Gaise told Galliott and Pearce his plan of attack. They would strike the enemy on the road a mile south of Shelding, where it dipped into the woods. There would be good cover on both sides. Galliott would take two hundred men and take to the western woods, Gaise would attack from the eastern side. Able Pearce would have a hundred men in reserve, and swing out to the south, coming in either against the enemy rear, or facing them as they fled.
‘Questions?’ asked Gaise.
‘Macy has over a thousand Lancers,’ said Pearce. ‘They’ll be well strung out. That section of wooded road you speak of is only around six hundred yards long at the dip. It’s likely there’ll still be several hundred men yet to reach it when you attack.’
‘True. However, Macy and his senior officers will be with the lead column. We hit them first and the rest will be leaderless when you come in from the rear.’
‘Won’t be able to completely close the trap, sir,’ observed Galliott. ‘Once we’re in among them they’ll be able to flee back up the slopes and away to the south, past Able and his men.’
‘That’s what I want. Once they are in full retreat, with no senior officers, they will pose no threat to us. Once that is achieved we ride back to relieve Mulgrave and the others.’
‘We are going to take heavy losses,’ said Able. ‘The Second are fine fighters. They’ll not break easy. We’ll have wounded, and, once we are on the run, no surgeons and no hospital tents.’
‘Aye, it is grim, lads. No denying it. But we’ll hit them hard and fast. Hew, find a rider to scout ahead. Tell him to avoid being seen. It would be best if he wore a heavy coat over his tunic, just in case.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Galliott did not immediately turn away, and Gaise saw he looked troubled.
‘What is it, Hew?’
‘I don’t get it, sir. Why would they want to kill us all?’
‘I don’t pretend to understand the workings of the evil mind,’ said Gaise. ‘Lord Winterbourne has twice tried to have me killed. I know not why. Now he has decided to achieve that murder by slaughtering the Eldacre Company. One day, if the Source is willing, I may have the opportunity of asking him the cause of his hatred.’
‘He’s a Redeemer,’ said Able Pearce. ‘Vile whoresons all of them. They don’t need a reason for evil. It’s just what they are. It’s the same with the Knights of the Sacrifice. I hate them all.’
‘Send out the scout, Hew,’ said Gaise. Hew Galliott turned his horse and moved back down the column.
‘You are wrong, Able,’ said Gaise, softly. ‘They will have reasons. To them they will even sound like good reasons. I never yet met an evil man who thought himself evil. My father – a man as vile as any Redeemer – would laugh at being called evil. He would probably speak of dark deeds achieving a greater good.’
‘My father wouldn’t,’ said Able Pearce. ‘He was a bootmaker, and a gentle man. He never harmed anyone in his life. I used to curse the day Alterith Shaddler came to him, and prevailed upon him to stand up in defence of Maev Ring. My mother still does.’
‘What changed your mind?’
‘Oh, I still regret it, sir. I miss him dreadfully. I was in Varingas when it happened. I did not find out for a month. Why did I change my mind? Hard one to answer. He always taught me to stand up for what was right under my own conscience, no matter what the consequences. He did exactly that. I regret it – but it fills me with pride. I used to think he was a weak, little man. His death showed me how wrong I was. He was a great man. I pray I will do no less when my time comes.’
‘I think blood runs true in your family, Able.’
‘I hope so, sir.’
‘Ride back and pick your men. Then we’ll plan more as we ride.’
Able swung his horse and Gaise rode on alone.