‘No,’ I said sharply, grabbing Ithel’s shoulder and forcing him to turn and face me. ‘Listen to me.’
In an instant he had twisted free. ‘Take your hands—’
‘Shut up and listen,’ I interrupted him. ‘If we’re to succeed and see this day through, I need you and your men to stay with me.’ Desperately I met Maredudd’s eyes. Being the older of the two, I thought he would be more likely to see reason. ‘Surely you understand this?’
‘Lord,’ said Serlo. He was pointing upriver to the south, from where the party of foot-warriors that the enemy had sent to cut off our escape was beginning to march, looking to bring their weapons to bear. And then I glimpsed cloth flying, with what looked like a crude depiction of a boar being speared embroidered upon it.
‘That’s Wild Eadric’s flag,’ said Maredudd. ‘I have seen it before.’
To whom it belonged to hardly mattered, although I confess that upon hearing those words a shiver ran through me. If we did not ride soon, Earl Hugues and his men would quickly find themselves overwhelmed and all would be lost.
‘I want your oaths that you’ll stay with the rest of us,’ I said to the two princes.
His expression a mixture of anger and disbelief, Ithel stared at me. ‘You want us, the sons of Gruffydd, the rightful kings of Wales, to give you our oaths?’
‘I want you both to swear it.’
They exchanged words in their own tongue that I could not understand. Maredudd placed his hands on his brother’s shoulders, trying to calm him down, but Ithel shook him off, pointing a finger angrily at me. His cheeks even redder than usual, he uttered a series of short words that I could only guess were curses, but then the elder one’s tone grew sharper and Ithel, shaking his head, backed down.
‘We swear it,’ Maredudd said solemnly, and Ithel shrugged. Whether that was meant as defiance or as grudging agreement I couldn’t be sure, though it seemed that was the best I was likely to get from him. I only hoped he would not do anything foolish. He seemed a dependable enough warrior, a better swordsman than most from what I’d seen, and certainly he was eager. Still, all that would count for nothing if he lacked the temperament to match: if he allowed his desire for revenge to get the better of him.
‘Remember who’s beside you,’ I added, calling this time to my knights as well as to Maredudd and Ithel, who in their own tongue repeated what I hoped were the same orders to the mounted men of their teulu. ‘Don’t lose sight of them. They will protect your flanks as you protect theirs. Keep formation and above all stay together!’
I exchanged a final look with Serlo and Pons, then glanced further down the line to Eudo and Wace. Their eyes were fixed, unwavering, on the enemy masses gathered under the twin lion banners, possibly picturing what they would do when we met their lines, rehearsing in their minds the slash and drive and cut of their sword-arms. Then Eudo crossed himself, something I rarely saw him do before battle, and suddenly knowing his fear made me more nervous too.
Trying to rid myself of such doubts, I wheeled about, freeing my sword from its sheath and pointing it towards the heavens. ‘For St Ouen and for God; on, on, on!’
‘Cymry,’ I heard the princes shout, and the cry was taken up by their retainers: ‘Cymry, Cymry!’
With that I dug my heels into Nihtfeax’s flanks and drove him into a canter. Our fates were no longer in our hands but those of God, and I prayed that He would see us safely through.
Often in battle there are times when instinct takes over and it is a struggle afterwards to recall exactly what happened, and this was one of those times. I remember the foul smell of the fresh-spilt guts rising from the bodies strewn across the meadows, the burning in my chest as I took each breath, the cold wind piercing my mail and my tunic, the feel of the rain, iron-hard, striking my cheek, the stinging as the water mixed with the sweat upon my brow and ran into my eyes, the thunder of hooves, the blood-stained grass flying beneath us as we broke into a gallop. Not far off to our right hand I glimpsed the black-and-gold banner belonging to Lord Robert, and for some reason that sight filled me with renewed confidence.