Branton was as angry and distraught as any when he arrived later in the evening. All of us just wanted to hurt someone. All the elation of our victory had been sucked from us by the deaths we had suffered. It was aggravated by the fact that our losses on the battlefield had been so light but the ones we had suffered were grievous.
The dead were laid to rest in separate graves. I put silver coins from my box on their eyes. It was the second funeral in as many days and I had had enough. We placed stones at the head of each grave and me had ensured that the graves all faced east. When we had time we would place proper headstones but we had more pressing matters on our mind. As events turned out we never did put the headstones there and the four graves still have a rough stone to mark them as far as I know. Ridley took Ralphson with him to Coxold for the boy had no-one. He had been his father’s apprentice and when Ridley offered him a post as blacksmith he was delighted. Ridley was the kindest man I knew. The rider from Medelai arrived soon after the funeral. “The Normans are not at Medelai, my lord.”
“Then they have gone to Ripon. Branton take the men to Medelai and await your brother and I there.”
He didn’t move. “My lord, with respect I would rather go with you,” I opened my mouth to speak, but he put his hand up. I saw Osbert reach for his blade but I shook my head. Branton was loyal and he must have had a good reason to be so insolent. “You wish to sneak around Ripon my lord. Good. That is what I do best. If you were to stand in a shield wall then my knuckle headed brother is a far better man that me.” He said it with a smile to take out the insult and I saw his brother give a half smile. “With me we would blend in but with my brother you would both stand out like sore thumbs because, with respect, my lord, you are big. And finally, I know Ripon better than my brother, for I served there for a short time.”
There was silence and then Ridley said, “He makes sense; Aelfraed and I know that Osbert would go with you but if you want to succeed then you need Branton who is stealthier but I want to ask what you hope to achieve?”
“I will kill Guy of Evreux and I will kill Copsi.”
“You know what it is you do?” I nodded. “It will not be in battle, this will be murder. Are you ready for the consequences?”
“I am for I know that you will look after my men should aught happen to me.”
“What about Gytha and your son?”
I looked at the three men; I was now as close to these as any since I fought with Ridley, Wolf and Osgar in the shield wall. I took a breath. “Lady Gytha now makes beast with two backs with the Thegn of Fife.” The shocked look on their faces was mixed with sympathy and revulsion. “So you see, this is now my world. And I have to do something about it. It is wyrd.” That they understood and they nodded. “Branton I will take you. Osbert take my men to Medelai but tell them that if they no longer wish to serve me then I will understand.” I handed him a heavy purse. “In that is enough coin to give each archer and man at arms ten silver pieces. They can serve Lord Ridley if they choose.”
Osbert was appalled. “My lord they would serve you.”
“Give them the choice, Osbert, for I am stepping over the line and where I am going I cannot guarantee that they will have a lord.”
“I will do as you ask my lord but to us you will always be a lord and you will always be our leader.”
“Thank you for that. Take my armour and weapons with you to Medelai and we will meet you there when this is finished. Now, Branton, tell me, how do I become anonymous?”
By the time we left Maiden Bower I had been transformed. He took a tunic from one of his archers and tied it with an old belt. There was a hood on it and it would help to disguise my face. Its colour was a nondescript browny green which would blend in well with a range of backgrounds. More importantly, it was a common colour and a common design. I would look like many other men. We found a sword which had been used by one of the defenders who had died and I took my own dagger. Around my shoulders he placed one of the wolf skins we used to keep us warm and on my head he put a leather helmet, much as I had worn when I first left Medelai. He changed Sweyn for one of his nags and we both looked like itinerant warriors seeking employment. It was not far from Topcliffe to Ripon and we took it slowly. “We need to get there just before dark, before they close the gates my lord.”
“If you spend the whole time my lording me then we will soon give the game away. I will take your brother’s name eh?”
He smiled, “Right, Osbert. We will see if there are rooms at The Swan and keep a low profile. I always find that if you sit and drink you will normally hear more than if you ask questions.” I nodded. That was how he and his brother had first come into my employment when Ridley and I had stayed at The Angel for a meal all those years ago.
Ripon is a fine city and an old one but it is much smaller than Jorvik. The warrior hall stood next to the river and it was where, I assumed, the Normans would stay as it was the best accommodation in the city. Branton was worried about our venture, I could see that. He nervously scanned the road ahead and behind. When he caught me looking at him he gave me a false smile; it was not like Branton.
“What is on your mind Branton?”
“I understand why you want to rid the world of these Normans but why not bring our men at arms and we could ambush them and kill them in battle.”
“Because, Branton, I feel responsible for al those who died at Maiden Bower. I gave the Queen my protection. If we came to Ripon with our men at arms they could wait us out and besides we do not have enough men, at the moment, to fight them.” I looked at his quiver. “How many knight killers do you have left for your bow? “
“A few.”
“And with Ralph dead where will we get them? No this must be done in dark of night to tell these Normans that they cannot do as they have done without punishment. I want them to fear us and to fear me in particular.”
“It is a huge risk my… Osbert. They will all hunt you.”
I laughed. “And that is what I want for then they will have to fight us. As long as I am with the army then we know where the battle will be. I want no more innocents to die for us.”
“I think I understand.”
“Good, and Branton, you just have to watch my back. I will not soil your hands with my crime.”
There were two guards at the gate; one was fat and sat on a small stool. His companion had a narrow cruel face and when he looked at us I could see that he was dismissing us as vagrants. “What do you want? We want no tinkers here.”
I bit back the retort and played the role. “We are not poor men.” I jingled the small purse. “We have money to pay for a bed and food.”
The fat one belched, “Well you’ll be lucky. The city is filled with Normans.” The thin one stood aside and we rode in. The streets were busier than I had seen in many a year. The ale houses were filled with noisy and boisterous voices. The Norman soldiery were celebrating their victory at Maiden Bower and that gave us a chance for they were relaxed and that made them vulnerable. We struggled to find a stable and had to settle for a smithy where the blacksmith knew Branton and allowed us to stable the horses, for a few coins, of course.
Once we left the smith we wandered the streets to see if we could see where the Norman knights were housed. It was, as I had expected, the warrior hall. We stood in an alley forty paces from the door while we sought a way in. There was none for there were guards on the doors and they challenged all who approached. “If we can’t get them in then we must get them out.”
We found an alehouse which had the sign of barley outside. It was crowded and, thankfully, dimly lit by a fire and a few tallow candles which emitted a smoky, thin light. There were no seats and we stood against a wall watching all those who were drinking. We were looking for a Norman, any Norman, so long as he was alone. Most of the ones we saw were in groups but then Branton noticed a solitary figure who was seated by the door. We approached him.
“What do you two want?”
“We see that you serve the Normans we would like to know if they are recruiting.”
He laughed as he looked at the two of us; we made a sorry scruffy pair. “Why are you warriors?”
I shrugged, “We were. We served with Aelfraed of Topcliffe until he was beaten.”
The man’s interest was piqued. “Beaten? I did not know he had fought.”
“Aye we ran into William of Perci and his knights and we were whipped. Aelfraed fled and we came here for we heard that there were opportunities here.”
“Oh there are opportunities. All sorts.” I could see his greedy mind working out how to profit from our information. He beckoned us closer. “Listen, I like you. I am from London myself and these Normans pay well for the right men. Do you know where this Aelfraed is?”
Branton nodded, “We know precisely where he is hiding.”
“And you could take us there?”
“Well, we could but he still has men with him and we wouldn’t want it known that we betrayed him.”
He leered at us, “Afraid of him are you? Well I can see that. He is supposed to be a big bugger. How about this then I will see one of the knights and then meet you, say by the river?”
“When?”
He shrugged, “That depends on the knights. You might have to wait a while but then again there might be a reward for you.”
“We will be there.”
“Good. See you lads later.”
The warrior hall backed on to the river and there were some elder trees and blackberry bushes there. We secreted ourselves in them. Our tunics and hoods hid us. I wanted to see them before they saw us. Copsi would not know me but Guy and the other Normans would. I had no idea who would come. If it were not Guy then we would have to think of something else to winkle him out. I was beginning to think that no-one come as cramp and hunger pangs began biting into me. Branton hissed, “Someone coming!” and I shrank back into the tree.
“Where are you?”
“We are here.”
A heavily accented Norman voice said, “You may go. We will reward you in the morning if this proves to be valuable and reliable information.”
I still could not see how many men there were but I slipped my dagger out just in case. An English voice then spoke. “Come from the trees so that we can see you.”
It was now so late that there were few people around. The warrior hall was a hundred paces from us and the river gurgled and hissed behind us. Branton went first and I kept my head down and followed him. From under my hood I saw that there were two men. Neither wore armour but they both had swords at their sides and one of them was Guy!
The older man spoke. “We hear that you know where Aelfraed is to be found.”
“We do my lord. We served him until recently.”
“And you say William of Perci defeated him. I had not heard.”
“We fought close to Osmotherly a few days ago. I believe that they went to Jorvik.”
The man spoke to Guy in French then he turned to Branton. “And where is this Aelfraed?”
“He is in the hills beyond Medelai at a secret camp.”
“How many men does he have?”
“Twenty, thirty? Others may have left him.”
Guy said something in French. The man smiled. “This is Guy of Evreux and he is keen to find Aelfraed. There is bad blood between them. If you take us to him you will be rewarded.”
Branton boldly asked, “How my lord…?”
“Copsi, Earl of Northumbria. Money? A place serving with us. There are many opportunities for bright men who are willing to be flexible.” He came closer to Branton as though to lead him away.
Now that I knew who he was I could wait no longer. I lunged forwards with the dagger and plunged it into his neck. He was dead even as I withdrew it. I changed hands with my dagger and drew my sword. Tossing my head back my hood fell back revealing my face. Guy took it in a moment and drew his sword. He was a brave man for he could have shouted for his guards but his face filled with fury and he hacked at me, spitting out words in French. Branton slipped to the edge of the wood and notched his bow. I deflected the clumsy hack with my dagger and sliced down towards his leg. Even as he took out his dagger I felt the sharpened sword connect with his leg and , in the moonlight, I saw blood on it. He was wounded.
“Make it quick my lord, the guards will investigate this noise soon enough.”
I stabbed forwards with my dagger and my sword at the same time. Our blades clashed and our faces were close. “You are a murdering bastard and you are going to die.” As I spat out the words I head butted him. He was slightly shorter than me and I heard his nose crack. When you are butted your eyes close, automatically, and I took advantage of this by stabbing down with my dagger into his upper arm. He was a brave man but he was used to fighting from a horse and this close combat was new to him. There are no rules and I brought my knee up between his legs. He doubled up, the wind taken from him and I chopped down with the blade. It was not a good sword but it was a sharp one and his head rolled to the ground, resting next to Copsi.
“My lord, guards!”
“To the river.”
We slipped into the river and waded in the shallows down stream, next to the warrior hall. The guards were coming the other way but any noise we made was masked by the sound of the river. The water was only up to our knees but we were not swift and when we emerged close to the smith’s we could hear the uproar from the warrior hall. Time was now of the essence and we quickly retrieved our horses. We had left them saddled for just such an emergency. The problem would be getting out of the gates which would be guarded. We lead the nags through the narrow, empty streets. There were two guards at the gate. Branton held his hand up to me to halt me and gave me his reins. He quickly ran around the corner shouting as he went, “Quick! Lord Copsi has sent for you. He wishes to ask you about people who came in tonight. There has been a murder. I am to guard the gates until you return.”
“Thank you brother.” The two men were so worried about what they might have done wrong that they did not question Branton’s authority. By the time I reached them Branton had opened them. We mounted and kicked our mounts on. Unfortunately there were two guards outside and when they heard the gates open they came to investigate. We rode our horses at them and they scattered but then they raised the alarm. There would be a pursuit and we were not mounted on the best of horses. We headed down the road towards Medelai. It was not as good as the road we called the Roman road, but it would take us closer to safety. The ground rose once we left the city and I risked a glance back. I saw eight riders emerge from the gates. Four of them headed south towards Topcliffe whilst the others took our road. There would be others following but it was those four who would be the main problem.
“There are four of them Branton. Let us try to keep a lead until we reach the forest.” The forest began three miles along the road and, once in there, we could lose them. It was a mile further along the road when we knew we were in trouble. My horse began to favour his left fore and Branton began to pull away. He saw my dilemma and returned to me. “We’ll never outrun them my lord. You take my horse.”
“And leave you to be captured? That will not happen.” I stared around, desperate to find something to help us. I saw that, a little way ahead the road turned right and was hidden from view for a few paces by a large rock. “Up there, we can ambush them.”
As we rode up Branton questioned my tactics. “Ambush? Two against four?”
“They will not be expecting it. You can easily take one with your bow. I will stand before you. If you fire swiftly then we may get a second and then the numbers would be even.”
I knew that he was not convinced but as long as there was a chance we would survive I would try to the end. We tied the horses to a small bush and prepared to meet them. We had another advantage, we would hear them before they reached us. Branton had only four arrows left in his quiver; we would have to rely on his accuracy. I wished that I had Boar Splitter rather than the functional sword I held but it would have to do. I held my dagger in my left. I did not know if they had shields but I might well be fighting two of them. Suddenly we heard their voices as they thundered along the road. When they emerged they were in single file. Branton’s arrow was fired from no more than twenty paces and the surprised rider flew backwards from his horse, I actually felt the arrow whiz next to my ear. I swung my sword at the second rider’s horse and felt my arm jar as I connected with the side of his head. Its rider launched himself at me as his horse tumbled over. I put my dagger out, more in hope than expectation and, as the warrior fell on top of me, the dagger slid into his ribs. I struggled to push him off as Branton fought with the fourth warrior. I rolled the warrior from me and stabbed him in the throat. We had no time for niceties or honour and I ran my sword into his back.
“Quickly, let us take their horses before others join them.” I suddenly saw that Branton had been wounded and had a gash in his leg. I quickly tore a piece of tunic from one of the bodies and tied it tightly around the leg. He winced as I pulled on it but I knew that it would hold until we reached Medelai. We led the horses for, if we were pursued, we could change to fresher mounts.
The nights are short in late summer and soon the first rays of sun peeped over the hills to our left. I recognised where we were for I had played in these woods as a child. “Almost there, Branton. Hang on.”
He was pale but still smiling. “Don’t worry my lord. I am tougher than I look.”
The manor at Medelai was busier than it had been since my family had lived there. I retained a reliable steward to manage it for me but I rarely visited. Now, with my men at arms and archers in residence it was almost bursting at the seams.
“Can’t let you alone for a moment without you getting into trouble.” The humour in his voice could not disguise the concern Osbert had for his little brother.
“Just a cut from a sword.”
“Come we will see to it while Lord Aelfraed tells us all.”
“Copsi and Guy of Evreux are dead.”
“Then Edward the archer is avenged.”
“We were pursued. We will need to ride to Coxold. With Ridley’s men we could evade capture.”
“They have many men?”
“Aye, the place was crawling with them. If they join with William we will be hard pushed to defeat them. We need Earl Morcar to raise more troops.” I took Osbert to one side. “Did you give the men the choice I asked of you?”
“I did my lord and they laughed at me saying they would serve you as a penniless lord.” He shook his head. “Then they said that with you as the leader they would not need pay for there would always be plunder!”
“I hope they are right.”
Wit the extra horses we had found and by taking all those from the estate we were able to ride to Coxold before dark. I felt much better inside Ridley’s solid walls and we now had a sizeable force which could see off any but a full army.
As we sat before the fire, Ridley and I talked of Aethelward and our travels through Wales. “It seems such a long time ago Aelfraed.”
“It does and we have changed so much.”
There was a comfortable silence and then Ridley asked, “How easy was it to slide your blade into an unsuspecting man?”
He meant no insult although many men would have taken it as such. “No different to combat. We have both killed warriors who were not watching us and so it was with Copsi. I fought the Norman blade to blade. He was tough but he had little skill. If the Normans are unhorsed they become weaker. It is worth remembering Ridley.”
“What are we to do now that Aethelward is dead? It seems bleak at the moment.”
“It does but I am heartened by my uncle’s words on his deathbed; he said he had been preparing me to take his place. If Morcar can raise an army then we stand a chance.”
“Why does not William come north?”
“I think he is too busy controlling what he has and he is trying to raise money through taxes. We now know how expensive it is to keep warriors.”
He smiled wryly. “It is that. My steward is always complaining.”
“Which is why we employ stewards so that they can worry.” I suddenly remembered my steward. “Thomas, he never complained. I shall miss him and dear Sarah.”
“And the Queen?”
I nodded, unable to speak for my heart was filled with sorrow for my dead child and that I found sad, that I missed someone I had never seen more than the women whose bed I had shared.
“We will need to visit Jorvik if only to keep prodding at Morcar, or he will sit on his arse doing nothing.”
“Succinctly put Ridley. I think he enjoys the title but not the responsibility.”
“And what of Edwin?”
“I think he is trying to hold on to Mercia without actually fighting.”
“Will William of Perci come again?”
“I think he will have to and if he comes soon then there will be no fyrd, they will be gathering in the harvest.”
“We did not need them at Osmotherly.”
“We needed their numbers. If we just had our men and arms and archers then he would have surrounded us and attacked on all sides. We would not have lasted long.” The logs flamed and flickered throwing sparks across the floor. “How man men can we muster?”
“I spoke with Osbert, to get an accurate tally. Sixty men at arms and thirty archers.”
“Not a huge force then?”
“No. I just hope that Morcar has recruited.”
We spent a week at Coxold repairing armour and making arrows for the archers. Ralph Ralphson took over the making of his father’s knight killing arrows and Branton was happy again. When we finally reached Jorvik we were disappointed. Morcar had done little but celebrate that the new Earl had died! He thanked me but kept giving me strange looks. I disliked the politics and the verbal dancing he engaged in and I bluntly asked him. “Earl Morcar speak plainly with me. You know something. If you do then spit it out.”
He sighed, “It is hard to tell you, especially with the news of the Queen and, Gytha. “
So the news of my wife and Calum had leaked out. It was inevitable. “They are minor issues compared with the rule of the tyrant.”
“Well here it is then. You are and Lord Ridley have been declared outlaws for the murder of Copsi and Guy of Evreux.”
“But Lord Ridley was not there! That was Branton.”
“You were identified by someone who saw you in Ripon and the description of the man with you fitted Lord Ridley.” He shrugged, “Your lands are forfeit. They have been given to Lord William of Perci.”
“I can swear that it was not Ridley.”
“But I am no longer Earl. I sit in this city under false pretences.”
“While you sit here then you make the law. Make a proclamation telling all that Ridley is innocent.”
“I will do so but it is meaningless.”
“It is only meaningless if you make it so. We have nothing to lose now Morcar let us rise against William. Send a message to your brother and ask him to rise. You owe it to your sister!”
I think that what decided Morcar was my statement that he had nothing to lose. That day saw a change in him as he began to behave as an Earl and for the next few months we had a chance.
By early winter Edwin had risen and we had raised an army. It was not huge but it was big enough to frighten William of Perci. He had based his army at Doncaster and we marched down to meet him. Earl Morcar had mounted men and we left the fyrd at home. I meant that we had fifteen hundred warriors, all of whom were armoured. Even with his reinforcements from Ripon he still only had two thousand men. We knew that we had the advantage of our earlier victory and when we arrayed our forces before the new motte and bailey at Doncaster, we were in high spirits. The cold morning and the harsh wind blowing from the east did not hurt us. This was our land. I unfurled my banner in the centre of the line and made sure that my men art arms showed their shields with my motif. I wanted William to know that I was coming for him.
He had just over a hundred knights; they were lined to the right of their line. In the middle were their foot soldiers and I could see that he had given them all spears so that they looked like an armoured hedgehog. He had fewer light horse and they were to the left. Thinly spread out, in a long line, before the whole army were sixty crossbowmen. That was his biggest mistake for he could not concentrate their fire on any one part of our line and I knew that he would fight a defensive battle.
“Branton, take your archers get rid of the crossbowmen in the middle. Osbert, give your brother ten men at arms. They can protect them with their shields. Earl Morcar, send your horse to face the enemy light horse. If they attack, then charge them.”
This was my chess game now and I would use my pawns in the middle while threatening his left. I was inviting him to charge us with his knights. “Ridley, form a shield wall, William of Perci will be along shortly.”
Ridley never questioned, he just carried out orders calmly and efficiently. I hoped that Morcar would do the same. Branton’s fifty archers poured arrow after arrow into the sky. There were so many that it looked as though a rain cloud had appeared overhead. The bolts were ineffective because of my men at arms and soon there were only a handful of crossbowmen left on each side.
The light horse made a perfunctory effort to charge the retreating archers but a quick charge from Morcar’s horse made them run for the safety of their foot. “The line will advance.”
Banging their shields we headed towards the Normans. Just as I had expected William of Perci saw his chance and his pennant dipped three times. The light horse charged towards our cavalry and his knights, riding knee to knee charged our left flank.
“Branton! Knight killers.”
Branton and his men did not have many arrows left and they chose their targets well. The knights seemed better prepared this time, no doubt remembering the effect of the weapons at Osmotherly. They held their shields tightly and protected their bodies well. It did, however, unsight them a little and that gave my men an edge. The men on the left braced themselves as the knights struck them. Their wall of spears found a few horses and the line halted. Soon I could hear the melee from my left as both sets of armoured men tried to find a weakness.
In the centre I prepared to meet the foot. We were heavier and I counted on our two lines to punch a hole in their defence. We struck with a clash of iron on wood. My well trained men were soon stabbing and jabbing at the less well protected Normans. Suddenly I heard a shout from Osbert, “My lord, the cavalry!”
I looked to my right and saw, to my horror, Earl Morcar and his horsemen riding north. They had broken. “Osbert, back right.”
Osbert’s part of the line began to edge around to form another side to our line. I roared, “Halt!” We were winning in the middle but if we advanced we would be surrounded. I turned to look for a way out of this trap for Morcar’s desertion had given Perci the advantage of numbers. Our only chance was to defeat the knights and hope that William retreated. I turned to Edwin of Malton next to me, he would be the next sergeant, if we survived this disaster. “Edwin, hold the line whilst I aid Lord Ridley. Listen for my command and do not advance!”
He grinned as he hacked a foot soldier with his short axe, “Aye my lord.”
I extracted myself from the line and trotted to the left where the knights were still heavily engaged. I saw Branton. “Make me a hole in the middle of their line on my command and then be prepared to cover our retreat!” He nodded and I stood in the second line, men made a gap for me and I found myself just behind Ridley. It was a stalemate. “Branton! Now!”
Suddenly eight arrows flew dangerously close to our heads, striking the four knights at the front of their line. There was a gap and I pushed myself to Ridley’s left. “Wedge!” Stabbing forwards with Boar Splitter I felt the blade slide into the horse’s throat and through to embed itself in the knight’s gut. Horse and rider fell to one side and there was an even bigger gap. I slid my shield around and held Death Bringer. As I began to sing, I felt Ridley to my right do the same and soon the singing blades were carving a path through horses and knights who had no answer to the scything blades of death. Their lances lay shattered and they could not reach us with their swords. It was with some relief that I heard the Norman voices shout and the remaining knights fell back. I quickly looked to the right. The attack there was being held.
“Topcliffe! Fall back! Branton, harry them.”
We had lost many men and as we closed our lines to retreat I saw that we would do well to survive the retreat. I took Boar Splitter from the dead horse and held my shield before me for the danger now would be the crossbowmen and the light horse. I heard a horse behind me and Branton’s voice, “My lord, there is a small wood half a mile north.”
Without turning I shouted, “Good! Keep the crossbows and horse away from us, we can deal with their foot easily enough.”
Even though we were retreating we killed more of them as we slowly trudged backwards. When we could we rotated our men so that fresher men were in the front and it was heartbreaking to leave our dead littering the filed but we had no option. Branton’s archers did a magnificent job, riding to any who threatened our flanks and their horse became wary of them. By the time the sun was setting we had reached the safety of the woods and it was with some relief that I saw Perci’s pennant dip and his men retreated. The last fifty men at arms sank to their knees in exhaustion. We had tasted defeat and retreat and, I for one, did not like the taste.