Chapter 16

River Tweed, Northumberland, England

Near the Scottish Frontier

August 21, 1385

Jean sat on his warhorse’s back. His armor was severely damaged and dented. He had lost his helmet during a skirmish in the middle of the night. Next to him sat, Robert, his wife’s brother, and Henry de Ferrieres, all that remained of the knights and squires that had stayed behind. For two full days and part of a third, they had harassed and delayed the English from entering the valley.

“We still have twelve archers, but they’re down to three arrows each,” Guillaume reported.

Sir Jean de Carrouges nodded, “Then they need to kill two Englishman with each arrow! And what of the men-at-arms?”

“Footmen number eleven, all armed with billhooks and pikes,” Robert informed Sir Jean. “I made sure they all have handaxes as well. We took them off the last bunch that tried to come through.”

“If they hit us hard, we won’t be able to hold the valley,” Jean said, “Let us hope that they keep testing us.”

Moments later, a young boy in leather armor came scrabbling up the hillside and bowed to Jean. “Sir Jean, they are coming!”

“How many this time?”

“All of them!”