Page 152 of Bound By Honor
“’Twould please me if they did,” said Angus, agreeing with his wife.
Duncan returned Angus a look of amusement. “No surprise there.”
When the children left the hall, Duncan shared all that had happened since his last letter. “The king is pleased with himself. He has a new treaty with Norway they are calling the Treaty of Inverness, which binds the two countries together. It is the second country after France to recognize him as the rightful King of Scots. But there is other news. He has taken Perth.”
“That is quite a prize,” said Angus.
“Most of the castles have been taken by Sir Edward, Sir James or the king’s nephew, Sir Thomas Randolph. But the royal castle of Perth was taken in a rare bit of cunning by the king himself. I was there to experience it.
“When he first attempted a siege last November, it produced no good result. William Oliphant, Earl of Strathern, the Scot who once surrendered Stirling to the English, was in command. He’s a brave soldier.”
“King Robert could not have been happy about such a failure,” said Angus.
“Ah, he was not. But he had a plan. In January, after having watched the castle for more than a month—in the freezing cold, mind you—the king marked the shallowest part of the moat, feigned retreat, and marched us away. A sennight later, we returned at midnight. The king ordered us to strip down to our tunics and carry only our dirks and his rope ladders. In the black of night, he led us across the moat, probing the way with his spear and wading up to his throat in the icy water. It was colder than sea splash over a gunwale in winter. A French knight, who was with us, was astounded the king would take such a risk for what the knight considered ‘a wretched hamlet’.”
Unsurprised at the daring exploit, for he knew the king, still, Angus had to ask, “Was there no watch to detect your advance?”
“Nay. Believing King Robert had left in defeat, they must have thought the castle and the city walls impregnable. By the time the castle woke, we were over the wall with our rope ladders. King Robert was the second man to accomplish that feat. Just imagine, Angus, me scaling castle walls with the king! In any event, we were soon in possession of the fortress and the town. After that, the garrison surrendered with little fight.”
John asked, “What did the king do with the castle?”
“Since the garrison was comprised of Scots, albeit in English pay, the king gave orders against slaughter, but his men were allowed to take booty from the town. He made the Scots nobles, including Oliphant, his prisoners. The rest were allowed to withdraw. He then gave his men orders to raze the castle to the ground along with the city’s walls to keep them from English hands.”
Angus nodded. “I can see why Rob is pleased.”
“Before the walls were down, the king moved on to Dumfries, and I went with him. You might recall that Dumfries Castle was the place King Edward’s justiciars were meeting on the morning that Robert Bruce met John Comyn in Greyfriars Church two miles away. As the king reminded me, it was at Dumfries that his brother-in-law, Sir Christopher Seton, was given a traitor’s death for defending Bruce when Comyn’s uncle attacked him in the church. The irony of it is that the castle has been under the command of Sir Dungal MacDouall for the last two years.”
“The former Lord of Galloway the king chased from Scotland?”
“Indeed, the very same. As we arrived, he was out of provisions and his garrison starving, without hope of English intervention. It was a sight to see, Angus, the MacDouall surrendering to King Robert and his brother, Sir Edward—again.”
“I would have liked to be there for that, the betrayer of the king’s brothers in King Robert’s hand. Did he slay him?”
“You would think so for his terrible deed, but nay. He forgave MacDouall and accepted his allegiance rather than alienate his clan. The king’s mercy was not appreciated, however, as MacDouall fled to England shortly thereafter.”
Angus sighed. “And doubtless plays chess with his ally, John MacDougall, formerly of Lorne.”
“Meanwhile,” said Duncan, “Sir Edward has been sent to take Stirling Castle while the king sees to another target, one in which he requires your help and the reason he was so willing for me to come to Islay.”
“I am intrigued,” said Angus. “What is it?”
“The Isle of Man.”
Angus grunted. “These are not just rumors put about to distract the English as before?”
Duncan shook his head. “Not this time. King Robert means to take the isle, which he considers of strategic importance.”
“He is right in that, for whoever controls Man controls the Irish Sea. Our ancestor, Somerled, knew that well. I cannot speak for the entire isle but Castle Rushen will require many men for it is well defended.”
“You will not believe who the English have placed in command of Castle Rushen.”
Angus raised his brows expectantly. Rushen had stood in Somerled’s time, a strong fortress.
“Dungal MacDouall.”
“Good Christ,” said Angus. “How many times does King Robert have to expel that man from Scotland?”
“More than a few, apparently. Only think! You will have your own opportunity to see Dungal MacDouall surrender.”
