82 One More river — Copy

‘The Prince pushed for Ximene to spend a few days in our camp. It will mean that they are more accessible to each other… herumph… for discussions.’

John Stanley-5th June 1355

The group came to a halt on the banks of the Ariège, at the base of a cliff below the village of Lacroix-Falgarde. They had been guided by a well-worn path through the woodland to a weir which functioned as a ford.

The Earl talked through a survey of the weir with John and Piers. ‘The water is only three inches deep. Indeed, the water upstream does not look deep either. However, the surface of the weir seems very uneven and all that brushwood piled up at this end of the weir which must have been brought down when the river was high will make the passage difficult. We must get rid of the wood.’

Once again, Jesse Milton danced across the weir, paying out the string as he went. Soon a rope was stretched tight between two sturdy trees either side.

The Earl summoned John. ‘Right, commander. Today you are the axe man; get rid of the wood.’

Clinging to the rope, with one of his axes strapped over his shoulder, John clambered out to the pile of wood and carried out his own survey. He waited until he had a secure foothold clear of the water. He cautiously chopped through one branch at a time. The axes had been sharpened only that morning. The instinctive swinging motion he used sliced through the thicker branches and the axe’s weight enabled John to simply smash through the smaller branches. Suddenly half of the pile lifted, twisted and lunged over the weir, vanishing down the river. John danced around trying to keep his balance.

There was good-natured applause. John looked up and grinned before readjusting his footing. He continued until another large agglomeration of branches broke away. He then tried to adjust his footing once more. His intention was to cut through the middle of the remaining large branch which hung over the weir. Standing on the upstream end of the branch, he hoped to release the downstream end and the cluster of branches trapped by it.

John looked up and saw Piers pointing frantically at the end of the log behind him. He decided to make a few more cuts and then step sideways onto the weir. He didn’t want to fail in the task he had been allocated. He got it only slightly wrong, but it was enough. The log grated off the weir and for a brief moment, John was riding on it. John had time to realise that the river was flowing much faster than he had previously thought before the log, now floating free, turned beneath him. He fell backwards into the river, still clinging to his axe.

The icy water closed over his head. He made a stroke with his free hand and kicked with his legs and expected to rise to the surface, but the axe weighed him down. The axe was a family heirloom, he could not bring himself to release it. He was now on the bed of the river, crawling and scrambling. The force of the river seemed greater as he rolled over and over, still clinging on to his axe. His lungs were bursting. He opened his eyes to see a great pile of pebbles rushing towards him. Clouds of sand obscured his vision.

The strong current swept him sideways, but he just managed to hook his axe over a large stone. He pulled himself in, repeating the manoeuvre several times until he was pinned against the bank of pebbles. He then crawled painfully upwards, finally aided by the current. Suddenly his head broke water. He was on a sandbank in the river nearly two hundred feet from where he had fallen in. He gasped for air and was rewarded with a mouthful of sandy water. He pulled himself further out of the water and sat there heaving and coughing whilst he watched most of the expeditionary force running along the bank towards him.

‘John, John. Are you alright?’ The same call from twenty different voices.

Eventually, he found his voice. ‘No, I am not alright, but I am alive.’

It took hours to rescue John from his predicament and then to cross the river. (Why would it take hours? he was already on a sand bank?)

John was humiliated by his mistake, but many of the men made a point of praising his courage and skill.

Even the Earl seemed pleased but counselled John not to take the fulsome praise too seriously. ‘They are just glad that they did not have to do it.’

It crossed John’s mind as they left the weir, that it had nearly ended there and that if so he would have been unable to fulfil his duty to Ximene Trencavel. Duty? What fanciful nonsense!


They left the banks of the Ariège and, travelling south, reached the peak of a ridge running parallel to the Garonne. From there, just before midday on the sixth of June, they finally saw Muret and the bridge they would use to access the other bank of the river. As they moved towards the bridge, a campsite came into view. John counted five major tents, conical in shape, shining brilliant white, edged in red. Dozens of bivouac tents, of the type that ordinary soldiers and servants might use, surrounded the major tents. Because of its location on a bend of the river, the camp was bordered on two sides by the river.

On the third side, a barricade was marked along its whole length by pennants mounted on pikes. Every white pennant carried the unmistakeable lion rampant of Aquitaine. Just to make sure that no one could mistake the allegiance of the camp, in the very centre was an enormous flag on which the Lion of Aquitaine was at least nine feet tall as the flag rippled in the wind.

John noticed that neither the Prince nor the Earl was particularly surprised. In fact, as the Earl urged his horse to move on, John heard him say to the Prince that Pierre-Raimon de Comminges appeared to have done a good job.

The river was now much narrower than it had been at the start of their journey but ran with considerable force; the race between various small islands creating a sea of foaming undulating water. Though it was a pleasant day, the river had a greyish appearance. It was as if it was a symbolic warning of how even at the height of summer the river was icy cold. This was not a river to cross without assistance.

The bridge at Muret, although not far above the water level was solid and reliable. At the far end of the bridge were the town and the castle. The severity of the man-made structures was softened by an extensive meadow fringed by trees which reached out to higher ground both upstream and downstream of the town walls.

As they turned to make the descent to cross the bridge they saw, on the near side of the river on lower ground and upstream of Muret, a copy of their own camp. Similar conical tents dominated the layout though gold and red took the place of red and white.

‘At least two hundred strong,’ commented the Earl, narrowing an eye. ‘Is that a hunting party?’

Even as he spoke, a column of riders left the camp and wound their way up the hill towards them. The riders were in ceremonial dress, which repeated the colour scheme of the camp, whitest white with trimmings of red and gold. Every rider carried a lance with a red and gold pennant fluttering from its tip.

John saw the Prince glance around his own little troop. They were travel-worn and dirty and in any case had avoided finery to avoid attracting attention. Embarrassment showed clearly on the Prince’s face. As the column drew nearer John heard the Prince swear under his breath. ‘The Comte de Foix himself coming to meet us, I did not want him to see us like this.’

He pulled himself upright in his saddle, forced a smile and urging his horse forwards, held out his hand ‘Gaston, good to see you again.’ The two men manoeuvred their horses alongside each other and shook hands.’ John was amazed to see that Gaston, Comte de Foix was a very young man.

Gaston and the Prince rode about fifty feet away for a private discussion. The Prince returned, looking a little easier. After a hurried conversation with the Earl, the Prince led the whole force as it wound its way down to the bridge, across the river and ascended the other side. Instead of entering the town they turned to the right, downstream, to their own camp.


Once they were within the bounds of the camp the Earl called John and Piers over. ‘Well, that did not go too well. The Prince was absolutely furious at the way the Gaston Phoebus stole the ascendancy at the first meeting. Incidentally, he was also furious that Gaston, who owes allegiance to him for his lands in Bearn, routinely treats him as an equal. The Earl’s voice was suddenly crisp. ‘But that is not really what I want to address. The Prince pushed for Ximene to spend a few days in our camp. It will mean that they are more accessible to each other… herumph… for discussions.’

‘The Prince is determined that she should be entertained royally. He has agreed however that for propriety it is essential she has a chaperone. The obvious choice is her grandmother, Lady Eleanor, who is already the Prince’s guest at his castle at Beaufort, only three leagues from here.’ He stopped and looked them up and down. They were as dishevelled as anyone else in their little troop. ‘By all means, refresh yourselves by bathing in the river but within the hour I want you in your uniform, ready to accompany me to Beaufort to escort Lady Eleanor back to our camp.’


John looked with satisfaction at the pennant fluttering from his lance. He rose in the saddle and turned to look at the riders behind them. He turned and smiled at Piers who was riding beside him. ‘This is more like it,’ he said. ‘For the first time I feel like a royal guard.’

Piers raised one eyebrow​w. ‘And who knows where that will take us. Responsibility​ is always accompanied by challenges.’

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.