“I’m sure that 500 of my men would be more than a match for yours, and your vaunted ‘combined forces’ theory,” said Morcar hotly in English.
Alan gave him a calm look and confident smile before replying in Norman French, “I would hope that never happens, Morcar, because that would mean that something is very amiss in the kingdom if North is fighting South. But if it does, we will see what we will see! Now, I do see that we are being called to table for the feast, so we will bid you both farewell as I’m sure you will have a much more exalted place than we poor country folk.”
The guests were indeed heading towards the tables and being shown their seats.
As they walked slowly across the Hall Hugh de Grandmesnil clapped Alan on the shoulder and said quietly, “The king and I were listening in on your conversation with the English and what you said put the insolent young puppies in their place! Well said! After their defeat at Fulford Gate, having their balls saved by Harold taking a new army north, and then failing to march south to support him at Hastings, I think that they’re hardly qualified to give anybody a lecture on military tactics!”
Anne had been surprised by the positive reception she had received from the few Norman ladies at the levee when introduced by Alice. She had anticipated a Norman anti-English clique. Instead she had found a number of women of several nationalities, almost all of whom were related by birth or marriage, who had their own cliques and were more than happy to see a new face and hear new stories. Long-held family conflicts and more recent instances of perceived slights and arguments had fractured the female Norman nobility into several groups.
Alice Bigod was not firmly the member of any group and both she and Anne were welcomed as they moved around the room. Anne’s accent was not an issue when all the other ladies spoke French with Norman, Flemish, Breton, Danish or other regional accents. Many of the ladies of the great barons remained in Normandy where it was deemed safer- after all, the king had not yet brought his wife Matilda to England. Matilda, with the advice and assistance of Roger de Montgomery and Hugh d’Avranches, ruled Normandy during William’s periodic absences.
As Alan had anticipated he and Anne were seated at one of the lesser tables with other minor lords, including the Bigods, William Malet, William de Bernieres and Ivo Taillebois. The high table held the grand lords- de Warenne, de Mandeville, fitzGilbert, fitzOsbern, de Montford, Robert of Mortain, de Grandmesnil, the king’s niece Countess Judith, together with others including the English earls.
Two other Englishmen, Thorkel of Arden the son of Aethelwine the sheriff of Warwickshire, and Edward ‘The Rich’ of Salisbury and the sheriff of Wiltshire, sat at the high table with King William. Thorkel and Edward had kept their distance from the Aetheling’s party all evening and clearly had no wish to be associated with them. The small landholders and hangers-on sat on benches at long trestle tables that had been quickly put up by the servants and which would be taken down again later when the dancing started. Alan noticed his old friend Robert de Aumale sitting amongst the hoi polloi and made a mental note to speak with him before the evening was over.
The meal was a typical Norman feast, beginning with apples, stored in a cool place but still a little wrinkled due to their storage since harvest, and dried dates and figs. Then came the first remove of roast chicken and roast goat kid with cooked vegetables, including lettuce, cabbage, purslane and spinach. Later came the second remove of pork and beef with beet, radish, beans and parsnip. The meal finished with aged cheese and sweet desserts. The repast was taken leisurely and lasted about one and a half hours, with servants bringing bowls of water and linen cloths for the guests at the higher tables to use to clean their hands after each course.
Alan shared a trencher and a cup with Anne, using his knife to prepare her food into bite-sized pieces to allow her to remain neat, delicate and immaculate, and to preserve the cleanliness of her clothing. The wine they drank, well watered, was of reasonable quality. Alan assumed that both the food and drink at the high table was more elaborate than they were receiving, and that the masses below were receiving simple but substantial fare. After all, catering for over 100 guests would not be an easy exercise for Gundred’s cooks.
The conversation and gossip continued to flow, with William fitzOsbern’s appointment as an earl, although currently without any geographical appellation, being discussed favourably. FitzOsbern held large tracts of land in the west and south-west, having been granted much of the land formerly held by the House of Wessex. It was agreed that the intransigence of the citizens of Exeter, not really sufficiently serious to call a rebellion, was most likely the result of the presence in the city of Gytha, the mother of both Harold and to King Edward’s widow, Edith. As Queen Edith was now, after the death of her brothers at Hastings, a staunch supporter of King William, it was agreed that this state of affairs must be deeply embarrassing for her as Exeter was part of her dower lands.
As the guests finished their meal the lesser members of the company were chivvied away from their tables, which were dismantled and removed. The musicians who had been quietly playing lutes, a harp, several flutes, a recorder and a dulcimer, were joined by a drummer and two tambourines.
The hosts William de Warenne and his wife Gundred led the dancers on the floor for a simple processional dance. Alan partnered Anne. This was followed by several circle and line dances, again of relatively simple performance. Next came more complicated line dances, at which point Alan and most of the senior and middle-level Norman lords retired to their tables. This was in turn followed by dances involving pairs, with three or four groups of couples on the dance-floor. The relative paucity of women ensured that Anne and the other ladies were kept busy on the dance-floor, mainly with the younger unattached men who had spent time at court and had learned the social niceties that the older men had missed during their martial training. Some of the dances were processional, some were lively with the dancers singing, clapping their hands and in some cases leaping or hopping.
Alan took time to speak to Thorkel of Arden, an Englishman with substantial land holdings north and south of Coventry, who he found to be a level-headed and intelligent man of about thirty years. Thorkel’s primary concern, like almost all the men in the room, was protecting and expending his lands. Although he had been seated at the table with the Aetheling’s party he had studiously avoided speaking to them and made clear in his discussion with Alan both this distrust and dislike of the young earls. Thorkel had clearly attached himself to the Norman party and had decided that the Aetheling’s party held no benefit or attraction to him.
Robert de Aumale was sitting on a bench far from the high table, sipping a cup of the slightly sour wine provided for the lower-class guests, with a similarly slightly sour expression on his face, when Alan walked up and clasped his shoulder.
“How go things with you, Robert?” he asked. “Have you made your fortune with Geoffrey de Mandeville yet?”
Robert tilted his head as he raised his cup in salute and gave a genuine smile to his friend. “No, not as yet! I’m still accommodated amongst the ‘hangers-on’ with nary a manor in sight.”
“I thought de Mandeville received over 100 manors for his contribution to the invasion,” commented Alan.
Robert snorted in amusement. “Yes, but there were well over 100 knights in the line ahead of me. Not all of us were lucky enough to save the king’s life! There’ll be a few more manors to be handed out in the next few weeks, but I’m so far down de Mandeville’s list of favourites I doubt I’ll see a single acre. I’m thinking about going back to Normandy. There are so many men over here seeking their fortunes that I may be better off back home.”
Alan spent a few minutes asking Robert questions to test his attitude towards the English and found that, unlike most Normans who had a firm dislike of the English, Robert was neutral in his attitude and had taken some steps to learn the basics of the language. As he put it, “You need to at least be able to order a decent meal and drink at a ta
vern and make sure your horse is being looked after.” Mindful not to make the same mistake he had made in the engagement of Brother Wacian, Alan invited Robert to his house for dinner the next evening at dusk, and provided directions.
Anne spent several rest periods with Alan and the others on his table, and then near midnight she and Alan took their leave and after collecting their escort from the guardroom they walked the short distance to their house. There Anne collapsed tiredly on their bed and fell asleep without even removing her clothes. Alan was never one to miss an opportunity and Anne woke next morning naked and warmly covered by the quilt with Alan asleep curled up into her back. Anne’s gentle but insistent stroking hand soon had Alan awake and hard and they spent an energetic hour or so snug under the covers before rising at midmorning.
Alan and Anne ate a late-morning brunch by the roaring fire in the Hall, warmly dressed against the bitterly cold wind that was blowing that day, which forced itself through every nook and cranny in the building and caused the servants to blow on their hands to warm them as they moved about the house. Usually, in accordance with custom, they ate with the rest of the household but they had risen late, much later the others. Although it was Friday, Alan had instructed the cook Wilda to prepare a brunch of bacon, eggs and sausages, with black pudding- quite different from what the household would be eating that day. Although more religiously observant, Anne made no objection, given the private nature of their meal. Accepting the orders of her husband, she promised herself to say a ‘Hail Mary’ in contrition.
“I’ve asked a friend of mine, Robert de Aumale, from Normandy to come for the evening meal today,” said Alan. “His father, Thibaut, has a manor close to my family at Gauville and we came across together. He’s in Geoffrey de Mandeville’s entourage but isn’t prospering. We were close companions before Hastings. I thought we could use him to administer the manors King William has just given me in Hereford, so I don’t have to spend all my time there chasing after small raiding parties of Welsh hill-men. I’m sure that’s the reason that William gave me those lands was to keep me too busy to cause anybody any trouble! I thought I could appoint Robert Seneschal, and if he proves capable then possibly at a later time enfeoff him with two of the manors.
“For a Norman he’s reasonably intelligent and doesn’t just let his sword do his thinking for him. The Border Country is fighting land and if there is one thing that Normans do well, it’s to fight and protect what they hold. I’ll get you and Osmund to have a look at him tonight and get your opinions first,” continued Alan, showing his respect for the judgment of both his wife and the Englishman who had gone beyond being a servant and was rapidly becoming indispensable.
Anne nodded her agreement and said, “That’s a good idea. I don’t want you out in the wilds of the Welsh border if somebody else can do the job. I’ll look forward to meeting Robert. After all, it’s not as if you have a lot of people you can call friends and it’s good to do a friend a good turn if you can. If he proves capable, by all means let us reward that. While we’re on the topic, I think that it is time to reward Osmund, and make sure we retain his services. There are two virgates of land near Great Bentley where the cheorl who held it in laen from you has died with none to inherit. It’s near to Thorrington and won’t cause any great distraction to Osmund. I’m sure that he’ll feel much more settled if he has land of his own. That would be enough land for him to settle down and perhaps get married, as he would then be most eligible.” Alan’s only objection was a comment that it was probably also time to similarly reward Brand. Anne agreed and continued, “Fine, I’ll arrange the deeds.”
Alan smiled amiably at this typical example of their partnership. He dealt with the military aspects associated with his position with the assistance of Hugh, Brand and the other warrior leaders, and with most of the political matters- although the latter in consultation with Anne and Osmund. His military duties and judicial duties, with him dealing with them properly, together with his ‘tinkering’ in the workshop, left him little time during the day and he was determined that the time after the evening meal at Vespers was his own family time.
Anne dealt with the household and business matters. Administration of the estates was dealt with as a joint responsibility, although in practice Anne made most of the decisions after consultation with Alan and Osmund. They viewed themselves as partners not just physically but also intellectually and economically.
“I’ve invited some ladies for tomorrow afternoon, while you and most of their husbands are off at the Hunt that the king has arranged,” said Anne. “Some are friends I have made at court functions, others may become friends and some will be politically advantageous to be involved with. They’re all either from the same clique, that of the de Grandmesnils, or not associated with any group. A few are English ladies.
“We’re having a poetry recital. Osmund will handle the Latin and French poems and he’s found a suitably impressive speaker to perform some English poems. I’ll host a few more similar events over the next couple of weeks, so I can ‘spin a web’ amongst most of the ‘French’ ladies. I know that description isn’t really fair, as many of them are Flemings, Angevins, Danes and so on, and that the Normans and their language are quite different to the French.
“Many of the ladies have close ancestors or relatives who are Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Danes or Danes. Most are at best semi-literate and wouldn’t know a good poem if it was a charging horse that ran them over. But with their social pretensions, a poetry recital is both novel and something they can’t resist being seen at, as it proves their intellectual and discerning nature. Some of them I like, and it should be fun.
“I’ll go out this afternoon and arrange some suitable food to be delivered tomorrow morning. Wilda says that she can do a good dish of braised quail in white wine, fruit pies and custard tarts. I’ll order some small gourmet pies, pasties, small sausages and pastries and get some mead and some herbs to make teas. We have plenty of good white and red wine, of course, as well as aged cheeses and candied fruits. Ladies aren’t used to ‘fine dining’ as usually they’re left at home while their husbands go out, so I am sure the food and drink will ‘dazzle’ them, and that going out for a social function while their husbands are doing the same will be attractive, even if some of them have no idea what the performers are saying.”
Alan smiled and nodded at the astuteness of his wife. While they had no political pretensions, the goodwill of the influential families, both their male and female members, could only be of benefit for the future.
Osmund had arrived several days previously following Alan’s request that he contact each of the people from whom they had received depositions with allegations against Bishop William, Earl Ralph and Engelric. Alan had thought that the trio would take steps to resolve the allegations against them and was determined not to be embarrassed by making allegations that would be responded to by the waving of a counter-deposition advising that the matter had been resolved. Alan’s mediocre political position would be seriously damaged by making several dozen complaints if William, Ralph and Engelric had taken steps to resolve them.
“Never trust anybody to do what you expect, especially your enemies,” Osmund had commented in agreement when he had departed on the mission, and his report had shown that Alan had been correct to harbour his suspicions. Each of those who had provided a deposition had been visited by a minion of one of the trio and with many expressions of regret at the misunderstandings and mistakes made, Heriot amounts had been decreased and threats withdrawn. Complainants had been inveigled to sign new depositions stating their satisfaction and sworn to secrecy.
“What do you intend to do?” asked Anne.
Alan shrugged and replied, “We’ve achieved what we set out to do- obtain justice for those being oppressed. The fact that justice was handed out by the malefactors themselves, out of fear of the consequences if they didn’t do so, doesn’t change that fact. Hopefully others will also have benefited already, or may benefi
t in the future, if the wolves feel something of a collar around their neck- a collar of hemp rope- and modify their behaviour even a little. There appear four or five matters outstanding, which I’ll leave to the Chancellor and the king to investigate. They both know the true state of affairs from my report, so I’d expect these to be resolved quickly. I expect the king to keep a closer eye on things now- not because he’s concerned about the welfare of the cheorls or thegns but because he was being cheated out of the money being extracted. I’d look silly and vindictive if I raised just one or two cases against each malefactor in the Curia, so I’ll let things slide- with a certain amount of relief I must admit.”
Robert de Aumale arrived on time as the sun was setting. It was snowing gently outside and he was rubbing his leather-gloved hands together and shedding drops of water from his cloak as he was ushered into the warm and by now quite richly-furnished Hall. Aidith took his cloak to dry and warm by the kitchen fire as Robert stood by the fire, removed his gloves, which he tucked into his belt, and rubbed his hands together over the red glow of the fire.
The room had been set up with a small table, able to accommodate six, on one side of the central fire and two larger tables for the household staff and soldiers, the three tables arranged in a triangle around the fire. Anne and Alan followed the usual convention of eating together with the household, except of course the kitchen staff and serving maid, and Robert’s eyes widened slightly as eight huscarles swaggered into the Hall and took their places at one of the tables.
“Two are on guard duty,” said Alan as Aidith brought wine for the high table and ale for the others.
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