Page 170 of Bound By Honor
“Not as long as we are together and our family is close.”
Angus nodded. “We can visit. Besides, with the new lands the king has already given me, we will often need to be in the north. Islay is more convenient for that as well as for Finlaggan. I intend to institute courts in each of the clans with appeals heard by the Council each year at Finlaggan.”
“That is a wonderful idea. I like to see the families gathered together when the Council meets. I enjoy watching the children grow.”
At the turn of the year, they received a letter from Duncan with welcome news.
To Angus Og Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, from his cousin, Sir Duncan MacAlasdair,
First, I should note that King Robert has bestowed upon me a knighthood, so that I am henceforth Sir Duncan. My lady, Catherine, who became my wife at Christmas, is fond of the address. She is a Campbell and brought me lands in Glen Orchy, Argyll. You shall meet her when I come with the king.
You may have heard that last October, the king traded the Earl of Hereford and other men of rank for Queen Elizabeth, his daughter, Marjorie, now twenty, and the king’s sisters. Sir Neil Campbell was beyond glad to have his wife back. The king has awarded him the lands of David Strathbogie that were forfeit. Bishop Wishart, old and infirm, has also been returned to us.
Sir Walter Stewart, the High Steward, was sent by the king to collect his family at the border. It seems that while discharging this duty, the young knight became smitten with the king’s daughter and she with him. They are to be wed in early spring in Dundonald, Ayrshire, home of the Stewarts.
I do not suppose you will be surprised to learn that King Edward has forsaken the border, leaving the land undefended. Hoping to provoke the English, King Robert sent his brother, Sir Edward, Earl of Carrick, and Sir James Douglas to Northumberland, where they raided unimpeded.
The king sent letters to England, expressing his desire for a lasting peace between the two nations. A meeting took place with Sir Roger Kirkpatrick and Sir Neil Campbell attending from our side, but nothing came of it due to the refusal by the English to recognize Robert Bruce as King of Scots. In any event, King Edward is again at war with his barons, thus, the raids into the north of England will continue.
King Robert, who never seems to tire, led one of the raids himself to take back Tynedale, the lordship that once belonged to the King of Scots. It does so again.
It is the king’s intention to sail to his castle at Tarbert in late May. The queen and his daughter and Walter Stewart, who will by then be her husband, will accompany him.
I look forward to seeing you and Lady Áine. This time, I will return to the west for good.
Dunaverty Castle, southern end of the Kintyre Peninsula, May 1315
A DAY’S SAIL would see them to Tarbert where they would meet with the king, but Angus stopped at Dunaverty for a few days to assure himself all was well there. His faithful seneschal, who had remained when the castle was in English hands, greeted him.
“My lord, my lady, we are happy to have you at Dunaverty. Can we hope you will stay for some while?”
“Only a few days this time,” said Angus. “We are bound for Tarbert to meet with the king and queen.”
The seneschal smiled. “All on Kintyre celebrated the king’s victory and your return, my lord. I was never so glad to see the English leave Kintyre.”
The time Angus and Áine spent at Dunaverty brought back memories of the early days of their marriage when Áine was his bride and King Robert had fled to Dunaverty for safety.
The next evening, he and Áine walked the battlements, observing the evening sky. Above them, a canopy of golden yellow illuminated all. Beneath the headland, the sea appeared as a shimmering golden cloak laid on the water. “I will never tire of this sight,” he said.
“Nor I,” said Áine, smiling up at him. “’Tis a fitting place for me to tell you of my news. I am with child.”
He could not stop the wide grin spreading across his face. Looking down at her waist, still slim in her emerald gown, he could discern no change.
“It is early,” she said. “The child will be born at Christmas.”
He kissed her, a long, lingering kiss. One that he hoped conveyed his gratitude for her becoming his wife and standing by him through the long years of war. She had always been his strength.
“We can pray the peace continues for us to raise the little one,” said Áine.
“Aye, a good thought.”
THE SAIL UP the Kintyre Peninsula to Tarbert took only a morning. It was a fine day with sun reflecting off the water and Angus’ spirits were high as he looked forward to seeing his friend, the king.
Once his galley was anchored in the harbor at Tarbert, Angus donned his hat and looked up to the grass-covered hill and the castle overlooking the bay. “It was once a stronghold granted to John Balliol by the first King Edward,” he remarked to Áine. “I think it was a good choice for a western castle for King Robert. It has a ready access to the Firth of Clyde and is but a few days by land to Stirling.”
On the shore, two of the king’s guards were waiting to escort them up the hill to the castle. There, Duncan was standing with a beautiful woman whose coloring was like his, golden hair and fair eyes. “Lord Angus, Lady Áine, allow me to introduce you to my lady, Catherine.”
The first thing Angus noticed was how young she was, somewhere in her twenties. But mayhap he only thought her young since Duncan was in his mid-forties. Smiling shyly, she said, “I am honored to meet you and your lady, Lord Angus. I have heard much about both of you from Duncan and King Robert.”
