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decisive hand the king wrote out a missive, praising the bishop's diligence and ordering him to take his army to NorhamCastle on the southern shore of the river Tweed on the very border of Scotland.
    A show of force such as you have gathered will put fear in their hearts. I shall join you with mine own army in less than a week.
    The king sanded the wet ink, rolled the parchment, melted the sealing wax, and stamped his leopard ring into the soft red wax. As he handed it to the Bishop of Durham's man, he said, "If these Scots forget I am descended from conquerors, they forget at their peril!" As he finished reading the dispatches from the Bishop of Durham, his face began to turn purple. "Call my army commanders to a council meeting!" he ordered John de Warenne.
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Edward Plantagenet entered the large vaulted chamber at Newcastle where his commanders had
    gathered. The previous day he had been well pleased with the numbers as the armies began to arrive.
    When Richard de Burgh with his horde of Ulstermen arrived from Ireland the army would total five thousand horse and forty thousand foot soldiers. He had been convinced such a show of strength would bring the Scots to heel.
    Today, however, King Edward was enraged. "The Bishop of Durham reports that the English fleet has been attacked in the river Tweed while bringing supplies to the army!" The invaders had sailed out from the great seaport of Berwick, which lay on the northern shore of the Tweed in Scottish territory, and Edward proceeded to vent his temper, reviling Berwick's citizens. Curses and foul oaths echoed around the vaulted chamber.
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    A YfcAR AND A DAY
    "The wealth of these merchants has swollen them with arrogance! The fat swines think themselves safe perched behind their fortifications on the north bank! They are about to learn otherwise!"
    John de Warenne exchanged a look of understanding with the earls and barons about him. They would have to teach Berwick a lesson before they undertook the French invasion.
    There was a commotion at the chamber door as Robert de Bruce pushed past the herald before he could be announced. All present knew the swarthy, handsome Bruce who thought himself the rightful King of Scotland. He made his obeisance to Edward and succinctly delivered his news without preamble.
    "Sire, the Scots sent an army down into Cumberland. It ravaged the northern shires until it reached Carlisle. We rode out to fight the Scots. They suffered a sharp reversal and retreated back to their own territory."
    "The whoresons dared invade England?" Edward Plantagenet's fury bordered on madness.
    The earls and barons all spoke at once, disbelief, anger, and outrage swelling their voices to a cacophony. Finally the king lifted his arms. "Silence! The Scots have conspired to form an alliance with France against us, they have sunk our ships and now they have dared to invade England. De Warenne, we would hear what you propose."
    The Earl of Surrey got to his feet. He was a decisive general, which was why Edward had put him in command of all his armies. "Your Majesty, I propose we postpone action against the French until we have dealt with this Scottish insurrection."
    "We think alike, John." The king brought his fist down upon the table before him with a crash. "We invade Scotland!"
    Some cheers went up, mingled with some curses, but all present knew that the die was cast. Once Edward Plantagenet made a decision, he did not go back on it.
    Edward's brilliant blue eyes fastened on Robert Bruce. "It is war. Are you with us or with the Scots?" he asked bluntly. Ed-
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    VIKOIINIA HHINLtY
    ward knew the Bruces were powerful and he knew they had a secret bond with seven other Scottish earls to support the Bruce claim to the throne. Edward also knew he could not effectively control Scotland without them. But when he had chosen Baliol king over Robert Bruce, the new Scots ruler had confiscated all of the Bruces' holdings in the western marches and handed them