Outlaw

Chapter 1




November 1066 Topcliffe in Northumbria



I am Aelfraed of Topcliffe, or at least I was for a while, and I fought with King Harold at the battle of Stamford Bridge. Perhaps it was wyrd or my dead mother watching over me but I was not there, at Senlac Hill, close to the town of Hastings when Harold and all my former comrades died in a final shield wall. I was recovering from a wound to my back, a wound which almost cost me my life but perhaps, ultimately, saved my life, for had I been with the other Housecarls then I too would have died for we had all sworn an oath to protect King Harold and dear friends, Ulf, Wolf and Osgar, all died honouring that oath. It was the mark of the Anglo-Saxons that warriors took oaths which they kept until death. Ridley, the Thegn of Coxold and my oldest comrade, also survived for he too was wounded and, like me he mourned not only our comrades but the end of the finest fighting force ever seen in England. I was just glad that my uncle, Aethelward, who had been strategos and advisor to King Harold, had also survived for he had been with me in my castle at Topcliffe.

Until my wife, Gytha, had finally arrived from London, escorted by my soldiers, I had feared for her life for she had been with Ealdgyth, Harold’s widow and her twins. We had heard that Duke William had stripped Harold and his brothers of all their land. It had been an astute move for they had owned most of the best parts of southern England. I did not know what it meant for me. A few years ago, before the Confessor had given me my land and before I had met Gytha then I would not have worried about a new ruler but now I had responsibilities. I had a large estate and the people thereon, such as Thomas the Steward and his wife, Sarah, relied on me to ensure that they could continue to live and work the land.

As part of my regimen to improve my health and recover from the almost mortal wound, I had taken to riding my estate each day escorted by Branton, the sergeant of my archers. His brother Osbert, my sergeant at arms, was training new men to replace those who had fallen fighting Hadrada and Tostig. I enjoyed the exercise but it also gave me the opportunity to speak with my people and discover their feelings. The land gave me an income but it also gave me great responsibilities. Before we left the castle I called in upon Ralph, the blacksmith. He was like Thor himself in his fiery smithy with two of his boys pumping the bellows for all they were worth. His knotted, heavily muscled arms hammered out the sword he was shaping.

“How are the weapons coming Ralph?”

He briefly paused and nodded to me, holding aloft his latest blade, “Well my lord but we are running a little short on iron.”

“I will send to the Tees for more.” I leaned down to speak to him a little more intimately. “I know not when the Normans will come and what it portends but I know that they will come and I would like all of us to be ready.”

He nodded and I could see that he appreciated the confidence. “Do not worry my lord. I have repaired all the armour and weapons you recovered from the battle and we have fitted out all of your men at arms and we now have enough for another ten warriors to be so armed.”

“Excellent. You are a good man.” He beamed and I thought back to my half brothers and the man whom I had thought was my father until a week ago. They would never have praised any of the workers on the estate no matter what they did or sacrificed. Perhaps that was why he had had no loyalty from any of them.

Branton and I kicked our horses and headed south. “How many more volunteers Branton?” One advantage of my fame, some might say notoriety, was that warriors sought employment with me. There were many, for most of the northern lords had died at Stamford Bridge and Fulford whilst the southern ones had fallen at Senlac. The disadvantage was that men sought you in battle to gain honour from your death in combat.

“There are another fifteen my lord. My brother is assessing their worth and their skills even as we speak.”

“Any archers?”

I saw the grin appear on Branton’s face. It had been a sore point to him that he commanded fewer men than his brother. I saw the value of archers, of which Harold had not had enough numbers; in the battles I had fought they had been crucial to success. “I think we have twenty altogether my lord and some of them are good. The rest, “he shrugged.

I understood what he meant. Even poor archers could be improved by a good trainer and Branton was just that. The memory of Aedgart came to mine. He had fallen at the battle defending me and he was even better than Osbert and Branton when it came to making warriors out of the rough clay that arrived to fight for me. I turned in the saddle and regretted it immediately as the pain lanced up my body but I continued my turn, Aethelward had told me that I had to get the suppleness back into my body if I wanted to fight again. The small motte and bailey castle, one of the few in this part of the world made me proud. Built upon my uncle’s advice it stood protecting the old Roman road and was a formidable obstacle to any invader, Norman or Scot! True, it was mainly built of wood, but there was a gatehouse and a couple of rudimentary towers; its key feature was the river which provided good defence around most of its perimeter.