Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair Read online

  But as to Goldilind, her mind it had been, as she was going down themeadow, that she would throw herself upon Christopher's bosom and lovehim with glad tears of love; but as she came and stood over against him,she was abashed, and stood still looking on him, and spake no word; andhe also was ashamed before all that folk to say the words whereof hisheart was full, and longed for the night, that they might be alonetogether.

  But at last he said: "Lady and Queen, thou seest that we be well-belovedthat they rejoice so much in a little deed of mine." And still she spakenought, and held hand in hand.

  But Jack of the Tofts spake and said: "By St. Hubert! the deed may belittle, though there be men who would think no little of overcoming thebiggest man and the fellest fighter of Oakenrealm, but at least greatthings shall come thereof. King, thy strokes of this day have won theeOakenrealm, or no man I know in field, and many a mother's son have theysaved from death. For look thou yonder over the river, Goldilind, myLady, and tell me what thou seest." She turned to him and said: "LordEarl, I see warriors a many."

  "Yea," said Jack, "and stout fellows be they for the more part; and hardhad been the hand-play had we met, ere they had turned their backs; butnow, see thou, we shall wend side by side toward Oakenrealm, for ourLord there hath won them to his friends; and doubt thou not that whenthey see him and thee anigh, they shall be friends indeed. What! dostthou weep for this? Or is it because he hath done the deed and not thou?or rather, because thine heart is full for the love of him?"

  She smiled kindly on Jack, but even therewith she felt two hands laid onher shoulders, and Christopher kissed her without any word.

  CHAPTER XXXIII. A COUNCIL OF CAPTAINS: THE HOST COMES TO BROADLEES, ANDMAKES FOR WOODWALL.

  That night, though there was some little coming and going between theTofters and the Brimsiders, yet either flock slept on their own side ofthe river. Moreover, before the midst of the night, cometh David tothe wood-side, and had with him all men defensible of the Tofts and thehouses thereabout, and most of the women also many of whom bore spear orbow, so that now by the wood-side, what with them of the Tofts and thefolk who joined them thereto from the country-side about Hazeldale,there were well-nigh ten hundreds of folk under weapons; and yet morecame in the night through; for the tidings of the allegiance of Brimsidewas spreading full fast.

  Betimes on the morrow was King Christopher afoot, and he and Jack andDavid and Gilbert, and they twelve in company, went down to the bannerby the water-side; and to them presently came Oliver Marson and tenother of the captains of Brimside, and did them to wit that the Baronwere fain if they would come to his pavilion and hold counsel therein,for that he was not so sick but he might well speak his mind from wherehe lay. So thither they went all, with good will, and the Baron greetedthem friendly, and made what reverence he might to Christopher, and badehim say what was his mind and his will. But Christopher bade them whowere his elders in battle to speak; and the Baron laughed outright andsaid: "Meseemeth, Lord King, thou didst grow old yesterday at my costs;but since thou wilt have me to speak, I will even do so. And to makematters the shorter, I will say that I wot well what ye have to do; andthat is, to fall upon the Earl Marshal's folk ere they fall upon us. Nowsome folk deem we should fare to Brimside and have a hosting there; butI say nay; whereas it lieth out of the road to Oakenham, and thereby isour road, meseemeth; and it is but some six days' riding hence, save, asis most like, two of those days be days of battle But if we go straightforward with banners displayed, each day's faring shall be a day ofhosting and gathering; for I tell thee, Lord King, the fame of thee hasby now gone far in this country-side. Wherefore I say no more, sinceI wax weary, than this: to the road this morning, and get we so far asBroadlees ere night-fall, for there we shall get both victual and folk."

  There was good cheer made at his word, so Christopher spake: "Baron ofBrimside, thou hast spoken my very mind and will; and but if these lordsand captains gainsay it, let us tarry no longer, but array all our folkin good order and take tale of them, and so for Broadlees. What say ye,lords?"

  None nay-said it, so there was no more talk save as to the ordering ofthis or the other company. And it was so areded that the Brimside menshould fare first at the head of the host with the banner of Brimside,and that then should go the mingled folk of the country-side, and lastlythe folk of the Tofts with the banner of Oakenrealm; so that if the hostcame upon foemen, they might be for a cloud to hide the intent of theirbattles awhile till they might take their advantage.

  So went the captains to their companies, and the Tofters and their matescrossed the river to the men of Brimside, who gave them good cheer whenthey came amongst them; and it was hard to order the host for a while,so did the upland folk throng about the King and the Queen; and happywere they who had a full look on Goldilind; and yet were some so luckyand so bold that they kissed a hand of her; and one there was, a verytall young man, and a goodly, who stood there and craved to kiss hercheek, and she did not gainsay him, and thereafter nought was good tohim save an occasion to die for her.

  As for Christopher, he spake to many, and said to them that wheresoeverhis banner was, he at least should be at the forefront whenso they cameupon unpeace; and so soon as they gat to the road, he went from companyto company, speaking to many, and that so sweetly and friendly that allpraised him, and said that here forsooth was a king who was all good andnothing bad, whereas hitherto men had deemed them lucky indeed if theirking were half good and half bad.

  Merry then was the road to Broadlees, and they came there beforenight-fall; and it was a little cheaping town and unwalled, and if thefolk had had any will to ward them, they lacked might. But when theyfound they were not to be robbed, and that it was but the proclaiming ofKing Christopher in the market-place, and finding victual and house-roomfor the host, and the Mayor taking a paper in payment thereof, nonestirred against them, and a many joined the host to fight for the fairyoung King. Now nought as yet had they heard at Broadlees of any forcestirring against them.

  But in the morning when they went on their ways again, and werebound for Cheaping Woodwall, which was a fenced town, they sent outwell-horsed riders to espy the road, who came back on the spur twohours after noon, and did them to wit that there was a host abiding thembeneath the walls of Woodwall under the banner of Walter the White, anold warrior and fell fighter; but what comfort he might have from themof Woodwall they wotted not; but they said that the tidings of theircoming had gone abroad, and many folk were abiding the issue of thisbattle ere they joined them to either host. Now on these tidings thecaptains were of one mind, to wit, to fare on softly till they came toa defensible place not far from the foemen, since they could scarce cometo Woodwall in good order before nightfall, and if they were unfoughtenbefore, to push forward to battle in the morning.

  Even so did they, and made a halt at sunset on a pleasant hill above ariver some three miles from Woodwall, and there they passed the nightunmeddled with.

  CHAPTER XXXIV. BATTLE BEFORE WOODWALL.

  When morning was, the captains came to King Christopher to council:but while they were amidst of their talk came the word that the foe wasanigh and come close to the river-bank; whereat was none abashed; but toall it seemed wisdom to abide them on the vantage-ground. So then therewas girding of swords and doing on of helms; as for ordering of thefolk, it was already done, for all the host was ranked on the bent-side,with the banner of Oakenrealm in the midst; on its left hand the bannerof the Tofts, and on the right the banner of Brimside.

  Now when Christopher was come to his place, he looked down and saw howthe foemen were pouring over the river, for it was nowhere deep, andthere were four quite shallow fords: many more were they than his folk,but he deemed that they fared somewhat tumultuously; and when the bowmenof the Tofts began shooting, the foemen, a many of them, stayed amidstof the river to bend bow in their turn, and seemed to think that werenigh enough already; nay, some went back again to the other bank, toshoot thence the surer and the drier, and some went yet a litt
le furtherback on the field. So that when their sergeants and riders were comeon to the hither bank, they lacked about a fifth of all their host;and they themselves, for all they were so many, had some ado to make uptheir minds to go forward.

  Forsooth, when they looked up to the bent and saw the three banners ofOakenrealm and the Tofts and Brimside all waving over the same ranks,they knew not what to make of it. And Christopher's host, when they sawthem hang back, brake out into mocking whoops and shouts, and words wereheard in them: "Come and dine at Brimside, good fellows! Come up to theTofts for supper and bed! A Christopher! A Christopher!" and so forth.Now all King Christopher's men were afoot, saving a band of the ridersof Brimside, who bestrode strong and tall horses, and bore jack andsallet and spear, but no heavy armour.

  So Christopher heard and saw, and the heart rose high in him, and hesent messengers to the right and the left, and bade the captains watchtill he waved his sword aloft, and then all down the bent together; andhe bade the Brimside riders edge a little outward and downward, and beready for the chase, and suffer not any of the foemen to gather togetherwhen once they fell to running; for he knew in his heart that the folkbefore him would never abide their onfall. And the day was yet young,and it lacked four hours of noon.

  King Christopher abode ill he saw the foemen were come off the levelground, and were mounting the bent slowly, and not in very good orderor in ranks closely serried. Then he strode forth three paces, andwaved his sword high above his head, and cried out: "A Christopher! AChristopher! Forward, banner of the Realm!" And forth he went, steadyand strong, and a great shout arose behind him, and none shrank orlagged, but spears and bills, and axes and swords, all came on like awall of steel, so that to the foemen the earth seemed alive with death,and they made no show of abiding the onset, but all turned and ran, saveWalter the White and a score of his knights, who forsooth were bornedown in a trice, and were taken to mercy, those of them who were notslain at the first crash of weapons.

  There then ye might have seen great clumps of men making no defence, butcasting down their weapons and crying mercy; and forsooth so great wasthe throng, that no great many were slain; but on the other hand, butfew gat away across the water, and on them presently fell the Brimsideriders, and hewed down and slew and took few to mercy. And some fewbesides the first laggards of the bowmen, it might be three hundreds inall, escaped, and gat to Woodwall, but when they of the town saw them,they made up their minds speedily, and shut their gates, and the poorfleers found but the points of shafts and the heads of quarrels beforethem.

  But on the field of deed those captives were somewhat fearful as to whatshould be done with them, and they spake one to the other about it, thatthey would be willing to serve the new King, since he was so mighty.And amidst of their talk came the captains of King Christopher, and theydrew into a ring around them, and the lords bade them look to it whetherthey would be the foemen of the King, the son of that King Christopherthe Old. "If so ye be," said they, "ye may escape this time; but ye seehow valiant a man he is, and how lucky withal, and happy shall they bewhom he calleth friends. Now what say ye, will ye take up your weaponsagain, and be under the best of kings and a true one, or will ye departand take the chance of his wrath in the coming days? We say, how many ofyou will serve King Christopher."

  Then arose from them a mighty shout: "All! All! One and All!" Albeitsome there were who slunk away and said nought; and none heeded them.

  So then all the sergeants and the common folk swore allegiance to KingChristopher; but of the knights who were left alive, some said Yea, andsome Nay; and these last were suffered to depart, but must needs rideunarmed.

  Now by the time all was done, and the new men had dined along with therest of the host, and of the new-comers tale had been taken, the day waswearing; so they set off for Woodwall, and on the way they met the Mayorand Aldermen thereof, who came before King Christopher and knelt to him,and gave him the keys of their town; so he was gracious to them, andthanked them, and bade see to the victual and lodging of the host, andthat all should be paid thereafter. And they said that they had seen toall this before they came forth of the town, and that if the Lord Kingwould ride forth, he would find fair lodging in the good town. So KingChristopher was pleased, and bade the burgesses ride beside him, and hetalked merrily with them on the way, so that their hearts rejoiced overthe kindness of their lord.

  So they came to the gate, and there the King made stay till Goldilindwas fetched to him, so that they might ride into the good town sideby side. And in the street was much people thronging, and the sun wasscarce set, so that the folk could see their King and Queen what theywere; and they who were nighest unto them, they let their shouts dieout, so were their hearts touched with the sight of them and the love oftheir beauty.

  Thus rode they in triumph through the street till they were come totheir lodging, which was great and goodly as for a cheaping town; and sothe day was gone and the night was come, and the council and the banquetwere over; then were the King and Goldilind together again, like anyup-country lad and lass. But she stood before him and said: "O thou Kingand mighty warrior, surely I ought to fear thee now, but it is not so,so sore as I desire thee; but yet it maketh both laughter and tears cometo me when I think of the day we rode away from Greenharbour with thee,and I seemed to myself a great lady, though I were unhappy; and thoughI loved thy body, I feared lest the churl's blood in thee might shame meperchance, and I was proud and unkind to thee, and I hurt thee sorely;and now I will say it, and confess, that somewhat I joyed to see thineanguish, for I knew that it meant thy love for me and thy desire to me.Lo now, wilt thou forgive me this, or wilt thou punish me, O Lord King?"

  He laughed. "Sweetling," he said, "meseemeth now all day long I havebeen fighting against raiment rather than men; no man withstood me inthe battle, for that they feared the crown on my helm and the bannerover my head; and when those good men of the town brought me the keys,how should I have known them from borrel folk but for their scarletgowns and fur hoods? And meseemed that when they knelt to me, it was thescarlet gowns kneeling to the kingly armour. Therefore, sweetheart, ifthou fearest that the King should punish thee for so wounding the poorChristopher of those few days ago, as belike thou deservest it, bid theKing do off his raiment, and do thou in likewise, and then there shallbe no King to punish, and no King's scather to thole the punishment, butonly Christopher and Goldilind, even as they met erewhile on the dewygrass of Littledale."

  She blushed blood-red; but ere his words were done, her hands were busywith girdle and clasp, and her raiment fell from her to the earth, andhis kingly raiment was cast from him, and he took her by the hand andled her to the bed of honour, that their love might have increase thatnight also.

  CHAPTER XXXV. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE AND AN EVIL DEED.

  When morning was, and it was yet early, the town was all astir and thegates were thrown open, and weaponed men thronged into it crying out forChristopher the King. Then the King came forth, and Jack o' the Toftsand his sons, and Oliver Marson, and the captains of Brimside; and thehost was blown together to the market-place, and there was a new tale ofthem taken, and they were now hard on seventy hundreds of men. So thenwere new captains appointed, and thereafter they tarried not save to eata morsel, but went out a-gates faring after the banners to Oakenrealm,all folk blessing them as they went.

  Nought befell them of evil that day, but ever fresh companies joinedthem on the road; and they gat harbour in another walled town, hightSevenham, and rested there in peace that night, and were now grown toeighty hundreds.

  Again on the morrow they were on the road betimes, and again much folkjoined them, and they heard no tidings of any foeman faring againstthem; whereat Jack o' the Tofts marvelled, for he and others had deemedthat now at last would Rolf the traitor come out against them. Forsooth,when they had gone all day and night was at hand, it seemed most like tothe captains that he would fall upon them that night, whereas they werenow in a somewhat perilous pass; for they must needs rest at
a littlethorpe amidst of great and thick woods, which lay all round about thefrank of Oakenham as a garland about a head. So there they kept watchand ward more heedfully than their wont was; and King Christopher lodgedwith Goldilind at the house of a good man of the thorpe.

  Now when it lacked but half an hour of midnight, and Jack o' the Toftsand Oliver Marson and the Captain of Woodwall had just left him, afterthey had settled the order of the next day's journey, and Goldilind layabed in the inner chamber, there entered one of the men of the watchand said: "Lord King, here is a man hereby who would see thee; he isweaponed, and he saith that he hath a gift for thee: what shall we dowith him?"

  Said Christopher: "Bring him in hither, good fellow." And the man wentback, and came in again leading a tall man, armed, but with a hood doneover his steel hat, so that his face was hidden, and he had a bag in hishand with something therein.

  Then spake the King and said: "Thou man, since thy face is hidden, thistrusty man-at-arms shall stand by thee while we talk together."

  "Lord," said the man, "let there be a dozen to hear our talk I care not;for I tell thee that I come to give thee a gift, and gift-bearers areoftenest welcome."

  Quoth the King: "Maybe, yet before thou bring it forth I would see thyface, for meseems I have an inkling of thy voice."

  So the man cast back his hood, and lo, it was Simon the squire. "Hah!"said Christopher, "is it thou then! hast thou another knife to give me?"