Games of Otterburn 1388 by Charles Randolph Bruce Read Free Book Online

with warm fresh made ale.
    “What you figure them Scotch are about?” asked Ralph.
    “I figure the Umfravilles at Prudhoe got paid off and the bishop’s goin ’ to have his hands full to get Douglas from his lands.”
    “We a’chasin ’?” asked Ralph.
    “King said no,” relayed Hotspur. “Besides that’s just a small portion of their contingent come to Durham for raidin ’ purposes. They won’t get very far. King’ll be here ere long, I figure.”
    “I don’t think the king’s comin ’,” inserted Redman.
    “Why not?” asked Hotspur rubbing his hand across his worried brow.
    “We’re a long way from London ,” he remarked in a quiet voice. “We who are a’ready here are probably the only ones to stop this invasion.”
    “King said to wait. I’m a’waitin ’,” grumped Hotspur and everyone within earshot knew by the sound of his words that he didn’t like the orders but would not go against his sovereign… just yet.

August 11
    Carlisle Village
    Cumberland - West March

    “Somebody’s barn’s a’burnin ’ yon ways off,” cried Osbert pointing toward the northeast and well over the treetops.
    Claricia came from the small hovel they called home followed by three small children.
    “You see the smoke?” asked Jacob, the oldest of the six children Osbert and Claricia had still living.
    “I see,” replied Osbert keeping his eye on the column. “Scotch reavers, they might be.”
    Claricia got a definite chill up her spine. She was well aware of the fear the Scots could bring out in a person.
    “We need to get the livestock and hide in the wood ‘til they’re gone from Carlisle ,” advised Osbert.
    “How you figure its Scotch?” asked Claricia taking her youngest golden-locked girl into her arms.
    “‘Cause there’s another column of smoke a’startin ’ yon,” he said pointing in a slightly different direction then added, “ Movin ’ right fast this way I’d say, too.”
    “I’ll gather what I can from the lodge,” said Claricia, “You get what you can from the rest of the grange.”
    Osbert said nothing and Jacob was already heading for the lean-to style structure under which the family kept their only livestock, the cow and two goats.
    Osbert ran to catch up to Jacob.
    Within minutes Claricia scuttled from the lodge with the babies at her heels. When Osbert looked, the lodge was showing a bit of smoke.
    Claricia caught up to Osbert and looked back. “Turned the cook fire out on the wall,” she admitted. “Might well give us a bit more time ere they come to investigate.”
    “How you figure?” asked Osbert as he was throwing the two tied sacks of necessaries over the haunches of the cow and pitching the babies behind.
    “ ‘Cause they’ll figure another bunch of Scotch already got here,” explained Claricia as she tugged on the tether of the stubborn goats.
    They balked.
    Jacob gave one of the goats a swift kick on the rump and made it jump to its feet and loudly bleat. The other followed without any further complaint.

    The cock keeper held his prize fighter tight in his arms as he approached the cockpit. Men from the Castle Carlisle garrison were tightly packed around the ring so they each could get as close a look as possible at the cock that they had placed their bet on.
    Gambling was certainly not beyond the interests of the castle’s custodian, Sir Ralph Neville who might have been gnarled of body from age, but was in the thick of the crowd and on the front edge of the ring, anyway.
    The keeper made his way through the crowd and stood opposite his opponent who was less than three feet away.
    He turned to Lord Neville for a signal to start the fight.
    Excitedly Neville put his right hand up, gave it a couple of short waves and the two cock keepers held their vicious birds between their hands and began to circle the open ring taunting the cocks to their expected aggressive nature.
    The surrounding men cheered when the two keepers figured the birds were