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| About the Book |
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| Read An Excerpt |
The Douglas Bastard
I knelt to fasten on the chainmail
chausses and the plate pieces that covered his knees and elbows, and then came
the bascinet and aventail protecting his head and neck. Lastly, I buckled the
sword belt around his waist. When I held back the tent flap so Sir William
could exit, I realized that it was still the semidarkness of a summer night. So
far, I'd not seen a truly dark night in Scotland, and there was a rim of gold
on the eastern horizon, so daybreak must be near. Silhouettes darted across the
camp, grunting as they carried logs into the Lade to make a walkway over the
brush. Bowshots made a steady twap twap as our archers tried to protect them,
but the bolts still thudded into the ground from the English high on the walls.
One of the men screamed as an English bolt found its target.
"It's Sir Alan!" one of the men
yelled as another scooped up the still man to carry him to safety. A friar
scurried to meet them, his black cloak flapping around his legs.
"Ready the ladders," Sir William
bellowed. A horn shrilled from Robert Stewart's camp, and the whole army became
a tumult of running and shouting.
Sir William was staring up at the wall
where archers ducked behind the merlons to pop back up and fire. He did not
glance behind him to see if his men were ready. He grabbed the front of one of
the ladders and bellowed, "Now! Run!"
He charged. The men surged with him,
shouting, "A Douglas! A Douglas!"
I kept pace behind him. I did not carry a
ladder and was not supposed to be near the fighting. Arrows were thudding all
around like hail despite the Scottish archers' steady return fire. Sir Arnoul
was next to me, shouting, "Montjoie Saint Denis!"
Sir William jumped down into the Lade,
Ramsay a step behind. I landed with bent knees and an "Oof!" The logs
wobbled a little under my feet. Colban stumbled and went down on his hands and
knees. When he saw me looking at him, his eyes widened, but he just shook his
head. He got up, lifted the ladder he carried with Gamelin, and kept going. A
bolt thudded into a log at his feet.
I realized it had grown light enough that
I could see the top of the wall and crossbowmen firing down as fast as they
could winch their bows.
Pushed back by men who snarled at me to
get out of the way, I was at the rear. But I advanced with them, scrambling up
the far side of the Lade. Then I heard the thump of a ladder hitting the top of
the wall.
An archer dropped his bow to heave at it.
There was a shriek. Arms and legs flailing, a man crashed to the ground beside
me. I jumped away from the falling ladder. Sir William was starting to climb as
more ladders were raised, braced by men on the ground. Ramsay was on a ladder
beside him and reached the top first. He gave a roar of triumph.
With a lunge, Sir William threw himself
over. Then his men swarmed after him.
I squirmed and shoved my way to a ladder
and frantically climbed. Then I threw my arms over and scrambled onto the
parapet walk. Sir William shouted, "On them!" As a man-at-arms came
at him, the knight smashed his hilt into the man's nose while he drew his
dagger with the other hand. Gamelin joined him on the walkway and thrust under
the man's guard. Even as the blood splashed, he toppled backward to the ground
below.
An English knight in shining chainmail put
his sword through the back of one of the men, and Sir William stepped over the
body to face him. The Englishman swung from a high guard. Sir William parried
the blow and locked their hilts. Swords locked together, almost chest to chest,
they heaved. Rolling his wrists to free his sword, Sir William slammed his arm
into the Englishman's neck. It rocked the man back. His feet tangled in the
body, and he flailed, fighting to stay on his feet. His sword skittered from
his hand. He shouted, "I yield."
A crossbowman stopped, aiming at Sir William's
back, so I darted forward. I raised my dagger and jabbed it as hard as I could.
It scraped along his chainmail-clad shoulder. He swung around with a growl and
hit me up the side of the head. I bounced hard back against a merlon, seeing
black for a second.
Colban roared, "A Douglas!" and
chopped the man down.
The mass of our men was still flowing over
the ramparts. Swords slashed, axes hacked. The enemy broke. They jumped from
the parapet and ran. But a crossbowman at the far end of the rampart pointed
his bow and let fly. The bolt hit Sir William in the thigh. He gave a shout and
fell. A charge of his men crushed the archer to the ground in a flurry of
blows.
A horn blew a frantic cry within the city.
"We yield!" a voice shouted. "The city is yours! We yield!"
The horn sounded again and again.
I jumped over a corpse, raced to Sir William, and knelt beside him.
You might also like
books written by Helen Hollick
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
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| 1066 - the events that led to the Battle of Hastings from Amazon Harold the King (UK edition) I Am The Chosen King (US/Canada edition) 1066 Turned Upside Down - an anthology of alternative stories |
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THE PENDRAGON's BANNER TRILOGY New Editions available worldwide (except USA/Canada) |
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Available USA/Canada |
Thanks for posting the excerpt!
ReplyDeleteMy absolute pleasure - good luck with the series - it sounds very good!
DeleteThank you so much for hosting J R Tomlin today, Helen.
ReplyDeleteCathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club
my pleasure
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