To Murder a King Read online

  All along our line the single riders who had made it through the morass of men, horses and stakes had suffered a similar fate. Some of our men had spears and our archers, releasing their arrows at twenty paces, drove bodkin tipped arrows through the Spanish plate cuirass as though it was cloth. Two more knights lumbered up on their weary mounts. The wounded and panicked fleeing horse had forced them apart and slowed them down. Their lances came for us. As one stood in his stirrups to strike down at Natty an arrow hit his unprotected face. The force was so powerful that the arrow came out of the rear of his head and helmet. The second knight raised his shield to protect his face as he struck blindly down at me. The lance’s tip was easily deflected up by my shield and I lunged with my sword. The knight wore a surcoat and I could not tell if he had on a cuirass. I punched with my sword and it hit him hard in the middle. He was not expecting it. The sword’s tip went through the surcoat and the mail. The aketon stopped it penetrating flesh but the damage had been done. His horse was stopped by the wall of shields. Geoffrey of Gisburn grabbed the reins of the horse and I reached with my shielded left hand to grab the knight’s gauntlet and I pulled him over my head. He landed behind me.

  I heard Peter shout, in poor Spanish, “Yield or die!”

  Geoffrey pulled the horse through our lines. It was a destrier. In England it would have cost me more than eighty pounds! I knew some manors which would not yield that amount in a year.

  I heard the Spaniard shout, “I yield!” He had learned that much English.

  There were still many knights before us but they were no longer charging. Some had charged and been rebuffed. They were milling and trying to reform. As the captured horse was moved behind us I saw gaps. Many of the Spanish knights had been killed or wounded. Just then, from the north, came the sound of a horn. It had to be John of Gaunt. I glanced up at the sun and saw that it was well after noon. We had been fighting for some time. The hottest part of the day had passed. I was desperate for a drink but that would have to wait.

  The Earl was close enough for us to hear his words, “Knights of Northampton, my father comes, we are few in number but we have enough for glory! Mount your horses and let us drive these Spanish from our field! Our sergeants and archers have shown us what to do, let us complete their work and win this battle!” There was a cheer from the knights.

  I shouted, “Ware right!” Our knights needed a gap through which to move. They were pursuing and would not need to use a solid line. The Earl’s horse had a caparison. He bore the royal arms of England: quartered red and blue with the three lions of England on a field of fleur de lys it was differenced by a label of five points ermine. It was a distinctive and colourful livery. It made him a marked man. He led the line and his squires and household knights, with banners flying charged the Spanish knights. Our archers continued to send arrows over the heads of the charging Earl and his men. The Spanish fled.

  When the last knight had passed I shouted, “Charge!” The knights would pursue the mounted Spanish but there were still crossbowmen and dismounted men at arms who needed to be eliminated. I had learned from Captain Tom that you had to be thorough when finishing a battle or else you left men alive who would fight you a second time. If we could defeat them now we might not have to besiege Santiago. We lumbered through the bodies and the stakes. Our archers, unencumbered by mail, quickly passed us. Their bows were left behind and they ran with sword and hand axe. The Spanish crossbowmen had been badly handled by our archers. The charging knights had made the crossbowmen take cover. Our archers reached them before they could bring their crossbows to bear. Knights might be taken prisoner. The ordinary men who fought us had no such luxury. They were butchered. Archers took at least ten years to train. Their muscles and bodies were far stronger than men who learned to use a crossbow in months. It was an uneven contest.

  The Spanish sergeants were mailed. They had no plate save for an occasional cuisse. They were professionals too and knew that if they ran and presented their backs then they would die. They faced us. My investment in good armour on my arms, neck and legs paid off that day. I blocked the blow from a gisarme. The gisarme had a conical axe head attached to a pole. It was more effective against a mounted man but it could still deliver a mighty blow. Although I took the strike on my shield the head was so large that it came towards my upper arm. The cannon held it and the Spaniard was left defenceless. His shield arm also held the pole and I slashed my sword in a long sweep at his side. His mail held but not the bones beneath. I cracked and broke his ribs. He sank to his knee. I raised my sword and drove it through his open helmet down into his body. I kicked the dead man from my blade and followed my men. The same combats were taking place all along our front. It was a brutal battle. We were still fewer in number but we had the advantage of having repulsed mounted knights. My men were confident. I saw Stephen the Tracker as he stabbed a man at arms through the eye hole with his sharpened rondel dagger. Harold Four Fingers used the dagger in his left hand to strike under the armpit of a Spanish man at arms. When we reached the woods I shouted, “Men at arms, hold! Archers the woods are yours!” The open battlefield was somewhere we could fight but not the woods. Archers would be in their element. I needed a drink and fighting in armour was tiring.

  Eager for the chance to take purses and weapons from mailed men who could not move easily in the woods they hurtled after them. I slung my shield on my back and sheathed my sword. I saw that one of the dead Spaniards had a skin on his belt. I took it and sniffed it. It was ale. I drank and peered around the field as I did so. I saw that the men I led still lived. Others had died. Captain Thomas was kneeling next to one of his men who had been badly wounded. I saw him make the sign of the cross and then end the man’s suffering with his dagger. I walked back seeking the men I had slain. I took their purses and other treasures. If they had a good sword then I took that. Later we would collect the mail and helmets. Nothing would be wasted. I saw other companies stripping the bodies of buskins, tunics and breeks. My men did not.

  I had almost reached our starting point when I heard horses clip clopping over the bridge. I looked up and saw John of Gaunt, King of Castile and Leon, as he and half a dozen knights rode towards us. I took off my helmet and bowed as he approached. I saw Sir Jocelyn with him. “You are Captain Will Strongstaff are you not? I remember you.”

  “Yes lord.”

  “Where is my son?”

  “He and his knights drove Henry of Santiago and his knights south. We have had a great victory, your majesty.”

  He nodded. “We hurried to come to your aid. It seems we might have saved ourselves the trouble. My son and his men are resourceful.” He turned to Sir Jocelyn, “You should have returned to your lord. You have missed the opportunity to have glory!”

  “I am sure that I will have more, majesty.”

  One of the two who claimed the title, King of Castile, turned to head back to the castle. I headed back to our men. Peter and Henry had the prisoners gathered. There were six of them. Those I had captured would be ransomed to me. The others ransomed to the company. I saw that there were two squires amongst the prisoners. One looked to be little older than Geoffrey, the Earl’s page. I went to examine the destrier I had captured. I would sell him. I was not a knight and I did not need such a magnificent creature. My courser was good enough for me.

  My men returned and we piled up that which we would share. Peter and Henry would be given some of my treasure. Men drank from their ale and water skins. Food could wait but we all needed a drink. When the archers returned my men took off their helmets and went amongst the dead to collect weapons, helmets, plate and mail. Captain Thomas’ men as well as Black Jack’s did the same.

  I stood with Henry, “Peter there are some dead horses out there. Go and butcher some. We will light a fire.”

  The evening would bring welcome cooler air. John of Gaunt and his men would take the castle’s accommodation. We would use the camp we had had for the last few days. I pointed to the Spanish,
“Bring the wood.” Disconsolately they picked up the wood Henry had gathered. Henry led the horse laden with the weapons I had taken. We headed back to our camp. I gave the captives water to drink and then lit the fire. That was the difference between me and a knight. I had been the dogsbody around the camp of the Blue Company. I knew how to light a good fire. I needed no servants. When the fire was going I said, “Henry, watch the fire and do not let it falter.”

  I began to take off my armour. Knights would have waited for a servant to do so. I saw the Spaniard who had first surrendered to me. “You are not a knight!” He spoke in French.

  “No, I am a gentleman.”

  “Yet you have the skills of a knight and you lead men.”

  “A knight has a title and spurs. I am content.” I knew that the Spaniard was unhappy that he had to yield to a commoner and not someone of the nobility. “Your family has money for ransom?”

  “They do.”

  “Good!”

  Peter had hunks of horsemeat roasting on the fire when the Earl and his men returned. They led twenty prisoners. One, I saw, was Henry Duke of Santiago. The Earl had done well. He reined in and smiled at me, “You and the other captains upheld the high standards of the Free Companies. I thank you. You shall be rewarded. Send your prisoners to the castle. Geoffrey will see that you receive their ransoms.” He saw the war horse.” Whose is the horse?”

  “Mine, lord!”

  “It is too valuable for a commoner to own. I will buy it from you. Edward, fetch it and the prisoners!”

  And then they were gone. Henry, my squire, said, “That is not fair, Captain, you captured it.”

  “And I would have sold it. This is better. The Earl is now indebted to me and I have coin in my purse.”

  We ate well and I was not summoned to sleep inside the Earl’s room.

  My sleep was interrupted in the middle of the night. There were the sounds of a commotion in the castle. My men and I were awake in an instant. Had the Spanish launched a sudden attack? We armed ourselves. It was better to lose a little sleep than to lose a life.

  Geoffrey, the Earl’s page, came rushing from the castle. “Captain William the Earl has need of you. Treachery!” He turned and ran. I followed. Had I been needed? Had an assassin done the deed?

  Chapter 8

  The castle was awake. Geoffrey waited for me at the gate and we rushed through to the hall. There I saw Sir Jocelyn and the other household knights. They parted and I saw two cloak covered bodies. The livery of the hose of one was that of the Earl. I saw his father, John of Gaunt. He was white. I could not work out if it was anger or grief. The Earl’s voice came from behind me. “I was too confident, Captain, and filled with the joy of the victory. My squire, Harold, has paid the price.”

  “I am sorry I was not sleeping in your chamber, lord.”

  John of Gaunt said, “From now on you will. Has no one found the squire of this vermin?”

  He kicked the other body. No one answered.

  The Earl said, “Sir Edmund de Ufford was one of the knights who accompanied my father. He tried to gain entry to my chamber in the night. He slew Harold and would have slain me had not Richard slept with a sword.”

  The squire said, “I am sorry that I was unable to keep him alive, lord.”

  “It would have been useful to know who sent him to murder me but better that he died. Besides we may yet apprehend his squire.”

  John of Gaunt turned and glowered at the rest of his household. “This is not over! Each of you will swear on a bible. I would know all there is to know about this Edmund de Ufford.”

  It crossed my mind that I would have learned all there was to know before I left England but I was not a lord. I was a commoner. Perhaps we had more common sense.

  The squire was not found. He had fled. I had no more sleep that night. The Earl and his father spoke for an hour. I was present and heard all. Both his father and the Earl feared for his life. Young Geoffrey fetched Henry my squire. “Henry, have the men ready to ride. We accompany the Earl and the King to Santiago de Compostela.” I added quietly, “We ride in close company. Have two men to drive the wagon. When you have told them then return with Jack and your horse. Peter can stay with the wagon and our spare horses too.”

  John of Gaunt left half of his knights at the castle. He had his senior lieutenant, the Earl of Southampton, stay with the remainder to discover their loyalties. The victory of the previous day now seemed hollow. As we headed south the Earl felt obliged to confide in me a little more. “I know who sent the killer. It was the Earl of Oxford. His mother is a de Ufford. I have no doubt that he promised the young Edmund power if he succeeded.”

  “But how did he think he would get away with it?”

  “He used a poisoned blade. You did not see Harold’s body. It was most dreadfully contorted. Richard was lucky or highly skilled. Newly arrived de Ufford did not know of the arrangement of men sleeping within my chamber. He thought I was alone. Had I been alone he would have succeeded.”

  “I am sorry, lord. Perhaps I am foolish but I cannot see what de Vere has to gain by your death.”

  “A throne. The crown of England. I am the next in line. He has duped my cousin and is now incredibly rich. Robert de Vere has a vague claim to the throne. His wife is Phillipa de Courcy. She is my cousin and the King’s cousin. He is ambitious. With Richard and myself out of the way he would have a clear path to the crown. The fact that he is not of royal blood would not stop him. We would have a second anarchy and with the coin he and de la Pole have accumulated then he could buy the crown for himself.”

  “Then why not fight de Vere?”

  “You know him do you not?”

  “I do and I do not like him. Go to your cousin and tell him your suspicions.”

  “My cousin does not trust me. He trusts de Vere and de la Pole. I do not believe the rumours about de Vere, the Duke of Ireland, and my cousin but I do believe that my cousin is under the Duke of Ireland’s power.” He lowered his voice. “We will leave for England within this three month. We take Galicia for my father and then return. I will fight de Vere but I will do it my way. I trust you to watch my back from now on. Your men I trust. My squires and pages I trust. As for the rest? Let none near me.”

  As we headed south the few miles to the most important town in Galicia we saw the evidence of the Earl’s ride the previous day. Bodies still lay where they had fallen. These were not the knights. The knights had surrendered and would be ransomed. These were the poorer fellows who had been ridden down and slain. It would be the fate of my men and me if we lost. It was up to me to ensure that we did not lose.

  Richard, the Earl’s senior squire, Edward his second squire and Geoffrey were all in serious and sombre mood. A poisoned blade gave a man no chance. It did not seem like an English weapon. Henry, my squire, also seemed preoccupied. The life of a knight had seemed so glamourous back in England. Now he was on campaign he saw the reality. He had eaten his first horsemeat the night before. My men had laughed at him for he approached it as though it was poisoned. Roger of Chester had laughed, “I am just pleased that it is cooked. Raw horsemeat is not as pleasant. I ate it but I did not enjoy it. This? It is well cooked and delicious.”

  “But it is a horse!”

  “Aye, Master, but it is not mine and it is Spanish!”

  We had Duke Henry with us. John of Gaunt knew that it would gain us the keys to the city. I knew that he was pleased with his son. Had we besieged the city then we would have lost many men and risked damaging a city to which pilgrims flocked each year. Rome was the only city which could rival Santiago. Once men had gone to Jerusalem but that was now lost to the Christian world. John of Gaunt sent his own men ahead so that we would not have the embarrassment of having to have the King of Castile beg entry to his own city. His knights left the inhabitants in no doubt about their fate should they resist. The result was that the gates were open and we rode through the streets triumphantly. The ones loyal to John of Trastámara had f
led south. I knew, from the Earl, that our stay in Santiago would be brief. He intended pushing on to the borders with Portugal to ensure that we held Galicia. Once that happened then the Earl would leave for England.

  The palace was huge and my men had the luxury of a roof over their heads and stables. Henry and I were given a room which adjoined the Earl’s. To get to him any killer would have to pass through our room first. I would no longer have to sleep on the floor. The King of Castile, John of Gaunt, had the largest chambers. The Earl did not mind for he wished to be away from the country sooner rather than later.

  John of Gaunt had to wait for his army to arrive. He received visitors. These were the Galicians who wished independence. They would happily support the Earl’s father but only until they got that which they desired. We took the opportunity to bathe, wash our clothes and have wounds tended to by the doctors who accompanied John of Gaunt. The attempt on Henry Bolingbroke’s life had made the Earl less keen to go abroad and he stayed within the palace. When he moved he had me and two of my men with him. We were like his shadows. He became almost a recluse. We still had not moved a week later. The army had arrived within two days and I thought that he would move quickly. John of Gaunt did not. He blamed the weather but, if anything, it was slightly cooler than when we had first arrived. A few days later and the ransoms arrived. There were chests of coins. We were all rich! Yet still we did not move.