Will Longdon was as good a hunter as Blackstone and the stocky bowman led the men behind him unerringly through the forest, using narrow, twisting animal tracks. By the time they reached the edge of the forest, dusk was settling across the open ground. Four hundred yards across the undulating grassland, the forest opposite became darker as the light faded. Crows and rooks squabbled before settling to roost for the night. Blackstone and the men squatted beneath their own canopy and let their eyes settle on the distance, watching for any movement in the far trees. Further along the valley, nervous deer ventured out of the woodland to graze on the sweet, dew-covered grass.

‘If we make a run across, those deer will bolt, and if de Hayle’s men are close by then we’ve lost any surprise we might have,’ said Blackstone. They were still downwind from the trees across the open ground but he kept his voice low. Sound travelled a long way in the stillness.

‘Let’s wait until dark. Their fires will show up,’ said one archer.

‘No. We’ll get lost in those trees. We need to move before they settle for the night,’ murmured Will Longdon.

‘We don’t know how dense it is in there. We’ll get entangled and then we’re the ones fighting for our lives,’ said Blackstone, his voice still a whisper.

The men remained motionless, patiently waiting for the deer to move on. A belly roar startled the crows from their roost as a stag pushed through the undergrowth and trotted towards his harem. The hinds ran as one and then settled again fifty yards on as the stag went among them, sniffing for those hinds in season.

‘Now’s a good time to get across,’ said one of the men.

John Jacob put a restraining arm out in case the man raised himself. ‘Wait. Look there. See him, Sir Thomas?’

One of de Hayle’s men stepped into the clearing, sword in hand, looking up and down the open expanse. The crows cawed and fought before settling again. The man studied the treeline, and then watched as the stag mounted a hind. He appeared to be satisfied that the stag and his herd had disturbed the birds rather than any human intruders.

‘Now we know where they are,’ said Blackstone. ‘The moment he’s out of sight we run. Will, make your way down to the end of the woodland. Bring down anyone escaping and kill any horses that bolt without a rider or they’ll make their way back to de Hayle’s camp and he’ll know his men are dead. Then he’ll send even more to seek us out. Ready?’ Blackstone lunged into the open ground with John Jacob and the men-at-arms at his heels. Will Longdon slipped away into the trees to take up his cut-off position with the archers.