Page 9 of Bound By Honor
Keeping his eyes on her, The O’Neill handed his cloak to a waiting servant and reached for her hand, touching his lips to her knuckles. The gesture, which she considered oddly intimate, made her uncomfortable. She was unused to such greetings from her father’s friends. When she looked up, his gaze lingered on her person.
Six years ago, when Niall’s brother was slain, Niall’s second cousin, Domnall O’Neill, had seized the Tirowen kingship. In reaction to Domnall’s perfidy, and with the O’Cahans’ full support, de Burgh had deposed Domnall and installed Niall as King of Tirowen in his place. Áine was but a girl of nine years then. Her father had told her the story.
She had seen Richard and Margaret de Burgh occasionally over the years and Niall O’Neill in passing at last summer’s fair but she had not spent much time in their presence. Not since Niall had been inaugurated as King of Tirowen at Tullyhogue three years before. Áine had attended the ceremony as the O’Cahans had a necessary role in the installation of a new king. At the feast held afterwards, she had met many Irish nobles and their children.
The servant, who had previously served wine, brought a tray with a goblet for The O’Neill.
“’Tis French wine,” said her father. “A good red from Bordeaux.”
Niall lifted the goblet from the tray and held it to her father in salute. “I would expect nothing less from Cumee O’Cahan.”
Her father had ordered his minstrels to appear and they began to entertain them from the far end of the hall.
As they drank their wine, the men’s conversation turned to affairs in Ireland and Scotland. Áine listened, often glancing at Margaret de Burgh. The countess stared into her goblet, rarely looking up. Áine could not tell if it was disinterest on Lady Margaret’s part or because she had heard it all before. Mayhap it was her preference to say little when in the company of men.
De Burgh was speaking as Áine turned her attention to the men. “It seems I may soon be welcoming my friend Sir Angus Mor Macdonald and his son Angus Og to Ulster.”
“And why is that?” asked The O’Neill.
De Burgh took a sip of his wine before replying. “He has sent me a letter telling me of his plans to intervene in Tirconnell in support of his grandson, Turlough, whose mother is one of Angus Mor’s daughters. Apparently, as a part of the marriage bargain, Donnell O’Donnell, the old King of Tirconnell, promised the kingship to her firstborn son. But Aodh, the son of O’Donnell’s first wife, believes the crown should be his.”
“The O’Donnells are an unruly lot. They have ever been at war with the O’Neills,” put in Niall.
Earl Richard nodded. “Sadly, my family has been keenly aware of that for decades. You realize, of course, that Angus Mor tells me this not because it will please me. He knows it will not, but because he does not want me to interfere.”
“Will you?” asked Niall.
“Not unless I must to keep the peace. Angus Mor knows how to handle himself. I trust him not to make a mess of it.”
“If the Lord of the Isles brings his galloglass with him, he will surely prevail,” said Áine’s father. Áine had heard much about the Macdonalds who controlled the Hebrides and were known to have strong ties to Ulster. Some of the Macdonald galloglass served Irish lords as guards and mercenaries.
“I agree,” said Earl Richard. “That is why I mention it. We may as well be prepared for them to descend on Ulster. Since your lands border theirs, Niall, I wanted you to be aware. Now that I think on it, I might invite Angus Mor to Dunluce. The Lord of the Isles is one Scot whose favor we should cultivate. He was one of the barons invited by King Alexander to attend the parliament he held in Scone five years ago.”
“Where the king persuaded the Scottish magnates to accept his granddaughter, Margaret, as the heir to the throne?” asked Niall.
“The very same,” replied de Burgh. “For Angus Mor’s support, the king granted him the Ardnamurchan Peninsula in Lochaber. Why is not difficult to understand. Angus Mor commands more than a hundred and fifty galleys and thousands of Islesmen.”
“The Lord of the Isles is known to me,” said Niall, “as he must be to all. His army of warriors and galloglass can move as swiftly over water as migrating birds.”
Earl Richard said, “So you understand why he is an ally I can ill afford to lose.”
Áine’s father and The O’Neill nodded to the earl, who said, “On another matter of some interest to us, I have received a message from King Edward.”
The other men waited, their gazes fixed on the earl. Áine was certain Richard de Burgh received many missives from the English king. Why would he share this one?
“The king writes concerning the Isle of Man. Apparently, the Manx have petitioned Edward for his protection from the Comyns of Badenoch and the MacDougalls of Lorne. The king wants me to obtain an oath from the isle’s leaders binding them to him as their sovereign lord.”
“The Macdonalds will have mixed feelings about that,” said Áine’s father. “Both they and the Bruces consider the Comyns and the MacDougalls their enemies, and for good reason. Moreover, the Isle of Man once belonged to the Macdonalds.”
“True,” agreed de Burgh. “Ironically, Robert the Noble and the Comyns have come together for a purpose of keen interest to King Edward. At this very moment, the Lord of Annandale and the Earl of Buchan are traveling to Salisbury to flesh out the details of a treaty of marriage between the Maid of Norway and Edward’s son, the young Prince Edward.”
The O’Neill drew back with furrowed brow. “But that would eventually put Scotland under England’s control.”
“Aye, it would,” said Áine’s father. “And though King Edward would be pleased, many in Scotland would not.”
“As long as you mention the Lord of Annandale,” said The O’Neill, “I am curious. I heard he had attacked the Balliol castles of Dumfries, Wigtown and Buittle. How goes that?”
“Well enough to make the Balliols more vulnerable in their Lordship of Galloway,” replied de Burgh.
