Northern Knight (4 page)

"If you wish those weapons for your father then I would get them before my archers.  They use them for firewood."

Sir Geoffrey shook his head. "I do not understand you English and your hatred of the crossbow."

"It is not hatred.  It is scorn.  Look what my handful of archers did.  I would take five bowmen over a company of crossbows any day."

Dick came over with his sword.  "It is red hot sir."

"Hold Sir Edward and keep his body still."

As my men pressed down on him I put the flat of the red hot sword against the flesh.  This time Edward did call out just before he passed out. There was a smell of burning flesh and hair. I held it for a few moments and lifted it.  I handed it to Dick to return to the fire. Sir Guy handed me some water which my men had brought from the stream.  As I poured it the flesh hissed and steamed.  We looked and I was relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped. I had done all that I could.  Edward would have an ugly wound but he would live.

"We will camp here tonight and leave for Worms on the morrow." I stood and clasped the arm of Sir Geoffrey.  "I thank you and your brother. We could not have beaten them else."

He laughed, "I thought we were going to charge to our deaths!"

"No, my friend; they were bought men with no conviction.  Men who fight for a price have no heart.  We fight for something different; we fight for each other and the Empress. God favours such men."

We had been lucky.  We had wounds but the archers had won the day. The enemy had relied on their crossbows.  They had not scouted well enough and, despite superior numbers, had been soundly beaten.

Dick approached me with a green substance. "Wulfric uses this, my lord.  It is a moss.  I have gathered it for him before."

"What does he do with it?"

Edgar had joined him, "He puts it on the wound.  It must be magic or something for it stops a wound going bad." He shrugged.  "It worked with you, my lord."

"Then we shall try it." We put the green moss on the cauterised wound and wrapped a bandage around it. Gille and Harold had removed the armour.  When we reached Worms we would need a smith to repair it.

When Edward woke the next day and stood we were all relieved.  He looked pale but he was a hard man.  He insisted upon mounting.  We bade farewell to the sons of the Count and we headed east. We had let the Count's sons have the crossbows and all else had been divided.  My archers and men at arms had reached the bodies of the enemy dead first and all were richer. The hired swords had brought their thirty pieces of silver with them. My men deserved it.  The four horses we had captured included two war horses.  I was satisfied.

Sir Guy and I flanked Sir Edward, "You will not do Gille any good if you die protecting him, Edward.  You cannot bring Alan back by sacrificing yourself for Gille."

"But he lay on the ground.  He could have been killed!"

"As could you! Think on that!"

I think that the attack on us had been carefully planned.  We had been half way to Worms and it was an isolated spot. The Count of Flanders must have assumed the larger numbers of knights and the crossbows he had sent would have guaranteed success.  He would not be happy when they returned empty handed.  The last week of our journey was uneventful.  It was a slow journey because of Edward's wounds.  Although others had suffered cuts and injuries his had been the most life threatening.  It seemed I had a future as a healer should I fail as a knight.

We reached Worms two weeks later and we found that the Emperor still lived.  His banners flew above his palace. The three of us wore our Empress medallions as we rode through the gates. It gained us easier access than had we arrived as Normans.  Normans were viewed with deep suspicion.  The success in England and Italy had made other leaders wary of letting in a handful of knights. I was not certain where we would stay. We left the men under the care of Edgar and they gathered in the main square.  There they could use some of the coins they had taken from the men of Flanders and buy beer and wine. The three of us and our squires headed for the palace.  We were granted entry through the main gate but warned that we would not be able to visit with the Emperor, nor the Empress as she was with him and his physicians.

Leaving our squires in the inner bailey we headed for the Great Hall.  We knew that his lords would be there. As soon as we walked in we saw the Counts of Aachen and Stuttgart with another knight.  They stared at us when we entered.  The Count of Aachen's face darkened and he, rudely, pointed a finger at us.  The strange knight nodded. Having been thus identified I would not back down from a confrontation and I strolled across to them.

I smiled at the Count whom I had defeated in a tourney.  "Ah Count, I hope you have recovered from our little bout. You are lucky that it was you who picked up the lance with the arrow in the tip.  Had it been me you might have been dead and that would have been a tragedy." Of course he had prepared the lance himself and we both knew it.  I was letting him know that I knew of his perfidy.

His face became even redder and his companion said, in an attempt to calm things down, "This is a sad time for us all. The Emperor clings to life by a thread." He smiled, "This is Count Lothair of Supplinburg.  He has come to ensure that prayers are said for the life of the Emperor." 

I nodded, "Aye, we all pray for that." I looked at the man who would become Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.  He had a cold and calculating face.  He reminded me of a hawk. He did not smile but then I had seen few real smiles amongst the knights I had met.  Rolf and his Swabians were the exception.

The Count did not smile but said, "And what brings two Norman knights all the way from Caen?  Surely you can have no interest in the life and death of the Emperor."

"But we do.  The Emperor rewarded all three of us when we last visited and we hoped that our prayers and our presence might help the priests and physicians.  Every prayer, no matter how small, may be of use. However the three of us are also here to give comfort to the Empress.  You must remember that the Empress made us members of her order of knights.  It is only natural that we should visit and give her our support and," I stared at Lothair to let him know I was speaking with him, "our help should she need it. For her life means more to us than our own and we will defend it with all the power available to us."

The Count of Aachen adopted an innocent look, "Why should she need help?  She is our Empress and the people love her dearly.  We protect our own."

I nodded, "As do we."

Just then Rolf, Carl and Gottfried came bounding over to us, totally ignoring the three counts, "I knew you would come!" Rolf grabbed me in a bear hug and almost lifted me from the ground.  These three were the only genuine knights in the whole room. 

The others shook Guy and Edward by the hands. Edward winced, "Steady on Gottfried, I am not healed yet."

The three of them turned to glare at the counts and led us off.  When we were out of earshot Rolf asked, "You were attacked?"

"Aye, the men of Flanders ambushed us."

Rolf spoke quietly, "We heard that men were looking for you.  We could not leave the Empress, you understand?"

I nodded. "We would not have expected you to.  We are men and we take our chances.  We came here for the Empress said she had need of us." I gestured for them to come closer.  "The King has asked us to bring her home when it is over."

"Aye, the Empress has asked us too.  We will not stay here.  We serve the Empress.  That Lothair is even slier than the Count of Aachen."

I was relieved.  Our chances were greatly increased with the men of Swabia alongside us. "How is the Empress?"

"She is under great pressure. Once the Emperor has been bled she will leave his side.  Come we will wait in the antechamber."

"We were told we had to wait in the Great Hall."

Gottfried smiled as he smashed his right fist into the palm of his left, "They have learned not to argue with us."

There were two guards protecting the entrance to the Emperor's rooms.  When they saw Rolf they nodded and relaxed a little. We waited outside with the two servants who hovered there. "Is there any hope for the Emperor?"

Carl shook his head, "They have no idea how to cure him.  They have drained off so much blood that he cannot have much left in him. Each day he is thinner and shrunken even more. The man is dying.  If he were my horse then I would have ended his life already." He paused, "And I like my horse!"

"And after?"

"And after there will be a rat race to see who can reach the top of the greasy pole!"

"I thought as much. Do you have any idea how many of the retinue of the Empress we will have to protect?"

"No and they are what worries me. We can protect the Empress; she can ride and she is not easily afraid but her ladies and her servants are a different matter."

"Then let us begin now to make arrangements.  Sir Guy, go with the squires and see how many horses you can buy in the town.  Better to buy in ones and twos and then we will need somewhere to keep them out of sight.  For the moment take them to Edgar and Dick.  They will watch them for us." Sir Guy left.  I had chosen him because he was not Norman and we would be less likely to be cheated.

We waited for an hour in the antechamber.  We told them of our journey home and the border battles. "And that sounds much more exciting than our lives.  We just watch for assassins.  If we did not have each other with which to practice then we would be useless as warriors."

"Do you have men at arms and squires?"

"No, but we intend to hire some men at arms. How many men did you bring?"

"Between us we have forty, including archers."

"Not many to protect an Empress."

"No, Rolf but they are all trusted men.  I would not ask for more."

The doors suddenly opened and the Empress Matilda came out flanked by the physicians.  I could see by her face that she was both angry and upset. "Is there nothing but draining blood which can be done?  It seems to me that it is blood he needs putting in not taking from him!"

The elder of the doctors gave her a patronising shake of the head, "Empress, we have done this since the time of Hippocrates. It will work but it takes time."

"You have done this for the last year and all I see is a weakened husband.  Come up with something else or I shall find other physicians!"

She looked up and saw the five of us standing there.  Her face changed from a scowl to a smile, instantly.  "You came! I prayed that you would."

I gave a bow and said, "We swore an oath.  Why would we not come?"

She glanced around her at the courtiers who had followed the physicians from the Emperor's chamber.  "Come let us retire to somewhere we can speak."

She led us to another wing of the palace and we entered her drawing room.  She dismissed the two servants who waited there. She sat. 

I spoke gently for I did not wish to upset her more but I needed to know how the land lay. "So there is still hope for the Emperor?"

She shook her head, "No, Alfraed, he is dying.  If they stopped bleeding him then he might live for longer but each day he is closer to death." I nodded, there was little to say in such circumstances. I did not think that I would have the luxury of dying in my bed.  There were advantages to being a warring knight and not a sickly Emperor. "Did you have trouble reaching me?"

"Edward here was wounded by the men of the Count of Flanders.  I fear our return will be as fraught with such danger."

She smiled at Edward, "I am sorry you suffered pain for me, Sir Edward.  Fear not Baron, I will not hold you up when we leave."

I could not remain silent.  "But your ladies and your servants might."

She shook her head, "No, for I take just two with me, Judith and Margaret.  They are both Norman and are as tough and resilient as I am. We will not need a carriage or a wagon.  We will travel on horseback as you do."

I felt relieved. "Good.  Now we need somewhere for the men to stay while we wait… well while we attend your majesty. We could camp close by the cavalry field if you wish."

"That will not be necessary.  I have a small estate some five miles to the south and west of here. It is large enough to accommodate you and your men but…"

"But you would like some of us closer to hand."

She clapped her hands in delight, "You read my mind, Alfraed, but I would not expect any of you to sleep outside my door as Baron Alfraed once did." She patted the couch upon which she sat, " this will do I believe."

I turned to Rolf, "There are five of us."

Edward shook his head, "Six!"

I smiled, "Six then. We each do four hours on duty. With the travelling time to the estate this should be enough resting time.  One of us will always be in attendance."

"Good." She rose and went to a chest by the door to her chamber.  She lifted it, "Each time you return to the estate you should take some of this." She revealed her imperial regalia and her personal jewellery and treasure.

Edward whistled at the sight of so many jewels and crowns, "That is a king's ransom."

"Or an Empress' at any rate. There are those who would take what is mine from me. If we store this at the estate then its disappearance may go unnoticed." She held up her Imperial Crown. "This will need to stay until the funeral."