English Knight Read Online Free Page B

take you as far as him and then you will be on your own.”
    I was confused. “Count Hugo why does the Emperor not impose his will upon the land?”
    Count Hugo shook his head with a sad smile upon his face.  “This is not an Empire such as the one you have left. Here the power lies in the castles and the warriors who serve the Emperor, or the king. A strong king can control his lords but there are lords who will try to take power from their masters. Here the treachery is not done behind closed doors but behind a wall of steel, a wall of armoured knights.  If you have skills as a knight, young Alfraed, then you will do well.” He went on to tell us of the young knights who would ride in a conroi under their liege lord. They did not fight in wars against barbarians as they did in the east but they fought men mounted and armed much as they were. This was a noble kind of war.
    I looked around the hall and saw knights younger than I. They were sat around tables sharing the camaraderie of the young.  I was with old men.  I would never enjoy the life of a knight in a conroi. I found myself being envious of them.
    “I will send one of my household knights, Geoffrey of Coutes, with you.  He is good warrior.  I would advise you to wear your armour for your journey across Frankia.”
    I looked at Wulfstan.  “I had been told that we would only encounter bandits who would not wear armour.”
    Wulfstan did not seem put out by my implied criticism.  Count Hugo nodded, “Up until now that was true but now you travel across a land with castles and petty lords. They may decide to challenge your crossing. You will be under my protection until Montlucon. After that….” He shrugged.
    We bought two more horses from Count Hugo. Two of the ones we had bought in Genoa would struggle to carry an armoured knight. I caused something of a stir when I emerged in my armour. It was the overlapping lamellar armour favoured in Constantinople.  It was lighter than mail and more effective.  The young knights I had seen the night before all came to examine it and ask me questions. They were envious of me. My shield was a smaller version of their kite shield. It did not cover as much of my legs but they were protected by more lamellar armour and mail. Finally my greaves gave my lower legs protection. I carried my helmet which had a face mask and aventail also of lamellar construction. It felt good to be in armour once more.  I could face the dangers more confidently.
    As we headed north west I noticed that all of the knights had unique designs upon their shields. Mine was plain. I asked Wulfstan about the designs. “They identify the knight and his lord in battle. See how that all look different but each one has a boar’s head on it somewhere.  They show that they are Count Hugo’s men.”
    That made sense.  In Constantinople we had not needed such things.  All of the warriors bore the shield of the Emperor.  Here men fought in smaller groups. I thought I would ask my father to have the same designs put on our shields. We were a conroi of sorts.
    The land through which we travelled was good farmland.  It was clearly very fertile.  I saw terraces on the hills with vineyards there. I could see that this land was worth fighting for. The mountains through which we had passed were only fit for barbarians and bandits. Now we had reached what passed for civilisation.  The only wooden buildings belonged to the peasants; the Count had called them villeins. The hills were dotted with fortified castles made of stone.  Each one had a raised mound and a ditch surrounding it. This was all so different from my home.
    Montluçon had the largest castle we had seen since we had left Lyon and Count Hugo. Geoffrey of Coutes spoke with the castellan and explained who we were. Sir Geoffrey left, eager to return to Lyon before dark.
    The castellan was a small powerful man.  “I am Eugene.  The master, Lord Archambaud, is out with the household