Page 125 of Bound By Honor
Standing straight as a mast, Brian nodded. “I will be ready, sir.”
As the crew pulled at the oars, taking the ship out to sea, he heard Áine shout, “Godspeed!”
Angus led his fleet of ships south to Rathlin. They would sail from there to the Isle of Arran near Scotland’s mainland.
A few days later, a fisherman brought King Robert a message from James Douglas.
To Robert, King of Scots, from his liegeman, James Douglas,
We came ashore at dawn, having sailed through the night from Kintyre to avoid the English. Wet and hungry, we were pleased to see three ships loaded with goods had arrived at Brodick the night before and were anchored in the bay.
We waited and, the next morning, soldiers and sailors from the garrison came to unload the cargo. We set upon them and seized the spoil, a rich harvest of clothing, food, wine and arms. No one from the castle came to their rescue or to interfere with us. Instead, they closed the gates where they remain.
Come to Arran! We have taken up a position in a narrow pass and will keep watch for you. When you arrive, we will send one to lead you to us.
“So, it begins,” the king said, handing the message to Angus.
He read it and handed it back. “All to the good. The men are ready.”
Thus, it was that ten days after James Douglas and Sir Robert Boyd had left Rathlin, Angus, Duncan, John and the king and his companions arrived on Arran with over thirty galleys and more than a thousand men from the Isles and Ireland.
Shortly after they beached the ships on Arran’s eastern shore, a peasant woman of middle years appeared. One of Angus’ captains brought her to him where he stood next to the king.
Her appearance was well-ordered, her tunic simple and her dark hair confined with a scarf. In a clear voice, she said, “I was sent by one called Douglas to lead you to him.”
The captain who had brought her to Angus said, “She asked for you, Lord Angus.”
He shared a glance with the king. It made sense that Douglas would not reveal to the woman that the King of Scots, hunted by King Edward, waited on the beach. The temptation to the riches gained from a betrayal would be too great. Thankfully, there was nothing in the king’s clothing to speak of royalty.
Angus said to the woman, “You go ahead and we will follow. When we are close, let us know.”
Leaving most of the men at the shore to guard the galleys, Angus and the king followed the woman into the forest, thick with pine, birch and whitebeam. Close on their heels were Duncan, John, the king’s brothers and his knights.
They trod in the woman’s steps over the damp ground surrounded by trees. In the occasional parting of branches, sunlight dappled the forest floor with golden light that illuminated the yellow gorse and the white snow drops that had only just bloomed.
Some distance on, they came to the mouth of a woody glen. The woman stopped and turned to them. “He is just ahead, my lord.”
Angus had noted the king carried a horn at his side such as one might use in battle, but not until now did he use it.
Rob raised his horn to his lips and blew a loud cry that echoed through the woods. A moment of silence passed and he blew another.
Minutes later, James Douglas and Sir Robert Boyd appeared, smiling broadly. Once the woman had been paid and dismissed, Douglas said to Boyd, “I told you it was the king. I know that blast.”
“With your permission, Sire,” said Sir Robert, addressing the king, “we will show you where we have hidden the booty we took from the English. The crew of the galley stands guard.”
They arrived at a pile of boxes, barrels and chests, some of which had been opened to reveal their contents. Silk and velvet fabric, silver goblets, wheels of cheese and barrels of ale and wine were among the offerings, along with daggers and other weapons.
The king surveyed all with a look of pleasure. “A rich bounty, indeed. Has anyone emerged from the castle to try and re-claim it?”
“No one, my lord,” said Sir Robert.
The king raised his head and gazed toward the south. “The earldom of Carrick lies but twenty-five miles to the southeast. My birthplace of Turnberry is there on the coast. I would send a spy to see how it fares, who holds it and if the people are well disposed toward me.”
“Cuthbert, who is one of my crew,” said Angus, “is an excellent man for that kind of assignment. He knows the area and can move like a cat.”
Once the seized goods had been carried to the galleys, Cuthbert was found and the king gave him his instructions. “Spy out the country around Turnberry. If the people have goodwill for me, light a fire from Turnberry Head in the evening at seven of the clock. Once we see it, we will come.”
Angus sailed the galleys to the south end of Arran where they would be able to see a fire lit at Turnberry Castle across the Firth of Clyde.
