A Year & a Day by Virginia Henley Read Free Book Online Page A

the proceedings. When Douglas rode out from the castle, the citizens of Berwick began to
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    jeer at the English, brandishing weapons and chanting taunts and insults. Above the din, one invective could be heard clearly and Edward Plantagenet knew the ridicule was for him alone.
    "Longshanks! Longshanks! Longshanks!" they taunted.
    The infamous Plantagenet temper exploded like a volcanic eruption. King Edward unsheathed his sword and raised it in the air. "Attack! Attack!"
    John de Warenne ordered the light cavalry to the king's side, then quickly organized a battalion of foot soldiers to follow them. Edward, on his great stallion Bayard, leaped over the ditch and galloped to the stockade, flanked by his nephew, Richard of Cornwall, and Fitz-Waren. Their horses sailed over the low stockade, then Fitz-Waren ordered that its timbers be set aflame. The defenders atop it scattered in panic and the English foot soldiers flooded into Berwick like a tidal wave.
    Suddenly, one arrow found its mark and entered the eye-slit of Richard of Cornwall's helmet.
    Edward watched in horror as his nephew fell dead from his horse. His ice-blue eyes sought John de Warenne's as he issued the dreaded order, "No quarter! Put every man of Berwick to the sword!"
    Lynx de Warenne knew nothing of the disastrous events taking place outside the castle. Flanked by his squires, he waited at the rear of the long column of surrendering troops. When he finally emerged from Berwick Castle into the sunlight, a bloody battle was being waged in the streets of the city.
    "Why are we not taking prisoners?" Lynx demanded grimly when he finally found his uncle.
    "Richard of Cornwall was killed; Edward ordered no quarter!" John told him bluntly.
    Lynx jammed his helmet back on his head and turned his destrier around. He and his squires rode through the streets back toward the castle with weapons drawn, but few approached the three great warhorses whose murderous hooves could trample them dead. Without hesitation Lynx de Warenne strode into the great hall of Berwick Castle, which Edward Plantagenet now oc-
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    A YfcAR AND A UAY
    cupied. "Berwick Castle is ours and the city of Berwick is ours also," he announced. "Further slaughter is unnecessary, Your Majesty."
    The blue Plantagenet eyes glittered dangerously."I ordered every man of Berwick put to the sword!"
    "Sire, some of these men are not soldiers, they are citizens, burghers, craftsmen."
    "These burghers sank our ships and killed Richard of Cornwall! Do you presume to question my orders, de Warenne?"
    "I do, Sire. There is no honor in this carnage. When the pages of history are writ, do you wish to be immortalized as England's greatest king and lawmaker or as the butcher of Berwick?"
    The king's eyes narrowed. "You argue as passionately as your sister. All the de Warennes are damned presumptuous!"
    "I dare speak my mind only because my loyalty is absolute. If you do not call a halt, the hatred between Scots and English will deepen so that it will be impossible to ever unite the two countries. What I witnessed outside covers me with shame, but worse, it covers you with shame, Sire. There are women and children being slaughtered out there."
    "Nay, my order was to kill only the men. Call a halt!"
    Lynx de Warenne did not linger. He had what he had come for. Now he must get the word out to an army drunk with blood-lust.
    ******************
    Jory de Warenne could not remember a journey she had enjoyed more than the one from Newcastle to Wigton. Both she and Robert Bruce had indulged in an outrageous flirtation that lasted the entire ride. They were exceedingly formal within earshot of others, but the moment they knew they could not be overheard, they teased and toyed with each other in a shockingly intimate fashion. It was a game they enjoyed, made doubly delicious because it was a secret they alone shared.
    Jory stood atop Wigton Castle gazing off in the direction of
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    Carlisle, only eight miles away. The Bruce had