Housecarl (33 page)

We were spread out more now and
two warriors advanced on me.  My fine helmet and mail marked
me as a lord and I think they both sought glory. They were older
men and they split up to come at me from two directions.  The
worst thing to do in that situation was to allow them to dictate
the pace and I began the fight.  I feinted at one while I
punched the other with my shield. He had not expected that and
tumbled over; before I could finish him off I felt a pain in my
right leg and turned to see the first warrior twisting his sword as
he pulled it out.  The delay cost him his life as I sliced
across his throat my own blade. I felt a blow to my back as the
fallen warrior struck me and I fell to the ground.  I rolled
over and readied my sword only to see him loom over me with sword
raised to finish me off. Branton’s arrow struck him, as it had
Hadrada in the throat, and he fell to the floor.

Branton and Osbert raced over to
me. I looked at them in surprise. “As they supported me I shook
them away. “The wound to my leg is nothing.”

Osbert took his hand from my
back and showed it to me.  It was sticky with blood. “The
wound to your back is, my lord. “ His face filled with concern as
he shouted, “Topcliffe!”

My men formed a defensive circle
around me and the archers shot any who approached.  Branton
raced down to the river while Aedgart took the tunic from a dead
warrior and tore it into strips.  He quickly bound my leg
tightly and I felt a burning as the effect of the wound grew. 
Branton came back with moss from a tree and I felt him and his
brother pack the soft material along my back and then they bound
strips of cloth around it. Suddenly the wound felt cooler and I
felt the water drip slowly down my back.

“The battle still goes on. 
Osbert and Aedgart take the lead and I will follow.”

They both looked at me
doubtfully.  “While any remain I will stand.“ Using Boar
Splitter as a staff we made our way to where Eystein was engaged in
combat with Ridley’s men. The men of Coxold were struggling to stem
the tide of fresh warriors.  I patted Osbert on the shoulder,
“Charge them.” He looked at me. “Now!”

“Very well my lord, Topcliffe
let us gut these Norse swine.”

They charged forwards and I
hobbled along afterwards.  My archers shot their last few
arrows into the melee but I noticed that Branton kept them close to
me in a protective circle. I could see that Ridley was engaged in
hand to hand combat with Orri. They were well matched but Ridley
was using a one handed axe, the one favoured by the Franks, and he
was able to use his shield.  Orri had a sword and I was in no
doubt that even a tired Ridley would prevail.  The Norwegian
was a fine swordsman and I winced as I saw the backslash which
opened Ridley’s mail. The blood did not gush and I hoped that it
was a flesh wound such as I had suffered. Ridley’s axe began to
pound relentlessly on the shield of the Norseman and I could see it
splintering. When it went, it shattered and the blade continued
through to slice off Eystein’s hand and arm. He tried to carry on
bravely but when Ridley countered his next blow with his shield he
had no defence to the axe which sliced him through the
middle.  With him died the hopes of the Norse and we had
finally won. I sank to my knees and smiled as Ridley hobbled over.
Even as I opened my mouth to compliment on his victory, I fell
forward and my world suddenly became black.

I dreamt of Nanna and I fought a
dragon to protect her; I was chased by my brothers each wielding an
axe and I could not move fast enough to escape them;  I found
myself on a high mountain in Wales looking down on a host of
Vikings and then I was falling, down and down. Suddenly I felt
Nanna’s hand and heard her voice coo, “Come back my love, come
back” and the world seemed peaceful once more.

When I awoke I expected to be in
heaven.  I looked up and saw wooden boards above my head which
seemed a strange decoration for a celestial palace.  Then I
heard a voice next to me, a familiar voice, Aethelward’s, “You are
awake at last.  We thought we had lost you.”

I tried to raise myself up but a
pain coursed through my body and I sank back, my eyes closed to
ease the pain.

“You will still need to rest,
nephew, for you nearly died.”

I opened my eyes again and saw
his face. As my eyes lowered I saw that his arm was bandaged too.
“What happened?  Where am I?”

“Before I start on that story
there are some people who need to see you for they have been
waiting for some days for this moment.” He moved away and a door
opened.

Suddenly there was a sea of
familiar faces, Thomas and Sarah, Osbert, Branton and, of course,
my faithful friend Ridley.  My three comrades all sported
wounds whilst Sarah was tearful. She reached out and touched my
hands, “Thank the Lord for that.  They are warm.  They
were so cold, my lord, that I thought you were dead. “She kissed
them, “I will bring you soup for we need to build up your
strength.”

Thomas smiled as she left, “She
and Lord Aethelward have both been at your side for days my lord.
It was, as my wife said, a hard time, for you looked like death. I
am glad that you have returned to us and now I will leave you with
your comrades.”

Ridley and Osbert looked
tearful. “What is the matter? Is there some bad news I do not yet
know?”

Ridley shook his head, his voice
sounded choked, “It is just that we feel we let you down.  We
are your men and we did not protect you.”

I shook my head and smiled, I
had feared that something had happened to Gytha, “My dear Ridley
you are a lord and you have your own men.”

He looked very seriously at me.
“No master, I have a title but I will always be your man.”

I turned to Branton and Osbert,
“And you two have no reason to castigate yourselves. You fought as
bravely as you could and the blow to my back was wryd.”

Osbert shook his head, “No my
lord we should have stayed with you but the heat of the battle was
upon me and my blade sang.”

“That is because you are a
warrior.  And where is my other warrior, Aedgart?”

Osbert’s face clouded over. “He
fell protecting you my lord and died at Stamford. It was a good
death.”

I nodded.  He had died as a
warrior should with a blade in his hand. I was sad for his passing
but pleased with the manner. Sarah and Thomas returned with a bowl
of soup and some of her freshly baked bread.  I suddenly
realised that I was hungry.  My comrades helped me to sit up
but a pain ripped through me and I winced.

“The wound will take time to
heal properly, nephew.  It went to the bone. But it is
healing, slowly.”

“Tell me all as I eat. What
happened to Harold, my father and brother? Does Gytha know and what
of the Normans?”

They all laughed at the usual
torrent of questions which poured from my lips. “We could be here a
long time then Aelfraed.  Well let me answer the questions in
the correct order.  King Harold has left for the south for we
had a message that the Normans had landed.  He promised to
tell Gytha of your wound on the way and I sent those of your men
who were fit enough to go with him and escort her back here.” His
face darkened. “As for the traitorous Edwin and Edgar.” He rubbed
his wounded arm.  “I searched for them on the field and first
I found Edwin. The craven coward begged for his life and swore
allegiance to King Harold; as though anyone would trust the
turncoat snake. I killed him where he cowered. My sister was
avenged but your brother Edgar is every bit as dishonourable as
your father and attacked me from behind.  Luckily he is as
incompetent as he is sly and the blade merely pierced my arm. My
sword took his head and we left them on the field for the birds and
foxes to devour.  You are now Lord of Medelai as well.”

I had not thought that
through.  With the rest of my family dead I was indeed master
of one of the largest estates in Northumbria.”But I thought you
were master?”

“No Aelfraed, I held it for a
short time whilst Edwin and the others were traitors.  No
Harold insisted that it was yours.  Fear not for me.  The
King has promised me estates of my own.”

“And the King himself?”

“We finished off the remains of
the invaders  and pursued the survivors to Riccall. 
There were but twenty four boats needed to take them back to
Norway.  I think the Norse threat is over. I do not think they
will venture south again in our lifetime. The King then received
the news of the Normans and hurried south to meet them.”

“Wolf, Osgar and Ulf?”

Aethelward laughed.  “They
live.  They would have come with us were the need of England
not greater.”

“But we lost so many men. 
Will he have enough to face Duke William?”

Aethelward shrugged.  “The
Housecarls were intact but the forces of Mercia and Northumbria
which Harold had counted upon were too weak to follow.”

I suddenly realised what my
uncle’s presence meant; Harold did not have his strategos and the
army did not have their lucky charm.  I was distraught. 
Had their concern for me cost the King his throne?  “Uncle,
why did you not accompany the King?  He will need your advice,
now more so than ever.”

“My wound was bad enough to keep
me here anyway and I would have slowed them down.  I suppose I
could have followed but I felt my place was here with you for I was
responsible for you fighting that day.”

“You?  How do you come to
that conclusion?”

“Had I not trained you to be a
warrior then you would have remained at Medelai and never
fought.  Now you would be the Thegn of Medelai without the
wounds which cover your body.”

“No uncle. If you had not come
to Medelai and trained me then when Nanna died I would have left
home to seek my fortune away from that nest of vipers.”

“Besides I promised your mother
that I would watch over you and I neglected that for many
years.  I was too wrapped up in the glory of combat. And now
that you have finished your meal you need to rest.  I will
ride over to Medelai with Osbert and inform the Steward of his new
master.”

“It might be wise to leave
Osbert there to keep an eye on that one for I trust him not and
when I am well I will appoint another Steward whom I can
trust.”

“Your wounds have given you
wisdom nephew.”

I was tired and I lay back but
sleep eluded me for a while as I absorbed all this new information
which had come my way. I had thought that I had died; the fact that
I breathed seemed a reprieve somehow and I wondered if wyrd had
caused the bones to fall the way they had.  Was it a new
chance for me?  Were Gytha and I about to embark on a happier
time? I yearned for her next to me but, at the same time, I wished
to be walking for she would fret and fuss at my present
state.  I realised that I did not know how many days it had
been since the battle.  Was she already on her way north? As I
drifted into a deep sleep I resolved to heal myself faster.

The next day I received another
visit from Ridley who had also been wounded.  I had not had
time to talk to him the previous day and I had not even noticed his
wound. He told me that he had wanted to go with the Housecarls to
fight the Normans but he had few men at arms left and his wound
would have slowed him down. “When I saw you lying in that pool of
blood I thought you were dead. I became so angry I wanted to kill
all of the Norse on my own. Later, when I saw how few of my
faithful men of Coxold remained, I felt guilty that they had
followed me and died because of my anger. This leadership is a
double edged blade is it not?”

“Aye old friend, life was easier
when we were Housecarls.”

“When I watched Wolf and Osgar
march off with the king I wished I was with them. Does that make me
a bad lord?”

“No Ridley for you are a warrior
first and a lord second.”

We talked for a long time of all
that we had done until Sarah tut tutted her way in and almost threw
a grinning Ridley out.  My Sarah was a force of nature
alright.

I was on my feet two days later;
much to the annoyance of Sarah who hovered nearby like a mother
watching her bairn walk for the first time. I used Boar Splitter to
help me but Thomas left to cut me a better one for Boar Splitter
had suffered in the battle and needed repair. I would have to give
it to Ralph to have the head reshaped and sharpened.

As I stepped out into the
October sunlight my men at arms who remained and were practising
with Branton gave a huge roar as they saw me. It did my heart good
to see their loyalty. I wondered how many men had been sent to
London for there looked to be remarkably few left.

I had learned from Aethelward
that I had been unconscious for three days which meant that it was
now five days since the battle. The wound on my back had become
itchy which Aethelward took to be a good sign for it meant the
wound was healing.  I could not see that wound but each time
Sarah dressed it and applied a fresh poultice, I heard the intake
of breath as she viewed it. The concern in her face made me glad
that I could not see it.  The wound on my leg was angry and it
too itched but, unlike my uncle’s leg wound, it did not appear
permanent and I exercised each day to make it stronger.  I had
adopted a hunched walk for it was easier on my back. My uncle and
Sarah allowed this for a few days but then my uncle chastised
me.  “If you want to be a hunchbacked cripple for the rest of
your days then continue to walk as you do but if you would lead
your men again then straighten you back.”

I gritted my teeth and slowly
stretched.  At first I thought that I would do it painlessly
but suddenly a sharp pain seemed to rip through my body as though I
had been struck again. “Aargh!”

“There will be pain. 
Believe me I know from my leg but the pain will lessen. You must
persevere.”