Nigel Tranter - The Price of the King's Peace

So now Preston burned and Robert Bruce watched it, sitting like a hunched eagle in his saddle. He hoped that he had come as far as need be, that Edward would take fright at this brazen intrusion on his right flank, and would call off the declared invasion of Scotland.

With any true soldier and sound commander, he could have wagered on it; but this Edward Plantagenet was none such, an unpredictable law unto himself. Before the Scots the land lay soft, green and open to the Mersey -the late Lancaster’s territories, lord less now and in confusion. There was nothing to stop Bruce between here and Wales. But he had not come south for such conquest. He awaited couriers from Douglas. He had indeed been waiting for three days, since Lancaster burned. Preston was as much a filling in of time as added warning for King Edward.

“There are rich towns on the Mersey, Sire,” Sir Alexander Fraser, his sister Mary’s husband, suggested hopefully.

The King said nothing.

“Give me but a thousand men and I will burn them all for you, my liege!” That was Sir Andrew Moray, his sister Christian’s latest spouse, fiercer fire-eater than his father.

“No.”

His third brother-in-law, Sir Hugh Ross, Matilda’s husband, was more diplomatic.

“If we turned east here, Sire, and made for the passes between Ribble and Aire, and so into mid-Yorkshire, we would meet Douglas’s messengers, and also save our time.”

“To no advantage,” the King replied.

“Our purpose is to make Edward of Carnarvon call off his plans to invade Scotland. That only. We shall do it better by remaining a threat of unknown strength here in his West. The nearer we move to him, the more like he is to learn our true numbers. He has ten times our forces, man. We wait here until we hear from Douglas. The further south we drive, the greater danger of being cut off. Remember that we are dealing with Harcla now-a shrewd and able captain. If Edward heeds Harcla, we must needs watch our every step.”

“An up sprung Cumberland squire!” the Chamberlain snorted.

“I do not see the Despensers touching their caps to him!”

“He fought Boroughbridge as I fought Bannockburn -and won.

With like tactics. The Despensers lost their battle. Even Edward Plantagenet must heed Harcla now. As I do. We wait.”

They had to wait until early evening of that day, in fact, before the

looked-for couriers arrived, exhausted, on foundered horses, having had

to ride half as far again as contemplated. This was because Douglas,

Moray and the Steward were now far further north than Cleveland, they

explained. They were retiring steadily towards Scotland. For King

Edward was not to be distracted.

Against Harcla’s advice, it was said-against even the Despensers’ advice-he was determined on his invasion of Scotland, the more so in that the rebel Bruce was not there to stop him. He and his main force were marching north with all speed, by the east route, Douglas retiring before him, as commanded.

“And Harcla?” Bruce demanded.

“What of Harcla?”

“Harcla is sent, with 20,000 men, back to the West, Sire.

Through the dales and the passes, by Wensley and Dee. To ensure that Your Grace does not get back to Scotland.”

“So-0-0!” The King beat a mailed fist on his saddle.

“The fool-the purblind fool!” he exclaimed.

“And myself as great a fool! To have believed that Edward of England would ever act as a man with wits in his head! I have wasted my time and strength on a royal dolt! You-how far north was King Edward when you left Douglas?”

“Near Darlington, Sire …”

“Then he is sixty or seventy miles nearer Berwickon-Tweed than am I! With Harcla between us. See you how a misjudgement of one man’s temper may endanger an entire kingdom!” That was thrown at his companions. But Bruce’s glance was not on them. It was turned westwards towards the sunset and the sea.

“How far ebbed is yonder tide?” he demanded, in a different voice.

“You mean … you mean…?” Ross asked.

“I mean, Hugh, that we go now. Go as we came. But faster.

Much faster!”

“But… the ships, Sire? MacDonald’s ships…?”

“We cannot load 8,000 men and their horses on Angus’s galleys, man. And I shall need every man and every horse, in Scotland. I mean to meet Edward Plantagenet when he crosses my march! So we ride. Day and night. Across the sands again. Even if we must swim for it! Sound the trumpets, I say…!”

Time may indeed be made to seem to wait for a sufficiently determined man; but the tides will do so for none, even kings-as another had found out before Bruce. The Scots did indeed cross the Border slightly before King Edward did, having avoided Harcla by keeping to the sea, practically in the sea, all the way. But they crossed Solway, whereas Edward crossed Tweed, the one a hard day’s riding southwest of the other, and some eighty miles apart.

In consequence, although Douglas and the others gallantly sought to delay the English host all through the Merse, they could do little against twenty times their number. It was only some slight delay that they achieved, before the Lammermuir Hills passes, where a comparative few could hold up a legion. This Douglas did, Moray and the Steward hurrying on ahead to try to raise a defensive army at Stirling. But such delay could be only brief, inevitably.

Numbers told, and Douglas had to fall back amongst the round green hills, to burn Lothian before the invaders, buying time for his monarch and friend.

Bruce and his desperately weary host-or most of it-arrived at Stirling two days after Moray and the Steward. Drawn and gaunt with fatigue as he was, the King was by no means exhausted, nevertheless; indeed he seemed able now to draw on some hidden and scarcely believable fund of nervous energy, setting an almost impossible example to his lieutenants. Gulping down food and wine as he questioned Moray and others in Stirling Castle, he was rapping out orders the moment the tactical position began to become clear.

The situation he uncovered was thus: Lothian was ablaze, and much of Edinburgh with it-this at Scots hands. Already the English advance-parties were in the city, with the main body pushing forward in the Haddington-Gladsmuir-Tranent area, a vast horde of over 100,000. A large English fleet had sailed up the Forth, and was now at Leith, the port of Edinburgh. Douglas, who had contested every pass of the Lammermuirs , had now fallen back, via the Moorfoot and Pentland Hills, organising the burning of all grain, food and forage stocks in the low ground as he went, and the fouling of wells. King Edward had travelled far and fast-for so huge a force-and therefore had far outdistanced his heavy baggage-trains.

Food for man and beast was now his great, his only problem.

“Scarcely his only problem, Thomas,” Bruce said.

“He has still to cross Forth. It has stopped better soldiers than

he!”

“Those ships, Sire. At Leith. The word is that they are transports.

Not food ships. Little food is being landed from them-desperately as it is needed. It seems that they have been sent to ferry the army across the estuary. The English will not be coming up here, to cross Stirling Bridge. Or not all of them. Two prongs, it may be. One on either side of Forth.”

“Then we must prepare to receive them. In life, and here. How many men have you gathered?”

“All too few, as yet, Sire. A general muster is ordered-but it will

take time. There are some 5,000 here. Lennox has 2,000 on the way

Sinclair, Bishop of Dunkeld is raising Stratheam. Menteith is marching. MacGregor and the nearer Highland clans are coming.

And no doubt Bishop Lamberton is raising life-since its Earl is not like to!”

“Aye. Then you will command here, Thomas. Hold Stirling and the bridge. I will take life. You will send on to me the forces as they come in. We do not know where Edward will choose to land, if he crosses Forth. But I cannot think that he will use wide crossings, with so many to transport. Moreover he will wish to take my seat of Dunfermline -that you may be sure. He will not cross east of Aberdour, I think. I will base myself midway between there and Stirling. At the port of Culross -that would be best. From there I could quickly come to your aid, if need be. Or strike east along the life coast Or even cross to the south shore, in small boats, to get in the English rear, should there be opportunity. And it is but a few miles from Dunfermline. Keep your 5,000 here, and have all other sent there.”