Blackstone brought his captains together. The ground they would fight on was a crescent-shaped riverbank stretching five hundred yards from the bridge to the cliffs at their backs. Each flank was closed by a rock face that tumbled down onto the water’s edge. The shallows in parts of the river were the most dangerous places for their enemy to storm across and it was there, once the routiers discovered the shallower water, that the archers had to kill as many of their attackers as possible. Once the assault across the bridge had been stopped then du Guesclin’s men would have no choice but to attempt a river crossing. Meulon would hold the right flank, William Ashford the left. Between each of the men-at-arms, left and right, Will Longdon and Jack Halfpenny would sawtooth their archers. Blackstone scratched out the positions in the soft ground. He would position himself as the point of an arrowhead formation with Killbere and John Jacob at his shoulder.

‘We’re losing Sayyid al-Hakam and his men. They’re going to cross the river to fight,’ he told them.

‘They’ll kill a few hundred but not enough,’ said William Ashford.

‘And we’ll hold our ground and stop the French at the top of the riverbank,’ Blackstone said, pointing out the key areas along the river for his men to make their stand ‘They’ll breach our lines eventually. When they do we fall back across the horse traps we’ve dug.’ He drew lines showing how the archers should withdraw to the cliff face while the men-at-arms formed a shield wall.

‘They’ll batter us down, Thomas,’ said Killbere.

‘Not before we make them bleed,’ said Blackstone. ‘Will, Jack, when you and your lads are down to half your arrows, use slings to buy time so we withdraw from the flanks. Then get behind us, form up and wait for my command. Once we’re hard pressed we lower shields and you shoot.’

Will Longdon ground a finger in his ear, examined the congealed wax and wiped it on his hose. ‘A half-dozen arrows is all each man will have left so we’ll kill the first few ranks but they’ll swarm over the bodies.’

‘The dead will form a stumbling block, and those that live will be more exhausted than us. They’ll have had to run several hundred yards, get across the river, up the bank and then stumble across their own dead.’

‘And then?’ said Renfred. ‘If any of us survive?’

Killbere hawked and spat. ‘Then we get as many of those who are still alive up the track and away, rejoin Don Pedro and reach the coast.’

It was a grim outlook for Blackstone’s men but fighting against overwhelming odds added strength to a man’s sword arm.

*