Warlord of the North (3 page)

We headed up the road towards Yarm. It was a shorter journey than the one to Thornaby or my ferry.  I felt blind.  I wanted to speak with at least one of my knights as soon as possible. If Durham was no longer a bastion and Carlisle had been taken then Stockton was the prize plum which King David would seize.  I hoped that when I reached Yarm I would find that Sir Richard and his men had gone to Stockton. When I saw his banner fluttering from his castle my hopes were dashed. As we headed towards it I wondered if this was a good thing.  Perhaps it meant that the Scots had not come south.

The bridge was up across the ditch.  I had no banner and it was not until we closed with the wall that my shield was recognised. The sentry shouted, "Open the gate! It is the Earl of Cleveland!"

We clattered across the bridge and into the bailey. Sir Richard ran to greet me, "My lord, we thought you lost."

As I dismounted I said, "Lost?"

"We heard that your castle was surrounded by the Scots and you had perished. Some said the castle had fallen."

"From whom did you hear this?"

"Riders came from the north and told us."

"When was this?"

"Why a week since,  It was just a day after we heard that the King had died."

We were in the open and it did not do to talk in such places. "Let us go into your hall and speak.  I detect treachery in all of this." I turned to his sergeant at arms, "William these are my new men, Alan and Gilles. See to them if you would and prepare his lordship's men.  We ride within the hour!"

William looked to Sir Richard for confirmation.  Sir Richard nodded.

Once in the warmth of the hall I turned, "Did you not investigate for yourself, Sir Richard?"

"Well, no, I ..."

"What of your son at Elton?  Did you not think of him?"

His face fell, "We had thought him dead too.  When the riders said the Scots were flooding south we feared for ourselves and prepared for siege."

I closed my eyes.  Sir Richard was a solid warrior and had been one of my foremost allies but he was not a great thinker.  He was no strategist.  If I told him to hold he would but he had little initiative. "Sir Richard, you know my castle.  It is strong is it not?" He nodded. "John is a good castellan and you know that Wulfric is the staunchest of warriors.  Did you think so little of my castle and, indeed, of me, that you thought it would fall so quickly? You have been duped."

"But the rider was English and wore a surcoat.  I thought...."

"Think of those traitors and rebels who fought for King David.  This is a trick. The castle stands yet."

"Have you been there, my lord?"

"I do not need to have been there.  I know.  Rouse yourself.  Leave a garrison here but I want you and the majority of your men to come with me.  We ride to Thornaby. Let us see if Sir Edward has been taken in too." I paused, "What surcoat?"

"Yellow and black stripes with a hawk on the breast." I did not recall that livery.  I knew, in my heart, that it had been a Scottish trick.

As we headed along the south bank of the Tees I knew I had arrived home none too soon. The weather had helped me.  Had the assassins struck on the road then we would have fallen.  Six men at arms attacking when I least suspected would have but one outcome.  I was grateful to Fate for making us stop at Osmotherley. We reached Thornaby towards dusk.  The banner flew but the gate was barred.

"Open the gate! It is I, the Earl of Cleveland."

The gate opened and we trotted in. I saw Sir Edward stride towards me.  His arm was in a sling. His face broke into a smile.  "My lord! We heard you were dead! This is great news."

I dismounted and pointed towards his arm.  "What happened?"

He led us within his hall.  "When the news came about the King we were all shocked and then we heard of Scots rampaging north of the river.  John, your castellan, and Wulfric sent the message that they had summoned Sir Tristan and Sir Harold from their castles to Stockton.  I said I would check on those south of the river.  I was about to ride to Sir Richard when a message came that Normanby was under siege.  I led my conroi there with all haste. It was a trap and we were ambushed by the men of De Brus.  They attacked us by the hamlet of Acklam." He shook his head.  "I am getting old, my lord. I saw what I expected to see and the traitors came from all sides.  I lost eight men and barely made it back here. I fear that Normanby has fallen."

It was not their fault.  The fault lay with me.  I was the one responsible for the protection of the north and I had been far from home.  I had done nothing to save the King and now I had lost the north. We ate and I told them all that I knew. It took some time for the levels of deceit and treachery were many fold.

"So Stephen of Blois is now King?"

"I know not, Edward. I know he went to London and that his brother has put his name forward.  We all know that the people of London feel they have the right to decide who shall be King.  They are untrustworthy but they have the King's home within their walls."

"It is not right that such a small number of people may decide the fate of the realm."

"You are right, Sir Richard, but we must face facts.  With us tied in the north and, I daresay, the Earl of Gloucester's knights doing the same in the Welsh Marches the future ruler of this country could be decided by a handful of grasping merchants who see a way to gain power."

"Gain power?"

"Think about it Sir Richard, Stephen of Blois is no fool. He will wish to make his position stronger and he will reward those who make him king and go against King Henry's wishes." I shook my head, "Even the Archbishop of York is powerless and may have to acknowledge Stephen as King."

Edward said, very quietly, "And you, my lord?"

I laughed, "I thought, Edward, that of all people you would know me and my mind.  Do you think I would break an oath? I will not swear an oath of allegiance to Stephen even if he is anointed by the Archbishop."

"You would be a rebel?"

I looked at them both and spoke slowly so that my words would not be misinterpreted. "I will continue to fight for the rights of the Empress Matilda and her son, Henry of Anjou. I will not rest until they have the throne as King Henry wished. You should know that if you are to follow me." They both nodded although Sir Richard's was less enthusiastic. "First I have to make this land safe from the Scots but be under no misapprehension, if Stephen tries to make me bow the knee then I will fight him. You have to make your own choices.  I will not command either of you to join me in what may be a fruitless fight. If I have to fight alone then I shall do so."

Sir Edward raised his goblet with his good arm.  "My lord all that I have I owe to you.  I am your man.  If I perish following you then that was meant to be and I will not regret it."

Sir Richard raised his goblet too, "And I know your worth too my lord.  Were it not for you then this land would have suffered many times before.  I follow you too."

I nodded, "Then tomorrow we go to war. Is the ferry on the river yet?"

"It is my lord but it is moored south of the river.  When we returned from the ambush I sent riders to Stockton to warn them of the danger but the Scots had encircled the castle and the town but the ferry was moored on the southern side. Ethelred's son, Harold is here within my castle.  He took refuge."

"Send for him I would have news of my home."

Young Harold dropped to his knees and kissed the hem of my surcoat when he saw me, "My lord we heard that you were dead.  When I heard you had returned I wondered if you were a ghost."

I raised him up, "You heard me dead?"

"Aye lord, riders brought news to the castle they said that you had perished in Normandy."

"Describe the surcoat of the knight who brought you the news."

"It was yellow and black stripes with a hawk on the breast."

I looked at Sir Richard, "Aye, that is the same rider who came to me."

"Did Wulfric believe I had died?"

Harold gave me a strange look, "No, lord, he said the messenger was wrong."

"Who else was within Stockton before the gates were barred?"

"Sir Tristan and Sir Harold brought their people within but that was all.  My father told me to moor the ferry where the Scots could not use it and Sir Harold told me to seek help from Sir Edward."

"And Norton?"

"We had no word from Sir Henry my lord. But your castle was prepared for siege and the town walls are manned also."

I suddenly realised I had no idea of the times. "When did the messenger come?"

Sir Richard said, "Three days since."

"Your ambush, Sir Edward?"

"Three days since.  I was not here when the messenger crossed on the ferry."

I looked at young Harold, "And the Scots?"

"Two days since."

Sir Edward and Sir Richard both had the look on their faces that one has when someone realises that they have been badly misled.  "We were tricked!"

"Did you not think, Sir Richard, that the surcoat of this messenger is remarkably similar to that of the Earl of Gospatric?"

Sir Richard suddenly saw the connection, "Of course! Now it is clear."

"And is Stockton under siege?"

Sir Edward nodded, "We spied them.  They are close to the river on the east.  Your archers have made them be wary of approaching closer."

"And have they siege engines?"

"Not that we saw."

"Sir Edward fetch me a map!" He waved a hand and his squire disappeared.  "We know now that we are in a parlous position. We must forget the machinations of Stephen of Blois. He will either be or not be the next King of England. I am powerless to stop him. We can, however, carry out the last orders the King gave to me.  We can defend this land against the Scots." My glare left no one around that table in any doubt that I would fight on despite the apparently insurmountable odds.

Gille, Edward's squire, returned with the map.  It was a piece of calfskin marked with the river and the manors of the valley. I jabbed a finger at Stockton. "All to the north, west and east is lost. I do not doubt that there will be pockets of resistance. Sir Hugh at Hexham will fight and I pray he will rouse his neighbours.  Like me he has the power to do so. I hope that the Bishop of Durham will fight but we have heard naught. Here we hold the southern bank of the river.  Our fight begins here. Tomorrow we build a second ferry. We take over as many archers and men at arms as we can and leave the rest here at Thornaby. We have lost enough of our valley.  Tomorrow we take it back.  Inch by inch if we have to but we lose no more!"

I was exhausted by the time we had finished planning.  Before I retired I sought out Gilles and Alan. "Tomorrow I go to war.  Gilles, I will not be needing my horses but I want them cared for.  You will remain here and watch over them for me."

"Aye my lord but I will fight by your side if you need."

I ruffled his hair, "That day will come but it is not tomorrow. Alan, you now have mail, sword and a helm.  Get yourself a shield and tomorrow you watch my back until we regain my home."

"My father taught me, my lord and I will guard you until your enemies prise the sword from my dead hand."

"I would prefer you to live so that you can join my men at arms."

I knelt next to my bed that night and held my sword before me, "Lord, I pray you guide my arm and my mind.  I know that you have set me a task and I hope that I am up to it.  Protect my people from the ravages of these barbarians and protect my Empress and my son! I am ever your servant. Amen."

I kissed the pommel stone of Harold Godwinson.  Tomorrow was a momentous day.  Until either the Empress or her son was on the throne then I bowed my knee to no man.  I was my own man and I would be Warlord of the North. I would carve out an enclave protected from all enemies or I would die trying.