Hoodsman: Ely Wakes

by Smith, Skye

  "I am not a taxman," Gregos replied in a voice loud enough for the lads to here. "I am the temporary Exchequer. I do not collect taxes. I just make sure they are accounted for. The taxmen all hate me for looking so closely at their counts, and locking some of them in the Tower." He looked back at the fresh young faces riding behind him. "The minters all hate me for the same reason."

  Risto and a bowman were just ahead, waiting for them at the top of the next rise. With so many of Duke Robert's allies still in Hampshire, Risto had been running scouts ahead of them. As they joined him at the top of the rise he motioned them to stop and let the ponies rest. "I can't understand these English. In El Andalus there would be a rest house at the top of this rise and they would be earning good coin. Look at the view about. Look how busy this highway is. The top of the hill is the natural place for carters and riders to rest the animals."

  "It is a good plan, Risto," Raynar said as he dismounted and took in the view. "If you want to open an alehouse here I will lend you the cost to set it up." Risto laughed at the idea, but Raynar made a mental note of the place. He knew three hoodsmen with mangled hands that could build and work such a place and think they had landed in Valhalla. It was the dream of many an aging warrior to have his own alehouse.

  From this height they could see the towers that marked all of the important Church and market towns. One of the towers marked Winchester, but they were still too far to be sure which one. When the queen sends an urgent message ordering you to escort the Exchequer to Winchester, you do not tarry along the way.

  Yesterday they had commandeered a squad of bowmen and a fast river ship at the palace, and once they had reached Windsor, had commandeered horses and ponies from the new royal stable there. It was a hundred miles from London to Winchester, and two hard days of travel. He was hoping that Gregos would not collapse from the effort. He was still favouring his wounds from when the bankers had paid assassins to get rid of him.

  Gregos could see the worry in Raynar's face. "Stop worrying. It will be a summons to Winchester chapel to witness the official wedding of Mary to Eustace."

  "Then she would have said as much," replied Raynar. "That she did not give details means that she expected the message to be read by others."

  "Do you think we should have brought more of an escort?" asked Risto.

  "A dozen bowmen should be enough for any need, save a full on battle. I have taken baileys with fewer," reflected Raynar. He knew that Gregos and Risto had only been prompting him to keep telling stories to keep his mind from worrying about Edith and Mary.

  "What happened to them all?" asked Risto.

  "All who" Raynar's thoughts were still with Edith and Mary.

  "The company at Ely when it fell. What happened to them. Roas for instance."

  "Roas had her child in Flanders, in a fortified manor near the towers that guarded the main channel from Bruges to the sea. Hereward was Count Robert's castellan there for years and he guarded not just the ships, but banked treasure on behalf of trading ships. Roas liked Bruges, and she often used her newly learned manners at the court there."

  "A banker, Hereward became a banker?" Suddenly Gregos was interested.

  "No. Hereward just guarded the treasure and the ships. Count Robert was encouraging what you would call banking, and the first step was to have a Castellan that all parties would trust to hold the surety."

  "Ah, always the most basic of needs," said Gregos.

  "Hereward truly enjoyed playing the host to ships captains and merchants from around the North Sea. He hosted many of the English in exile once they had quit Scotland and were making for Byzantium."

  "In the Danelaw did they always share their women?" asked Risto. "Like Roas being shared, was that normal?"

  "Hah, I might have known. Risto, how long have you wanted to ask that question?" He laughed with the man. "In a longhouse in the winter the folk all slept together to stay warm. There was always a women's end of the house, but if a woman wanted to sleep with her man, she could sleep in the men's end. With no privacy, the sex play was limited to spooning and cuddle fucking."

  He noticed the lads with Risto were also coming closer to hear. "A woman choosing to sleep with her man had to choose another man, a man she trusted, to sleep on her other side. We called him the best man. He was usually her man's best friend, or his brother, or his father. In that way, if she turned over in her sleep and was spooned by the other man, there was no trouble between the men. Needless to say, young girls always slept between two women, and young boys never beside a churchman."

  While Risto was picturing this, Raynar decided to feed the picture. "Now if two couples decided to sleep together, then both women would sleep between the two men. Obviously. Of course, the women could choose to switch places during the night. For instance, if one could not do her man because she was with child, or with cramps, then the other woman would help out."

  Risto was winking at the lads that rode with him, and there were some ribald jests.

  "You look eager for those times Risto," said Raynar in a more serious voice. "You should not be. Over three quarters of the women came to Ely as widows or believing they were widows. Almost all the English women of the North had been fucked by many men. Either from rape or from prostituting themselves for table scraps. Their new men in Ely knew this and cared for them in spite of it. The women did not expect to be taken as formal wives ever again, and yet many were."

  "Ah, I understand. Loneliness make for strange bedfellows," replied Risto. "So what happened to the Earls, Morcar and Waltheof. Did they keep their earldoms?"

  "Ah, well Morcar surrendered Ely once everyone was safely away, and he was made a prisoner, as we expected. Unfortunately he was a prisoner until William died, so that the vast estates of Morcar and Edwin would be under the trusteeship of his crown."

  Raynar sighed, "Waltheof replaced Edwin as William's token English Earl and his future shone like a star for a short time. Huntingdon stayed a powerful fortress manned by English and it controlled the trade along the north south highways. Because Hereward and I burned the timber bridge that blocked the Great Ouse at Aldreth, the river was again open to ships and Huntingdon became a rich market town again."

  "With Edwin murdered and Morcar imprisoned, the next year William made Waltheof the Earl of Northumbria and of most of the Danelaw. It was as if William was carrying out the plans he had made for Edwin, but with Waltheof. Waltheof should have lived long and prospered as a virtual prince, but within a few years he took some very bad advice and lost his head to the chopping block."

  They were riding down the other side of the rise and their pace had picked up. Risto was hanging back to hear the rest. "And Ely, and Spalding?"

  "Ely became a sleepy island again. The abbey could not hold the folk there, because the women refused to live near the monks. The folk moved away, mostly to the Humber. The roofs were abandoned and eventually had to be burned to rid the place of rats."

  "Spalding flourished as did Lynn. Thorold and Beatrice became very wealthy from the increased trade with Flanders. It was to be expected since Hereward was their agent in Flanders and since the Count owed the Frisian's of the Fens a great debt for handing him Cassel. Their daughter Lucy married high and protected them from Normans.

  Klaes ran a fleet of trading ships for them. He was so respected that his ships had free passage to Danish, Frisian, and Flemish ports. Their sails carried the signet of a long bow, and would-be raiders gave them a wide berth. Trading ships earn well if they need not worry about raiders."

  Gregos was riding a quick stride pony rather than a horse. It was gentler on his spine. He looked up at Raynar. "So Hereward failed in Ely?" He did not add, "and you" in case Raynar took offence.

  "Ely was a great success for everyone but Sweyn," Raynar replied, "although Sweyn would count his Danegeld for many years and dispute my words. To my thinking he lost the chance to push the Normans out of England and make himself King and then King of Kings of the North Sea. />
  Hereward was successful beyond his own hopes because he had drawn the Normans away from harrying the Danelaw for well over a year. This enabled Thorold and the lords of the north to be successful at helping the folk rebuild villages and plant crops and try to restore their lives after the Great Harrowing.

  The brotherhood was successful because they expanded their membership to well over a thousand trained bowmen, and everyone of them a seasoned veteran of hunting and killing Norman knights. Where ever the fates led them, to their villages, or across the sea, they took their bows and their bow knowledge with them. They all had silver in their purses and remained freemen. Their villages would never again be as helpless against cavalry as they had been during the harrowing."

  "Yes, your wolfpacks. That is a dark side of you, Raynar. You sanctioned them killing families just because they were Norman." Gregos hoped the criticism did not lose him a friend.

  "The wolfpacks did not kill women or children. Not to my knowledge, though I will admit that sometimes the local mobs got out of control once the wolfpacks had killed the warriors of a manor. You must remember that the women and children of the manors were almost always English. English widows betrothed by rape to a Norman.

  When a wolfpack attacked a manor, the Normans usually died fighting. Any defensive walls would be pulled down to make it less attractive to other Normans. The twice-widowed women were given the option of staying on to run the estate or to be escorted to their nearest kin. There were enough axemen about to protect them, so most stayed on."

  "Yes of course," Gregos said. "You did mention that the bowmen of the wolfpacks would quickly move on, and the axemen would clean up the mess and stay on to make sure the fields were planted. I remember now. You said that the axemen knew the rules, and they knew how unforgiving the arrows were if they broke the rules."

  Raynar was quiet. He was remembering the few times when the axemen broke the rules, but the stories of the black arrow, the arrow of execution, could wait for another day.

  * * * * *

  * * * * *

  The Hoodsman - Ely Wakes by Skye Smith

  Chapter 34 - At the palace in Winchester in October 1101

  The sunset had been and gone by the time they reached the palace in Winchester. They were damp, cold, and tired. The gatekeeper knew Gregos and was expecting him. They were rushed to the gate house to rest and warm themselves and were fed from the soup pot that was kept hot throughout the dark hours for the watch.

  The messenger who was sent to find the queen returned almost immediately and out of breath. "Hurry, you must hurry. This way to the Queen." Raynar and Risto each took one of Gregos' arms and lifted the weight from his legs so that he could move more quickly across courtyards and along the hallways.

  Edith was waiting for them in her quarters. She must have been getting ready to retire for she was already in her dressing gown, and visibly distraught. She ran into Raynar’s arms and began weeping into his shoulder, "Thank heaven you are here already." She reached a hand out and touched Gregos and Risto so that they would rise from their deep bows.

  "Sit," she said waving them to the stools surrounding her dressing table, "wine!" she ordered in English to her servants. "It is Mary," she began, "Eustace and she arrived here and were to be wed in the chapel but there has been legal trouble ever since." She paused while the wine was poured and did not start again until the maid had withdrawn. "I originally sent for you because you were witness to Mary's vows to Eustace, but things have gone far beyond that now."

  She sat beside them and continued, "I thought it just a mix up. After the treaty at Alton, many of the nobles came here to agree on the details. Henry offered Mary's hand to William Mortain, the Earl of Cornwall without telling me. You remember, we had a bloody row about it and you threatened to kill the man. Luckily William refused her, so all was well. I had just met Eustace and found him gentle and pleasant, so I allowed Henry to approach him about Mary. But you know all that. You traveled with them to London.

  When Eustace and Mary arrived here, William Mortain was waiting for them, and his lawyers raised a legal objection to block their betrothal. They argued that Mortain had not refused Mary but was only bargaining to increase the dowry he had been offered. The kernel of his argument was that if the dowry had been as rich as that offered to Eustace, Mary would be wedded and bedded to him by now."

  She was twisting her goblet like she was wringing a chicken's neck. "Mortain and Henry are like oil and water. They grew up together and Mortain always bullied him. His father was Robert Mortain and his uncle Odo of Bayeux, both half brothers of Henry's father. The Mortains are an evil family, and all Normandy fears them."

  "I have never had much to do with William Mortain," Raynar said calmly, "but I have had, ugh, dealings with his father and his uncle. The odious Odo is deserving of the Christian Hell many times over, and he was a Bishop."

  "Well then you can imagine the arguments that Mortain had with Henry," she continued. "How many times did Henry state that the land being offered to Eustace was not a dowry but the return of Eustace's inheritance. Mortain refused to accept it as the truth. He wanted Mary and a dowry of equal worth.

  Henry argued that Mary had already wed Eustace and they were sharing a bed. Mortain refused to accept the legality of an English common law marriage that joined a Scottish Princess with a Count of Boulogne. That was when I sent for you, in case your testimony as witness was required by the church."

  "Well we are here now," Raynar comforted her and tidied her long hair to be out of her tears. "I assure you that they were wedded properly and legally so you can dry your tears."

  Instead she wailed. "William Mortain and his guard left Winchester this afternoon, and now Mary is missing." She collapsed in sobs.

  Raynar shook her, "Where is Henry?" He shook her again and asked again.

  She took a breath, "When a search of the palace could not find her, Henry and Eustace set off in pursuit of Mortain."

  "The fool. Mortain doesn't want Mary. She was bait for trapping Henry." Raynar stood, walked to the door and literally kicked it open. "Send for the captain of the guard. Now. Move," he yelled at the shocked servants.

  He returned to the Queen and said in a calmer voice, "Edith, put on something queenly and join us outside your chambers. You are about to order an army to march." The two other men rose at the words and followed Raynar out the door. They sent two maids back in to help her dress and then closed the door behind them.

  The captain came striding down the hallway with a half dozen pikemen in his wake. "Master Exchequer, what is the panic?" The older man pointed to Raynar. The captain well knew Raynar as the queen's man. His bow was the merest nod as he came to a stop.

  "We think that the King is in peril. When did you last see him and where was he bound?" asked Raynar. "You may speak freely for the Queen has already told us of the troubles with the Earl of Cornwall."

  "The earl left the gate at perhaps two hours past mid day," replied the captain, smartly. "The king and the Count of Boulogne about two hours after that. They took with them all the horse guards on duty, about twenty. They were headed for Romsey and afterwards were going to track the earl to see which way he rode. This because the earl could either go north around the New Forest, or through the forest to Rincewed."

  "Did he tell you why he was in such a hurry?" asked Raynar.

  "Yes, he said that he assumed that the princess Mary had been carried off by the earl. If she turned up here at the palace, I was to send men on the fastest horses to call him back."

  "We think that the princess was bait for a trap. It will be the king that will be carried off, or murdered," said Raynar.

  "Shit," hissed the captain, "what is to be done?"

  "I want a hue and cry from here to Cornwall and all along the coast. I want messages sent to every king's man and every garrison. If anyone sees the king they are to join his company and protect him. If anyone sees the earl they are to slow him down and send word, but un
der no circumstances are they to risk the life of any women that ride with him."

  "I don't have the authority to send that message, sir"

  "But I do," said the Queen as she swept through the doorway. "Send it by order of the Queen of the English. Send it now. I want riders on the highways as soon as their horses are saddled. Tell them that at every way station and guard house and garrison, other messengers are to spread out across the land." The captain had forgotten to bow. Instead he clicked his heals and was gone.

  "Come with me Edith," Raynar took her hand and pulled her along beside him. "We have an errand at the gate house." He stopped and turned towards the old man. "Gregos, go to bed. Oh, and may I borrow Risto. I may need his blade to protect the King's back."

  "Take him," said Gregos "a dozen of Edith's ladies could not keep him back from a good fight."

  At the gate house the escort of bowmen who had come with them from London, were snoozing as best they could on the hard benches. "Lads, stir yourself," Raynar called. The men rubbed there eyes, and then rubbed them again when they saw the lady. They all stood and bowed.

  "This woman is Mathilde, Queen of the English." Raynar realized he had wasted his breath. These young men all worshipped her. "What I say to you now, comes from her lips. Consider it an order no matter how strange it sounds. When I asked for an escort of bowmen in London, I told your captain that I preferred men local to this area. Are any of you from villages near to the Yten Forest?" Three men put up their hands. "Excellent, you are now on a one week furlough to visit your villages. You will leave immediately."

  The three men looked at him dumbfounded. Raynar reached for his purse and gave each a small handful of silver. "I mean it. You are to leave immediately for your villages. As soon as you get there you are to knock on any door where an elder bowman lives. Likely your kin. You are to hand them this." He passed one of John's twist-on bodkins to each man. "Then you are to tell them this message exactly.