When back at the house at Holebourn Bridge Alan and Anne ate a mid-day meal that was again simple and plain, and unusually sat alone instead of with several members of the household with them. The reason for that soon became obvious when Anne smiled quietly at her husband and said, “I haven’t had the opportunity to tell you of my own news. You are to be a father again in November.”
Alan had been taking a gulp of ale and nearly choked, spraying ale- but managing to turn his head to avoid hitting Anne. “Praise be to God!” he said, taking her hand across the table and kissing it.
“Hopefully a son this time,” added Anne.
Alan waved his free hand in a dismissive motion. “It matters little,” he said, although both knew that was not true. “As long as both you and the child are healthy. You know how delighted I am with Juliana.”
Anne smiled again in appreciation of the comment but knew that her main function in life was to produce at least two, preferably more, healthy boys as heirs. Girl children were only useful to built political relationships through marriage, and cost a significant amount in dowries.
After the Easter Vigil, the whole household attended the Easter Mass at St Edmund’s Church just outside Newgate. When able to do so Anne attended Mass at the church on most days. With several donations of vestments and the funding of a stained-glass window she was seen by Father Edward as one of his most important parishioners, causing him to call to visit weekly when he knew that Anne was in London. The simple and moving service lifted all their hearts. Unfortunately, heavy rain had begun to fall while they were in the Church, and so it was with damp, if not wet, spirits, they returned home.
Alan spent a pleasant hour or so in the nursery with Anne and Juliana, who was now sitting up, paying attention to what was happening about her and generally smiling and gurgling happily. She held a bead rattle in one hand and a piece of sea-coral in the other, fashioned into a teething ring for her to chew to assist the emergence of her milk-teeth. The coral had been a gift from Bjorn.
At mid-day a sumptuous meal was served with the whole household seated in the Hall, except for the kitchen and serving staff. Bjorn and several other of the sailors who didn’t have local family had also been invited, some 26 seated at three tables. Wilda the cook had again shown her ability to produce delicacies when required. Having attended at Mass herself together with the other servants, knowing the simple tastes of the soldiers, sailors and servants who formed most of the diners and knowing that after Lent any rich food would be most welcome, she had limited herself to two soups, roast pig, a mutton and herb stew, pork pies, braised spiced pork in almond milk with mushrooms, four different dishes of accompanying vegetables, followed by apple pie, strawberry tart and mixed cheeses, all accompanied by fresh white wheat bread and freshly-churned butter. Osmund recited, from memory, two long poems in English. Bjorn regaled the diners with his reminisces of his visit as a young man to the Holy Land, describing strange places, strange people and unusual customs.
In the late afternoon a slightly tipsy Alan accompanied his wife upstairs to the family’s private rooms. With her pregnancy Anne had again resumed minimal consumption of alcohol, as she had when carrying Juliana. While she didn’t insist on Alan doing the same as he rarely drank to excess she had little sympathy with his complaints when he did so.
Early on Easter Thursday Anne, Juliana, Osmund, two maids and five guards headed east through the crowded Cornhill, along Leadenhall Street to Aldgate. The ladies were riding in a cart and they were destined for Thorrington, intending to take a leisurely two days for the journey. After a brief kiss and a wave to his wife, Alan rose west towards Gloucester and the Welsh border.
He arrived at Staunton-on-Wye late on the second day, Saturday 18th April. He looked approvingly at the state of the fortified bailey as he rode in and was greeted by Leofwin the second in command. “Robert is over at Bobury with his steward David, talking to the miller. He should be back soon!” said Leofwin, ushering Alan and his men into the Hall and ordering ale be brought to wash away the dust of the road from the travelers’ throats.
Leofwin was correct. Robert and David arrived after about an hour, Robert hurrying in as the guards outside had advised him of Alan’s arrival. “My lord”, he said, with a courtly bow. Alan snorted with amusement, rose and grasped his friend by the forearm, before clapping him on the shoulder and resuming his seat. A servant brought more quarts of ale.
“How fares the ‘overlord’ of my western realm?” asked Alan.
“Well enough,” replied Robert with a smile at the description. “As you can see, we’ve completed the fortifications here and the Hall is complete. It has quite basic facilities, but more than usual for a frontier manor. The repairs to the villages are complete. You’d hardly know the Welsh came through with sword and fire a little more than a year ago. Last year there was a reasonable harvest, although sown late. While the granaries aren’t full, there’s more than adequate food in the four villages- which is more than can be said for most of the shire after the Welsh invasion. This year’s crop is in the ground and appears to be growing well. With God’s Grace and a year of peace all should be well.”
“Ah! A year of peace. That may be a problem,” said Alan in response. “What men and arms do you have?”
“Well, of course I have the 10 mounted men-at-arms and ten huscarles you provided. Another 10 local infantry, properly trained and equipped, 10 longbowmen full-time. Another 20 fully trained longbowmen part-time, and 67 fyrdmen armed with spears, partially trained. The full-time men are all mounted, including the foot-soldiers. I have enough ponies that you took on your raid to mount all the full-time men and most of the part-timers. Those numbers exclude Baldwin, Warren and Leofric” said Robert, the last a reference to the Norman man-at-arms, Norman archer and English huscarle respectively, who acted as Robert’s officers. “As to horses, we have 14 rounceys and 70 Welsh mountain-ponies. The cavalry are equipped as you provided. A few with hauberks and the rest with byrnies, sword, shield, helmet and lance. The huscarles have their own armour, of course, mainly byrnies, but a few hauberk-style. The full-time infantry have byrnies, helmets, shields and swords. The archers have the longbows you acquired from Wales- no mail armour, although all have padded armour. They all also have their seax fighting-knife, of course. The fyrdmen have spears and shields that they made themselves and their seax. Most have swords that you have provided. A few have axes, mainly the type for wood-chopping.”
Alan nodded his understanding of the array of force and its equipment, and that he was not displeased. “How many arrows for the longbows?”
Robert paused before replying, “I’m not really sure. I think about 500.”
Alan replied, “Thirty bowmen, three sheaves each, is over 1,000. Get the fletchers busy and make a war-stock of 1,500, plus any needed for day to day use.” Alan thought for a moment and continued, “Arrange short-swords for the bowmen and swords and helmets for the spearmen. I’ll provide the funds and you can buy whatever you need at Colchester- with its iron and steel industry that would be the best place to buy. Step up training. How often do you run patrols and how often do you train?”