The sombre look on de Grailly’s face was enough acknowledgement of the truth. ‘I will see you in Paris, Thomas.’ He wheeled the horse and spurred it into a canter. Beyard remained a moment longer, nodded his farewell and understanding to Blackstone.

‘Beyard,’ said Blackstone, arresting the Gascon’s departure. ‘Do not die for a worthless cause. Remember what I said.’

‘I will, Sir Thomas, and am glad of it. But I fight at his side as I fought at yours. The rest is out of my hands. It is what it is.’ He yanked the reins and followed his sworn lord.

‘Goddammit, Thomas, I hate to see as courageous a fighter as Beyard ride into another man’s self-made hell,’ said Killbere. ‘I’m pleased you said what you did but Chandos will be grinding what’s left of his teeth when we arrive late.’

‘Arriving in good time only serves a purpose when a battle is to be fought, arriving late for another month sitting in a cold castle listening to old knights bleating about past glory is a fate worse than death. I wish we were with Beyard and de Grailly. We’ll stay at Alençon as long as we can.’

CHAPTER FIVE

Sir John Chandos had stopped routiers raiding across the north by directing them to Navarre’s cause and denying them to the French. It was a tribute to de Grailly’s reputation that various bands of English, Gascons, Spanish and Germans gathered at Évreux under his command. Two thousand horsemen followed the Captal de Buch east towards Vernon and the bridge across the Seine. It was then that a messenger arrived and told him that Navarre’s sister had surrendered the town and the bridge to the French forces and that they had been encamped and ready to fight for days. Before they could reach the River Seine, a smaller river, the Eure at the hamlet of Cocherel, had to be crossed. The French guarded that crossing, determined to halt all attempts at reaching the main bridge at Vernon. It was smaller and easier to defend. The news took a darker turn when de Grailly learnt there were Gascons under contract to the Dauphin on the side of the French.

Beyard saw de Grailly’s dismay at fighting his own countrymen. ‘My lord, there are men we know ready to face us,’ said Beyard. ‘We will not be able to distinguish friend from foe. Let’s turn back. We must find another way across the Seine. Blackstone will help us.’

De Grailly shook his head. ‘I will lose these men who have joined us for booty and plunder. We must take the bridge. It’s the only way.’

Later that day, when they crested a hill at Cocherel, they saw the French army already in position.