Nigel Tranter - The Path of the Hero King

Certainly the appearance of the men so silently awaiting them was fierce enough, off-putting. Half a dozen of them stood in or beside the narrow doorway in the beetling wall, big men made bigger by the tall pointed helmets they wore, mostly furnished with flanking pinions of sea-eagles, or curling bulls’ horns, in the antique Norse style.

These did not wear the stained and ragged tartans, but saffron tunics,

belted with gold, some with chain-mail jerkins and some with piebald calfskin waistcoats, great swords slung from every shoulder, dirks at hip, and hung about with massive silverware and barbaric jewellery. None were bearded, but all save one had long and heavy down-turning moustaches which hid their mouths and produced a distinctly menacing impression.

The man who lacked the moustache was different from the rest in other ways also. He was younger for one thing, in only his mid twenties, very dark, almost swarthy, and though not short-indeed well-built- the least tall of the group. He wore no helmet or mail, only the plain kilted saffron tunic, and carried no sword but only a ceremonial dagger. It may have been in contrast to those fiercely down-turning moustaches, but his lips, visible where the others were not, seemed almost to smile. He stood in the centre of the party, and there was no doubting the authority with which he held himself, however careless.

“Wait you!” a voice rang out, while Bruce was still only two thirds across that alarming planking. It was not the young man who spoke.

“Who comes unbidden to Dunaverty? Is it Robert Bruce, who calls himself King of Scots?”

Bruce halted-although it demanded all his hardihood on that grievous perch, and he knew that those behind him must be equally preoccupied.

“I am Robert, King of Scots, yes,” he answered, “Come seeking the love, protection and hospitality of Angus, Lord of the Isles. Do I find it at Dunaverty?”

“I am Angus of the Isles,” the young man agreed.

“How can I serve Robert Bruce?” His predecessors had been careful never to admit specifically allegiance to the Crown of Scotland, even when Alexander the Third had bought the alleged suzerainty of the Isles from Hakon of Norway.

“By holding out the hand of friendship, my lord. And … and by letting me off this accursed tree! I vow I grow giddy!”

Angus Og laughed aloud at that frank avowal.

“Well said, Sir King!” he cried.

“Come, then. Myself, I near grow ill but looking at you all!” And he held out his hand.

Bruce’s sigh of relief was drowned in those from behind him. He waited for no further invitation.

Angus Og’s hand-grip was that of an equal and no vassal, but Bruce did not find fault with it. Sufficient that it was strong and frank.

“Well met, my friend,” he said.

“Your fame is known.”

“As is yours. And your misfortunes.”

“Those, yes. But they will pass. Here is good fortune, at least-to find you at Dunaverty.”

Introductions followed, in the crowded narrow court within the postern, the King’s party impressive only in their names and titles-for though Lennox and the Steward both had sought to rig them out in better clothing, the fugitives still were less than well and appropriately clad, the King himself little better than the rest. Their martial-looking opposite numbers turned out to be the chiefs of Jura, Gigha, Ardnamurchan and others of the great Isles confederation.

By and large they were civil, but no more than that.

It seemed that Angus Og MacDonald’s presence here was indeed something in the nature of a coincidence. He had called in Dunaverty some days previously, on his way to a meeting on Rathlin Island with one Malcolm MacQuillan of Antrim, an Irish kinglet who had in fact been occupying Dunaverty when Boyd had taken it for Bruce just before the coronation. MacQuillan was now demanding back the castle, and Angus, who had sent his minions to eject Boyd’s captain, had had a look at it before meeting MacQuillan.

When the Steward’s courier, therefore, had come to Dunaverty two or three days before, he had been sent straight on to Rathlin which, although off the coast of Antrim, was only fourteen miles from Dunaverty. Angus had interrupted his conference with MacQuillan, and come back to receive Robert Bruce-for good or ill.

The implied question was clear. What did Bruce want with the Prince of the Isles?

The King was frank.

“Two things I seek of you, my lord,” he said.

“First, refuge. Shelter for me and mine, who have been hunted men for too long. While we rest. Regain our strength. Plan our course. None may give us this better than yourself. And second, your support. In arms.”

“Against whom, Sir King?”

“Against those who occupy my kingdom. Against Edward of England. And against the Comyns and their friends, who support him. Such as MacDougall of Lorn and Argyll!”

The younger man looked at him from under down-drawn brows.

“You have many enemies. And Comyn, I think, has many friends.

Are these all yours?” And he gestured towards the little group with the King.

Bruce drew a deep breath.

“These represent thousands. Many thousands. My lord of Lennox can field six thousand. My lord of Douglas four thousand. Campbell of Lochawe as many-more, it may be. My lord of Erroll, a thousand. The High Steward two thousand. My own lands of Carrick, Annandale and Galloway …”

“Can field, Sir King! Can. But do not!”

”My lord-all these have fielded their men. And will do so again. For

eight years we have been fighting the might of Edward…”

“And losing!”

“And losing, yes. Though not always. When we fought aright And in unity. Pitched battles we do not win. Against many times our numbers. Edward’s chivalry, and the English bowmen. But a different kind of war we can win. Wallace taught us that. Small actions. Castle by castle. Using the land against him. Burning all before him. Starving him and his hosts. Edward may win the battles. But he grows old. Sick. Tired. God willing, will win the war!”

“With … help!”

“With help, yes. Yours, I hope, my lord. With others. Since I thought to count you my friend.”

“Some friendships may cost a man dear.”

“Well I know it And I have nothing to offer. Meantime. One day, I hope…”

“The friendship of Angus of the Isles is not to be bought.”

“I know it. But a King, his kingdom won, can and should reward his friends and helpers.”

For moments they eyed each other. Then the Islesman nodded.

“It may be so. We shall see. For the first, for refuge, shelter, you shall have it. In my islands. For the other, for men and swords and ships, I must needs think. And consult with my friends. We shall see, King Robert Bruce. Meantime, my house is yours. For as long as you will…”

With that they had to be content

The windy, lofty house of Dunaverty was not Bruce’s for long, despite its present lord’s assurance. The very next day a visitor arrived, having come hotfoot across Kintyre after sailing from Arran -Sir Robert Boyd of Noddsdale, no less; the same who had taken this castle, for Bruce, six months before, and whom the King had last seen after the rout in Strathfillan, wounded, and leaving to escort the Queen’s party northwards to Kildrummy. Boyd, of course, was taken to Angus Og before he saw the King-but that young man was not long in bringing him.

“Trouble,” he said briefly, gesturing.

The veteran Sir Robert sank on his knee before Bruce, and took his hand to kiss it. He brought startling tidings. An expedition was assembling at Dumbarton, under Sir John Stewart of Menteith, the governor thereof, and Sir John de Botetourt, Edward of England’s bastard son. It was known already, somehow, that Bruce had sailed for Dunaverty, and sea-going ships were being requisitioned all up and down the Clyde to carry this expedition in pursuit. The Steward had heard that de Botetourt alone had 3,000 men. They might have sailed from Dumbarton by this.