Before long, Eric spotted Rufus at the banquet. He must have just arrived, as Eric hadn't seen him in the Church earlier.
Belem followed Eric's gaze and noticed Rufus as well. "Why haven't the northern Saxon brigands killed him?"
"How has he been faring up north?"
Robert had granted Rufus all the land north of Yorkshire, excluding the Earl's Domain of Northumbria. While the territory seemed vast, Conqueror William's devastating harrying of the north in 1069 had left it a desolate wasteland. Much of the area north of York was uninhabited.
A territory that large might not even generate two hundred pounds in annual revenue.
What's more, the area was a hotbed for the Saxon opposition, and thus rife with bandits.
"I'm loath to admit it, but he's done quite well for himself up north over the past three years. He led eighty knights on mounted raids into the Scottish-controlled region of Cumberland, forcing the Scottish Earl of Lothian to cede a portion of its lands to him.
