Outlaw (Aelfraed) (7 page)

Earl Morcar looked worried. I smiled.
  “Your life is not in danger brother but we would not be surprised or overheard.”

Relieved he relaxed in his chair as Aethelward leaned forwards.
  “Why did you and your brother submit?”

He looked shocked.
  “A little blunt Aethelward.”

“But understandable, yes?”

He inclined his head.  “There was no support for a rebellion and we thought to bide our time. You and your Thegns are the only opposition to the Normans.”

“I hear Harold’s mother in Exeter and the rebels at Hereford would disagree with you.”

“They are little more than armed mobs.  They cannot stand up to cavalry.” Now we had it, they did not fight because they thought they would lose.

I stared into his eyes looking for a lie.
  “And did you have aught to do with the attempt on the Queen’s life?”

As I said Morcar was generally an honest man and the look of surprise and shock on his face convinced me that he was speaking the truth. “Someone tried to kill the Queen?
  When?  Where?”

“Here, last year.”

He sagged back into his seat.  “I did not know.  I had nothing to do with it I promise you.”

“I believe you.
  The question is what can we do now and what are the Normans doing here?”

He looked uncomfortable and squirmed a little in his seat. “The King sent them here to ensure my safety.”

Aethelward looked as shocked as I had ever seen him.  “Protection?  From your own people?”

“I know.” He paused and looked at the ceiling.
  “I think they are my guards.  Edwin has some with him and Edgar others.  The King does not trust us.”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room.
  Aethelward sat on the other chair close to Morcar’s. “Then my lord you have a choice.  Continue to be the prisoner of William and enjoy your empty title or join with us and throw off the shackles.”

It was then that I realised that he was afraid.
  He had not had the success in war and battle that Ridley and I had enjoyed.  To him war meant humiliation and retreat.  He did not think we could win and could not be the figurehead we wanted. I suspected that the same was true of his brother and, as Edgar was still barely a man, we were no better off. I caught my uncle’s eye and nodded towards the door.

“Well my lord we will take our leave.
  What do you intend to do about the Danes?”

His voice sounded dull and without life, as though he knew that he would remain a prisoner, he was a bird in a gilded cage, but a cage nonetheless.
  “I will have men watch the coast and light beacons.”

As we were leaving I turned and
said, “Perhaps you might improve the defences of your city my lord eh?” He nodded but I am not certain he heard me.

When we left the Earl, we mounted our horses and rode to join our men.
  Ridley’s sergeant at arms had been watching the gates and he sought out his lord as soon as he could.  “My lord, not long after you entered the hall four Norman horsemen rode out of the gate and headed south.”

“Good man. “

“Well Aelfraed I think that confirms what we are all thinking.  If there is to be any opposition to the Normans then it will have to come from us.”

“I know, Aethelward, but we seem pitifully few in numbers.”

He smiled, “Remember how three men held up the whole of Harold’s army?  An avalanche starts with just one rock; and we have three.” He grinned at Ridley, “Some of them bigger than others.”

Ridley took the ribbing in good part and while Aethelward went to speak to some of the older men and warriors he still knew in Jorvik, Ridley and I went to visit Reuben.
  Ridley had acquired money and wished to engage the services of the Jew.  He had always been like that; he was a follower, like a younger brother always copying his sibling.

When we had conducted our business Reuben offered us
more of his fortified wine. I looked around the room and noticed that he had invested in some fine furniture and objects.  “Things must be going well Reuben. “

He spread his hands.
  “When there is war then merchants always make money. The crops in the south were poor last year because the men who would have tilled the fields lay dead with Harold.  I was able to buy wheat in the north and sell it in the south for a great profit. There were other deals I did which increased not only my fortune my lord but yours.  You now have even more gold.”

“Gold will do me no good if the Normans return.”

Reuben’s eyes twinkled and he tapped his nose meaningfully.  “Perhaps but with money you can start again in another country and be a wealthy man.”

“But this is my land and I am loath to leave it.”

He suddenly became serious.  “You may have to leave it lord.”

“Come Reuben, no more games.
  Speak plainly and tell me the words that hide behind your dancing.”

“People tell me things and I listen.
  There are six Norman knights in Jorvik.”

“I saw only three and I thought they had left.”

“Trust me my lord there are six.  Their leader is William of Perci and I hear that the King has promised him land in the north.”

I felt a chill creep down my neck. This was
wyrd
.  I had a premonition of what was coming.”Where in the north?”

“Close to here my lord.”

I swallowed the fiery yet wonderfully sweet liquor. “Topcliffe.”

He nodded, and then looked at Ridley, “And Coxold and Medelai.”

That was the first time I have ever seen someone’s jaw drop in shock, but Ridley’s did and it made me smile. “Thank you for that old friend.  Let us say that we do lose our lands, although we would fight hard to retain them, then what would you suggest we do?”

“I am but an old Jew.
  I am no warrior.  My people gave up fighting long ago and turned to trade.  You ask what I would do? I would leave now.  I would take my money and find another home where I could buy safety.”

“Where is such a place?”

“I believe you have friends in Scotland my lord?”

I laughed.
  “Is there anything you do not know you old fox.”

“As I said, people tell me things.”

I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. Reuben would make a fine chess player for he was always thinking moves ahead.  Perhaps I should do the same. I sat forwards. “Could you arrange for some of my money to be made available in Scotland?”

“I will do so.
  My brother Isaac lives there close to the shrine of Saint Andrew.”

I looked surprised.
  “A Jew near a Christian shrine?”

He rubbed his thumb and foreigner together.
  “Pilgrims have money…”

“Excellent, then make it so.”

“I would also suggest money in Constantinople and Paris. It will not affect how much you can have in Scotland but it means that you have more choices.”

Later that evening, as we rode home, I compared notes with Aethelward and Osbert who had listened in the taverns and the alehouses. “Morcar will not fight until Edwin does and the Norman s are coming north.”

“Should we do as Reuben says and flee?”

Aethelward looked at me and I could hear Osbert and Ridley, holding their breath and listening for the answer. “If you flee you will not return.”

“But why stay?  There is no figurehead.”

Aethelward halted his horse and stared at me. “Sometimes Aelfraed you surprise me with your naivety. You are the figurehead.
  You are the one who could unite the warriors.”

“Me?” I turned to see Ridley and Osbert grinning and nodding. “I cannot see that.”

“You are Harold’s son.  You are the only undefeated Saxon left alive and you have a reputation as a warrior.  Men will follow you wherever you go.”

I thought about his words and saw that they did make some sort of sense, no matter how incredible. “But Edgar, he is Harold’s son too.”

“He is no warrior and he has no reputation and besides that no-one knows him.  When people mention your name then a host of stories flood out.”

“Aye my lord.
  When I was in the tavern I heard how you defeated and blinded the Scottish champion Duff and five other warriors in single combat.”

“But that is not true! Well not all of it.”

“We know that, Aelfraed, but they are desperate for a hero and, at the moment, you are he.”

Over the next few weeks as we built up our pathetically small army I reflected on those words. My life had changed beyond all recognition in the last three years and I was not certain that I liked it. I yearned for those days before I had foiled an attempt on the King’s life when Ridley and I were just Housecarls.
  Of course I would be dead along with Wolf, Ulf and Osgar but now I had the weight of the world upon my shoulders, or at least, the weight of England. To take my mind off that I worked as hard as I had ever worked; either I was training with Osbert and my men at arms or I was planning with Aethelward. Branton’s arrows were now ready in large numbers and we had tried them out on dead pigs covered in mail- they worked! We had also recruited and trained more archers; Branton ensured that they could all ride.  We would not be a static force facing the fearsome Normans – we too would be mobile.  We still could not fight on horse as they did but we could move to and from any battlefield quickly. Gytha had sent a letter to me asking for Sarah.  When I told Sarah she was torn between staying with her husband and looking after the child.  Thomas persuaded her to go and, as she left, with an escort of archers he thanked me.

“Why are you thanking me old friend? I feel guilty for separating you and your wife.”

He shook his head and his eyes filled.  “We could not have children my lord.” He shrugged philosophically, “
Wyrd
.  But she dotes on you and the Lady Gytha.  When Harold was born she was the happiest woman in the world and she missed them. She can now have the child that was denied her and,” he wiped his eyes, “I fear that war will come here and despite all your efforts my lord, I can see a time when these walls will fall and there will death.  In Scotland she will be safe.”

I was appalled.
  “Thomas, if you feel that way, then join your wife.  You have been a loyal servant and you can serve my wife still.”

He stood stiffly.
  “My lord, I am your Steward and until you dismiss me I will still be your Steward and I will watch over Topcliffe and defend it with my life.”

Not daring to speak I patted his arm and he walked back to his lists. This was what my title had brought us to.
  Doom and destruction; but if Thomas was willing to die for the land then so would I.

It seemed lonely that night as Aethelward and I ate a quiet meal without Sarah fussing over us and I told him what had transpired. He nodded as he gnawed on a pig bone. “It is as I said, Aelfraed, you inspire loyalty.”

“I will do as Thomas then and die defending Topcliffe.”

He slammed the pig bone
to the table and shouted.  “You will not for this is just land and you are greater than a piece of land.  I did not come back to train you just to die on a Norman lance for a few stones and a house.”

“But if they come and we lose?”

“Then we move on and regroup and fight again.”

“How?
  Where?  With what?”

He smiled, “Ah how I have missed your questions Aelfraed.
  How? With your mind and with your men.  Where?  Here.  You hide in the forests and strike suddenly.  With what? With the weapons you have.”  He paused and coughed, putting a cloth to his mouth; not soon enough though for I saw the blood. “If Harold had done as I advised then William would have been beaten on the beach. Had Harold survived then he could have regrouped and used the land to defeat the enemy.  Remember Aelfraed that the Normans use horses.  They double their need for food.  You recall when we first fought those mounted Welsh knights and you were apprehensive.  What happened when the horse fell?”

“The knight died.”

“Exactly.  The weakness of the horse is that it can be hurt and when that happens then rider is hurt too.”

The next day I began to prepare our men to face horses. I used Branton and his archers for they were skilful riders.
  I made my men stand in a line with only a stick for defence.  As soon as they realised that the horses would not willingly hit them, they gained confidence. I then told them of facing horsemen when in Wales. “This is where your spear comes into play for you can strike the horse before it reaches you.  If you have no fear then use your axe or your sword to strike down the horse.  If the horse falls then so does the man.” They looked at each other and nodded, my simple explanation and story made sense to them. Branton and his archers stood in a half circle beyond them. “And remember men we have a secret weapon, which is only available to us.” This time all but Branton and Osbert looked puzzled.  “We have Branton’s archers and their new arrows!”