Free The Scourge (Kindle Serial) by Roberto Calas Page B

Michael’s, and it has an
impressive seventy-foot-tall Norman tower that is worth a visit.
    Hadleigh Castle does indeed sit on
a hill overlooking the Temes (Thames) although its new King, Sir John, and his
half-mad follower, Sir Gerald, are both figments of my imagination.
    I am not certain of Edward’s
relationship to King Richard, although I assume they were on good terms. King
Richard gave Edward many responsibilities, both in England and France, and
allowed Edward to build a castle in Bodiam. But Edward’s relationship to the
King’s uncle, John of Gaunt, was a different story. Edward did indeed challenge
John of Gaunt to a duel in the middle of a court of lords. Twice.
    John of Gaunt, who acquired lands near
Bodiam, clashed with local landowners and accused them of trespassing on his properties
and of poaching. I don’t know his arguments, but it seems like he made a lot of
enemies very quickly. The local landowners pleaded with Edward to represent
them in court against John. And Edward did, reportedly showing up to court in a
full suit of armor and throwing down his gauntlet in front of John twice.
    There is no record of Edward
calling John “a festering imbecile with more bile than bollocks,” but you know
that a man who has the gumption to show up in court in full harness and to challenge
the King’s uncle to a duel is going to have some pretty fiery lines. I wish I
had been there. And yes, Edward was reportedly imprisoned for it, but not for
very long.
    The village of Lighe is now
Leigh-on-the-Sea, and it does indeed have a church up on a hill — The Church of All Saints. Historians don’t know
the exact date the church was built, but they know it was around in the 14 th century, which is good enough for me and Edward.
    And lastly, a little about French
raids during the hundred years war. Though it is possible the French attacked
towns along the Temes (Thames) Estuary, most of their attacks were concentrated
on the south coast. Rye, where Sir Tristan is from, was burned twice by the
French. In fact, it was because of these constant harrying raids along the
south coast that Edward wanted to build a castle in Bodiam, although, to my
knowledge, the French never traveled that far inland on their raids. And though
Edward’s castle at Bodiam is strong and defensible, it is clearly meant as a
aesthetic structure as well. The picturesque moat that laps at the castle
walls, the lack of a keep, the meticulously plotted ponds — all of it points to the fact that Edward
Dallingridge was just as concerned with visual appeal as he was about the
French attacking.



Chapter 14

    The
mists bleed a sulfurous orange above the horizon as the sun wakes. Smoke from
the campfires of Lighe mingles with the morning fog and drifts toward the
burning skies. We are less than a mile from the fishing village, but it might
as well be ten leagues, for we are still moving at a slow walk. And sunrise has
crept upon us.
    A
horn sounds in the distance. Sir John has started his assault.
    “King
Guy the First has a nice ring to it,” Tristan says. But not even he can smile
for long at the thought of French rule.
    I
unsheathe my dagger again, but Sir Morgan raises a hand to stop me. He slashes
his own arm and the blood runs down to his elbow.
    “I
still don’t like it,” he says. “Using these poor sick people like this.”
    The
hordes behind us snarl and stumble more quickly in our wake. Sir Tristan has
four gashes in his arm. I have lost count of the cuts on my flesh.
    “If
Sir John is routed, can we do it on our own?” Tristan asks.
    I
shake my head. “This lot behind us has no armor, no weapons, and no brains. We
can’t win without Sir John’s men.”
    The
English soldiers roar in the distance. Their shouts are drowned out by a
greater roar, and I know the French are preparing for war. I ride faster, but
the plaguers begin to disperse. We are forced to slow again.
    I
can just see the French from here. They are forming up in the