Hoodsman: Revolt of the Earls Page 3

  He wanted tongues to wag, and spies to send messages. He wanted the folk to pay attention that there were dangerous times coming. He wanted the dangerous men of the Ely rebellion to dig up their weapons. He wanted nobles to realize that once again the Hood would be taking quick revenge for any mistreatment of the folk.

  The shallow draft of the cog allowed them to row right up to Huntingdon despite the low water in the river. They were the fastest thing on the river so they arrived at the dock of that thriving market town before anyone but the tower watch knew that they were coming.

  Thinking that the Anske was a raider, Waltheof rode to the burg gate yelling for it to be closed. The gatekeepers, each with a longbow across their shoulders, pretended they didn't understand his order. He became frantic for a moment while he watched a fully armed wolfpack from the ship march towards the gate, and then he saw Raynar.

  "How many ships did you bring?" he asked as soon as Raynar was close enough to hear.

  "This one. Do I need more?"

  Waltheof yelled to the men on the walls to stand down. They gave their lord a strange stare. They had never stood to arms. They had all recognized the Anske, and Raynar as most had kin in the wolfpack. "Come up to the bailey. We are making plans," Waltheof urged.

  Raynar smirked. Where else would he go? When they reached the bailey he waved to his friends on the wall and dismissed his men so that they could visit with their brothers and cousins. There was a newly expanded manor house, replacing the longhouse, and he followed Waltheof into its great hall.

  Judith rushed into the room to see who had arrived and stopped dead still at the sight of him. She blanched. "Raynar," her voice wavered, "you are dressed for killing. What has happened?"

  "Good day Judy, please arrange for ale for my men, and wine for us, and then join us in your quarters."

  Her face reddened and she was about to explode in anger at being ordered about in her own home, but she pursed her lips tightly and said nothing, and clapped her hands to hurry the maids who were already jumping to Raynar's orders.

  Raynar took good advantage of the short time before Judith would arrive at the lords chamber to sit Waltheof down and kick the door shut. The tall earl was still wondering at his wife's comment that this wolveshead was dressed for killing.

  "Walt, I think your wife is one of Regent Odo's agents. Are you aware of this?"

  "Beatrice has told me of your suspicions," Waltheof replied slowly. "What does that really mean? She is William's sister's daughter, so of course she is an agent of the court."

  "She still loathes you," Raynar stated. "She is a danger to you. Would it not be better to send her away before things get worse here."

  "I have told her that she cannot return to court until she proves herself as my faithful wife. She stays with me." Waltheof did not speak his next words as Judith came through the door. Instead he said pointedly "I was expecting Hereward, not his lackey."

  Raynar ignored the slight. "You want war with William, then, for if Hereward's boots touch English soil you will have war for sure. Hereward's understanding was that you did not want war. He thinks that this is all a drunkard's folly that needs to be smoothed over." He heard Judith snicker at the slight returned. "We have it wrong then. Should I send for Hereward."

  "No," exclaimed Waltheof, "no, I do not want any part of this madness, never mind expand it with thoughts of war. At the bride-ale we drank non stop for three nights and in the good company of many old warriors who boasted of battles won and lost. Ralph and Roger took advantage. Afterwards, once I sobered, I told them that I wanted no part in it. Unfortunately, by then I had sworn an oath to them."

  "What oath?"

  "That all that was said and planned at Exning would remain secret. That I could tell no one." moaned Waltheof.

  "He is a fool," hissed Judith. "Such an oath keeps him party to the conspiracy even if he takes no active part in it."

  "Then break the oath," said Raynar, "and go to the king with their plans."

  "I cannot. Oaths are fundamental to our law. As an earl and a magistrate I cannot betray my oath. Worse, if I break my oath, no one will ever trust it again."

  "Then have someone else break the oath." sighed Raynar in exasperation. All he need do is send Judith to visit her uncle the king.

  "And how would that person know the plans, if I had not already broken my oath to them?" replied Waltheof.

  "Bloody Hades," cursed Raynar, "I wish Thorold were here. He knows the law better than anyone."

  "Thorold is here," interrupted Judith, "we thought that was why you came here. He is in the burg."

  "Send for him then woman, quickly." ordered Raynar.

  Judith flushed in anger again at being ordered about in her own house, but calmed herself and left the room. They were surprised to see her back again almost immediately. "He was just entering the hall," she said as she stepped aside and let the aging ex-sheriff through.

  Thorold stepped quickly forward as Raynar stood, and they clasped each other long and hard. They had not been face to face since the rebellion at Ely had collapsed. They looked at each other with joy, but left many things unsaid. This was not the time for their own talk, not with Waltheof and Judith present.

  "Thorold, Walt has made an oath of secrecy to Ralph. How can he break it so he can disclose Ralph's plans to the king?"

  "He can at any time, but he mustn't. It would be the end of him as a noble."

  "Then it is yet another dilemma," moaned Raynar. "If he tells it will be the end of him, and if he doesn't tell it will be the end of him. Surely there is someone he can tell without breaking the oath."

  "If he is a Romanized Christian then he can tell his confessor, but that solves nothing as they are also under oath."

  "A confessor, you mean a priest. And you say that priests are also under oaths of secrecy. To whom?"

  "Hmm, good question," mumbled Thorold and he bowed his head to think, "There are two answers. One is that the oath is to their God. The other is that the oath is to their church. The head of the church in England is the Archbishop of Canterbury, so LanFranc."

  "So, under law," Raynar thought aloud, "Waltheof can confess all to a priest without breaking his oath, and then LanFranc would be able to release the priest from his oath, so that the priest can tell William of the plans. Presumably LanFranc's own oath to the king will allow him to release the priest."

  "May heaven preserve us, you are beginning to think like a lawyer," Thorold said, only half in jest. "I cannot fault the logic, can you Walt?"

  Waltheof's eyes were wide and bright. "I will ride for Canterbury immediately. I am saved."

  "You won't make it," cautioned Thorold, "Norfolk and the surrounds are arming. Ralph's spies will be watching for you. By road, I doubt you would make it much further than Cambridge."

  "Then I will go by ship."

  "Odo's patrol ships will be thick around Norfolk and the Thames by now," Thorold pointed out. "They will be stopping and searching all English ships. Then you will be in Odo's hands. He has forced men to break oaths before, but I doubt any of the men wanted to survive such questioning."

  "There are ships and there are ships," interrupted Raynar, "Thorold, Klaes is in Spalding preparing to take some of his women to Flanders. He must take a message to Hereward. We need a fast French ship at Lynn without delay."

  "Hah," Thorold laughed aloud, "of course," and he made for the doorway and was yelling to his men before he was fully clear of the door.

  Waltheof gave a questioning look, so Raynar explained, "Hereward owns the French fleet at Montreuil and charters them to Philip. Philip is the King of France, and therefore of Normandy also. Odo's patrol ships will not way lay a French vessel, not without orders."

  Judith's eyes were on him so he spoke directly to her, "Madam, In less than a week your husband will be enroute to Canterbury and then to Caen. Do you wish to stay here, or go to visit Beatrice at the Court of Flanders?"

  "It is not your place to ask her,"
hissed Waltheof. "She is my wife. I will decide such things."

  "As you so well put it, I am simply Hereward's lackey, but my duties include controlling the ships and the captains. I decide which ships take which passengers. However, I will bow to any decision that pleases the both of you."

  "Judith," mumbled Waltheof, "if I take you to Caen, will you plead my case with William and with Mathilde. Will you make them see that I was tricked by Ralph and Roger? That I have done nothing to help them."

  "I will act as a faithful wife should," she mumbled, "so long as I can keep my children close to me."

  "But they will become hostages in Caen, and used against me," moaned Waltheof.

  "Nonsense, they are blood cousins to William," replied his wife. "They will never be hurt."

  "What was that Greek word again. Dilemma," moaned Waltheof. "Alright, we will all go to Caen, though I fear that this will make me expendable."

  This man is a complete fool, thought Raynar. Send them to Brugge. With them in Caen, he is severing his own head. "Fine, you have a few days to arrange for your absence." He waited for Thorold to return. He could see that Judith was already lost in thoughts about the trip. Waltheof looked like he needed a jug of wine.

  "Right, the message is sent to Klaes," Thorold announced as he came back into the room. "Now what?"

  "We need to arrange for the protection of Waltheof's southern earldoms," replied Raynar, "and by protection, I mean the protection of the folk from various armies stomping around looting and raping."

  "How long would it take to rouse your wolfpacks?" asked Thorold.

  "The word will have flown about as soon as I stepped foot in Lynn dressed as a wolveshead. It will be halfway to Lincoln by now. That may be a bad thing. If they are again marked as rebels, then these shires will all be marked as rebel, as will the earl here." Raynar looked at Thorold expectantly, hoping for some wisdom.

  Thorold was thinking. "Waltheof, you are the king's man, as is the sheriff in Cambridge, and the Abbot in Peterburgh. If Harold were still king, any of you could raise the fyrd to defend the shire. Not to attack, not without the king, but to defend. Most assuredly you could raise the fyrd to defend."

  "The Normans have no concept of the fyrd," argued Waltheof. "Their entire oath and honor structure is organized to support a professional army. That is why the knights are honored with land and serfs."

  "Waltheof, you are the last English earl." hinted Thorold.

  "Yes, yes, and Wulfstan is the last English bishop. What of it?"

  "When you and William removed Cospatrick's right to hold Bamburgh back in '71, how did you do it?"

  "We did not have time to siege the fortress," replied Waltheof, "that would have taken a year. I called on the local men to desert Cospatrick and claim me as their Earl so that Williams army could leave the place in peace."

  "In effect, you raised the fyrd, and with William's permission." Thorold slapped his knee. Raynar whooped in joy.

  "I suppose I did, in a fashion," replied Waltheof, "Yes I did. What of it. Where are you going with this."

  "That is your precedent. You must now raise the fyrd in your southern shires, especially in the Fens. What is more, you must order the king's sheriff in Cambridge to support the fyrd and to supply it, and you must start this today so that it is underway before you leave for Canterbury." Thorold's mind was racing now. "It is mostly a problem of supplies. Appoint me as your fyrd master with the sheriff as witness, so that I can begin the requisitioning."

  "I don't ..." Waltheof was confused and looked to Judith, but she knew nothing of such things. She was a young wife and mother and knew little outside of babies and households.

  "As the king's earl," explained Raynar so give Thorold the time to continue the planning in his head. "your call to the fyrd for the defense of the shires will be legal, as it was in Bamburgh. More important, as an English earl your call to the fyrd will actually be heeded, and responded to by the English folk.

  Most important, my wolfpacks can legally respond to the call, and carry the king's banner, which means they will not be treated as rebels or outlaws. With ten wolfpacks, perhaps more, backed by the local folk armed with axes and pikes, we can hold the southern border of your shires against an army, any army. Your shires will not be looted, and you and the rest of us will be acting in the king's name, not the rebel's."

  "And I can tell the king that I raised the fyrd against Ralph, in the same way that we took Bamburgh from Cospatrick!" exclaimed Waltheof, "yes, yes, yes, I am saved. Oh, but I cannot attack either Ralph or Roger. That was part of the oath. I must either support them or stay out of it."

  "Legally you can only raise the fyrd for defense, unless the king orders differently," Raynar explained. "If the king gives an order for them to attack, then no one will worry about your oath." He watched a smile grow across Waltheof's face.

  "Come," Thorold ordered Waltheof, "Cambridgeshire is the most critical. We must this day convince the sheriff there to support the fyrd. Once he is on side, we can take him with us to visit the other sheriffs. You cannot leave for Canterbury until the fyrd is on the move. Raynar, stay here and explain it to Judith and then to the garrison. And for Woden's sake, change out of your wolveshead togs, in case we return with the sheriff."

  Judith and Raynar were left alone staring at each other. "The court in Brugge is now second only to Paris for fashion," he told her softly. "You would love it there with Beatrice. When I took Edgar to Caen last year, its court was drab and boring in comparison."

  "Raynar, I have known you almost all my married life. It was your threats that softened Walt's way with me, so you will understand what I feel. He is a dullard and a drunk and a bully and a rapist. I have done my wifely duty by giving him a son. If I can reach Caen, I can convince Mathilde to allow me to live apart from him. He can drink and whore in England, while I raise my children in Normandy."

  "If you go to Brugge, I can arrange a queen's invitation for you to visit Paris. You have a son. In Paris it is now not uncommon for a wife who has produced a son as heir to take a lover," Raynar paused "that is, so long as they are discreet. You could be with Mathilde's son Robert once more."

  She turned red again, but this time it was from embarrassment, not anger or indignation. "You know."

  "I know that you still pine for Robert. I know that he still cherishes your memory."

  "But you were the one who told me that Robert had taken the courtesan Gesa as a mistress." Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

  "It was Gesa who told me that he still thinks of you. It will be she who arranges your invitation to the French court. As courtesan she is currently assigned to Robert to keep him in Paris, and away from Caen. With you there, she will be able return to Queen Bertha's side where she belongs."

  "My husband is a dullard. I have convinced him of Caen. He will be stubborn about it," she sniffed.

  "Not if I convince him that his sail via Canterbury to Caen will be much too dangerous for his family, especially his heir. Perhaps his family should go by a different, safer route. Perhaps via Flanders or even Paris?"

  She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, pushing her body against his. "Oh, you make me so angry about little things sometimes, but you are such a dear. If you can do this, then you may call me Judy with my permission. Phew, you smell worse than my husband. Go and bathe and change your clothes as your father told you."

  He looked her in the eyes, and smiled and kissed her tears. "Thorold is not my father."

  "Hah, Thorold is god-father to many useful men. You may not share any of his blood, but he treats you like a cherished son."

  His heart filled with such a warmth at her words that he hugged her close again and she melted into his embrace. They both felt the stirrings as the embrace become more sensual, and then sexual, but they were loath to put a stop to the feelings. She reached behind her and slid the bar in place on the door. Her actions woke him from the deliciousness of the e
mbrace, and he slowly pushed her away.

  "Forgive me, my lady," Raynar said when there was space between them again. "For a moment I forgot that you are a married woman."

  "With a son as heir," she hinted seductively.

  "This is not Paris," he whispered back, "And I am not worthy." He unbolted the door, kissed her on the cheek and stepped through the doorway backwards while inwardly cursing his own morals.

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  The Hoodsman - Revolt of the Earls by Skye Smith

  Chapter 4 - The siege of Arundel Castle, W.Sussex in July 1102

  Raynar, still dressed as a taxman for his own safety, along with the two young bowmen who accompanied him, followed the valley of the River Rother ever eastward. They had ridden a good twenty five miles from Winchester and then spent a pleasant overnight in a bivouac at the local swimming hole near Midhurst. He felt surprisingly refreshed after a swim and a dried sausage and a good sleep under the boughs of a giant pine with the stars twinkling through the short and warm June night. Midhurst was just large enough to offer them a choice of two alehouses for breaking their fast the next morning.

  The next morning they rode another ten miles until the River Rother joined the River Arun, and then they followed the Arun valley straight south. Their first view of Arundel castle was from a hill that the cartway climbed in order to cut a straighter path than the winding river. They stopped and looked in awe. One of Edith's courtiers had told him that Robert Belleme was a talented architect, especially of stone castles, but he was not prepared for the sight of this castle.

  This was no simple motte and bailey. Most of the wooden pale walls had already been replaced with stonework. Belleme had built the walls to follow the contours of a hill that was almost surrounded by a bend of the river. The castle's footprint was almost like a figure of eight made from two baileys, with the mote and tower at their intersection. He could immediately see why this castle had stalled Henry and his siege army. There was no good location to place his siege engines. They were being forced to starve the castle into submission. A lengthy process.