Chapter Nineteen #2
Diamantha was listening closely. “Did the battle spread out over a large area?” she asked. “Surely there were thousands of men.”
Cortez glanced at the men around the table who had been at that battle with him.
They all knew the horrors and triumphs of it.
He’d hardly spoken of it since it had happened but now that they were in a calm setting, and Diamantha was asking for answers, he thought perhaps it was time to share the details of it and pray it didn’t throw her back into another cloud of grief.
Therefore, he was careful in how he replied.
“There were indeed thousands of men,” he told her.
“Nearly six thousand Scots and fifteen thousand English, all fighting in a relatively small area south of the woods. The Scots were led by William Wallace and although some of his tactics were somewhat successful, once Edward arrived to the battle, Wallace was smashed and his forces scattered. It was an impressive and terrible day.”
Diamantha had expected something more by way of information but Cortez seemed to be summing it up as a general happening. That was not what she wanted to hear. She wanted to know what happened.
“Did you fight with Edward?” she asked, looking around the table. “Were you all in the king’s army?”
The knights let Cortez handle the answer. She was his wife, after all. “I was with Edward’s army,” he replied, “and so were Robert, Drake, James, Oliver, and Andres. Keir and Michael fought with the Bishop of Durham, I believe. Is that not correct?”
Keir nodded his head. “Our liege, Baron Coverdale, is allied with the Anthony Bek, the Bishop of Durham,” he replied.
“When the call for men came, we were committed to the bishop’s army.
On the day of battle, the king was late to the field while fighting had already started.
Norfolk and Lincoln were already in the heat of battle but Durham was trying to hold off and wait for the king.
There were some very foolish knights serving Durham and they disobeyed the man and started into the fracas.
Michael and I held back with some of Durham’s troops until Edward arrived, and when he finally came, we were able to destroy the Scottish archers and beat down the pikemen.
Say what you will about the king, but he is a brilliant military tactician.
He overwhelmed Wallace with both manpower and skill. It was a glorious English victory.”
The knights at the table nodded in agreement, all of them thinking on that chaotic day. Diamantha was thinking about it also, but in a different context. She was thinking on Robert and his last moments. It wasn’t such a glorious day for him. She looked at Cortez.
“You told me that you were near Robert when he fell,” she said quietly. “When did he fall? Was it near the beginning or the end of the battle?”
Cortez met her gaze steadily. “Towards the end,” he replied.
“We were in the process of destroying groups of foot soldiers and Robert was hit by a Scottish longbow. There weren’t many Scottish archers left at that point but there was at least one because his aim took out a strong English knight.
When he fell, I went to him and stayed with him as long as I could, but the fighting was moving to the west and my sword was needed. ”
Diamantha knew the rest. She simply nodded her head and looked at her lap, sadness filling her.
The abject grief she had experienced those months after her husband’s death was no longer present, but she still felt great sorrow.
It was a terrible way for a man so loved to die but she took comfort in the fact that they were here to finally bring him home.
He would not be alone much longer. After a moment’s reflection, she took a deep breath for courage and lifted her head.
“Will you take me to the spot?” she asked. “I would like to see it. The spot where he fell, I mean. It is important to me.”
Cortez nodded faintly, squeezing her hand again. “If that is your wish,” he said, “but not today. Let us eat and sleep well, and then we will set out tomorrow to find the location. Is that acceptable?”
Diamantha nodded and he lifted one of her hands to kiss it. He was pleased that she seemed in control, bravely facing what she must. To focus on the positive aspect, the recovery of Robert, seemed the best thing to do. He didn’t want to focus on what could not be helped, the death of the man.
As Cortez sat there and watched Diamantha struggle with her sadness, the serving wench came around again with a big iron pot and a collection of wooden bowls.
The bowls were placed before everyone and she began spooning out a great, hearty stew with carrots, peas, and beans, and another wench came around and put hot loaves of brown bread and bowls of butter on the table.
She even brought something special for Sophie, a cup with juice from apples mixed with a bit of honey.
In all, it was a tremendous feast and everyone dug in with gusto.
Warm stew on a cold day was about the best thing possible.
As the rain pounded and the lightning flashed, the Sassenach army settled in for a bit of food, rest, and relaxation, for tomorrow, the real work would begin.
The recovery of a comrade, father, husband, and friend. Robert Edlington would no longer be one of the forgotten.