Poisonous Plots Read online

  When Dick and his archers began to release their deadly missiles four farmers fell to their deaths with the first flight of arrows. I saw an arrow hit a crossbowman who thought himself safe behind the slit. To my archers one hundred paces was so close that they could place an arrow to within a thumb’s length of where they aimed.

  Perhaps those inside saw a handful of men, for on the other side the King had more than two hundred men. Whatever the reason someone inside decided to sally forth. It was a mistake. The entrance was half way up the wall. It was good for defence but less useful when attacking. As they burst out Dick and his archers sent their arrows towards them. Some were saved because those on the outside were struck by a number of arrows.

  I drew my sword and held it over my shield. Along the line my men at arms did the same. Once they reached the bottom of the steps which led to the hall, the survivors of my archers’ arrows formed up behind their shields. With eleven archers there was a limit to what damage they could do but the twenty men who advanced towards us obviously thought that they could defeat us.

  “Dick, clear the walls! We will deal with these.”

  “Aye lord. You heard the Earl!”

  There were still arrows and the occasional bolt which were being sent in our direction. However, I saw that there were just five mailed men who advanced towards us. There were three knights and a man at arms. Other men at arms wore leather but twelve of those who came towards us were not warriors. They held crudely made shields. I allowed them to move to within thirty paces of us and then shouted, “Charge!”

  With James there were twelve of us. In theory we would be outnumbered but in reality, our skill, armour and weapons gave us the advantage. One of the lightly armed men with a round shield and a sword raced ahead of the others. I think he saw glory in killing the leader. Everyone knew my wolf shield. Perhaps he thought an old man would make an easy victory. I held my shield before me and his sword struck it hard. When I did not move I saw the look of surprise on his face for he wore an open face helmet. As he lifted his sword back he saw that it was bent. I brought my sword from behind me and hacked through his leather armour into his shoulder. Bright blood sprayed as he died.

  One of the knights, he had red and yellow stripes on his shield, advanced towards me. He too had an open helmet with a nasal. He looked young but then, to me, everyone who did not have a white beard was young. He had a good shield and, I had no doubt a better sword than the man I had just slain. He tried a quick lunge at my head. It was a foolish strike for I had a ventail and my full-face helmet made any decisive hit there unlikely. He thought that I would be slow. I was not. I brought my shield across and blocked the blow. I feinted with my sword and his shield came up. I made sure my feet were placed wide enough apart to allow me to make a wide sweep. We were no longer fighting in one solid line. Padraig was still close by my left side with his shield to add protection to my own but, to my right, there was no one. I held my sword behind me, inviting a strike from the young knight. He could not resist. He tried a backhand strike. I turned my shield so that it was across my body and it took the blow. Even as he was pulling his arm back I was swinging my sword. He barely saw it coming and he did not have time to put his shoulder behind his shield. He held it before him. As my sword smashed the shield I heard his cry. When the shield dropped I knew that I had broken his hand or his wrist.

  Athelstan had always said that I had the quickest hands he had ever seen and while my body might be slower old age had not slowed my sword hand. The tip of my sword sped towards the knight’s eye. I stopped it before I blinded him, “Yield or die!”

  He could not defend himself and he nodded, “I yield!” He dropped his sword.

  “Padraig, see to his hand.” I looked around. Others had yielded. Perhaps the knight I had fought, despite his age had been the leader.

  Dick pointed to the roof. The banner was being hauled down, “See, lord, they surrender.”

  I sheathed my sword and walked to the young knight. Padraig had taken off the knights mailed mitts. I lifted off his helmet. He looked to be of an age with James. “You are brave for you fought a warrior you knew had won tourneys. What is your name?”

  “I am Sir Jocelyn de Macey. My father is Richard de Macey, the lord of this manor.”

  “And you support the Count de Rennes.”

  He winced as Padraig tied a bandage around his wrist. When the priests came they would do a better job but Padraig was trying to stop the swelling which would make their task harder. “Conan is not our Duke. He is King Henry’s lap dog!”

  I nodded, “Well you have paid the price.”

  “Why, what will be the ransom?”

  “Ransom? My young Achilles there will be no ransom for your father has forfeited his manor. Your mail, your sword, your horses; all will be taken from you. Your father gambled and he lost. This is a game with high stakes. The prize is a throne. Unless you have relatives who will shelter you then you will become a knight without land and without retainers to keep you well-armed and with horses to ride. You will be a sword for hire.”

  I saw the truth sink in. The pain of the wrist was as nothing compared with the knowledge that he and his father were now landless and weaponless knights. If they had relatives then they could seek shelter with them but they would have to walk to reach them. Sir Jocelyn de Macey had had a mighty fall from grace.

  “Roger of Bath go into the stable and secure the horses of these knights before some others gets them. Alain of Auxerre go and tell the villeins and peasants to go back to their land.”

  “Aye Warlord.”

  The other two knights who had yielded were unwounded. While we waited for a healer I said. “You two, take off your mail!”

  For a brief moment I thought they were going to object. Then Roger of Ely fetched one a mighty slap on the back of his head, “You heard the Earl!”

  I took off my helmet and handed it and my shield to Padraig. “James, take this knight’s warhorse. He looks to be your size and his mail is well made. After it is removed it is yours. When you are knighted you will look the part!”

  “Aye, my lord.”

  “Geoffrey FitzMaurice you and Tom the Badger can have the other two suits of mail. We will need to find a giant for Roger of Ely to become mailed.”

  My man at arms grinned affably, “I can wait lord.”

  “You and Tom come with me. We will seek the King before we ride to our next destination.”

  I climbed the stairs. Tom and Roger unceremoniously dumped the bodies which littered it to the ditch. Once inside I saw that my archers had broken the back of the defence. Twelve men lay with arrows in them. Some had died immediately while others had bled to death. I met the King in the Great Hall. He had with him Richard de Macey. I recognised his livery. He looked like his son.

  “Your son lives, Sir Richard, but he has a broken wrist. He will need a healer. The other two knights surrendered.” I turned to the King. I have taken the horses and mail of those we captured. We will need them.”

  “Of course, and you and your men will be due a share of the treasure Baron Macey has accrued.”

  The Baron looked shocked. To many knights raids were a gamble and a game. If you lost then you paid a ransom. In the long run it evened out. He was learning that King Henry did not play such games. He played to win. “You would leave me penniless?”

  “The price of rebellion, Baron, is high. Just be grateful that I am in a merciful mood and leave you your head. You have relatives?” He nodded. “Then go to them but if they do not subject themselves to my command then they will suffer the same fate.”

  I gave a slight bow, “I had better leave, your majesty. I have a fair way to travel.”

  “God speed Warlord. I know that you will do as I have commanded. Of all men you are the most reliable.”

  Richard de Macey shook his head, “As soon as we saw the wolf banner we knew that we were doomed. Why are you not dead?”

  King Henry answered, “Because the
re is no knight in Christendom who can defeat the Warlord in combat. Farewell, Earl Marshal.”

  I turned and left. I noticed that neither Tom nor Richard were with me. I had not seen them since we entered the hall. When I left I saw them looking at me sheepishly. I frowned but said nothing. When we reached the horses I said, “And where were you?”

  “Sorry lord but we thought we were supposed to wait outside.”

  I saw then that they had bulges beneath their surcoats. “And so you thought to help yourself to the riches in the hall!”

  They both looked aggrieved, “They weren’t for us my lord. We were going to give to Captain Dick for him to share out.”

  That was acceptable. I had thought, briefly, that I had made the wrong decision in hiring them but now I saw that they were part of my company. They were the Warlord’s warriors.

  Chapter 5

  Pontorson was not a tiny hamlet like Macey. It had a stone donjon and a curtain wall around a bailey. There was a strong gatehouse. It had a ditch. We did not have to approach it to see that. It dominated the land. It was less than four miles from Macey and we spied it as soon as we took the road south. Our journey to the far side, the Rennes side, would be nearer twelve miles but our ride kept it in sight the whole way. When King Henry took his army forward the next day they would be seen almost as soon as they were a mile or so from Macey. Once again, his plan was perfect. The lord of the manor would send a rider to Rennes and we would be waiting.

  There was a wood one Roman mile south of Pontorson. When Dick and his archers found it, they discovered some abandoned charcoal burners’ huts. It meant that the wood had been copsed. The trees along the road, however, had been left in place on both sides. No doubt it afforded shade in the hot summer. Beneath them grew bushes and weeds. It was perfect for an ambush. We took our horses into the areas cleared by the charcoal burners and Dick arranged the sentries to keep watch on the road. It would be dawn before King Henry would move on the town but we would keep watch anyway. There was a river, the Couesnon, just on the other side of the wood and our men took the horses to water them.

  While James and Padraig began to prepare food, Dick divided the booty they had taken. The dead men at arms had had their purses taken. Dick divided it fairly. Everyone received an equal share. The odd coins that were left he took for now that he was knight he no longer took a full share. As the men went to help my squires he joined me.

  “Those new men fit in well, my lord. New men can sometimes upset a company but Sir Leofric has chosen well.”

  “We have been lucky in all of our choices. Even those we found in Wales have impressed me.”

  “The Welsh are good archers; of that there is no doubt. They are finding this land hard, though, lord. It is nothing like their rocky and barren home. Everything here is so green and verdant.”

  My squires joined me. James said, “The men said they would rather do the cooking, lord.”

  “That means they took foodstuffs from Macey. Unless I miss my guess, there will be spice in the stew and perhaps some meat which was not hunted.” Beef, pork and veal were rare on campaign. It was salted meat or hunted meat which would augment the watery stew. I spied Alain of Auxerre surreptitiously emptying half a wine skin into the stew. It would, indeed, have teeth.

  The one thing my men would not allow me to do was to stand a watch. Times past I would have insisted but now that I had seen more than sixty summers I enjoyed my sleep. I knew that I would have to get up in the night to make water anyway. I was awoken early by my bladder and after I had made water I went to the road and spoke with the sentries.

  “Has there been any movement down the road?”

  Arne Arneson shook his head. “One of the sentries in the middle watch said two riders came from the south west. He guessed Rennes.”

  I nodded, “That is not a problem. It is news reaching Rennes that we must stop. Now is the time for vigilance. I will have food sent to you.”

  Men had been rising even as I had been speaking with Arne. My men set about preparing food. It would be cold. There would be ham, cheese and dried fruits. It would not satisfy the men but they knew that when victory came then they would feast. Padraig handed me ham and cheese. I saw James cleaning my mail. The night had been dry but there had been dew.

  When we were all ready we fed and watered our horses. We had them saddled ready. The ambush would be by archers. I hoped that we would stop the rebels from reaching Rennes but ready saddled and fresh horses would guarantee it. I left Padraig and three men at arms with the horses. If we needed them in a hurry then we would whistle.

  James carried my shield and my helmet. I doubted that I would need the helmet. The sun began to rise in the eastern sky and I pictured the King and his army marching towards the castle. We knew, from Sir Richard D’Avranches, that there were ten knights in the castle and they had men at arms and crossbowmen. The Count de Rennes knew the value of this castle which guarded the northern approach to his citadel.

  Dick came to join me. “King Henry will have to attack Rennes at some point, lord and, until they are built, we have no siege engines.”

  “I know but he does not have to attack immediately. With Pontorson in our hands the Count cannot use the revenue from the Mont St. Michel. That holy place will be cut off and if the Abbot accepts the King’s offer then the Count will have lost the jewel in his crown.”

  “Offer, lord?”

  “The King intends to offer the Abbot the right to tax those who make salt. At the moment that coin goes to Rennes. The Abbot will seize it with both hands. The Count will then have two choices, fight us here, or surrender. I confess that although I have met the man I have no idea what is in his mind. So, you see, we need not bring siege engines. We will fight the Count here. It will be he who has to march thirty-five miles to fight a battle and not us.”

  “First we have to take Pontorson.”

  “Exactly and now you see why he chose us. He uses the smallest contingent in his army and can bring the full weight of his knights and men at arms to bear on the walls.”

  As the sun rose higher in the sky I wondered if something had delayed the King. Then James, who had exceptionally sharp ears, said, “I can hear horses!”

  The archers were on both sides of the road. There were five on the east and six on the west. Six men at arms were also in the woods to the east while the rest were with James and me on the western side. I drew my sword.

  “Do you need your helmet, lord?”

  “No James. I shall wear my shield over my back.”

  He handed me my shield and I slid it over my back. I did not think that I would need it but it would be easy to pull it around. I was further back than my archers. They were well hidden. Dick had, like his archers, an arrow nocked. In his hand he held another two. I could not see down the road but he could. When he pulled back his arm I took a two-handed stance with my sword. The sound of the hooves grew louder. It sounded like it was more than a couple of men. Then there was the sound of eleven arrows hissing through the air. A horse whinnied and there was one cry. Then there was silence.

  I saw my men at arms rush out in to the road to grab the horses. I left the cover of the trees and saw the five dead men. All had two arrows in them. My archers had taken no chances. One was a sergeant at arms and was mailed. He was a big warrior. Dick shouted, “Richard of Ely, it looks like you have your mail!”

  None of them were carrying documents or papers. It meant that they had had no time to write a missive and they had been given an oral message. The five must have been sent to ensure that the news reached the Count. “Put the bodies on the horses. James fetch our mounts.”

  James whistled.

  “Alain of Auxerre, ride to the King and tell him we have ambushed the messengers. We will take the bodies to the south gate.”

  “Aye lord.”

  As we neared the castle we could hear the noise within. It was the sound of shouts and men rushing to man walls. There was the sound of hammering as
weakened parts of the walls were strengthened. They had been caught unprepared. We halted five hundred paces from the gates and we waited. Eventually someone saw me. “James, Padraig, lead the horses with the bodies. Do exactly as I say.”

  Roger of Bath said, “Lord is this wise?”

  Before he could answer Dick said, “Fear not, Roger, I have been watching the Warlord’s back since before you were born. He is safe in my hands.”

  I held the reins away from the horse in my left hand and held my right palm facing the castle. I spurred him and he began to walk towards the bridge over the ditch. I knew that Dick and his archers had dismounted and would be walking behind the horses with the bodies draped over them. I saw faces and heard urgent calls from within. I stopped at the first bridge. The gate was still fifty paces from me.

  “I am the Earl Marshal of England. I am the Warlord. I have brought back the bodies of the messengers you sent to Rennes. You will have no help. James, Padraig, fetch them forward.” I heard the bodies being dropped to the floor. “If I were you I would seek terms from King Henry. It is the only way to avoid slaughter.”

  The knight who stood there was obviously not the lord of the manor. He was far too young. He jabbed a finger at me, “What is to stop me sending a crossbow bolt to end your life, Warlord?”

  I smiled, “Firstly, I came in peace with palms held open but, if you do not wish to follow the conventions then I have eleven archers behind me, any of which could kill you in a heartbeat.”

  He suddenly seemed to see Dick and my archers. He ducked behind the parapet and my men at arms and archers laughed. He shouted, “Go! We will not surrender!”

  I shouted, before I wheeled around, “Let all men hear that I offered terms and they were refused by this foolish knight.”