Garland of Straw (Roundheads & Cavaliers Book 2) by Riley Stella

Author:Riley, Stella [Riley, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2013-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

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THE RISING TIDE

August to December, 1648

I conceive the heavens were offended with us for our offence committed to one another for, from Mayday till the 15th of September, we had scarce three dry days together. Men make an ill-shift with their wheat … the vales stand knee deep in water and, with the current, much corn is carried away and the hay-cocks swimming up and down.

Sir John Oglander

ONE

By the time the Northern Army settled down at Barnard Castle in the latter part of July, Colonel Brandon and Major Maxwell agreed that they were heartily sick of hot-footing it around the remoter parts of the Kingdom, through the rain and mud and would be glad to see some real action. Certainly, unless one counted a few skirmishes with Sir Marmaduke Langdale’s outposts, there had been precious little of it before the Scots crossed the border – or even, as things had turned out, since. It was just a constant game of retreat, wait and retreat again.

The problem, of course, was one of numbers. With detachments tied up in Northumberland and others besieging Pontefract [which the Royalists had seized sneakily, by sending in an advance-party disguised as peasants], Major-General Lambert was left with only four and a half thousand men to face the coming invasion. And the Duke of Hamilton, having entered England with an army of roughly ten thousand, had since combined with Sir Marmaduke Langdale’s three thousand Cavaliers. Of course, numbers weren’t everything – and every report Lambert received on the condition of the Royalist forces spoke of raw Scottish recruits, a lack of the most basic supplies and no artillery at all. On the other hand, when the odds were three to one in the enemy’s favour, a little caution was undoubtedly called for.

Although Gabriel understood this perfectly well, it didn’t make the next two weeks any easier After politely inviting Lambert to surrender and receiving an equally polite refusal, Hamilton had marched south on July 8th to join Langdale at Carlisle while Lambert kept a watchful eye on them from Penrith. A week later, the Royalists advanced towards Penrith and, after a small skirmish, Lambert withdrew his forces to Appleby. Here, Colonel Brandon spent his thirty-fifth birthday indulging in a little hand-to-hand combat when the Scots’ advance guard made the mistake of overtaking them. Then, just as Gabriel was beginning to enjoy himself, Lambert ordered a further retreat to Barnard Castle.

There were two excellent reasons for this. The first was that Hamilton’s line of march led Lambert to believe that he intended to cross into the West Riding of Yorkshire by way of Brough and the Stainmore Pass – a move which Lambert hoped to prevent by placing himself squarely in the way; the second was that Cromwell, having finally succeeded in taking Pembroke, had despatched his own 10th Horse northwards to reinforce Lambert while he himself followed on more slowly with the Foot. And Barnard Castle was as good a place to rendezvous with the expected cavalry as it undoubtedly was to stop the Scots.

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