Claim Forfeit , livre ebook

CLAIM FORFEIT
Further tales of Black Simon of Norwich
from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The White Company
Dana Cavicke




First published in 2019 by
AG Books
www.agbooks.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2019 Dana Cavicke
The right of Dana Cavicke to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.



Prologue
The Posthumous Conference of Knighthood Upon Black Simon of Norwich by Nigel Loring
In the courtyard of Twynham Castle, Sir Nigel Loring did address the proud and weary remainder of White Company a September morning 1347...
“For those here assembled who were unfortunate not to be amongst those of the White Company that fair day when the chivalry of Spain along with a fierce host of gallant Bretons and the fiery monkish knights of Santiago hurled their might upon us in that rugged Calabrian valley, what ensued was a most noble struggle that saw the pennons of the five scarlet roses and the Black Leopard surging against one another upon those fated slopes. As the swaying turmoil ebbed and turned, never hath I witnessed an encounter so evenly sustained. Many of our company who fell that day are well deserving of tribute, yet today we pay particular homage to the captain of my men-at-arms, Simon of Norwich, who died upon those fields as he would have wished, like a grim old wolf fallen in his lair surrounded by his slain.
Recalling my first small venture with Black Simon, it involved our pursuit of the Red Ferret aboard La Pucelle out of the Cinque Ports. We gave chase with the Maria Rose mastered by Warden Cock Badding and by Saint Paul a most worthy endeavour it proved to be. Once our group of five had gained the deck of La Pucelle, I beheld immediately the poise and vigour of Black Simon’s battle art. He felled the French Captain and was at the same instant laid low with a ferocious blow to the skull. I was squire to the noble John Chandos at the time and at the completion of the small affair I knew that if ever I could prove worthy enough to command a legion into the field of battle, Black Simon of Norwich would captain my men-at-arms.
I do not at all mean to suggest that Simon’s rough and ruthless mishandling of his enemies to be his sole attribute. For no men could ever claim a more trusted, true and faithful comrade in time of need then he. All credit for envisaging the singular and noble plan, the culmination of which freed my squire Samkin Aylward and nineteen others from the Butcher of Castle La Brohiniere is due Black Simon. He came to me at my hour of deepest despair, I having failed to take the gate of the fortress had brought dishonour upon myself and shame upon my master Chandos. The deserved wrath dealt me by the good Sir Robert Knowles sickened by heart. I had sunken to deepest depth my mind body and soul had ere visited.
Simon and Aylward had by this time become fast comrades having had recently embarked upon a small side venture upon the Island of Sark (the conclusion of which Sir Robert to me later mused). It came to Simon’s mind that should La Brohiniere fortress be directly breached, the result would be certain death to all imprisoned within. He had noted in his observations of the Castle and the separate watchtower a particular sentry of distinctive flaxen features appearing at different times over the battlements of each structure. He concluded that these separate sightings could only be explained by the existence of some subterranean passageway, and the gaining of this passageway might prove a means by which to secretly breach the Castle and the watchtower thus providing us some small hope of rescue of our captive comrades. I tell you my heart leapt at the notion and I recall noting that no matter the outcome, this man had given me the gift of hope in my hour of desolation. I am forever indebted to Black Simon for conceiving this plan the successful culmination of which led to my redemption in spirit with Sir Robert Knowles, and was the means by which I was able to send a second message to the Lady Mary at Cosford that Saint Catherine had once again smiled favourably upon us.
Many a time thereafter, how joy-filled was my heart to behold that swarthy Norwich fighting man at the front of our company, his deep-lined features framed in steel, donned with the silk guidon with the five scarlet roses of the House of Loring. How my spirit did soar as we witnessed Black Simon hoisting our pennon above the Yellow Cog as we gave chase to Tête Noir. All who have beheld the nature of this man have known him to be kind and gentle to the weak whilst fearsome and ruthless to the wicked. Loved by his friends, feared by his enemies, he touched the lives of all he encountered bringing the greatest joy and hope to his comrades and eternal woe to his foes. He loved all things in our world that are just and true and abhorred all that we hold evil and false.
It is my honour therefore, old wardog, Black Simon of Norwich, to proclaim you on this day of our Lord the year 1347 before all here gathered to be Knight of the Realm of our Sovereign Liege Edward III.



Part 1
How His Heart Darkened
By 1339, in the fifty-odd years since the coastal port of Winchelsea had been relocated inland into the River Brede Estuary (a move necessitated by a series of destructive gales), the town had flourished and enjoyed great prosperity. This prosperity was largely a result of the Crown’s recognition of the strategic importance of Winchelsea and the surrounding maritime ports; so as decreed by Royal Charter, the Cinque Ports were exempt from taxation in exchange for the maintenance of fifty-seven ships ready at hand to be used at the realms’ discretion.
During times of peace, a steady rise in channel pirate activities arose in the Cinque Ports, for while the crown did not sanction such activities, in wartime these same Pirates comprised much of the Royal Navy engaged in legitimized privateering. Robert Alard was a man intimately familiar with the organization and maintenance of a lucrative piracy and privateering trade. The noble and renowned Alard family had for centuries profited greatly through both legitimate and less than legitimate maritime plundering with Winchelsea as their base of operations. Robert Alard was not just the leading political figure in Winchelsea, he was the crucible that fuelled all the maritime commerce and military activity of the region. He knew his ships and their specific capabilities, as he knew the capabilities of the men he chose to captain them. He knew the shipwrights, carpenters and blacksmiths who maintained and repaired his ships. He chose the most experienced sailors to crew his vessels. He knew the knights and their squires as well as their horses (for whom he insisted upon maintaining the finest stables), and the armourers who would equip them for battle. He knew the archers and the men-at-arms whom the knights preferred. And while Alard prided himself on having a keen eye for the special skills and qualities needed in men engaged in such a volatile enterprise, he knew it to be as important to know their weaknesses, their vulnerabilities, their fears. So it came to be known that to gain the eye and favour of Robert Alard was no small feat, one needed to demonstrate a real capacity in ones chosen vocation. He also felt it crucial that those in his employ endeavour to continue to improve their skills rather than resting upon their laurels so to speak. In no groups did he feel this discipline more important than the archers and the men-at-arms, both widely repudiated as being a most unruly lot. So when not actively engaged at sea, the archers and the men-at-arms were expected to muster daily to practice and hone their respected crafts. Once monthly at these gatherings potential new recruits would be brought in for evaluation; their skills scrutinized in a series of drills and exercises referred to as ‘The Trials’.
Wat of Carlysle, the veteran bowman, oversaw the trials over the fledgling archer candidates, while Walter Manny marshalled the trials for the hopeful men-at-arms. Candidates for the trials required noteworthy recommendation of admirable military service to be admitted for consideration and such were the men-at-arms present at the Winchelsea trials of April 1339. Thomas Pike and Neville Kip of Dover had seen extensive service in the Scottish border skirmishes under their knight Francois Le Cru who had vouched strongly to Alard as to their strength and valour. Alard had also on this today allowed a third candidate into the trials of the men-at-arms, a man who lacked the experience of battle generally deemed necessary for consideration. This exception had been granted on the strength of the letter presented to Alard by the young man penned by a knight of considerable renown, Sir William Erpingham which read:
“To Robert Alard, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports;
I am writing to introduce you to the bearer of this letter, one Simon of Norwich, a man I have known since his youth who hails from strong Saxon stock. His father was a gifted bladesmith who forged the weaponry with whic