The Bloody Border Read online

  Riding home both Roger and Garth spoke to me. “Lord,” said Garth Red Arrow, “our men destroyed those bandits so quickly it terrified me. You should be pleased rather than looking as though the dog has stolen your dinner!”

  Roger smiled, “And we all fought together for the first time. Your squire showed great skill, lord. We have weapons to melt to make arrowheads. All is well.”

  “Roger is right, lord. We destroyed half of the band of bandits. The other half will wonder what happened to them. Uncertainty is an enemy.”

  They were right but I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that we could have done more. I just did not know what!”

  The attack acted as a spur. My farmers built stronger enclosures. Our dogs were now ready to be used as guard dogs. I gave a couple to those farmers who had no dogs. Our own would patrol the baileys at night. I asked, in the village, if anyone was a smith. They were not. We would need one. The horses would need shoeing and our mail would, eventually, need repair. I spoke with Tom the Miller. “Do you still mill?”

  He shook his head, “The mill worked until the last raids and then the leat filled. It could be repaired but we do not produce enough grain to warrant working it. We send all of our grain to Rothbury. It costs coin. Most of the women grind by hand and it takes time.”

  “Then we will begin the mill again. I will make it worth your while. Money should stay in the village. Does Otterburn have a mill?”

  “No, lord, they send it to Rothbury too.”

  “Then we let them know that we mill. We will make Elsdon more attractive!”

  The next day I rode with my squire and page to Morpeth. They had a mill and they had a blacksmith. We took a sumpter in case we could make purchases. After speaking with the lord of the manor and receiving his approval for the request I would make, I rode to the smith’s forge. Sir Ranulf apologised for not visiting with me. I think he thought it unnecessary. To him the border was quiet. He had not been raided. The smith, Black Bob, saw my spurs and thought he was in for a good commission. I saw that he had two forges and three anvils. Six men worked in the smithy.

  “My lord, what can I do for you? A sword perhaps?”

  I took the bull by the horns, “No, smith, I seek a blacksmith to work at Elsdon!”

  He laughed, “Then you have come to the wrong place. My men are happy working for me and, to speak plainly, lord, why would any choose to work in a manor where they could have their throats cut!”

  I raised my voice above the sound of hammers, “I seek a smith. He will work inside the castle of Elsdon and I will pay him two shillings per week. Any work he does for the village will be on top of that pay.”

  Black Bob’s face darkened and he said, “I told you, lord, that none will work for you. The lord of Morpeth would not be happy.”

  I turned, “And I have spoken with the Lord Ranulf. I have his permission.” I turned to the smiths. All of them had stopped working, “I will go for some ale at the Black Swan. My men and I will eat. If any choose to speak with me there is ale for them.” We left and I wondered if any would come.

  As we sat at the table John said, “I could smith for you.” I have grown much and I watched my father.

  I nodded, “I know but then who would be my page? If you had wished to be a smith then you would never have left Stockton. You wish to be a warrior. When the smiths come and come they will, then it will be your questions and their answers which determine the one we choose.”

  “You are right, lord, they will come if only because no man likes to be told he cannot choose his employer. If any man wished to leave my father he would happily allow it for he would not wish a man working for him who was unhappy. Black Bob had a scowl on his face. It looked to be a permanent feature. I would not like to work for him.” John had the innate common sense often denied nobles of the same age.

  In the end, only one came and he sported a bruised face. He looked to be young, perhaps eighteen summers but he was well muscled. I called over the alewife and ordered another beaker of ale. “You wish to be a smith?”

  He smiled, “I am a smith, lord, but I would like to be one who does not have to endure slaps and punches from a master smith.”

  “He hit you?”

  “Aye the others fear him but I told him that if he hit me again then I would return the blow.”

  The ale arrived and the alewife nodded as she said, “Black Bob has a fearsome temper, lord. I have had to call the watch to him on many an occasion. His wife died in childbirth and it changed him. It made him a bitter man.”

  I nodded my thanks, “What is your name?”

  “Tam of Alnmouth.”

  I looked at John. If we only had one candidate then questions were redundant but I could see by my page’s face that he was keen to ask questions which would test the young smith’s knowledge. He began an interrogation of Tam. It soon became obvious that Tam knew his business. When he had finished, my page nodded.

  Tam smiled, “Your page knows his way around a workshop, lord.”

  “He is the son of a smith and the tradition goes back to the time of the Conqueror.”

  I saw his mouth open in amazement, “And he will be a knight?”

  John grinned, “That is a long journey, Tam of Alnmouth. I have learned to sit astride a horse without falling off and I have fought my first enemy. It is baby steps I take!”

  “So, Tam, will you be the smith at Elsdon? It is a wild place but I hope to tame it for I have good men.”

  “I will, lord, but it is more than just me. I have a wife, Anne.”

  “Can she cook?”

  He nodded, “Aye lord, plain enough fare but tasty. Why?”

  The woman who cooks for us is with child and soon we will need a cook. I could pay her.”

  “Then that is good. Do you have a smithy?”

  “We would need to build one but we have metal to make an anvil. Have you your own tools?”

  “I am a free man and I am a smith who served his apprenticeship. They are back at the workshop.”

  I took money from my purse and placed it on the table. “Finish your ale and we will return hence. I have to see the miller.”

  As we rose and after he had drained his beaker, Tam said, “Then you will need someone who can talk to the dead. Much the Miller died a month since.”

  “Where does the manor mill its flour?”

  “They use the mill themselves. It takes time and they do not have the skill. His lordship seeks a miller. Why do you ask?”

  “We have a mill but not enough grain to warrant its use. Before we return to the smith let us go to your house. Your wife will need to know her new circumstance. Will you need a cart or wagon?”

  “Aye lord. We have little enough but all of it is precious to my wife and I. Our parents are dead and the items we have remind us of them.”

  “Then we will buy a small wagon. The manor needs one.”

  Tam pointed to a wheel hanging above a workshop. “Jacob the Wheelwright is a good man. He will not rob you.”

  Jacob was, indeed, a good man. He was happy to accommodate a new lord and he gave me a fair price, “I can have a wagon ready for you by tomorrow, lord.”

  That meant we would not be returning home any time soon. We negotiated a price and left. Anne was of an age with her husband. Her plump features confirmed that she not only liked to cook but to eat too. She was more than happy to come to Elsdon. I advised her of the dangers. She nodded, “The Scots are dangerous, lord, but so are some masters. Black Bob is a bad man. My husband is unhappy with him as a master and from what you say we will be living in the lower bailey. If we are not safe there then we are safe nowhere.”

  I turned to Tam, “We will leave with you on the morrow, I would speak with Sir Ranulf before we beard Black Bob! Matthew and John, stay here. I am sure Tam and his wife will need help to pack.”

  I returned to the castle. Sir Ranulf was in his upper bailey practising with his squires. “Did you conclude your business, Sir
William?”

  “Almost but I need to speak to you first.”

  I told him of Black Bob and his attitude towards Tam. “Aye he is a little free with his hands but he is a good weaponsmith. I will come with you when you speak to him. Do you go now to speak to him?”

  “Aye for the wagon we have just purchased will not be ready until tomorrow. My new smith will need to pack up his home.”

  “Splendid! Then you and your squire can spend the night at my castle. I shall enjoy the company. You and your father are privy to the King’s dealings. I would know more about this young King.”

  He turned to his squire, “Henry, fetch our cloaks. We go abroad.”

  When we were alone, I said, “And there is another matter, Sir Ranulf. We have an idle mill. I was going to repair it but I am aware that your mill and therefore your manor profit from the manors who do not have a mill.”

  “It is good of you to ask and shows that you are, indeed, from noble stock. I am more than happy for you to mill. I seek a miller. Would yours come to work here?”

  I smiled and shook my head, “I doubt it for he is a farmer and if the Scottish raids could not induce him to leave then I doubt that an offer to become a miller alone would work.”

  “You may be right but I had to ask.”

  We left the castle and headed to Tam’s house. Leaving Matthew to help Anne with her packing we went to the smith. When Black Bob saw us approach his scowl became so severe, I thought his face might crack. Tam said, “I have come for my tools, Black Bob.”

  “Aye, and you have brought others to help you!”

  Sir Ranulf said, sharply, “You are a good smith Bob but do not test my patience. Speak gently in the presence of this lord or you will be punished.”

  Tam said, “And I am not afraid of you. The blow you struck before was the last one. If you wish to fight me then I will show you that I can handle myself.”

  Silence fell. I saw the three other smiths all looking from Black Bob to Tam and back. It was Black Bob who backed down, “Take your tools. I am glad to be rid of you!”

  Tam went to his bench. I saw that it was neat and ordered. He took his tools and carefully placed them in the leather satchel. He hefted them on his back. He turned to the other smiths, “I say goodbye to you fellows. I have enjoyed your company. Should you ever decide to free yourself from the serfdom of Black Bob the bully, then I can offer you a place with me at my new home and smithy in Elsdon!”

  We left. Sir Ranulf laughed, “I have never seen Black Bob back down before. There is more to you Tam the Smith than meets the eye.”

  We left the next day. Before we left, we visited the grain chandler. Thanks to the demise of the miller he had surplus barley, oats and, best of all, wheat. I bought four sacks: two of wheat and one each of barley and oats. I also bought seed barley. I had an idea to plant a crop of winter barley. As well as the wagon we also purchased some scrap metal from Sir Ranulf. Like me, he had dealt with bandits and their weaponry, from helmets to swords was too poor to be used. He was happy to allow us to use it although we paid him a fair price. I was spending the Bishop’s money at an alarming rate. We loaded the wagon and hitched the sumpter to it. Tam let his wife sit on the wagon and he walked the horse. It made for a slow journey to Elsdon but that was no bad thing as it allowed us to talk. It soon became clear that Anne knew about cooking. Her family had been a large one. She had inherited her mother’s pans and cooking utensils. The wagon was laden. The fact that only Tam had chosen to work for me was now a blessing for it had brought his wife. The castle needed the presence of a woman. As we neared Elsdon I asked her if she would become housekeeper as well as cook. I knew that I was out of my depth when it came to furnishings. My mother or my sisters could have advised me but they were a lifetime away. She agreed and I saw order entering my life. I could concentrate on being the lord of the manor and a knight once more.

  We set to building a house and a smithy. A smithy was a fire risk and so we built his smithy close to the bread ovens. His house we attached to the kitchen. It meant we only had to build three walls. When we had cleared the ditches, we had found a great number of stones. They were not good stones but they would give Anne and Tam stone walls rather than wattle and daub. I saw that Anne was pleased. In those first days, my men at arms and archers worked as hard as thralls. The food which Anne cooked was motivation enough. She was a good cook.

  When she came to the keep her critical eye showed her disapproval. “These are not the quarters for a lord!”

  “I do not live here. I live in the lower bailey.”

  She shook her head. Her voice reminded me of my mother, “Sir William, you should live here. You are lord of the manor and should not squat with your soldiers. When next you visit Morpeth, I will come with you and we will buy some decent material to make wall hangings. These quarters are little better than the stables beneath! My husband will make some tools and then you can make furniture!” She shook her head.

  “It is too far from the kitchens, Mistress Anne. The food is cold by the time it reaches here!”

  “I am sorry, my lord, but that does not need to be so. You have a fire and it is not beyond the wit of man to build a warming block next to it. I will speak with the Reeve.”

  She was a force of nature and poor Alan found himself working under a second master! Tam knew his business as did John. With Matthew to help them, they hewed a huge oak and sawed the trunk so that they could embed the anvil which they made. The two of them melted great quantities of metal and carved a mould into the oak stump. They did that before they began the roof of the smithy. It was getting on to Autumn but the weather had not changed. Working outdoors was not a problem. We even managed to clear the leat and repair the mill wheel. Abel Millerson showed that he had not forgotten the skills taught to him by his father. He helped Tom the Miller. The mill began to grind once more. The first sacks Tom ground were mine. I allowed him to keep a tenth for his work. I distributed two fifths to my farmers and kept half for myself. It was not a selfish act. I stored it for the hard times I knew would come. When next I visited Morpeth, Anne showed her skill. She negotiated good prices and our small wagon was laden when we returned. My keep became a home!

  By October the house, smith and the changes to my keep had been made. Matthew, John and I had beds in the keep. It meant we no longer needed two men to spend the night in the keep. My squire, page and I barred the door and we were our own sentinels. The two of us and the dogs we kept would guard my bastion! As we lit our bone fires and celebrated the end of the harvest, I was content. We had survived our first attack and my manor felt a little more like Elton and less like a wild outpost surrounded by enemies. Of course, that was an illusion. Enemies were in my land.

  Chapter 7

  We had neglected our patrols. My farmers had become our watchers. They were the ones who looked for footprints which were alien. They sniffed the air for fires. They counted their animals to ensure that they were all accounted for. It was Cedric Sheepman, my most isolated farmer, who alerted us to danger. It was while he was at the butts practising with the others. “My lord, it may be nothing but my sons were out with me collecting a couple of strays on the Yalesham road yesterday eve.” I smiled. The Yalesham road was an old drover’s trail. There had been a time, probably when the Romans were on this island when cattle had been driven through the manor to the land to the north. Now it was little more than a wide greenway which was largely overgrown. It was what passed for a road in these parts. “My dog sniffed for longer than normal and that is not like her. I investigated. Someone had emptied their bowels. It was not me and, as far as I know, none had used that road. It should not have worried me but after Old Will it did. Men had used the old road recently.”

  “You think cattle thieves?”

  “We have had the bone fire. Winter will be upon us. These bandits seek food for the winter. We have obliged them by bringing our animals into our byres. If I was a bandit then now would be the time I would come
to steal. Aye lord. I think the scouts have been sniffing around our lands.”

  “Then tomorrow I will take my men to the Yalesham road. Let us scotch this threat before it can grow. I have lost one farmer and I would not lose another.”

  I left John along with Wilfred of Sheffield to help Alan of Bellingham and Brother Paul to guard my castle. Now that Tam the Smith lived within my walls then we were better off in terms of men who could defend it. We rode to the farm of Cedric Sheepman. His sons, Abelard and Cedric came with us. They knew the precise place he meant. They jogged easily by our side. This was not horse country. One of their huge sheepdogs came with us. Like the dogs we had at the castle this was a northern bred dog. Although they were rare, we still had wolf attacks. Our dogs were capable of deterring wolves and foxes.

  Yalesham was in the manor of Otterburn. As such it was the responsibility of Sir James of Otterburn but I could not ignore the threat. They might come through Yalesham and over the trail to get at us. Cedric and his family would be in danger. We followed a track which twisted and turned with the contours of the land. It rose and fell over small ridges and shallow valleys. Cedric’s dog was better than any scout. If there was danger then his hackles would rise. I knew that Yalesham was an isolated community of half a dozen homes. The River Coquet bordered one side of the village. There was no crossing of the river. If you had business there then you visited the hamlet, otherwise, you would never need to go to it. Cedric showed us where he had found traces of intruders. Garth Red Arrow used his skill to find footprints that were not Cedric’s. He pointed to tracks made by someone with smaller feet than Cedric or his sons.

  It was as we neared the village that the smell of death came to us. The dog’s hackles rose. “Draw weapons!” My archers had bows strung already and they each nocked an arrow. The track led to the hamlet. There was a road, of sorts, which went from Yalesham to Alwinton but that was north of the river. It could only be forded when the river was low. We stepped on to the rough track and headed into the houses. The dead were still where they had fallen. There were eight men and youths. All were naked. Their bodies had been mutilated and their heads removed. The dog hung its head. The enemy had fled but I was taking no chances. “Search the houses.”