CHAPTER XXIX THE GOLDEN SPURS
That night the victorious troops spent in possession of the captured castle. Sir Oliver and Sir Thomas Carberry were brought within the fortress, and every possible care was bestowed upon the disabled leaders.
Sir Oliver's wound, though not dangerous, would prevent his taking the field for many weeks to come, while the Constable of Portchester's condition gave cause for great anxiety. It was, therefore, decided to remove the two knights and the two score and nine wounded soldiers to the Castle of Taillemartel, that had long since been occupied by the English invaders.
Accordingly this was done, and the helpless men were sent thither in wains under a suitable guard; the Castle of Malevereux was thoroughly plundered, and afterwards given to the flames; and the Irish kernes, each man with a goodly bundle of loot thrown across his wiry steed, rode off to find fresh openings for their activity.
Mustering his scanty force, Geoffrey gave the word to march, and with eight wagons, piled high with booty, the column set off towards the King's camp before Rouen, leaving a tall pillar of smoke in their rear as a token that their mission was accomplished, and that the accursed pile of Malevereux would no more be a terror to the countryside.
Without interruption the two companies arrived at Pont de l'Arche, where Geoffrey handed over the spoil to the custody of the keeper of warlike stores. This done, the march was resumed towards their quarters on the left bank of the Seine.
At a bend in the road Geoffrey perceived a large body of horsemen riding towards him. Knowing not whether they were friend or foe, since straggling parties of Frenchmen frequently assailed the English outposts, the squire ordered his men-at-arms to dismount and the archers to make ready.
"Canst discern their banners?" he asked of Oswald, who was riding at his left.
"Nay, the sun is behind them," replied Sir Oliver's squire. "Yet, for their numbers there is no lack of standards and banners."
As he spoke a horseman was observed to leave his party and ride rapidly in the direction of the Hampshire men.
"Hold!" he shouted, when he came within hailing distance. "Who and what are ye?"
"We are of the companies of Sir Oliver Lysle and of Sir Thomas Carberry," replied Oswald, "and are for the camp before Rouen, having completed some small enterprise at the Castle of Malevereux."
"Then why are not the banners of these two gentle knights displayed?" returned the horseman. "But delay thine explanations: yonder is none other than King Henry. To him thou must needs give account of thyself."
With fast-beating heart and rising colour, Geoffrey ordered his men to redress their ranks, and with Oswald at his side, and Gripwell, bearing the furled banner of Malevereux, close behind him, the young leader rode to meet his royal master.
The King had that morning made a circuit of the entrenchments, and accompanied by the Dukes of Exeter, Gloucester, and Clarence, and a galaxy of gaily attired nobles and clerics—amongst the latter being the warlike Cardinal Beaufort—was on the point of returning to his quarters when the sight of a column of armed men marching from the direction of Malevereux arrested his attention.
"By my halidom!" exclaimed the King. "We would know why yon body of soldiers should approach our lines without displaying the banner of the knight in command. 'Tis contrary to our express orders. Therefore, Sir Gilbert, ride over and ask their leader why our commands are disregarded. Bid them also approach, so that we may see what manner of men they are."
"From Malevereux!" exclaimed Henry on the return of his messenger. "Then Sir Oliver hath failed to carry out our commands? Dare he return with defeat written broad upon his features?"
Impatiently the King awaited the approach of the leader of the expedition, the absence of the knight's banner having misled him as to the issue of the enterprise.
"Where is Sir Oliver Lysle?" he demanded.
"Sire, he hath been wounded and hath been left at the Castle of Taillemartel, as also hath Sir Thomas Carberry," replied Geoffrey.
"And the rebel Sir Denis of Malevereux: hath he been hanged on the battlements of his own castle, according to our commands?"
"Nay, Sire——"
"Then thou hast ventured to return hither branded with the unpardonable disgrace of defeat?"
"Sire," replied Geoffrey, pointing to the captured standard that Arnold Gripwell had unfurled, "Sir Denis is dead, slain by his own act, ere we could work thy will upon him. We were, by the grace of God, able to carry the castle after one repulse." And in a few words the squire gave a plain account of what had occurred during the expedition, modestly omitting the gallant part he had played in the final assault.
"Thy name, squire?" demanded the King, and Geoffrey gave it.
"By our Lady! Thou art the same that served us right well at Southampton, and again on the eve of our victory at Agincourt, though at the end of that thou didst wellnigh place thy neck in a halter. By the soul of my father we have a good memory for such matters. Now, return to thy company, young sir. Sir Gilbert, bring before us the two squires whom we perceive stand at the head of the column."
The King listened attentively to Oswald's version of the capture of Malevereux, the squire mentioning several details that Geoffrey had purposely omitted, while young Talbot stoutly praised Geoffrey's bravery in rallying the discomfited stormers at the termination of the first onslaught.
"Then 'tis to Squire Lysle that the credit of the successful assault is due?" remarked Henry. "Are we to understand that both Sir Oliver and the Constable of Portchester were sore hurt before the second attempt was made? And is this the reason why their banners are not displayed?"
"Such is the case, Sire," replied Oswald.
Once again Geoffrey was called before his sovereign, while the men-at-arms and archers were formed up in a double line twenty paces from where the King and his retinue were standing.
"Geoffrey Lysle, squire to that right worthy knight, Sir Thomas Carberry," began the King, "it hath been our pleasure to receive from the hand of thy master no slight account of thy deeds and thy devotion to duty in times past. Moreover, under divers circumstances, we ourselves have witnessed thy courage on the field of battle.
"Concerning this latter we are judging by the outward appearance, which, as we know to our cost, is apt to be deceptive. E'en the sweetest flower may harbour a vile worm gnawing at its stalk unperceived; a brave coat of mail may conceal a craven heart, a closed visor a face graven with treachery. Yet, on the other hand, Sir Thomas hath had ample opportunities to study thee at the festive board, in the camp, and in the hour of peril. Courage alone counteth for little; yet, when consorting with loyalty, truthfulness, and humanity, 'tis a fitting quality for a knight.
"Thou hast found thyself in petty disgrace ere now, young squire, yet for this we must make due allowance withal. By our Lady, we can call to mind divers misdeeds committed in our youth, the which our enemies have thought fit to make much of. Hence we can lightly pass over thy transgressions and reward thy good and gallant deeds in the past." Then turning to Sir Gilbert the King asked for his sword.
"Kneel, young sir."
With bowed head and overflowing heart Geoffrey sank on his knee. The long-hoped-for guerdon was his.
"Arise, Sir Geoffrey Lysle!" exclaimed the King in a ringing voice, bringing the blade lightly down upon the young warrior's shoulder.
Amid loud shouts of delight and redoubled cries of "Long live the King!" Geoffrey arose, and, with more words of good cheer and advice, Henry re-mounted his charger, and accompanied by his suite resumed his way to the camp.
With the passing of Geoffrey Lysle the Squire our story draws to a close.
It remains to be said that the newly-made knight bore himself right valiantly throughout the long-drawn siege of Rouen and the stern conflict before Pontoise, adding to his laurels in a manner worthy of a man whom the King had delighted to honour.
After the Perpetual Treaty of Troyes, Geoffrey followed the example of his royal master, and took unto himself a wife from the Land of the Fleurs de Lys, the fair bride being Aimée, daughter of the chivalrous Raoul d'Aulx.
Oft-times did Sir Geoffrey Lysle cross the Channel under the banner of England, and, in the dark pages of history relating to the undoing of all that King Henry V had achieved, his deeds, together with those of numerous warriors, both of high and low degree, serve to show that in the hour of defeat the spirit of the English nation can still remain undaunted.
Oswald Steyning, too, won his spurs, by a signal act of devoted gallantry at Verneuil. Throughout the long-drawn contest for the possession of the realm of France the two knights maintained the bond of friendship cemented in their early days, and on their retirement from service in the field no joust or spear-running held in the counties of Hampshire and Sussex was considered a success unless honoured by the presence of the veteran knights, Sir Geoffrey Lysle and Sir Oswald Steyning.
The valiant old man-at-arms, Arnold Gripwell, settled down to a quiet life upon his freehold farm purchased by the hard-earned spoils of the field of battle. But his martial instincts oft reasserted themselves, especially when, surrounded by an eager crowd of boys—the future guardians of the sea-girt realm of England—he would relate the story of how the young Squire of Warblington won his spurs in the glorious days of Agincourt.
THE END
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