany Cade's men to Sevenoaks?'
'He was with 'em when I did a bunk. Dunno what happened after that. Could have gone all the way for all I know.'
'And Robin Perry?'
'He's like he always is.'
'Do you think anyone suspects that he might be providing information to the commander?'
