“Then ye’re saying he was targeted.”
“Indeed.”
“And the man lives near the border, so de Velt dinna have tae go far tae find his target,” William finished. “De Velt’s fortress is near Alnwick, is it no’?”
No one seemed to really know. They were looking at each other, shaking their heads, shrugging. But one thing was for certain; Fountainhall never stood a chance against the de Velt war machine.
William’s focus returned to Baloch.
“Was that all de Velt told ye tae tell me?” he asked.
Baloch nodded. “Aye, yer grace,” he said. “If yer armies cross the border, de Velt will be waiting and he will no’ be the only one.”
William sat back in his chair, mulling that information over, before motioning to one of his men. “Take Baloch tae the kitchens and feed the man,” he said. “Find him a bed so he can sleep. But he’s no’ tae leave.”
The man William had motioned to was a big man, young, with a heavy short sword sheathed at his side. He nodded, pulling Baloch up from the bench and escorting him from the hall. Baloch’s movements were slow, weary, like a man who had just been on a flight for his life.
When he was out of the hall, William spoke.
“It would seem our intentions have reached the ears of the English,” he said with some irony. “But I suppose I couldna keep it private for much longer. Every Scotsman in the Highlands is heading south, tae Edinburgh. The Northmen are already on their way. Sooner or later, the English would realize we have come tae reclaim Northumbria. It was mine in my youth, ye know it. The earldom of Northumbria was mine until Henry took it from me, the English bastard. But I’ll have it again before I die. ’Tis mine.”
MacDuff spoke up. “If the English warlords in the north know of our intentions, then Berwick could be in jeopardy,” hesaid. “We hold it, but enough angry warlords could breach it and oust our garrison. It has happened before. And weneedBerwick.”
William nodded faintly, digesting everything, trying to determine what they needed to do at this point. “The Earl of Ross has men stationed there and has for twenty years,” he said. “Angus MacHeth’s son is in command and the man has his orders. He knows that he is tae admit the Northmen intae the river when they arrive. If MacHeth is ousted, the boats will be kept at sea and we’ll no’ have the reinforcements we need.”
“What do we do?” MacDuff asked with concern. “If we send more men tae reinforce Berwick, the English will catch wind of it. They’ll think we’re planning our attack from Berwick and it’ll draw them tae the town. We dunna need a concentration of English armies in Berwick when the Northmen arrive. It would be much more resistance than they anticipated.”
William knew that. He sat back in his chair, putting a booted foot on the tabletop. “We’re assuming the English know about Berwick,” he said. “Alpin Canmore knew of it. We’ve had gatherings twice in the past year tae discuss such things and he was present, so he knew of our plans. Did he tell de Velt?”
MacDuff snorted softly. “De Velt was cutting off fingers tae coerce him,” he said. “He had the man’s wife. Of course Canmore told him what he knew.”
William held up a finger as if the thought had just occurred to him. “But we’ve no’ considered something else,” he said. “What of the House of de Bourne, the descendants of Bloodaxe? Alpin took it upon himself tae send them missives, asking them tae join our rebellion in exchange for more lands. What do we know of them?”
“Alpin did that tae ingratiate himself tae ye, yer grace,” MacDuff said. “The man wanted yer favor. He’d wipe yer arse if ye asked him tae.”
William simply lifted a hand to silence the man. “So would ye if I demanded it,” he said, listening to the men snort at MacDuff’s expense. “Canmore is an ambitious man, ’tis true, but I knew what he had done. In truth, I was curious tae see if the House of de Bourne would respond. They’re a powerful family and they hold the Kielder Pass– one of the main roads intae Northumberland. Do we know if de Bourne has responded tae Canmore’s missives?”
He looked at the gaggle of men around him as they shook their heads. No one seemed to be certain, but more than that, no one had been particularly close to Alpin Canmore. He was a vassal of the Earl of Dalkeith, who was busy recruiting men in Galloway. He’d been away for a few months, meaning he probably knew nothing about a de Bourne response.
Only Alpin Canmore would know that.
“Yer grace, it’s my sense that Alpin would have told ye had he received a response from de Bourne,” MacDuff said. “The man couldna keep it tae himself and he’d want tae shout it tae ye from sheer pride, so it’s probable that de Borne hasna given his answer yet.”
William nodded. “Ye have a point,” he said. “I would have known it almost as soon as Canmore did.”
“Exactly.”
William reclined against the back of the chair, rubbing his hands together because the joints ached. At his age, they ached badly at times. He pondered the Canmore situation quickly.
In his mind, there was only one path to take.
“Then it is possible that de Bourne hasna responded and possibly willna,” he said. “And we must further assume that Alpin Canmore is dead. We must also assume that he told de Velt everything he knew and he knew about Berwick, but I dunna want tae send a great army there tae reinforce it. I’ll send a few men with a message telling MacHeth that the English knowthat Berwick will be the place where the Northmen are tae enter England. That way, he’ll be prepared.”
“But ye’ll send him no army?” MacDuff confirmed.
William could hear some disapproval, perhaps disappointment, in MacDuff’s tone. “As ye said, it would only draw attention tae Berwick now,” he said. “But that doesna mean I willna send an army when the time for the Northmen’s arrival draws near. If they’re already on their way, they should be here by June and the mists that crop up from the sea that month will cover the arrival of their ships. It will also cover the movement of an army tae support Berwick.”
The men around him, including MacDuff, nodded in agreement. But there was still one more item outstanding.
