I thought that I knew him passing well. Always he was passionate.
Changeable. A man or moods. But he has ever seemed to esteem me well enough. To trust me. What have I done that he should treat me like this?
I do not know. But from what he has said, I think that he questions your loyalty. You have come from Galloway, have you not? Perhaps what you were doing in Galloway aroused his suspicions?
I
was in Galloway, yes, when he summoned me here. Baliol was Lord of Galloway, before Edward named him king. Owned great lands there, he ired from his mother, Devorgilla of the old race. Bruce also held Galloway lands, which Baliol took when we clove to Edward. Since Baliols fall, I have been visiting these …
And the former Kings lands also?
I could scarce help pass through some. And why not? He seized all my Carrick lands, and gave them to Comyn …
No doubt, my lord. But perhaps tales have reached King Edward. From Galloway. Perhaps he believes that, now that King John Baliol is gone, you are seeking his great Galloway lands. And more than his lands. My father says that Galloway, properly mustered, could raise ten thousand men. Perhaps, my lord, His Majesty would prefer that the son of the man who now claims that he should be King of Scots should not control those thousands?
He frowned at her. Chit of a girl as she was, she talked now like Richard de Burghs daughter.
There is no truth in that, he said.
I have no thought to raise men. Against Edward. I have ever been loyal. I have raised men for him …
Loyal, my lord? Loyal to Edward of England? But not to Scotland, it seems. There are loyalties and loyalties!
He stared at her.
What do you mean? Baliol was ever the enemy of our house. When he became King, we fought against him. What else? Would you have had us lick his boots?
You put Bruce before your Scotland?
Would you not put de Burgh before Ireland?
No. I would not.
He shrugged.
What is Scotland? Arabble of hungry, quarrelling lords. A land rent in pieces. A pawn in this game of kings.
Then is not here, perhaps, your answer, sir? If Bruce will put Bruce before Scotland, may he not put Bruce before Edward also? And when his father claims the Scots throne, Edward must needs look at Bruce with new eyes. And listen to the tales that men tell.
You think that is it? But there is no truth in it, I tell you.
My father is something of a fool. Weak. But stiff-necked. Perhaps he is, indeed, what Edward calls me! He will talk, but not act.
He is a man of books and parchments, not the sword. Edward need not fear him.
It is you he fears, I swearnot your father. And thinks to change his plans for you …
Ayeplans. What plans? What was he talking of, that he needs now to think again?
You do not know?
No. How should I know? He has told me nothing. Summoned me here, and then insulted me I Told me nothing, save that I am a fool. And, perhaps, traitor …!
Elizabeth de Burgh looked away.
You had a wife, my lord?
He nodded.
Aye. Isobel. Daughter to the Earl of Mar. We were wed young. She died. Two years ago. Giving birth to our daughter Marjory.
I am sorry. She drew a deep breath.
I have learned, since I came to Berwick, why my father brought me from Ireland. To this Scotland. It was King Edwards command. He thought to marry me. To you!
Lord God!
She raised her head, in a quick gesture.
Well may you say so, my lord I Such match would have been as unwelcome to me as to yourself, I assure you. More so. So, I give thanks for the Kings change of mind!
But … but this is crazy-mad. Why? Why should he have had us to wed? Unknown to each other. How would such a match serve Edward?
That he did not reveal to me. But he is my god-sire. My father has long been his close companion. Perhaps he thought to bind you closer to him, thus. Make you more his man…
I faithby foisting a wife on me! My father chose my first wifea mere child. My next I shall choose for myself …
And welcome, sirso long as you do not choose Elizabeth de Burgh!
Hrrmm. I am sorry. I but mean that…
Your meaning is very clear, my lord. But no clearer than mine, I hope. Let us both thank God for His Majestys doubts!
It has saved me the distress of refusing him. And you! I bid you a good night, sir. With the merest nod she turned and swept away, making for a door.
It did not take long for Robert Bruce to seek escape also, though by a different door. Nigel could look after himself.
But, as in the afternoon, King Edward proved that he had keen eyes. A messenger again came hurrying after the truant.
His Majesty regrets that you saw fit to leave without his express permission, my lord, he was told, expressionlessly.
His Highness, however, will overlook the omission. But he commands that you attend the parliament he holds here at noon tomorrow.
On pain of treason. You have it, my lord of Carrick .?
Scotland, in. 1296, was not notably advanced in parliamentary procedure; but the parliament held at Berwick that 28th of August was by any standard the most extraordinary the ancient kingdom had ever seen. For one thing, although it was held on Scottish soil and to deal with the affairs of Scotland, it was purely an English occasion; only English commissioners had power to vote, although the summoned Scots representatives were there, under threat of treason, in greater numbers than ever before. No Scot might even speak, unless he was specifically invited to do so.
Even the Englishmen, indeed, did little speaking, save for Bishop Beck,
who stage-managed all. And his clerks. It was, in fact, no parliament
at all, but a great public meeting for the announcement of the details
by which Edward Plantagenets dominion over conquered Scotland would be
implemented. Although the King left most of the actual talking to Beck
and his henchmen, his opening remarks made very clear what was required
of the assembly, and what would result from any failure to achieve it,
or the least questioning of the programme-as witness to which he there
and then announced orders for the arrest and imprisonment of any who
had failed to obey the summons to attend, including even an illustrious prelate, the Bishop of Sodor and Man.
Thereafter, Edwards interventions were infrequent, but as telling as they were brief.
The main business was to announce the machinery by which Scotland would hereafter be governed. John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, would be Viceroy; William de Amersham, Chancellor;
Hugo de Cressingham, Treasurer; William de Ormesby, Justiciar. The clerks Henry of Rye and Peter of Dunwich were appointed Escheators, officials with general supervision over all revenues north and south of Forth respectively. Another clerk, William Dru, would be Bishop of St. Andrews, and therefore Primate, since Bishop Fraser had fled; and would administer also the earldom of life and the customs of Dundee. The royal servants John Droxford, wardrobe-keeper, Philip Willoughby, cofferer and Ralph Manton, tailor, with others, would have oversight over all other earldoms and baronies as Kings Procurators.
Every Scots stone castle would be garrisoned by English soldiers, and every wooden one burned, without exception. All Scots official records were to be sent to London. Heavy taxation was necessary to pay for the recent campaign, the administration, and the army of occupation; this would be enforced on all classes, and the Church in especial, with the utmost rigour. And so on.
In the quite prominent position to which he had been conducted, Robert Bruce listened to all this, features controlled, and wondering why he had been required to attend. It was not until late in the proceedings that he learned. The clerk at Beck
s left hand, reading out a list of minor enactments and edicts, found another paper passed to him. He read it out in the same monotonous gabble.
It is hereby commanded that the Lord Robert Bruce, sometime Earl of Carrick, shall forthwith proceed to the lands of Annandale formerly held by his father, and there receive into the Kings peace, with all necessary persuasion, all occupiers of land, all arms-bearing men, and all lieges fit of body and mind. These he shall cause to take oath of allegiance to King Edward, all under the supervision of Master John Benstead, clerk of the Kings pantry. Thereafter the said Lord Robert shall muster these said men of Annandale in arms and proceed to the contiguous lands of the traitor William, Lord of Douglas, formerly keeper of this castle, where the wife of the same, who has already incurred the Kings displeasure, is wickedly and treason ably holding out against the Kings peace in the Castle of Douglas. There he shall destroy the said castle, waste the said lands, and bring captive the said Lady of Douglas to the Kings appointed officers here at Berwick for due trial and punishment. All this the said Lord Robert shall perform, and such else as may be directed by the said Master Benstead of His Majestys pantry, it being expressly forbidden that he proceed into the lands and territory of Galloway. By the Kings royal command.
As the clerk continued with the next edict, Bruce sat as though turned
to stone, though the knuckles of his clenched fists gleamed white. A
man, he knew, could accept only so much and remain a man. Edward was
testing him, but beyond acceptance. On Edward Plantagenets head be
it, then … Chapter Three
Another Great Hall in another castle, another oath-taking and roll-signingthough few here could do more than make their rude marks against their names and holdings, and fewer still knew what they were signing for before their lords son and the Englishmen. The farmers, shepherds, drovers, horse-dealers, millers, smiths, pack men and the like, of Annandale, one hundred and fifty square miles of the best land on the West March of the Border, were not knowledgeable or greatly interested in the political situation or in who occupied thrones or made laws. They followed their lord, paid their rents, gave of their service-and hoped, this done, to be left in approximate peace to lead their own lives. If their lord-or, at least, their lords son, young Robert-summoned them to the Castle of Lochmaben in their hundreds, and required them to utter some rigmarole of words, and scratch crosses and marks on papers, they were perfectly willing to humour him, however much of a waste of time it might be. If, thereafter, they were to go riding, armed, in the tail of the same Lord Robert, as was rumoured, then few would find this any great trial, since such ploys usually resulted in sundry pleasurable excitements and sports, cattle and plenishings cheaply won, new women to be sampled. The Annandale men had had little enough of this sort of thing these last years, with the Bruces dispossessed temporarily, and the absentee Comyn Earl of Buchan getting the rents; and latterly the English captain and small garrison established in the castle, though arrogant and objectionable, had not greatly troubled the local folk. Some little friction there had been earlier on, mainly over their attitude to the women, but the independent, hard-riding Border moss trooping population was not one to offend lightly, and the Englishmen numbered no more than four score, a mere token garrison. So a sort of mutual live and-let-live had developed. But now, with the Bruces back, more than this could be looked for.
Robert Bruce lounged in a high chair at the dais end of the Hall, looking bored and restless; but at least he did not turn his back on the queue of oath-takers, nor eat and drink while they made their patient way through the prescribed procedure.
Indeed, sometimes he nodded, raised a hand, or called a greeting to this man or that, whom he recognised, and even occasionally came down to speak with old acquaintances amongst the tenantry-for here it was that he had spent much of his childhood, although Turnberry, up in Ayrshire, was the principal seat of the Carrick earldom.
Nearby, also on the dais, another man sat throughout the prolonged business, though he gave no appearance of boredom or restlessness; he was in fact sound asleepSir Nicholas Segrave, captain of the castles garrison, a grizzled veteran of the wars, grey-headed, inclining to stoutness, still a good man in a fight but grown appreciative also of the benefits of quiet inaction.
But if these two on the dais seemed to lack interest in the proceedings, there was one who could not be so accused. The man who sat behind the signing table, with the Lochmaben steward and his minions, watched all with a keen and careful glance. He was a small, misshapen man, almost an incipient hunchback, discreetly dressed all in black, thin, with a darting beady eye, and lank black hair that fell over his chalk-white face. Efficient, industrious, shrewd, Master John Benstead, clerk to the royal pantry, was a man of swift wits, sarcastic tongue and some learning-indeed an unfrocked priest it was said, and always knew just what he was doing. In these last winter months he had lived closer to Robert Bruce than any of his brothersand that young man had come to loathe the very sight of him. He was now snapping questions of Dod Johnstone, the steward, about almost every man who came up to the table, and taking quick notes of his own on a sheaf of papersfor what reason, none could tell. But if none liked it, since it made all uncomfortable, none questioned it eithereven Bruce himself, who had not been long in recognising that though he was the earl and men took this oath of allegiance to Edward through him as feudal superior, it was this deformed clerk who was, in all that counted, the master. One was the all-powerful King of Englands trusted servant, with unspecified but comprehensive authority; and the other, whatever else, was not. Even Sir Nicholas, up there on the dais, though he got on passing well with the young lord, now took his orders from this base-born clerk, however reluctantly.
The interminable process at the table-which was clearly much more concerned with the new and damnable notion of tax assessment than with the ostensible allegiance-givingwas nearing an end for this grey March day, and Benstead was closely cross-questioning an impassive upland farmer as to his stocks of wool-for by a new edict all Scots wool was to be confiscated and sent to the nearest port for shipment to London for the Kings use-when there was an interruption. A booted and spurred courier came hurrying in. It was noticeable that though the man bowed perfunctorily towards the pair on the dais, it was to Master Benstead that he made his way, to speak low-voiced, urgently.
Sir Nicholas, with an old campaigners ability to waken at need and completely, bestirred himself and stumped down to see what was to do. After a moment or two, Bruce swallowed his pride and did the same.
The messenger, an Englishman, had come from Lanark, from Edwards newly-created Earl of Clydesdale and Sheriff of Lanark and Ayr, William de Hazelrig. His tidings were dramatic. Sir William Douglas had escaped from his bonds in the south, and was believed to be heading for Scotland again, if he was not already over the Border. Moreover, open revolt had broken out in Galloway, where James Stewart, the High Steward of Scotland, and Bishop Robert Wishart of Glasgow, had risen in arms against the English garrisons. It was thought that Douglas would make for Galloway to join these traitors, since he had married the Stewards sister. But before that he might well seek to collect a force of men on his own estates in Douglasdale. The Earl of Carrick, at Lochmaben, had been charged with the duty of dealing suitably with the Douglas lands. He must see to it without delay that this renegade gained no men there, that he was apprehended if he came thither, and that the territory of Douglasdale was left in no condition ever again to be a danger to the Kings Peace.
You hear, my good young lord? Benstead asked, pointing a long,
ink-stained finger at Bruce. He infuriated the latter in innumerable ways, but in none more effectively than this deplorable habit of referring to him as his good young lord.
Your delays stand revealed. Indicted. If this Douglas reaches his lands before you do, and gathers men there to aid these rebels in Galloway, then you will be held responsible. I hav
e told you.
And I have told you, sir, that in winter months there can be no campaigning in these hills. You are not in your Lincolnshire now! To take a large force over into Douglas Water means the covering of forty miles of savage hills, choked passes, flooded valleys, rivers in spate, no bridges. It could not be done, these past months. But nor was there any danger from there, since no more could the Douglases have moved in force. Sir Nicholas knows that, if you do not, Master Pander! To term the man this was Bruces retort to the good young lord phrase.
I know that you could have raided Douglasdale before the winter closed in-and did not, my lord. Despite my advice. I know likewise, even though I am no soldier, that it is no longer winter, and men determined in the Kings service might have been amove ere this! As have these rebels in your Galloway, it seems! Perhaps it is as well that His Majesty forbade that you go into Galloway, when he did!
What do you mean by that? I do not take you, sir. Perhaps you will explain?
The other looked quickly from Bruce to Sir Nicholas Segrave and the courier, and shrugged his twisted shoulders.
I would not wish to see a loyal and noble servant of the Kings Highness endangered amongst rebels, that is all, he answered smoothly.
Sir Nicholas intervened.
This rising? In Galloway. How large a matter? You say the High Steward, and one of their bishops …?
It is serious, I fear. Now that King Edward has gone campaigning in Flanders, these treacherous Scots think that they may safely rebel. They must be taught otherwise. Eh, my good lord!
There have been a number of petty revolts, all easily put down.
But this is more dangerous. The Steward, despite his strange title, is an important lord. And the rascal Bishop of Glasgow, this Wishart, is the most potent of their prelates. I would have thought that the man Baliols fate would have taught them their lesson!
Galloway was Baliols country, and these have risen in Baliols name, the courier amplified.
They declare that he is still their king, the fools. But neither the Steward nor the Bishop are soldierswhereas this Douglas is. Therefore my lord of Clydesdale says that it is of the utmost importance that he does not join them. He says that my lord of Carrick must act without delay. In the Kings name.
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