Chapter 12: Small beginnings

The rest of the day was filled with men returning to the camp laden with booty from the Danes, gear and cattle aplenty. In the mid-afternoon King Fergus was summoned to appear before the High King himself and he ordered me to go with him.

We rode to Constantine's camp and dismounted to bow before him. He was about five foot eight tall but broad shouldered and with thick, stocky legs. He turned to sit on a wooden chair that must have been carried with his host, a plain circlet of gold was on his head, glinting there on top of a mop of red hair.

"Fergus!" He cried as we neared his chair, "well met man, we have won a mighty victory against these cursed Norsemen and I am led to believe your men played the largest part! Tell me of this slaying of the Norse chiefs."

Fergus raised my arm aloft as he responded to the High King.

"This man, my Lord, this man it was. With three others he slipped into the Norse camp under cover of darkness and killed the Danes as they slept. He it was also who discovered their plans for a surprise assault and urged me to let him and his hounds loose on the Norse flank. Not content with routing the flank it was he and his men who led the final charge that broke the backs of the main Dane host. Norse-slayer he is called by some. He is Scott mac Fergus, my new keeper of Knapdale."

"All this from one man? And what a giant he is! Well, my royal thanks to you mac Fergus. These Norse have been a thorn in the side of my kingdom for too long. Sweet is the victory, sweet indeed!"

Constantine bade us join him for refreshments and we were served plates of steaming beef, re-living what parts of the battle we had been aware of. The High King had not entered the fray himself, rather sitting on his horse and seeking to direct things before him so he was better able to describe how each phase of the battle had developed. He was fulsome in his praise of both me and the men from Knapdale. The beef was followed by beakers of whisky and the High King toasted Dalriada and Knapdale.

When we returned at last to our camp I was feeling somewhat the worse for wear and found that most of my men were in a similar state. I wrapped my plaid around me and all but collapsed near a campfire, drifting off to sleep while still whispering 'tougher to survive'.

Morning brought a sickening sore head and a share of the spoils. Lachlan suggested we leave the levies to make for home at their own pace. They were now laden down with booty and had a sizeable herd of cattle to drive before them too. We mounted up, around forty of us and took our leave of King Fergus before starting for Aird Driseig.

Four days of riding took us back along the route we had come and close to home. We camped for the night on the shores of Loch Fyne, perhaps ten miles from the settlement. Lachlan and I sat by the campfire talking as the night fell.

"Lachlan, why were Duncan's widow and daughter shunned by the men at Aird Driseig? It is not as if they are old or ugly, yet Bridhe has told me that they were on the verge of being cast out of the camp to fend for themselves."

"Is it not plain to see my Lord? King Fergus would view any man who showed an interest in either of these women as making a play to take over the lordship. All know that he would have responded using his full force. So, none of us wanted to risk that."

"That might explain why no-one took them in or offered marriage but why cast them out? That would have been close to a death sentence."

"While those of us who are older can see the wisdom of avoiding these women and avoiding King Fergus' displeasure, there are younger men in the camp who do not think as clearly. These women are attractive and keeping them in the camp unattached would have been a sore temptation for young men with high spirits. Better to remove the temptation altogether. As for their ability to survive outside the camp, who cares, they are only women after all."

Once more I was shocked at the lack of value this society placed on women. The fairer sex did indeed have a harsh life here. I vowed to myself that I would do my best to cherish the three women who were now under my care.

The next morning we mounted up and continued our journey. Lachlan was surprised when I gave out a yelp and rode off into the wood we were passing through. The party halted and Lachlan rode over to see what I was about.

"What is it my Lord?"

"It is a Yew tree!"

"So it is my Lord but why are you so excited by it?"

"I have been searching for some for weeks now, I have something in mind that needs wood from the Yew."

"You should have asked my Lord, there are many such around Aird Driseig."

"Excellent!" I said as we re-joined the group and continued on.

We arrived at the settlement around noon and Colmgil came out of the hall-house to greet us.

"I did not expect your return so soon my Lord but I assume by the looks of you that things went well against the Norse?"

"Indeed Colmgil, a great victory! The Danes completely routed and in the end a great slaughter. Knapdale played its part and we lost few men despite being in the thick of the battle."

"He is modest Colmgil," said Lachlan, "our Lord it was who sowed the seeds for the entire victory!"

Lachlan put his arm round Colmgil and they went into the hall so that he could cover the detail of the trip, our nighttime action and the battle itself. I smiled at the way the story was growing ever more heroic with each telling. Making my way up the hill, I headed for the house. When I opened the door Kirsty yelped with delight and flew into my arms.

"Scott! Back so soon, how good, and safe, the Saints be praised!"

"I couldn't bear to be parted from you any longer lassie. I swear I took my anger out on the Norse for separating us!"

Bridhe and Fiona had been sitting at the table but stood when I entered. Bridhe now sported a wide smile and even little Fiona looked happy that I had returned safely. All three of them fussed over me and I found myself being spoiled terribly. Meats and ale were put in front of me, toast was made, cheese appeared and Kirsty would even have washed my feet if I had let her. I thoroughly enjoyed all the attention after having been away for nearly two weeks.

Eventually my growing obsession with Yew forced me to abandon my pampering and go in search of Aird Driseig's bow maker. I found him in a workshop, working over one of the flat bows that were common in this time.

"What is your name master bow maker?" I asked.

"I am Iain mac Donald my Lord." He replied, slightly nervously.

I warmed to the sound of my own surname from my time and sat to discuss my requirements with him.

"I want you to fashion me a bow Ian mac Donald. It will be no ordinary bow however, not one such as that you are currently making. This bow will be two yards in length and must be made from the wood of the Yew tree."

"But my Lord, that would make the bow taller than a man, well most men anyway." He faltered, nervous again having made reference to my size.

I laughed and told him more of what I wanted. I explained that the heartwood of the tree should be on the inside of the bow and the sapwood on the outside. My memory told me that this was important as it took advantage of the natural properties of Yew wood. It was the fact that the heartwood was able to withstand compression while the sapwood was more elastic, allowing the bow to stretch that made the use of Yew so important for a bow of this size. He old me he thought he could have something made up within three or four days and I thanked him and set out for the hall.

It was time I thought to review the lordship a little more thoroughly with Colmgil. There were elements of my knowledge that I was sure could help my lands be more productive and my business administration training was rearing its ugly head, pushing me to increase the income from the lordship.

My discussions with Colmgil confirmed that the Knapdale lands were not producing enough. Wool seemed to be the staple 'export' with iron ore being the main 'import' to the lordship. My enquiries about numbers of cattle and sheep and the degree of arable farming convinced me that there was a lot of scope to improve things. One of Colmgil's main complaints was that much of the lordship's lands were too marshy to do anything with - grow grain or pasture sheep/cattle. I explained to him how we could dig drainage ditches to help improve land but he looked at me doubtfully.

"Colmgil, where is the closest tract of marshy land?" I asked him.

"You don't have to go far my Lord, there are lands like that all round." He replied.

"Identify one such piece of land and we will put my idea into practice so I can show you it works for I see you doubt my wits!"

Aird Driseig had a forge and a metal worker but they were both idle for long periods, iron ore in short supply. I wondered whether I could put the forge to use doing other things too such as making glass or pottery. Sand and clay were in plentiful supply close by and not only would these things be of use in my lordship; they would also have trade value too. As part of my studies I had toured a glass works and thought I could remember the rudiments of the process. My old lecturer would be proud of me as I thought of how I could 'sweat my assets' by having them in production as much as possible.

Whisky production was another idea I had considered. In my time whisky was one of Scotland's biggest single exports and I was sure there would be a market out there for it. Wine too was something that might be possible. I had noticed that the temperature in this time period was notably hotter than the average I was used to in the twenty-first century. Was it warm enough to grow grapes? I wasn't sure but country wines could be made from all kinds of fruit and as a student I had gone through a 'home brewing' phase so knew the basics of fermentation, racking etc. Both of these would require barrels and I knew they existed in this time but I would need to find myself a cooper.