He could hang them both: they, certainly she, had tried to kill or at the very least maim him, but would that meet his needs? There were two ways to treat the local population, to further increase their dread or to seek to win them over to his side. Would magnanimity do that? Still holding the boy by the scruff of his smock, William pushed him towards the old man.
‘The women in the kitchens, they are local, they will be able to speak with these children?’ That got a nodded response. ‘Then take them there, have them fed.’
‘Gill…’ Drogo protested.
William looked hard at his brother, whom he knew to be an avid despoiler of land and crops. Since their relationship was normally friendly, it was a ferocious glare, which stopped Drogo speaking further.
‘They are to be washed and found clothing as well as a place to rest. From now on these two are wards of mine. Let that be known throughout the region. We do not make war on children.’
‘When you get to the kitchens, old man,’ said Mauger, as nonplussed as the rest of his half-siblings, ‘keep that spitfire away from the knives.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Normans were not only the best soldiers in this part of the world, they were the most mobile, able to react quickly to any emergency: their weapons were kept sharp, their harness always attended to and each lance had a mount fit to get him to where he needed to be and another trained for battle. Thus they were mounted and ready to ride out within hours, word having come from Arduin that a show of force was required outside Venosa, the nearest large fortified town between Melfi and Bari. Leaving a garrison large enough to overawe the locals, William rode out at the head of his men, on a journey of no more than seven leagues, his hope high that the message from Arduin was correct: Venosa would not open its gates unless it could prove to the catapan, should he too turn up outside their walls at a later date, that they had little choice.
If the people of Apulia had seen Normans before, raiding parties which had come from Campania just to loot and rob, they had never seen them in such numbers, over two hundred and fifty warriors fully armed and ready for battle, the sun glistening on their mail and helmets, as well as the tips of their lances, on each of which fluttered a coloured pennant.
For once, sure no enemy had yet gathered to oppose them, they could ride en masse, without the need to send ahead scouts or to put out strong parties to cover their flanks, which pleased William: he wanted those toiling in the fields to observe their power, in the hope that the more adventurous amongst them, the younger sons who would rail against the life they were obliged to live, would see opportunity and flock to join them as foot soldiers.
Fording the higher reaches of the River Ofanto, the force was soon in a country of rolling fertile hills, the landscape studded with pale stone dwellings, the odd one the size of a proper manor house, most single-storey, stone, round and thatched-roof bothies where humans and animals would shelter together at night. Some of the larger properties were enclosed by a defensible curtain wall, high enough to withstand marauding bands provided they were not too numerous; they usually had also, enclosed behind those walls, barns, cattle pens and pig sties, while outside there lay extensive paddocks, everything irrigated by plentiful streams. No horses were in those paddocks now: at the sight of this host, or hearing the rumour that somehow flew ahead of them, they had been taken into safety.
The open fields, many with standing corn, others meadowland lying fallow, would provide stacks of hay in abundance, which was reassuring: this was a well-watered and valuable country in which the Norman cavalry could operate with some freedom; there would be no shortage of sustenance for man nor beast. It was also, given its obvious wealth and fecundity, a rich source of tax revenue, a land Byzantium would fight hard to hold on to.
Arduin, with his escorts and some Lombards he had already recruited, met them within long sight of the town walls, and he and William rode ahead while the remainder of the force rested the mounts they had used to get here, with the added task of making it seem as if they were also preparing for battle. Approaching those walls, a far from formidable edifice, it was obvious they were in a state of disrepair, so poorly maintained as to make withstanding a siege near impossible.
There was no moat and in several places there were gaps where the masonry had fallen, while all along the walls ramshackle dwellings had been built, now deserted, which also rendered the place insecure. The only thing which looked solid was the great pair of studded wooden gates, firmly shut against these interlopers.
‘The populace?’
‘Mainly Italians, with a few Lombards, but not sufficient to make them see sense. They surrendered quickly in the recent troubles. I don’t think the catapan even bothered to bring an army to menace the place. He just sent them an envoy with a threat, the same as we must do.’
‘Then we must encourage the citizenry to repair those walls.’
Arduin looked doubtful. ‘They see safety in not doing so. Stout walls would tempt them to defence, to stand out against a proper siege. The catapan, whoever he happens to be, has openly discouraged such activity, knowing it left them dependent on his forces. Such a thing tends to keep people loyal.’
‘There are others the same?’
‘Many, William, outside the ports, of course.’
‘Lavello is in the same state?’
Arduin nodded, causing William to mull over two things: first the aims and ambitions of this Lombard, which would be for a quick campaign to cement his leadership and ensure his place in any future settlement. There was wisdom in that from his point of view: Doukeianos was certainly weak and it might be possible to expel the catapan quickly while that situation pertained, certainly before this Atenulf appeared on the scene. There was also great risk: in his eagerness Arduin might overreach himself, and that took no account of past errors or Byzantine resilience.
As yet, Arduin did not have an army, he had Normans, and while that might suffice here outside Venosa, and would certainly be a factor in any open battle, there was no guarantee the case would be the same in the numerous other fortified towns they must secure if they were to conquer the whole province. Certainly a rapid campaign against a vulnerable opponent might secure them the hinterland, the fertile plains, but would it persuade the citizenry of the Adriatic ports to acquiesce?
That William doubted, despite assurances they could not wait to throw off the Byzantine yoke. It only took one great port to refuse, even if all the others joined the revolt, and that would require it to be invested from both land and sea; success would not be quick, which would give the Eastern Empire ample time to send reinforcements — and with a province of such value at stake, never mind their pride, they would most certainly do so. It would provide, as well, a safe enclave in which they could land.
The Lombards had been in advantageous situations before and had always squandered them, either through their squabbles or outright betrayal by one of their number. The way Guaimar of Salerno had refused to openly support them meant divisions were highly likely to occur in the future. That William de Hauteville did not trust the Lombards was a given: he also felt certain that to subdue and conquer this land so completely that Byzantium would give it up was not something which could be achieved in one swift crusade.
Then there was his overarching aim, which he must keep hidden from Arduin, which was to gain in Apulia land for himself and his family. He needed to prepare for a long, hard campaign, in which those whom he now fought alongside might one day become his enemies, opponents who could come at him from east and west. For that he required to secure an area he and his Normans could control against anyone — not just Melfi and a triangle of mutually supporting fortresses met that need.