hands down on Thomas’s shoulders and shook him fiercely. “Then play no games!” he shouted.
That surge of temper ended as quickly as it had arrived, and the shaking stopped.
Thomas took a breath. “This is no game.” He looked past Kenneth of Carlisle at the others nearby on their horses. They stared back with puzzled frowns.
“I am here to present you with a decision,” Thomas continued again to the bearded man. “One you must consider before returning to your horse.”
“I shall humor you.” Kenneth of Carlisle folded his arms and waited.
“Firstly,” Thomas said, “did you believe our army was at full strength?”
After a moment of consideration, the Scottish earl replied, “Certainly not. Our scouts brought daily reports of cowards fleeing your army. The deserters we captured all told us the same thing. Your entire army feared battle against us. We saw proof nightly. Your—”
“Campfires,” Thomas interrupted. “Each night you saw fewer and fewer campfires. Obvious evidence of an army that shrunk each day, until last night when you may have calculated we had less than a thousand men remaining.”
Kenneth of Carlisle laughed. “So few men we wondered if it would be worth our while to make this short detour for battle.”
“It was the Earl of York’s wish,” Thomas said. He risked a quick look at the tops of the hills, then hid a smile of satisfaction.
“Eh? The Earl of York’s wish?”
“Again, with much due respect, m’lord.” Thomas swept his arm wide to indicate the valley. “Did it not seem too easy? A crippled army quietly camped in a valley with no means of escape?”
Momentary doubt crossed the man’s face.
Thomas pressed on. “The deserters you caught had left our army by the Earl of York’s command. Each man had instructions to report great fear among the men left behind. We reduced the campfires to give the impression of mass desertion. While our fires are few, our men remain many.”
The news startled Kenneth of Carlisle enough for him to flinch.
“Furthermore,” Thomas said, “none of those men are here in the valley. Each tent is empty. In the dark of night, all crept away.”
Five more heartbeats of silence.
“Impossible,” blurted Kenneth of Carlisle. But the white that replaced the red of flushed skin above his beard showed that the man suddenly considered it very possible, and did not like the implications.
Thomas kept his voice calm. “By now”—Thomas resisted the urge to look and reconfirm what he already knew—“those men have reached their new positions. They block the exits at both ends of this valley and line the tops of the surrounding hills.”
“Impossible.” This time, his tone of voice was weaker.
“Impossible, m’lord? Survey the hills.”
This was the most important moment of the battle. Would the huge man be stunned at their desperate bluff?
What he and Thomas saw from the valley floor seemed awesome. Stretched across the entire line of the tops of the hills, on each side of the valley, men were stepping into sight in full battle gear. From the viewpoint below, those men were simply dark figures, made small by distance. But the line was solid in both directions and advancing downward slowly.
The Earl of York had timed it perfectly.
“Impossible,” Kenneth of Carlisle said for the third time. There was, however, no doubt in his voice. Murmuring rose from around them as others noticed the movement. Soon word had spread throughout the entire army. Men started shifting nervously.
“The Earl of York’s army will not advance farther,” Thomas promised. “Not unless they have reason.”
Thomas also knew if the Earl of York’s army moved any closer, the thinness of the advancing line would soon become obvious. The row was only two warriors deep—as many as possible had been sent away from the line to block the escapes at both ends of the valley.
“We shall give them reason,” Kenneth of Carlisle swore intensely as he
That surge of temper ended as quickly as it had arrived, and the shaking stopped.
Thomas took a breath. “This is no game.” He looked past Kenneth of Carlisle at the others nearby on their horses. They stared back with puzzled frowns.
“I am here to present you with a decision,” Thomas continued again to the bearded man. “One you must consider before returning to your horse.”
“I shall humor you.” Kenneth of Carlisle folded his arms and waited.
“Firstly,” Thomas said, “did you believe our army was at full strength?”
After a moment of consideration, the Scottish earl replied, “Certainly not. Our scouts brought daily reports of cowards fleeing your army. The deserters we captured all told us the same thing. Your entire army feared battle against us. We saw proof nightly. Your—”
“Campfires,” Thomas interrupted. “Each night you saw fewer and fewer campfires. Obvious evidence of an army that shrunk each day, until last night when you may have calculated we had less than a thousand men remaining.”
Kenneth of Carlisle laughed. “So few men we wondered if it would be worth our while to make this short detour for battle.”
“It was the Earl of York’s wish,” Thomas said. He risked a quick look at the tops of the hills, then hid a smile of satisfaction.
“Eh? The Earl of York’s wish?”
“Again, with much due respect, m’lord.” Thomas swept his arm wide to indicate the valley. “Did it not seem too easy? A crippled army quietly camped in a valley with no means of escape?”
Momentary doubt crossed the man’s face.
Thomas pressed on. “The deserters you caught had left our army by the Earl of York’s command. Each man had instructions to report great fear among the men left behind. We reduced the campfires to give the impression of mass desertion. While our fires are few, our men remain many.”
The news startled Kenneth of Carlisle enough for him to flinch.
“Furthermore,” Thomas said, “none of those men are here in the valley. Each tent is empty. In the dark of night, all crept away.”
Five more heartbeats of silence.
“Impossible,” blurted Kenneth of Carlisle. But the white that replaced the red of flushed skin above his beard showed that the man suddenly considered it very possible, and did not like the implications.
Thomas kept his voice calm. “By now”—Thomas resisted the urge to look and reconfirm what he already knew—“those men have reached their new positions. They block the exits at both ends of this valley and line the tops of the surrounding hills.”
“Impossible.” This time, his tone of voice was weaker.
“Impossible, m’lord? Survey the hills.”
This was the most important moment of the battle. Would the huge man be stunned at their desperate bluff?
What he and Thomas saw from the valley floor seemed awesome. Stretched across the entire line of the tops of the hills, on each side of the valley, men were stepping into sight in full battle gear. From the viewpoint below, those men were simply dark figures, made small by distance. But the line was solid in both directions and advancing downward slowly.
The Earl of York had timed it perfectly.
“Impossible,” Kenneth of Carlisle said for the third time. There was, however, no doubt in his voice. Murmuring rose from around them as others noticed the movement. Soon word had spread throughout the entire army. Men started shifting nervously.
“The Earl of York’s army will not advance farther,” Thomas promised. “Not unless they have reason.”
Thomas also knew if the Earl of York’s army moved any closer, the thinness of the advancing line would soon become obvious. The row was only two warriors deep—as many as possible had been sent away from the line to block the escapes at both ends of the valley.
“We shall give them reason,” Kenneth of Carlisle swore intensely as he
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