English Knight (14 page)

That evening as I lay in the hall listening to Osric snore I reflected on that.  My father was a Saxon but I was not.  I was English and that was different to all the other knights who surrounded us. I would have to make them all remember me.

By the time the early flowers risked the chill cold of the north east we had a tower built which was as tall as Wulfstan. William began to build the gate and once that was completed then the villagers would have a refuge. I was desperate to move in but I knew that it would still be under construction for another year.  Of course the work would be a little slower from now on as the men who had worked on it would be needed on their land. It was, however, a start.

Leaving Garth with Branton and his men my father took the rest of us south to Yorkshire to visit the markets. We took spare horses and plenty of coins. None of us liked leaving Norton so barely defended but there were many things we needed to buy. Once across the river Egbert and Athelstan took the road to York.  They had a letter to send and they would see what could be purchased there.

We headed towards Northallerton which was just a few hours journey down the old Roman Road.  Alf’s older brother, Ethelred, now operated a ferry and for a couple of pennies we had saved an hour’s travel. We now all bore the same coat of arms on our shields but, remembering Sir Tancred, I regretted not having surcoats to match.  The Gonfanon which fluttered above us was held by Harold. It told all we encountered who we were. We would need squires too.

The hills rose steeply to the east as we headed south west. Northallerton nestled in the fine farmland of Yorkshire. This was good wheat land and the manors hereabouts were rich ones.  We expected to see fine castles and well armed knights.  However we saw comfortable manor houses and prosperous farmers only. We did not see any castles as we headed south but we saw a deserted motte and bailey at Brompton. It showed that this part of the land was peaceful.  It was a mere twenty miles from our manor and yet there was a world of difference. We saw many farms and they were built of stone rather than wood.  Prosperity was evident everywhere.

It had been the font of all knowledge, Alf, who had told us when the market was being held.  Olaf was his brother in law and, between them, they knew all that was necessary.

There was just an old wooden wall around Northallerton and no castle. While Ralph and my father headed for the animal auctions Wulfstan and Osric took the rest of us to the place where slaves and hired men were congregated. Wulfstan had an eye for slaves and Osric and I just watched. Poor Harold had been left with the horses and was missing the excitement of a market day in Northallerton. My father bought six female slaves.  That seemed a great deal to me but he did not pay much. I would ask him later about his choices.  Three were under twenty while one had some grey hairs.  There must have been something about her which my father recognised as a talent which would be useful to us. He had spent some time with Faren and Father Peter before we had left Norton.  He knew what skills we needed.

We found six herders, all of whom were younger than I was and we hired them too. Things were going well. While Osric took them back to Harold, Wulfstan and I cast our eye over the unemployed soldiers.  They were just gathered around the table which was serving ale.  I noticed that few of them had full beakers and they sipped carefully. The exceptions were two who were roaring drunk.  I did not need Wulfstan to tell me to avoid those two.

We stood for a while and studied the rest of them.  I beckoned over the girl who was serving drinks and asked for two barley beers. When they came I asked, quietly, what Wulfstan was looking for.

“I am not bothered about a man’s clothes.  He can fall upon hard times through no fault of his own. I do not mind a man with scars on his face.  It shows he has faced danger but anyone who carries an injury is no good to me but the first thing I look at is a man’s weapons.  They should be the best thing about him. A warrior who does not care for his weapons is no warrior. I have already whittled down our choices to four.”

He finished his ale.  “Come I have seen enough.” He gave me his serous look and wagged his finger.  “Just watch and listen, my lord.” We wandered over to them.  I noticed that they did not talk but looked in the bottom of the ever emptying beakers. He stood facing five men who were seated at a roughly hewn log table. “Would you men like a drink?”

One looked up eagerly and said, “Aye sir.”

“And the rest of you?”

One, who had a badly scarred cheek nodded and said, “I can always use a drink but I only accept if I know the man or what I have to do to earn it.”

The other three all nodded too. “Good. You need only listen to me to earn the beer.” Wulfstan nodded to the girl. He took a coin from his purse and handed it to the girl. “Bring these men beers.” When she had gone he said, “I am Wulfstan and I fight for Baron Ridley of Norton.  It is a small manor north of the Tees.  I am seeking men to serve in the castle and to fight for the Baron.”

Even I could see that Wulfstan’s words had struck home.  Their eyes brightened and they leaned forward. Their spokesman smiled.  He pointed to the three men closest to him. “I am Edward of Derby, this is Alan my brother’s son, Scanlan of Doncaster and Richard of Whitby.”

The warrior eager for ale piped up, “And I am Wulfric of Colchester.”

Wulfstan smiled and shook his head, “I am not offering you work.”

“Why not? I can fight as well as they can.”

“You might but I hire no man whose sword is rusty and lies at his feet like a discarded bone.  Have a drink on me but if you wish work then look to your tools.  You are either a warrior or a drunk.”

Anger flashed across his face and he looked to be ready to fight for he was drunk.  However, he was not drunk enough to risk the wrath of the giant who towered over him.

The ale came and Edward asked, “How much are you paying, sir, and what about weapons?”

“Good questions. We will provide all your food and a penny a week for the first six months.  After that, if you have satisfied the baron then it will be two pennies a week. We will provide shields, armour and any other weapons you might need.  Can you ride?”

Edward smiled, “We can stay on a horse but we do not fight on horses.”

“That is fair enough.  As you can see I am not like my lord here, I am a Housecarl and I like my feet on the ground when I fight.  What say you?”

Edward looked to the others who all nodded and said, “We are your men.”

“Good, then finish your ale and we will return for you when we have completed our purchases.”

We found my father and Ralph still at the animal pens.  Osric had joined him. They looked as we approached.  Wulfstan nodded and held up four fingers; my father smiled and continued looking at the animals.

Osric sidled over. “We have bought some cows and some cattle but your father is now looking at the bulls. He has found that there are some horses to be had further south.  We will leave that for another day.  The animals are expensive.  The Scottish raids along the borders have pushed the prices of horses too high.” He shook his head.  “Had we more men then we could go cattle raiding.”

“Men are more valuable than cattle.  It is not worth the effort. We would have a two day journey north and then have to try to get them back.  This is a better way.  We are warriors and not cattle thieves.”

“You are right, my friend.”

There were three bulls for sale.  My father was outbid on the first. He did not seem concerned. As the next two were paraded I knew which one I would choose.  Of the two one had much longer horns and had an aggressive demeanour.  That would be a bull to sire fine young.  Surprisingly my father did not bid for that one but the other, more docile looking beast which had barely any horns at all. He paid the least for it. As we were going back to collect the rest of our party I asked him why.

“If I was to leave the bull wandering our land then I would get the aggressive one but we will keep our bull within our walls.  We do not need aggression. We need a compliant animal which will sire animals. We are seeking animals which have weight and meat.  He was the biggest bull.  He will do.

When we had collected our herders, slaves, men at arms and our horses we returned to the animal pens and, with our bull led by Osric, we drove our animals north. It would be a good test of Ethelred’s new ferry.

I rode with Wulfstan and the new men at arms. These would be fighting with us and we needed to discover their backgrounds.

“We all fought in the Welsh Marches with our Lord, Geoffrey of Hereford. We were betrayed by his brother and the four of us were the only ones to escape the ambush.  We have fled as far from Wales as we could.”

I could not resist asking, “Why?”

“His brother is marcher lord and has great power. We were witnesses to his treachery.”

Even Wulfstan was intrigued, “But why should the lord of the Welsh Marches have his brother ambushed and killed.  Surely that would weaken him?”

Edward laughed wryly. “Our lord had a pretty young wife whom his brother coveted.  In addition he had suborned many of the men of the household. My brother was the sergeant at arms and neither he nor we could be seduced by gold.  When our lord and my brother were dead those who had remained true fled.  There were six of us but two succumbed to their wounds.”

“A sad story.”

Edward nodded and put his arm around his nephew. “Aye, but my brother died well and with honour.  That is all a warrior can ask.”

I looked north towards our home and thought about his words.  Treachery appeared as common here as in the east.  For some reason I had thought it to be different. And what of the king to whom we had pledged allegiance?  He had no more male heirs and his daughter was a young girl married to the Holy Roman Emperor. Had my father made a mistake in coming here?

Behind me I heard Edward questioning Wulfstan. “We were offered work in the north by some Norman knights who were seeking men at arms.”

“You chose not to go with them?”

I heard a wry laugh, “The pay was not as good but there was a promise of plunder. It did not sound like dependable work.  If our lord had not been betrayed then we would still be in the Welsh Marches.” There was a pause, “How many men at arms are we?”

“We have eleven more at the castle and two of my fellows are in York on the Baron’s business.”

“And we would be the garrison for Norton?”

“My lord?” I turned, “Would you join us? Needs must you should answer the sergeant’s questions.” I reined Scout back and rode next to Wulfstan. “You will be serving this knight, Sir Alfraed.  He is building a castle some five miles from Norton; at Stockton.”

“Stockton?”

“Aye Stockton.  It is on the river.” I looked at the man. “I am having a stone tower built. By this time next year it will be finished.”

Wulfstan saw the doubt creep into Edward’s cheeks.  “Do not let his youth deceive you.  This knight has killed many knights including one who was trying to kill King Henry. I serve him happily.”

I felt proud when I heard those words from a warrior as fine as Wulfstan.

Edward knuckled his forehead, “I am sorry for any disrespect sir. Had I not seen you in armour I would have taken you for a priest.”

I laughed, “Well that is a first.  There were many matrons in Constantinople who wished that I been a priest! We are small in number, Edward, but my mason, William, is building a solid stone castle and the river will help to defend us. We will enjoy success there, I promise you.”

It was late afternoon when we reached the river.  Ethelred did not seem bothered when he saw the animals.”I will carry your lordship and the female slaves first. I can bring the animals across in two journeys.” He rubbed his hands.  “I am grateful to Alf for suggesting this. I will soon be a rich man.”

As we boarded my father smiled, “And I look forward to the taxes you shall pay!”

As he pulled us across he said, “You have to earn the money to pay the taxes.  I am happy enough, my lord.”

It took some time to cross and it was dark by the time all the animals had been transported. “I will travel back with Wulfstan, Osric and Ralph. You can spend the night in your half built castle, my son.”

I was more than happy about that. “I will guard our animals with my life and bring them in the morning.”

“Good.  We will have pens built by then.”

Sarah, the ale wife, did a healthy business that night.  Edward and his men had coin for ale and I paid her for some food for us.  The slaves and herders looked surprised at my generosity.  They had expected water only.

There were no houses built yet but there was some shelter against one of the external walls. I wandered around my walls with Harold.  In my mind I was imagining it finished. Edward joined us.

“What do you think?”

“It is good, my lord.  The river will provide defence however…”

I frowned.  Was my new man criticising me already?  “Speak.”

“The gate looks a little wide to me; in my experience the narrower the gate the better.”

“But what if we have to bring wagons or carts inside?”

He gave me a patient look, “This is a tower, my lord.  If you have stables on the ground floor then that is all you need; protection for your horses.  Everything else can be carried inside by your slaves. If this was my castle I would have the gate way big enough just for a horse to be led through.”

I went to the gate entrance.  There was no wooden barrier yet and I could see what he meant.  If you only had a narrow entrance then only one man at a time could come through. “You are right.  I will see William in the morning.  Any other suggestions?”