by Griff Hosker
That set me thinking about Stockton. We had left it exposed. My son and my knights would have to do that which I could not. Was Samuel ready?
We passed Saumur and crossed the Loire. There was a manor at Angliers. My father knew the lord of the manor there. Although loyal to Eleanor of Aquitaine he was also loyal to my father and Duke Henry of Anjou, our King. Our men camped there and we stayed in his small castle.
Sir Jocelyn was of an age with my father. He was perhaps ten years younger but he looked the same age. They had fought in the wars against Blois. A landless knight, Angliers had been his reward from Eleanor and her husband. “Duchess Eleanor has called the muster. She has excused me the call as she knows my obligations to her husband. Warlord, this is a Gordian knot is it not?”
“It is, old friend. With luck we can avoid bloodshed. It would sit heavily on my heart if I had to spill the blood of Gascons for they were ever loyal to us in our wars.”
We left the manor with heavy hearts. Sir Leofric sent archers ahead to meet with Griff of Gwent. They had not been gone long when both our scouts and archers returned.
Griff of Gwent dropped from his horse, “Warlord, we have let you down. We headed for Poitiers and skirted Mirebeau. When we reached Poitiers, we discovered that the Queen had left for Mirebeau two days since. We found that she has since left Mirebeau too. She has taken the road to Chinon.”
My father smiled, “Clever. That is one of her favourite castles. The Constable there is a friend of the Queen’s. She can cross the Loire there with ease. How many men has she with her?”
“Fifty banners.”
I turned to Sir Leofric. “Is there any way we can cut her off?”
“If we head north and east and ride with no regard to our horses then we should be able to find her. We take the road to Loudon. I know that she is a hardy lady but she will have women with her and will move slower than we.”
My father counselled, “We want no bloodshed. Send your archers ahead to block the road south of Chinon. She knows the efficacy of your archers and she will not risk her knights.”
As we cantered north and east I feared for my father. His chest might have been healed but he had seen almost seventy summers. This was not the journey for an old warhorse. We ate up the miles. With no archers ahead of us we followed Garth of Sheffield and Walter of Derby. Both were good men at arms and knew their business. It was the middle of the afternoon when we caught up with the baggage of the Queen. Whoever led the knights for Eleanor had made a grave misjudgement. There was no rear guard. The baggage was protected by servants.
As we galloped up the road they panicked and most abandoned the baggage. Sir Leofric shouted, “Alfraed, have some of the knights of Anjou take charge of the baggage.”
“Aye lord!”
I drew my sword, “Simon, watch the Warlord. James, guard the Warlord!” I spurred the warhorse which Sir Leofric had provided. There were knights ahead and I did not want to risk my father in a skirmish. This was not worth his death. Sir Leofric kept pace with me. We rode under Sir Leofric’s banner. I had no helmet on my head and my surcoat was well known.
Ahead the knights of the Queen realised that something was amiss and they turned. Garth and Walter had swords drawn. Sir Leofric shouted, “Charge through them!”
I was aware of his men at arms galloping alongside us to protect our flanks. Garth and Walter knocked the three knights who tried to stop us from their horses. Our men at arms might not know how to win in a tourney but they knew how to fight. They rode to the side to allow Sir Leofric and I to power through on the backs of our horses.
I yelled, “Yield or we will kill you. I am the son of the Warlord.”
My reputation won the day for us. That and the overwhelming numbers we had. The knights around the Queen could not defend her and they knew it. Eleanor had chosen a small escort to help her travel quickly. I saw her banner and her carriage. I also noticed that the knights ahead of her had stopped. As we neared I saw why. Our archers were spread across the road. The column was going nowhere. I reined in next to the carriage.
Eleanor’s face was a mask of fury. “How dare you stop me in my own realm.”
I heard hooves behind. I saw my father approaching. “My lady, it grieves me to do so but I am under orders from your husband, my lawful liege, to fetch you to him for your own safety.”
My father reined in and dismounted. He held his arm up and the Queen dismounted from the carriage. She spread an arm around us, “Who is a danger to me save you?”
My father shook his head, sadly, “Yourself my lady.” He pointed to the archers, “Tell your knights to stand down else they will be slaughtered to a man. You know their skill.”
She nodded, “Alain, have the knights return to Mirebeau. It seems I will no longer need their services.” As her Captain left to give the command she looked sadly at my father, “Warlord, that it has come to this. Where did it go wrong?”
He shrugged, “I am sorry to say, my lady, where it always goes wrong, in a man’s breeks but your sons are wrong to rebel against their father. You know that. All that he did was to give land to your youngest son. Is that a bad thing?”
She had no answer to that. I said, “Thomas of Piercebridge, take over from the driver. You can command the carriage.”
Eleanor smiled and patted my father’s hand, “If you had been my husband there would be no revolt.”
“And you would not be Queen.” He leaned in and said, quietly, “Even as a young girl you wanted to be Queen. Sometimes we wish for things which turn out not to be as attractive as we first thought. You and the Empress Maud both wished for power and were granted it. Were either of you happy?”
We headed north and took the road back to Angliers. We stayed overnight and then journeyed to Saumur. We stayed just one night at La Flèche before, with barely a handful of Angevin knights and the escort sent from England we headed to Rouen.
The Queen decided that she had enough of travelling at the speed of a carriage and, much to the chagrin of her ladies, insisted upon riding. I rode on one side of her and my father rode on the other. We talked. Rather she spoke with my father and I listened. I heard the hopes and dreams the Queen had had when she married the young King. She spoke of her first husband, Louis and how she had been desperate to leave him.
It was at that point that I interjected, “And yet you would run to him rather than your husband.”
She turned to me with a cold look upon her face, “I go to my sons. I am a mother.”
She turned away from me as though I was summarily dismissed. It was at that moment that I knew I could never be my father. I had tried to emulate him but my early years had meant I had wasted too much time. I would have to see if I could make my son a model of his grandfather. England needed a Warlord. King Henry had shown me that. A king with absolute power, as King Henry had become, was a dangerous man. I saw now that my father had been the reins guiding the King. Now that my father was at the end of his life those reins were slipping and I was not the man to grasp them. I could not do what my father did. The last sixty miles were instructive. I learned much about my father and about the Queen. More, I learned about the King and the hidden bond between him and my father. It was stronger than the bond we shared. It was remarkable.
By the time we reached Rouen news had reached us of King Henry’s reaction to the invasion of his Duchy. He had sent for more men from England, attacked and defeated the Flemish and, when we arrived, he was ready to repulse King Louis and the Young Henry who were attacking from the east.
The King himself greeted us inside his castle. He was gracious, almost intimate with his wife. “My Queen, I am pleased that my noble knights were able to bring you safely to me so that we can endure this assault together.”
Eleanor was cold, “It is our sons we are talking about Henry!”
He put his arm around her and led her away, “Then let us talk of our family in private. My lords, I will return shortly. Make yourselves comfortable. I a
m in your debt.”
His steward took us to the Great Hall. There we saw many of the loyal Norman barons. All were dressed in war gear. This was not a court full of politicians. This was a counsel of war of warriors. As soon as we were recognised we were descended upon for news. My father was the centre of attention. He was the King’s talisman. If the Warlord was here then King Henry would not lose. My father wore the responsibility like a rock around his neck.
The King was not away for long. We did not see the Queen again and I know not where he put her. King Henry was a man of decisive moves. Ignoring his other barons and counts he led us to one side. He spoke urgently, “King Louis brings an army from the east. Young Henry is with him. I have had reports of rebels coming from Brittany.”
My father nodded, “You have a plan?”
He nodded, “I will send William d'Aubigny, the Earl of Arundel and the men of Anjou who accompanied you. He has a force of men he brought from Cornwall. They will deal with the Bretons. Anjou is solid and with Aquitaine neutralized we can apply all of our force towards Louis. I would have the two of you come with me when we go to meet him.”
“King Henry, what of our home? This is an opportunity that King William will not spurn.”
“I know Earl William, you are right. My spies tell me that he is gathering an army even as we speak.”
“Then we should go home and defend my land.”
“You and your father are two men. If your knights, the Bishop of Durham and the Sheriff cannot hold off the Scots then it is a sad day for England. We are talking of the Scots!”
I struggled to control my temper, “King Henry, they have been probing us for some time. They know our strengths and they know our weaknesses.”
He shook his head. “First we deal with the French and then you can go home! I am King and that is my command!”
That was the end of the debate.
Chapter 15
When we headed east we were just behind the van guard with the King. He showed genuine concern about my father’s health. That did little to appease me. Sir James now rode behind us. Since we had come to France he had changed. He now acted and behaved as a knight. I trusted him. Had he wished harm to come to us then he had had ample opportunity to do so and he had not. My father and I were very familiar with the land through which we travelled. We had fought there under Old King Henry as well as Geoffrey of Anjou and the Empress Maud.
Louis was coming from Chartres. Perhaps he hoped to cut us from the loyal men of Anjou. The rebel Norman knights along the Flemish border would be another enemy we had to deal with. We had, I suspected, a smaller army than the French. We had sent a third of our men to Brittany. Ultimately, I was confident in the quality of the men under our command. The barons who led the knights, men at arms and archers had fought in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. War was their trade and they were masters of it. I had assigned Thomas to help Simon to watch over and protect my father. Thomas had grown in the three years he had been with me. Sir Philip, his father, would be proud of him for he had become a man. Thanks to his father’s physique, he was an archer, he had a broad chest and continued to grow. When he swung a sword and connected his sparring partner knew it. Ralph had the bruises to show for it. With no banner to carry Ralph would be riding as my bodyguard. I was happy about that for I would be knighting him in the next year. He would be a worthy knight.
The knights who lived in the Vexin, D’Aubigny and the others had sent their scouts out ahead. They knew this land. Louis did not. Thus it was that they found the French before they found us. That was important. It meant that we could select the battlefield.
There was a huge forest which extended many miles east of La Hauteville. To the north was the smaller forest of Grandchamp. La Hauteville was small and, more importantly, it was French. King Henry did not need to appease the French. Our men drove the villagers towards the east. They would tell the French of our position. With a forest behind and around us it would appear, to the French as though we had trapped ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. We had a hundred archers with us. Not as good as the men I had left in England they were still better than anything the French could field. With another one hundred of our best men at arms they would wait in the forest to the east. The French would see just our knights and mounted men at arms along with the one hundred crossbowmen we had brought. We were a lure to make the French and Young Henry’s men, attack us. When we counterattacked it would be the archers and men at arms in the forest who would determine the battle.
The plan was all my father’s. He had an eye for terrain. He had noticed how the wood and the forest were both higher than the road and the fields over which the battle would be fought. We would be charging downhill and the French uphill. The land closest to La Hauteville was common grazing land while the land over which the French would be charging was ploughed fields. I was in awe of my father. He had given us every advantage which could be had. It would still come down to the mettle of our men but all of us were confident in that.
The men at arms and archers camped deep in the woods so that their movement into position would not be noticed. We waited in La Hauteville. The French arrived at dusk and camped just a mile from us. Both armies had pickets out but neither of us risked a night time attack. We rose before dawn for we had heard the French moving around. Ralph helped me to don my mail. He had a spare spear for me and my sword was freshly sharpened. We had so few men that the four servants were given helmets and given the duty of helping Simon and Thomas to guard the Warlord. Everyone else would be fighting.
As dawn broke, we saw their serried ranks. King Louis intended to batter us out of his way. His foot guarded his camp while his crossbows formed a crude skirmish line in front of his three hundred mailed knights. They were backed by another one hundred men at arms. With just one hundred and eighty knights we were seriously outnumbered. I recognised the banners of Leicester and Norfolk. The English traitors had joined the French. I would be fighting Englishmen.
I was in the front rank with the King. My father with his guards were safe and close to the barrage. The other leaders he had brought from England as well as his nobles from Normandy were there with us. It was a bold statement. It was a lure to draw in the French. If they could wipe out our front rank then the war would be over in one battle. Young King Henry had already been crowned. I had no doubt that the King of France’s support had been bought with the Vexin.
We waited as the French ponderously formed their lines. The men hidden in the forest had been given clear instructions not to attack until the French were committed. We would have to wait until the French attacked before we could counterattack. My helmet hung from my cantle and Ralph held my spear.
King Henry said, “I did not see my son in the front rank.”
I peered at them but I saw no sign of any of his sons. “Neither do I see King Louis nor the Prince of France, Philip.”
The King sniffed, “Then they are cowards all. My son wants the kingdom handed to him on a platter of other men’s blood. Tell me I was not like that. William.”
“From what my father told me he had to restrain you from reckless acts.”
He laughed, “Aye I was trying to win a kingdom. What kind of sons have I produced from my loins?”
“They are young. When I was young I was not the man I am today.”
He looked at me and nodded, “You are right. Then there is hope that they may change.”
William d’Aubigny said, “Majesty, they are preparing to charge.”
“About time too.” He spurred his horse and rode twenty paces from us so that we could all see him as he turned around. “Today, English and Norman unite to fight traitors and Frenchmen. Those who survive I promise you the castles of those traitors who fight against us this day!”
I smiled. He was using bribery to ensure victory. Often that was as effective as an appeal to honour.
He returned to our lines and his squire handed him his helmet. I donned mine and my
world shrank as my face mask was lowered to protect the upper half of my face. The holes through which I peered were large but I still preferred the old nasal helmet worn by my squires and James de Puiset. He was behind me next to Ralph. Ralph nudged his horse forward and handed me my spear.
As he did so I said, “No foolish heroics today. If I fall I want you to take my sword back to my son Samuel.”
He laughed, “You will be there with me, lord, of that I am certain.”
A French horn sounded and the crossbowmen began to run towards us. They would have to be within two hundred paces for their weapons to be effective. The horsemen were ordered forward by a herald with the French fleur de lys. They walked. The ploughed fields over which the French moved was little problem for their horses but the men on foot found it hard. I watched as they glanced over their shoulders. Their own horsemen were closing rapidly.
“Squire, sound the advance.”
King Henry’s squire gave one blast on the horn and I spurred my horse. As soon as the horn sounded and the line moved forward the crossbowmen stopped. They were three hundred paces from us but they knew how quickly we could move forward. They dropped to their knees and each loaded a bolt. King Henry did not intend to charge too quickly. He wanted to strike them when we were on firm ground and they were in the ploughed field. He wanted to hit them when our archers released their arrows and our men at arms attacked their flanks. The men with crossbows did not know that and they feared we were about to gallop through them. We were two hundred and fifty paces from them when they released. Many bolts flew high, some struck shields, mail and helmet. Two hit horses but did little damage. It is hard to reload a crossbow quickly and the French knights behind were now galloping. The men with crossbows fled. Some did not escape the hooves of the knights who were anxious to get to us. The bodies of the men who had been trampled and the discarded crossbows broke up the second and third lines.
