King Henry's Champion (19 page)

“He is a proud father, my lord.” We looked at each other. I nodded.  “Then if there is nothing else, I shall leave. But remember my lord you can have anything which you request.  Those are the orders of the Empress.”

“And the Count?”

“Oh he too has ordered that you be made welcome.  You are the champion of the King.  He hopes to learn much from you.”  She turned at the door.  “Everyone hopes he does.”

My conversations with Margaret were always both enigmatic and elliptical. This one had been no exception.

The feast was a fine one.  Thanks to my chatty son and my squires the Empress and the Count heard of the murders. They listened intently as I told them what had occurred. While the Empress showed shock the Count showed anger. “I would have hanged them all as soon as I suspected them of their deceit.”

I saw the flicker of annoyance on the face of the Empress. “In which case, my lord, I would not have known the identity of the knight behind it all.”

He nodded and as he chewed seemed to remember something. “I know the Waller family.  They have long since left Normandy.  They went to Outremer before my father did but I do not see how this knowledge helps you.”

“He will surface again.  This time we know more about him and the next time we meet will be the last.”

The Count nodded admiringly, “You have cold eyes when you speak like that.  I would not be your enemy.” He waved a hand for more wine. “And now outline how we will be trained.  I am keen to start as soon as the weather improves.”

“We can start tomorrow. So long as it is not raining then we can train in any weather. The first thing we need to do is to make you and your knights fight as one.”

He looked disappointed, “I thought that would come without training.”

“It does or at least it did in my case but we learned that bond in combat.  When you fight knee to knee in a battle you learn to trust the knight to your left. He protects your weak side.”

“But you had three young knights with whom you had never fought the last time.”

“And they were soon vanquished, if you recall, yet the Earl and Sir Edward fought with me until they were overwhelmed.”

He leaned forward, suddenly intrigued, “Are you saying with your own household knights you might have won sooner?”

“If I had had three more of my knights and the Earl then I believe we would have defeated the men of Blois without loss.  They were not very good but then again Stephen of Blois was not with them and he is a good leader.” I did not like the man but I respected his qualities.

“My household knights will not be here before the month end so until then you can concentrate on improving my skills.” He smiled, “I have a son now, Henry, and I would like to make him as skilful as I.”

“Perhaps we can make him even better.  It would be good to think that he could become the greatest knight in Christendom.”

“I like that! Let us toast my son! Henry of Anjou; the greatest knight in Christendom!”

I locked eyes with the Empress as I raised my goblet and saw the gratitude in her eyes. We both knew that I was making a promise that I would keep.

We began the training the next day.  I discovered that the Count was not without skill but he lacked judgement.  His squire, Gille, was also equally willing to learn but he lacked the ability to anticipate.  Leofric took charge of the squires and we worked each day from dawn until dusk. In many ways it helped me as much as the Count for my body had been getting a little flabby of late; I suspect it was my age. The daily exercise made me stronger; especially my shoulder and arm which ached less and needed less of the Greek doctor’s salve. The Count too, while still a young man, was also growing stronger. I was growing to like him.  That came as a surprise for I had more reason than enough to dislike him. He had matured since those early days when he was little more than a boy. His earnest attitude helped. I wondered if fatherhood had been responsible for that change.

He needed the most work, however, on his riding skills. He could ride but he did not have that bond with his horse that a knight needed. I persuaded him to get into my habit of visiting his horse each night with a treat of some kind; normally an apple. He felt foolish, at first, talking to his horse but, as there was no-one else about he did so and once his embarrassment had gone he quite enjoyed it.  I noticed that when we rode and he spoke to his horse it responded better; the union of horse and rider was growing closer. 

“You have some strange methods, Earl, but by God they work! I shall have my knights use them too.”

They came not long before Easter.  The five of them were of an age with the Count and were, on the whole, affable and keen to learn.  My fame had preceded me and they were all keen to meet the knight who was now known as the King’s Champion. I thought the title a little grand.  I had, technically, fought for the Earl.  I think the King gave me the title to make his own position more secure. He had glory by association. Of equal interest to the knights were my exploits in war. When we had finished our training and were dining in the Great Hall, they would shower me with questions.  They were interested to know about fighting what they considered barbarians.

“The Scots and the Welsh are not barbarians. True they have little armour and their hand weapons are of poor quality but their courage is beyond question.  I have fought Scots armed with but a hammer and they have thrown themselves at a line of knights. And Welsh archers can rain death on even mailed and armoured men.”

One young knight, Sir Raymond of Nantes asked, “Why do you use archers rather than crossbows?  Any man can be trained to use a crossbow and it does the same job.”

“I could tell you the answer but I think a demonstration tomorrow might be better.”

As the weather had improved we had moved out of the castle to a field next to the Maine. The softer ground was kinder to our horses and would cause fewer injuries. I spoke briefly with Griff of Gwent and Ralph of Wales before we began the challenge.

I put the knights at one end of the field. Pointing to the far end where John and William stood I said, “The Count and I will watch. Gille here will count the time it takes you to reach them. I want you to walk, then canter and then charge my squires.” I smiled, “When you reach them try to avoid hurting them.  They are hard to replace.”

The young knights came back full of excitement.  This was the first time that they had been watched by the two of us.

“Did you see, my lord?  We kept knee to knee and our line did not break!”

The Count, too, was full of enthusiasm. “Aye you did.  You have worked wonders with us Earl.”

I nodded, “Today, my lord, we are demonstrating bows and bolts.” I waved and my men at arms, archers and squires began to set up targets. “Sir Raymond if you would care to pick ten crossbowmen and have them stand where my squires stood.”

It took some time to organise.  I went with the Count and his squire to stand at the far end of the field.  “I am intrigued, Earl.  What is it you do?”

“Gille, can you remember the numbers you counted?”

“Aye my lord.”

“Then you will count again in a moment.”

The crossbowmen joined us and the knights.  My archers could barely hide their disdain. I pointed down the field. “The targets represent you gentlemen.  There you were walking.  There you were trotting and then there.” I pointed to the targets just fifty paces away. “There you were galloping. My men have offset the targets.  That is for the benefit of the crossbows. Gille here will count. My squires William and John will ride off to the side so that you know which targets to use. We will see who wins by counting the bolts in the targets.”

Sir Raymond said, “But you only have two archers! We have ten crossbows.” I nodded. He shook his head in disbelief. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Wulfric and my men at arms making wagers with the Count’s watching men at arms.

John and William were ready.  I dropped my arm and said, “Count, Gille.” The counting was unnecessary but it made the crossbowmen work harder. The clatter of the crossbows contrasted with the snap of the bow string. Then there was just the sound of the snap of my men’s bowstrings and the cranking of the crossbows being loaded. My archers worked almost effortlessly yet I knew it was not so.  It was just years of training.  It was their whole body which was the war machine, not just the war bow. The pounding of the hooves also added pressure. Gille reached the end of his count at the same time that my squires reined in, grins all over their faces.

As we walked towards the targets it became clear who had won. The closest targets had one bolt embedded there and four arrows.  The next ones had no bolts and six arrows and the last targets had eight bolts and eight arrows. The knights looked at the two archers with awe. “But there were just two of them. They had eighteen hits.  That is nine each the ten crossbows made but nine altogether! That is less than one each! Your bows are ten times better!”

“True and at home I have twenty of mine own and when my knights all gather together we have almost sixty.  Imagine charging, as you did before into that hail of arrows.” I took an arrow from Griff of Gwent.” These can penetrate mail and, unlike a crossbow they can be released from behind a line of knights. Your crossbows come into their own when used inside a castle but on the battlefield give me archers every time.”

The Count nodded, “You have made your point, Earl but we will have to continue using crossbows for we have not enough archers trained.”

“But, Count Geoffrey, you have archers on your manors.  You have young men and farmers who hunt. The war bow is only a little harder to use. Have them trained.”

“But we would need a master archer to do so.”

“Hire one.”

The Count smiled, “Can I hire these two?”

He thought I would say no but I spread my arm, “Ask them?”

The Count said, “I would hire you as my captains of archers. I will pay one gold piece a month each.”

I saw the look of dismay on the faces of the crossbowmen who would not receive such an amount in half a year. Ralph of Wales said, “That is a kind and generous offer, my lord, but we will stay with the Earl.”

“Does he pay that amount?”

“No, my lord, a silver coin a month.”

The Count shook his head.  “My next lesson will be how to inspire such loyalty.”

We were questioned all the way back to the castle.  From the smiles on the faces of Wulfric and the others they had won healthily large bets from the Angevins.

The Empress was not having a happy pregnancy and physicians were summoned.  The Count shook his head.  “When she bore Henry she had no problems at all.  She was in good health for the whole time.  Why should she suffer with our second child?”

I shook my head, “It is all a mystery to me, my lord.”

“I shall send for a physician.”

As the best physicians were in Normandy, the Count sent men there to bring back the finest of them, Basil the Greek.  I took my men with them as far as Le Mans.  There was a horse market there and they were renowned for their war horses. Another reason was that I felt constricted and constrained by the castle at Angers.  We all needed some freedom. I knew the lord of Le Mans; Sir Robert had fought with us when we had scoured the land of bandits. My name and reputation secured us rooms in the castle and the Baron himself came to the sales with us. He confided in me, “The traders who come here are generally honest but you are a stranger and they may think you are a sheep for shearing.  My presence will ensure that you receive an honest price.”

I went there looking for a trained war horse. The spring sales meant that breeders brought horses to be sold.  Trainers brought those that had been readied for war and there were horses from knights who had fallen on hard times or grown too old to ride to war. I began to think I would not find one.  Each one I examined, fine though it was, did not seem to have the spirit in its eyes which I desired. I was also looking for something else.  I was looking for a horse which wanted me. We wandered the horses before the sale began.  There was a grey, older than the rest.  As I stroked it I saw that it had scars.  This mount had lived. Unlike every other horse which I approached this one did not back off nor baulk at my approach; more than that it nuzzled its muzzle into my hair. I liked him immediately. I felt his spirit.

When the sale began Sir Robert was surprised that I did not bid. “I thought you needed a warhorse?”

“I have one at home but I want another. I will wait until the right war horse presents itself.”

The last horse to be auctioned was the grey.  No one made a bid. All of the other horses had gone for large amounts of gold.  The auctioneer dropped his price to silver and still no one bid. My voice broke the silence, “Five gold pieces!”

A ripple of conversation ran around the ring.  Sir Robert said, “You could have had the beast for five silver coins. It is old.”

“I have bid the price it is worth.”

I went and paid with five Imperial coins bearing the face of Conrad.  The horse had cost me nothing.  There were dead assassins in England who had paid with their lives.  It had been blood money. We were about to head back to Angers when I discovered that there would be another sale of yearlings the next day.

“With you permission, Baron, we would stay for the sale of the yearlings.”

“They will need much schooling. Better to buy a ready trained warhorse.”

“In many ways I agree but I buy the yearlings for my squires.” The look of joy on their faces was worth any amount of gold.

“You would buy a war horse for each of your squires?”

“It is an investment, Baron.  They will train them well and in battle I will be safer.  These three watch my back and I trust them.”

My squires were already interested but now became even more so. I wanted a horse with spirit and with the ability to carry, when fully grown, someone the size of John. The untrained raw animals were considerably cheaper than the war horses which had been on sale before. We would have to put the work in. I bought four for I wanted a spare. We had been lucky up until now.  We had yet to lose one but the day would come when we would.

As we rode back to Angers I saw that each of my squires led a yearling.  They had not asked me and I daresay they would have told me that their choice was accidental.  I knew better. They had agreed between themselves.  I did not mind for that was part of the bond.  Roger and Wulfric led my war horse and yearling.  “What will you call him, my lord?” Wulfric had the grey which trotted easily next to him.

“The auctioneer said the knight who had owned him called him Hunter.  It seems a good name.”

Wulfric nodded.  He too approved, “What happened to the owner, did he get a new one?”

“No he died, of old age. I would like to think that he would approve of me as the new owner.”

Wulfric nodded.  It was a sentiment of which he approved. “When we were in the town, my lord, we picked up some interesting information.” What my sergeant at arms meant was when they were in the taverns.

“Go on.”

“Before they knew who we were we were asked if we wanted to earn money fighting for a lord who lived in the Île de France.”

“Did you get a name?”

He shook his head, “No my lord for someone recognised your surcoat and they shut up.  I could find no more.”

It was not unusual for men to be recruited in this way but it was worrying that they were seeking men in what was effectively enemy territory.

The Count was not impressed by Hunter. He too thought him too old to be of use. “Do not worry, Count, you will not have to ride him.  We have both seen much action.  Those scars he bears are experience.  He will not shy away in battle.”

“But you have never ridden him in battle!”

“I intend to remedy that.  What say you we hold a practice tourney?  It is time you and your knights were tested.”

“But you have no knights with you.”

“I have two men at arms and three squires.”

“But your squires and men at arms have no war horses.”

“I do not expect us to win but my men and I are quite happy to suffer the humiliation of defeat.  It is part of the squires’ training.  They will learn from it. You would not wish your first mêlée to be in a real tourney would you?  This way we can detect flaws and weaknesses.”

“Good.  Then we will hold it on Saturday next.  I will have a stand erected.”

“You wish to have people watch?”

“Of course; my wife and her ladies at the very least.  It will distract her from the problems she is having. Her attendance will put steel in the hearts of my men.”

Although Wulfric and Roger had never taken part in a mêlée they knew how they worked.  They were happy.  I suspect they would make more money gambling with the Count’s men. Although their armour and helmets were inferior and they only rode palfreys both had forgotten more about warfare than the six we faced knew. My worry was my three squires and William in particular. He had grown considerably but he was still very inexperienced. 

I gathered the three of them together. “The one chance you have is that they all try to have the honour of unhorsing me.  I am sorry but there will be little glory in unhorsing a squire or a man at arms. Remember what I have taught you; pull back and punch.  Aim between the cantle and the shield and keep your own shield tight against you. There will be no refuge here.  If you are unhorsed you are out of the mêlée.  Get away as soon as you stand.  You do not want to be trampled by a horse.”

William asked, “We do not get ransom if we win?”

Leofric laughed, “The reward you will get is experience.  You will have fought in a mêlée.”

Although the Empress was still suffering she insisted upon watching us.  Her ladies sat on either side of her.  All three were well wrapped up. Part of me wondered if she would cheer her husband or me.

The Count’s blacksmith had blunted a dozen swords for us.  The headless ash spears were racked and ready for us. I had one last speech. “I will ride in the centre; William to my left and John to my right. Wulfric will ride on the left of William and Leofric to his left.  Roger you ride to the right. William and John you will have one chance for glory.  Three of them will try to hit me. Their eyes will be on me.  They will assume with me down they can pick the rest of you off at will. Punch hard and unhorse them and the odds swing in our favour.”

Wulfric said, “You intend to win, my lord?”

“The day you think about losing is the day you begin to die.  Of course I intend to win.  We may not but we will not be as easy to defeat as they think and that is part of their training too.  Once we have made our first charge then you will need to have your wits about you. It will be, as the French say ‘
sauve qui peut’
.

Gille, the Count’s squire rode over to us.  The Count had him arrayed splendidly as a herald, “My lord, are you ready?”

“I am.”

“Then when I lower the standard it begins.” He looked enviously at my three squires.  He was of an age with them and I could see that he yearned to be riding next to the Count.

Hunter was eager to ride.  I suspect it had been some time since he had ridden to war and he might be a little rusty.  A good war horse never forgot and I had confidence in this one. “Keep together and the war cry is ‘Stockton!’”

They all yelled, as one, “Stockton!” Hunter reared a little and stamped his fore foot.  It was a good omen. 

“Keep together.” The Count had chosen a large field.  We walked and I saw our opponents trotting. That was a weakness for the faster they went the looser their formation would become.  I shouted, “Trot” as they began to canter.  We held our lances upright and they had theirs lowered.  Their arms would ache. “Canter!” They were galloping and were less than eighty paces from us. They were not knee to knee and I could see gaps. “Charge!” We all lowered our lances and spurred our horses.

I knew that slight gaps would appear in our line but the Count’s line was too wide. I had to rein Hunter in to stop him leaping forward.  I had made a good choice. As I expected the Count and the two either side of him were aiming their wavering spears at me.  They were tiring. They would not be as accurate in their strikes. I pulled back and punched hard. My lance hit Sir Raymond square in the chest and he was thrown unceremoniously over the back of his cantle. His lance hit my leg on the side and did no damage.  The Count’s lance hit my shield and shattered.  The third knight’s lance went over my shoulder. The knight himself was hit squarely in the side by John and he joined Sir Raymond on the ground. As I reined around I saw that Leofric had been unhorsed but Wulfric’s opponent lay on the ground.

We rode back to replace lances. William and John were ecstatic. “Do not get cocky! They will come for you next time.”

Wulfric laughed. “They did not punch.  I am too big a man to fall to a love pat such as they gave.”

Leofric wandered over with his horse, “Sorry my lord, my shield was not tight.”

“Do not worry. Now you can be our squire and have lances ready for us.”

I saw the three fallen Angevin knights stagger back to their line. I heard the Count berating them.  I have no idea what he said but it was the wrong thing to do.  Recriminations should come after the battle and not during it.

“Form a line; the same tactics as before.”

We moved forward.  This time the Count and his men came more cautiously. He was learning. As we charged together once more I saw that he suddenly veered away from me and the three of them headed towards John and Roger. Once more I admired his strategy for he was trying to even the numbers. I turned Hunter’s head a fraction and punched at Sir Guy’s shield.  I stood in the saddle to get the maximum power. I saw John tumble from his horse.  I hit Sir Guy so hard that not only did he fall from his horse but he almost knocked the Count from his mount.

The three of us who had used our lances turned to return to our lines.  Wulfric shouted, “Come on young William.  We have unbroken lances yet!”

They charged the Count and Sir Rufus. The two Angevins barely had time to turn.  William smacked the Count’s shield making him reel while Wulfric’s lance threw Sir Rufus into the air. Rather than returning for fresh spears the two of them placed their horses on either side of the Count’s mount with their unbroken spears across his horse’s neck. I turned to ride to them.  I had no idea how the Count would react.  He had been captured by a squire and a man at arms.

As I approached he took off his helmet.  Shaking his head I saw that he was laughing. “I am glad that it was just my wife and her ladies who saw our humiliation.  You were right, Earl, we have much to learn and the lesson today was the best thus far.” He held his hand out to William for him to shake. “I hope my son has the same courage as you William son of Alfraed.” He glanced at Wulfric, “And I must get some giants such as this to serve me! Well done to all of you. Tonight we feast and the Earl can tell me of my mistakes and how we eradicate them!”

I patted Hunter, “You are a wily old beast.  I am glad you have not forgotten how to fight.” William was positively glowing.  I saw that he was no longer a boy.  He was a young man.  He had been lucky but as Athelstan had told me that was often worth more in battle than skill. “A triumph. I think, squires, that you can help with the training of these knights.  Wulfric, I fear that you terrify them.”

He nodded, “Perhaps when I leave your service my lord I shall become a tournament knight.  That was far easier than I expected.”

“We were lucky and they were naïve.  It was a good lesson.”

I left them to gather our equipment and rode past the stand with the three ladies.  The Empress said, “You did not ask me for my favour, my lord.”

“I thought you would have given it to your husband, my lady.  Besides I am a Knight of the Empress,” I took out my medallion, “your favour is always at my breast.”