The Bloody Border Read online

“Well met, my lord!”

  “You and the men of Bellingham made a timely appearance.”

  “My father and brother bought us the time, lord. They held the farm while we took the flocks to Bellingham. He did not sound the horn so that we could sneak away to safety. They were brave men and we will make these Scottish bastards pay!”

  “Aye, we will.”

  “Sir Ranulf sent a rider a day since and asked us to march to help him relieve you.”

  Then Sir Ranulf led the others! I looked down at the men of Bellingham, “I thank the men of Bellingham. I am in your debt. When time allows, I will reward you.”

  An older man stepped forward. He carried a two-handed axe in his hand. It looked ancient enough to be Danish! “I am Erik the Crusader, we thank you, lord. We only ask that you will send your horsemen to watch our borders too.” He waved a hand at the devastation of Elsdon, “This could have been us.”

  I nodded, “Help yourself to weapons, mail and coins. I will take my men and go to the aid of Sir Ranulf!”

  We rode towards the Rothbury road. There had been fewer men on that side and Sir Ranulf needed no help. The enemy were either dead or prisoners by the time we reached him. He had mounted men with him and he reined in as we met. We raised our visors. He held out his arm, “I am sorry we are late, Sir William.”

  “I am just glad that you came.”

  “Sir Eustace is a traitor. When we heard your bell sound, I sent a rider to Rothbury. He was told there was no danger and that you were just testing your bell. The man I sent was suspicious and he rode towards your castle. When he saw your manor ringed by the fires of enemies, he returned to me. I sent for the men of Bellingham for I did not have enough of my own men. It took some days to gather our men. We had to attack from both sides at once. My men and I had to head north first for I had no other way of relieving the siege and attacking the traitors who were to the northeast of you. That meant fording the river west of Rothbury.” He waved his arm around, “Although the castle of Rothbury remains in enemy hands, we have dispersed the men who held the road.”

  “Aye lord but Otterburn is besieged too. We need to go to their aid. The men who fled here will join them. Those reinforcements may swing the balance against Sir Richard.”

  I saw him frown. “And I have to return to Rothbury! They lied to my man and I cannot leave an enemy who can threaten my manor.” He looked at the wrecked camps, “I tell you what, Sir William, let me ride to Rothbury. If they are reasonable men then they will surrender to me. If they do so I will come back here tomorrow and we can march to Otterburn.”

  I saw the sense in his words. He was thinking logically. This was not vacillation but delaying might cause the fall of Otterburn, “Sir Ranulf, you must do what you think right for your manor. We will ride before dawn and go to the aid of Otterburn.”

  “With less than thirty men?”

  “I would go with just my squire and page if that was all I had left to me.”

  “You are a good knight. We will come as soon as we can. Do not throw your life away unnecessarily!”

  “I have no intention of throwing anyone’s life away, my lord.” I whipped Eagle’s head around and headed back to my castle. I had much to do.

  Chapter 16

  My people had already begun to go through the village. There was much to do and more to repair. Cedric and his son’s heads were removed. There were no bodies but we would bury the heads in our churchyard. The enemies’ bodies, both Scottish and English, were gathered and the half-finished stone thrower was used to make a pyre. We burned them. Their ashes would be scattered over the land they had tried to take. That would be the only part of Elsdon they held. The women began to cook food. The men of Bellingham would stay the night and they deserved a good feast. The man who had led them was an old soldier. Erik the Crusader had served in the Holy Land. He and I got on well. “We have no lord in our village, lord, but the priest and I make certain that the lads practise with their bows on Sundays and Holy Days. We cannot compare with your men but they have good hearts. With the arms and mail we have taken from the field we will all be better warriors in future.” He waved a hand at our defences, “We will make our village stronger too!”

  My archers began to collect the spent arrows. Some were whole. Others had tips and flights which could be reused. The mail and weapons were taken into my castle and then the men of my manor, my men at arms and my archers gathered in the church and Brother Paul gave thanks to God for our salvation. While all of the men were gathered together, and we stood outside looking at the desolation that was Elsdon, I told them of my plan.

  “Many of your homes are destroyed. It will take until after Christmas to rebuild them. Until then you will live in my castle. Tomorrow, I take my men at arms and archers to the aid of Otterburn. We may be too late but we cannot leave the people of that manor to endure what happened to Yalesham. Sir Ranulf has said that he will aid us but even if he will not, we will still go.”

  Rafe said, “If you need us with you, lord, then we will come!”

  The men all cheered. They were in good heart. They were my people. I smiled and held my hands up for silence, “You need to begin the sorry work of undoing the mischief caused by our foes. We will now have a harder winter. If we delay in healing the land then it may harm us all. Stay here, Rafe, and help rebuild Elsdon.”

  It felt like a pathetically small number I led from my castle. A chill wind blew from the east and snow flurries followed us as we headed to Otterburn. Garth had two archers ahead of us as scouts. We stopped twice when we spied men on the road. They were dead men. They had fled the field and succumbed to their wounds. This land was a harsh one and the men had paid for their folly with their lives.

  John the archer and James rode back and held up their hands. We stopped. “Lord, the tower still stands. It is ringed by enemies. There looks to be almost as many as there were around Elsdon.”

  “Has the wall of Otterburn been breached?”

  “Aye lord, but not the tower. They have a ram. We heard men preparing their attack. They were sharpening weapons.”

  That made sense. They would expect me to come but not yet. They would try to use the ram on the tower. Sir Richard had had to endure a longer siege than we. His outer wall had been destroyed. His archers were fewer in number and they would be running out of arrows. He would not know that we had been relieved. The reinforcements he had seen arriving would not look like broken men. We had to do that which looked and sounded the act of a mad man. We would need to attack. We would be attacking five times our number and none would expect that.

  “Garth, take John and my archers. Cross the river and do that which we did when we came the last time. Harass the enemy. This time we wait until you attack and they commit to an assault on your position. The ground is muddier and the river in full spate. They should not be able to get close to you but take no risks. Fall back if you have to. We will try to destroy the ram and then retreat to the ridge and await Sir Ranulf. I do not doubt that he will arrive sometime but we cannot allow the ram to begin to breach the tower.”

  “Aye lord. Come, Master John, you are becoming a fair archer. No holding horses for you today!”

  They headed across the river. We knew this road as well as any. We had patrolled as far as the border. We had charged down the road before. The slope would aid us. We tightened girths and mounted. We walked through the dark of early morning. The fallen snow was beginning to lie. This was the start of the winter blanket. Soon it would grip the land. This was the last throw of the dice for the Earl of Fife, Sir Eustace and Sir Malcolm.

  “Matthew, when I give the command to charge then sound the horn. Men, I want you to cheer as though we are leading the whole of Cleveland. Our aim is simple. Kill the men by the ram and then destroy the ram. If we succeed then we retreat to the ridge and make them bleed when they try to attack us.”

  I looked to the east. A thin light could be seen. Dawn would be upon us soon enough. This time we knew
where they lay. A straggly and thin stand of trees would hide us. We could see the shape of the tower rising above the trees but nothing of the attackers. We knew of the disposition of our foes from our scouts. We knew the lie of the land and we would have to trust to the skill of our horses. I knew it would take Garth some time to get into position. They would leave their horses well back from the river and then crawl, unseen, to the river bank. The winter rains and recent snows had made the river burst its banks. It was wider now than the last time we had come to the aid of Sir James. That could only aid us.

  Dawn began to break and still, we had not heard the sounds of alarm. We heard, instead, the sound of swords being sharpened as men prepared to begin the assault. I sensed the nervousness from Matthew. He was desperate to speak but he had been ordered to be silent and he would obey his orders. Suddenly I heard what sounded like birds taking flight. I knew what it was. It was the sound of arrows plummeting from the sky. The cries and shouts from the besiegers confirmed it. Garth and his archers sent flight after flight across the river. When I heard them strike wood, I knew that the enemy had turned their shields to stop the arrow storm. I heard a Scottish voice shout something. I had to imagine what was happening for it was hidden behind a screen of trees. Whoever commanded would send his own archers and crossbows to the river. Their attention would be split between the river and the tower. I raised my spear and led my men towards the road. We walked towards the high point of the road. When I reached it, I waved my spear to the left and right. Matthew tucked in behind me and the rest spread out in two lines. The men besieging Otterburn were just two hundred paces below us. There were twenty men armed with bows, slings and crossbows moving towards the river. Then there was a line of men with spears forming up and supporting the archers. The rest were gathered around the ram. A debate was going on. Their attention was divided.

  “Charge!” The horn sounded and I spurred Eagle. He leapt forward and we charged. The horn had confused the attackers. They were being attacked from two different directions. When the bell in Otterburn began to peel it added to the chaos. I saw men looking east, west and south. In that time, we had covered one hundred paces. It was only then that a Scottish voice began to give commands. As I lowered my spear, I saw the Earl of Fife, Sir Eustace and Sir Malcolm. They had mounted their horses. We had charged from the south and the sun was rising in the east. They saw shadows coming from the trees. The shadows masked our numbers. To the west, I saw the men sent to harass my archers falling back and Garth began to send his arrows towards the Earl and the leaders. One struck a knight who was next to the Earl of Fife. It was such a true arrow that I knew it to be from the bow of Garth Red Arrow. It plunged down and hit the knight who was not wearing his helmet. He fell from his horse. He was dead.

  Then my attention was on the men before us for they had belatedly begun to form lines. I lowered my spear. Eagle’s snapping jaws distracted the two men before me. Their spears hit my cantle. My spear rammed into the chest of one of them and Eagle bowled over the other. Suddenly the door from the tower burst open and Sir Richard led his beleaguered men from the tower. Those attacking might have resisted but the Earl turned his horse and led his knights north. He was heading for home. Sir Malcolm, who was just thirty paces from me hesitated and then, seeing me, turned and followed his cousin. I felt a spear hit my shield. I stuck my own spear into the arm of a spearman as Matthew used my banner to hit the man who had struck my shield. There were none between me and Sir Eustace. I saw him and his squire, along with Godfrey of Etal, turn their horses to head north. I was sorely tempted to follow them but Sir Richard needed my help.

  I shouted, “Garth! Fetch our archers.” I wheeled my horse and, standing in my stirrups, made him rear. His hooves clattered on the skulls of the two men standing next to me. As they tumbled to the ground, they banged into two more men and my spear took one in the arm. Falling and turning he tore the spear from my hand. I drew my sword. Spurring Eagle, I galloped over bodies already slain by my men, towards the ram around which the Scots were fighting. I leaned from the saddle to hack into the arm of one man. Roger Two Swords was using both of his weapons at once and he and I carved a path towards Sir Richard and his men. The sun was now shining, albeit dimly through grey clouds and the Scots and English began to flee. When arrows descended upon them the trickle turned to a flood as the attackers realised that their leaders had, in the main, deserted them.

  There was an exception. A young knight, his squire and two men at arms suddenly launched themselves at us. They must have been mounting their horses. Perhaps they meant to flee. I know not whatever the reason they rode at us. I saw that the knight had a blue quartered rampant lion. Even as I turned my horse to face him, I wondered if he was related to the King. He had a lance and he came directly at me. I could leave the other four to my men who were already turning to come to my aid. The lance was the wrong weapon in such a battle. This was uneven ground. Bodies littered the earth and his horse had to pick his way towards me. He did not have enough room to get up to speed but, worst of all, his lance tip wavered from my head to my foot. He was too excited and could not control the end. I brought my shield across my body. If the tip of the lance came towards my head I would simply duck. It was more likely that if he hit at all it would be my shield he struck. He had an open sallet type helmet and I saw his eyes were fierce and angry. A knight fought cold. He had to be calm and detached. I had been taught by my father and he knew his business better than any. The Scot stood in his stirrups and punched at me with his lance. He aimed at my head but the weight of the lance dragged the end down and it struck my shield. I was already swinging my sword as I deflected the lance to my left with my shield. I aimed at his middle but, as he sat down my sword slid up and rammed across his throat. He had a coif there for protection but my blow was so hard that I broke his neck. I saw the life go from his young eyes. He slid from his saddle.

  The cheer from behind me told me that the other three had been defeated and we had won. Lifting my visor, I turned. Sir Richard raised his visor and saluted me with his sword. We had both survived. I knew not how but we had.

  “I am sorry it took so long to come to your aid. We were besieged until yesterday.”

  Sir Richard shook his head, “We did not expect you at all. We both agreed that we would hunker down until we were relieved. Did you lose many?”

  “We lost Cedric and his son but it could have been worse. Sir Eustace joined the Scots.”

  “I know. He was here at this siege.”

  “Did you have many losses?”

  He nodded, “A family perished. It would have been worse but for the sacrifice of two of Sir James’ men. They were heroic and we will honour them.”

  “Sir Ranulf and the men of Bellingham came to my aid. He has gone to Rothbury. He said he will follow us here.”

  I looked at the tower. The ram had not reached the stone and the main damage appeared to be to the wall. We had suffered worse. Our village would need to be rebuilt. I had ideas about that already. It took until dark to clear the field and to burn the Scottish dead. Knights had perished and they had fine swords, mail, helmets and coins. Sir Richard did not have enough space in his hall for us to use and so we used the tents the Scottish had abandoned. We captured many horses for only the knights and squires had had time to mount. The other horses were sumpters but they would make good draught horses. We also had mail and weapons. Knights had perished and they had fine swords, mail, helmets and coins. We divided the booty. Sir Richard had not laid in as many supplies and so we had poor rations. My men did not mind. Soon we would be back home and there we would enjoy the finest of food.

  Sir Ranulf arrived in the middle of the next day. He looked at the detritus of battle. “Sir Eustace has much to answer for. I sent word to the Bishop and the Sherriff after Rothbury surrendered. The question is, what do we do now?”

  “King Henry appointed my father Earl Marshal of the North. He said he would return. I am surprised he has not yet rea
ched here. The three of us could cross the border and chastise the Scots but I think it would have more legitimacy if my father led us.”

  “A wise head on young shoulders.”

  Sir Richard nodded his assent, “Besides, we have much to do before winter sets in. Already icy blasts are knocking at our doors. This mischief could still cost us dear.”

  And so we returned to Elsdon and began to rebuild our homes. Everyone worked. Women, children, the old; all toiled to make walls and rooves to keep us warm in winter. This time we used stone for the houses. They would not be destroyed so easily and we built using the same techniques I had used in my castle. Byres and barns made enclosed yards which could be defended like castles. The walls linking the farms were also built of stone. We had only lost four farms, a mill and a house but the farms and the mill had been the most prosperous in the village. Everyone joined in with the building. Cedric’s family moved into the castle while we undertook the labour. With everyone joining in we repaired the mill first. We needed bread. Then we repaired Tom’s farm. After hard days of relentless effort, we had half of the buildings almost completed. We just had the roof of each house to finish. The snows slowed down our work. I still had had no word from my father and that worried me. It was not like him to let anyone down, least of all his son.

  I had little time to dwell on such matters. Like everyone else, we laboured from dusk until dawn. Once we had repaired the leat and the moat dried out we were able to recover the ram and the bridge. They were cut up for firewood. The church had been damaged. Luckily it was the least damaged of all the buildings. When we repaired it, we added a bell tower made of stone. We moved the bell from the keep to the church. That way Brother Paul could ring the bell to summon the manor to church. I kept my word and after the battle, we took tools, weapons and food to the people of Bellingham. We would not forget them.

  The snows returned and we worked while a blizzard raged around us. We found it hard to see any who was not within six feet of us. Then the skies cleared and we had a night so cold that the water which remained in my ditch froze enough for men to walk on. Winter had come and come with a vengeance!