Hoodsman: Saving Princesses Read online

  THE HOODSMAN

  Saving Princesses

  (Book Four of the Series)

  By Skye Smith

  Copyright (C) 2010-2013 Skye Smith

  All rights reserved including all rights of authorship.

  Cover Illustration is a part of

  "The Landing of St. Margaret at Queensferry"

  by William Hole (1899)

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Revision 4 . . . . . ISBN: 978-1-927699-03-4

  Cover Flap

  In the first three books of this series, the young porter, Raynar, survived the battle of Stamford bridge and the battle of Hastings Road, and fell in love with a fleeing Saxon princess. Now he must save her and get her far away from William the Conqueror and his rapist knights.

  In the first three books, the elder Raynar has gotten away with killing King William Rufus, and has arranged for the bowmen of the Hood to be recruited into King Henry's archers in return for a pardon. Now that Henry has English bows protecting him, he can announce his betrothal to a Scottish Saxon princess. Raynar must keep her safe from the Norman Barons long enough to attend her own wedding and coronation.

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  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  About The Author

  Skye Smith is my pen name. My ancestors were miners and shepherds near Castleton in the Peaks District of Derbyshire. I have been told by some readers that this series reminds them of Bernard Cornwell’s historical novels, and have always been delighted by the comparison.

  This is the fourth of my Hoodsman series of books, and you should read the first “Killing Kings” before you read this book. All of the books contain two timelines linked by characters and places. The “current” story is set in the era of King Henry I in the 1100’s, while the longer “flashback” story is set in the era of King William I after 1066.

  I have self-published twelve "The Hoodsman ..." books and they are:

  # - SubTitle

  . . . . . . . . . . . . William I Timeline

  . . . . . . . . . . . . Henry I Timeline

  1. Killling Kings

  . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066 killing King Harald of Norway (Battle of Stamford Bridge)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100 killing King William II of England. Henry claims the throne.

  2. Hunting Kings

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066 hunting the Conqueror (Battle of Hastings Road)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100 hunting Henry I (Coronation Charter)

  3. Frisians of the Fens

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067/68 rebellions. Edgar Aetheling flees north with Margaret.

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100 amnesty and peace. Henry recuits English bowmen.

  4. Saving Princesses

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068/69 rebellions. Margaret weds Scotland (Battle of Durham)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100/01 Edith of Scotland weds Henry (Battle of Alton)

  5. Blackstone Edge

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1069/70 rebellions (The Harrowing of the North)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1101 peace while the economy is saved from the bankers

  6. Ely Wakes

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1070/71 Frisian rebellion (Battles of Ely and Cassel)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1101 Henry collects allies. Mary of Scotland weds Boulogne.

  7. Courtesans and Exiles

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072/74 English lords flee abroad (Battle of Montreuil, Edgar surrenders)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1102 Henry collects allies (the Honor of Boulogne)

  8. The Revolt of the Earls

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1075/76 Earls revolt (Battles of Worchester and Fagaduna)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1102 Earls revolt (Battles of Arundel, Bridgnorth, Shropshire)

  9. Forest Law

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1076/79 fighting Normans in France (London Burned, Battle of Gerberoi)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103 fighting Normans in Cornwall (Battle of Tamara Sound)

  10. Queens and Widows

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1079/81 rebellions (Gateshead, Judith of Lens)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103 Edith made Regent (Force 5 Hurricane)

  11. Popes and Emperors

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1081 Normans slaughter English exiles (Battle of Dyrrhachium)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104 Henry visits Normandy (Duchy run by warlords)

  12. The Second Invasion

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1082/85 power vacuum, peaceful anarchy (Regent Odo arrested enroute to Rome)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085/87 Re-invasion and Harrowing of all England (Battle of Mantes, Conqueror dies)

  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104/05 Henry invades Normandy twice (Battle of Tinchebray)

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  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  Prologue

  Writing historical novels about the twenty year conquest of England by a culture of vicious slave masters, means that I have to describe England as it was before the era of the Anglo-Normans. It is difficult to separate reality from all of the popular misconceptions about the era. For example, think of all of the connotations and misconceptions attached to just one phrase: Anglo-Saxon.

  By 1068, William realizes that he blew a once in a lifetime opportunity to become both the Count of Flanders and the King of France because invading England has cost him his army. Not only that, but the bloody English, especially those in the North, still reject him as their king. The rebellions are continuous.

  What is worse is that the rebellions are not led by the English nobles and lords. The lords are either already dead, or are hiding, or have fled to other kingdoms. A lot of them fled to Scotland. It is the the peasants who are leading the rebellions. The Pope in Rome, and his Frankish henchmen fear the spread of a peasant revolution.

  In France, William has long been known as the Conqueror. He decides to use the same genocidal tactics in England that he had used so successfully in the counties bordering Normandy. His armies will slash and burn and starve and freeze the rebellious peasants into submission and into serfdom (slavery).

  The reaction of the English is to seek the help of the kings and princes from the borders of England and march against William with newly formed armies. They could not have chosen a worse tactic, because William well knows how to crush armies, and this he does. Unfortunately he still can't control the peasants who are picking off Normans in ambushes, and usually using arrows to do so.

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  In 1100 Henry, son of William the Conqueror, has claimed the throne of England. As the fourth son, Henry had been trained to become a bishop, not a king, or a general. He is an educated and wealthy bureaucrat. Most of the Norman barons and knights do not want him, a clerk, as their king.

  Henry wants to bring back the rule of law, and the legal system set up by Knut the Great. Under the rule of law Norman nobles will no longer be above the law. He plans to rescue the economy by cracking down on the corruption of the wealthy bankers and landlords. The first choice of the barons and knights is Henry's oldest brother, Robert, who has just returned to Normandy from the crusades. By treaty
, Robert is the legal heir to the throne.

  Of course the Norman barons and knights would rather have Robert as their king for he is a good Norman warrior (in modern terms - a psycho killer). He has helped to slaughter entire cities in the Holy Land. He encourages his armies to rape, pillage, plunder, and enslave the lesser races like the English. As king he would be a continuation of the Norman's god given right to be the master race.

  And now this milksop Henry, who the barons used to bully when they were children together, has the effrontery to want to marry a Saxon princess of the Scottish royal family. And worse, she has lived all her life in a convent, and shares her saintly mother's views that all folk deserve shelter, food and clothing, and that the nobles should not flaunt their wealth and power.

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  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Cover Flap

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 - Wedding Guest List at the Domus, London in November 1100

  Chapter 2 - Hunting a king in Warwick in May 1068

  Chapter 3 - The Northern lords meet in York in August 1068

  Chapter 4 - To Dun Holm with a Princess in August 1068

  Chapter 5 - With a Princess at Westminster in November 1100

  Chapter 6 - With a Princess in Dun Holm in October 1068

  Chapter 7 - Guarding a Princess at Westminster in November 1100

  Chapter 8 - The slaughter at Dun Holm in January 1069

  Chapter 9 - Saving a Princess in Northumbria in February 1069

  Chapter 10 - Saving a Princess at Westminster in November 1100

  Chapter 11 - Hiding from winter in Bamburgh in February 1069

  Chapter 12 - Losing a Princess at Dunfermline, Scotland in April 1069

  Chapter 13 - With Prince Canute in at Dunfermline, Scotland in April 1069

  Chapter 14 - A Royal Wedding at Westminster in November 1100

  Chapter 15 - Befriending Prince Canute in Dunfermline, Scotland in May 1069

  Chapter 16 - Arranging for rebellions in Mathrafal, Powys in June 1069

  Chapter 17 - The Queen of the English, Westminster Abbey, November 1100

  Chapter 18 - Searching for Hereward through the Peaks in June 1069

  Chapter 19 - After the Coronation at the Domus in Holborn, November 1100

  Chapter 20 - With Sheriff Thorold in Spalding, Lincolnshire in July 1069

  Chapter 21 - Ambushing a King on Ermine Street, Lincolnshire in July 1069

  Chapter 22 - Building a log boom at Selby, Lincolnshire in August 1069

  Chapter 23 - In the palace's garden, Winchester, July 1101

  Chapter 24 - Saving Countess Beatrice in Lincoln in October 1069

  Chapter 25 - Meeting Duke Robert in Portsmouth, July 1101

  Chapter 26 - Ambushing a king in Sherwood Forest in November 1069

  Chapter 27 - Warning Henry at Pevensey, July 1101

  Chapter 28 - Warning Cospatrick on the River Aire in November 1069

  Chapter 29 - Holding the ford at Castleford, Yorkshire in November 1069

  Chapter 30 - Stopping Duke Robert at Alton, July 1101

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  The Hoodsman - Saving Princesses by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13

  Chapter 1 - Wedding Guest List at the Domus, London in November 1100

  The night was chill. "There will be frost in London tonight," Raynar told Risto in Greek.

  "Well, all news has some good to it. This backwards city of barbarians will stink much less when the streets are all frozen. They should cover over that Fleet River," observed Risto. "That is where all the smells come from. Such nasty smells are the cause of sickness."

  "You must send home for some Andalusian brick-layers, then," mocked Raynar, "to show the locals how to enclose a river under the ground."

  "No, you jest. The bricklayers do not know how to make an arched tunnel."

  "Those that do are fully busy building palaces and cathedrals. Those are much more important than a sewer for London, and there is more profit to them."

  A young orderly came with a message from the gate. "There is a Captain Henry of the palace guard to see you. Should I show him in?"

  Risto and Raynar looked at each other with eyes wide. "Yes, bring him and any with him, here immediately. And send for the finest French wine. " The orderly trotted away. "Risto, go and wake Gregos."

  Gregos arrived seconds ahead of Henry. Risto made ready to bow, but Raynar held him from doing so. "Captain Henry. We are pleased by your visit. Please sit and warm yourself around the brazier." Raynar signaled Henry not to speak until the wine waiter had left.

  They all took chairs or stools and pulled them into a close circle around the brazier. "Do you wish me to withdraw so that you can talk in private with Gregos?” Since arriving in London from Cordoba in time for Henry's coronation, the acutely intelligent old Greek gentleman had been helping Henry to reorganize the Treasury, and therefore reorganize the finances of the kingdom.

  "No, stay Raynar," replied the King "it is true that I have Treasury problems to discuss with Gregos, but it is you who I have come to see."

  "Me, then your recruitment to create the Royal Archers has not been successful. I thought the outlaws would rush to swear to you, in return for pardons."

  "On the contrary," replied Henry, "I now have almost a thousand recruited, and they brought their bows. The barons are markedly more polite to me as of late. I did what you told me to do. When the first of them volunteered, they were given a proclamation that they and their family were freemen, and then they were well fed, and trained to fight cavalry.

  On their first Sunday with us, we gave them some pay and a leave. Of course they went and told their friends that I was soft in the head and giving away money and freedom, so now the ranks are swelling. The new ones will get some pay and their first long leave will allow them to return home to visit their mothers for St Nicholas' day."

  Gregos laughed aloud. "This is sheer genius, sire, I mean Captain. When they return from leave, they will bring their brothers and cousins with them."

  "Then what is it you want of me?" asked Raynar.

  "Since we first met, and certainly since you walked through my palace dressed as a hoodsman, the name Raynar keeps circling through my affairs. It is as if the Wyred sisters of fate have woven our futures together."

  'More than you think,' thought Raynar, but he was careful not to show it in his face. He had hunted the Norman Royals for the best part of thirty years. More than time enough for the Wyred sisters to weave their futures together.

  "First you bring this marvelous," Henry put an hand on Gregos' shoulder, "financial advisor from Cordoba. Not a month later you send out word across the kingdom, that has resulted in English bowmen rushing to be recruited into my Royal archers. Since you have been seen in the palace, no less than five of my father's most trusted barons have warned me to lock you up in the Tower. And now this." He held out a scroll.

  Raynar unrolled it, while Risto brought a lamp close for light. "What am I looking at? It seems to be a list of lords."

  "Because I now have the protection of archers sworn directly to me," replied Henry. "I have finally been able to announce my betrothal. I am to be wed to Edith of Scotland next week. She is a Scottish Saxon princess, so you can understand why I was so anxious to have some guards who were not Norman before we declared our vows."

  Gregos looked over at his friend, Raynar's face. It had gone first red, and then white. He looked like he was going to be sick.

  "Edith and I are well matched," Henry continued, "and I have known her for many years. She is old for a betrothal, almost twenty now, but she is convent pure. My brother Robert and my mother were her godparents. She is at the palace now, but her brother, King Edgar of Scotland will not be coming to give her away, and neither will h
er uncle, Edgar Aetheling. I fear that neither of them believe that I am strong enough to hold onto the throne."

  Raynar was not really paying attention. His head was swimming. He reached for a drink, and almost tipped over the cup.

  "In any case," Henry continued, not realizing the effect that his words were having on the old bowman, "this scroll is the general list of those who perhaps should be invited to attend the wedding-coronation, at lease, according to my Chamberlain's staff. Indeed this is the actual copy that he sent to my bride Edith.

  He asked her to add anyone she wished to the list, and to mark with an X anyone that she refuses, and to mark with an O anyone who she wants included in the inner party. See here, all the Mowbrays have been X'd as Robert Mowbray killed her father and her brother, which led the death of her mother Margaret."

  The mention of Margaret brought Raynar out of his dark thoughts. He sighed at the thought of Margaret and felt a tug at his heart. He mentally shook himself, for this was not the time to discuss her, or to give anything away to her daughter's future husband. "It is a very long list, hundreds and hundreds. What am I looking for?"

  "Weeks ago, Gregos sent my chamberlain a message asking for you to be invited to anything that he is invited to, as extra security for him. Your name was added with Gregos to the end of the wedding list," replied Henry, "the cutting end. Gregos would probably not have made the final list."

  Raynar checked the last ten names on the list. There he was - Raynar of the Peaks.

  "I know you as Raynar Porter, yet others know you as Raynar of the Peaks. Are you the same man?" asked the king.

  "I am," Raynar admitted.

  "I made the request," muttered Gregos, "because at the time, Risto still didn't have the full use of his sword arm, after the last time the assassins tried for my life."

  "And I am happy you did so, Gregos," replied the king, "especially considering the mark that Edith has put beside Raynar's name. An O. It is the only name that she has so marked other than her sister Mary. But then, both sisters are in residence near Winchester, while the rest of her family are in Scotland or even further afield." The king looked at Raynar and did not speak. Raynar seemed to be bathed in a warm glow from his wide smile to his eyes. "Ah, so you are old friends."