Chapter 22: Irish eyes

As they sailed back towards Oban Gabrain shared news of his campaign in the south with Scott. From the outset things seemed to be different on this second foray to England's south coast.

"I believe word must have spread Scott, they were warned of the tactics we used on that first campaign."

"How so Gabrain, what was different?"

"Far more of the Danish ships were manned and at sea, fewer at anchorages. That meant the sea-wolves had to battle large numbers of longships out on the open sea this time."

"But surely that would have been more difficult, would mean more wasted shot?" Asked Scott.

"At first yes, and because of the numbers it left us in great danger. See you, although heavily armed, if we were swarmed by longships I could see it might be possible for the Vikings to overwhelm us."

"Haha my friend, you said 'at first' so you developed new tactics?"

"Indeed Scott. I had an idea of how we could make all of our shots count. I let the Viking ships come close and then we threw grappling irons to hold them against us. With the cannon fully depressed we could then fire directly into their decks! I named it 'the Scottish kiss'."

"Saints! I can see in my mind's eye the destruction that would cause."

"Aye my friend. It was most effective. Very quickly we realised that we didn't need to fire all our cannons either, only a few for each ship, so in the end my new tactics actually meant we were using fewer shots. That in turn meant we were able to remain there longer this time."

"So how many Danes fell to this 'Scottish kiss' Gabrain?"

"Not as many as on our first trip Scott. The Danes quickly learned to simply run when they saw us and we had to chase them down. That meant we were sinking them in twos or threes at a time rather than the wholesale destruction we were able to achieve previously. Still, I estimate we accounted for perhaps forty or fifty in the six weeks I was on station. And of course, this time the losses also included the men, not just the ships."

"Aye, I'm sure Alfred would be happy about that."

"What about at home Scott, Constantine, my Atholl, how did things go there?"

"Well enough my friend, Constantine found out quite directly what to expect when you mistreat your people. I was able to detach virtually all of the men he had with him without a battle and then he ran. Lachlan captured the treacherous dog and I have banished him from Scotland. Your people are all safe Gabrain."

Scott shared the other news too, informing Gabrain about the treaty with Norway and Sigurd's promise to do battle with the renegade Norse that were attacking County Antrim.

Six more days of sailing with a strong wind behind them and the ships were passing the foot of Kintyre, heading into the Sound of Jura. The mountains on Jura itself were capped with snow now and dark grey clouds threatened heavy rain. The friends were anxious to make it to Oban so they could return to their families for the winter.

They navigated between the islands of Scarba and Luing and were soon passing the coastal defence fort at Easdale. Turning northeast they entered the Sound of Kerrera, passing the island of the same name and at last sailed into Oban Bay and the little harbour.

Word of their coming had obviously been passed on because a crowd of some hundreds was gathered at the harbour and cheered as they hove into sight. Gabrain surprisingly found himself picked up by the crowd and tossed into the air repeatedly. Scott smiled at this spontaneous display by the people of their love for the young King of Dalriada.

The pair stopped off at Kilchrennan on their way back to Inveraray so that Scott could speak to the Abbott. He had been promised a fresh stock of coffee beans and he was determined to have it secure before the snows started to fall. The Abbott chuckled at Scott's hunger for the brown beans, but supplied more than enough to keep Scott going for months. He also informed Scott that he was just finishing loading a wagon with other delicacies for the people of Inveraray. Scott grinned, as he knew this would contain the best of the crops the monks had grown this year as well as wines, cider and ale. The St Andrew's Day feast would be good this year.

When they rode into Inveraray Esta ran and threw herself at Gabrain, his second wife, Mhairi, was slightly more restrained, but her relief was plain for all to see. Young Scott and baby Kenneth looked on, clearly pleased to see their father home. Scott's wives hugged him too, pleased at both his own safe return, and that he had found Gabrain.

The people of Inveraray were also very fond of Gabrain and an impromptu celebration started in the hall-house. The pipers played and freshly cooked meats, fish and vegetable were soon available for all. Wine, ale and uisge beatha flowed and people were dancing and singing.

Scott asked his wives where his mother and father were and he was advised that they had travelled north to Inverness already. Fergus had apparently decided it was important to show himself to the people of Fortrenn and he was intending to spend the winter there. Apparently his mother was delighted to find that Fergus was now an earl.

The snows came early that year and Scott was soon out skiing and sledding with his children. Little Tina screamed with delight as she hurtled downhill safely nestled between her father's knees on a sled. Baby James was insisting he wanted to ride down the hill on his own but the girls wouldn't let him. Both David and Crinan proved to be excellent skiers already and Scott was hard pressed to keep up with them.

The specialists were also persuaded to take a break from their endeavours to enjoy the sporting activity. It was getting close to their first anniversary in ninth century Scotland and all of them remained happy to have made the trip. These men had a deep love of their country and believed passionately in what they were doing. While their progress was at times frustrating, they had no doubts as to the value of their work and what it would mean for Scotland. Scott was pleased to see them laughing and enjoying themselves in the snow. Some were already accomplished skiers too, most notably 'Mac' MacKelvie who explained he had trained for arctic warfare. Somehow Scott wasn't surprised at this.

A week before St Andrew's day a surprise visitor came trudging through the snows to Inveraray's gates. Scott was walking down the hill from his house when he spied the well-wrapped up figure of Tara O'Cahan. He ran to her and picked her up, twirling her round and round.

"Tara! It is good to see you, but how did you get here through the snows? Ach listen to me chuntering on. Come, let's get you into the house in front of a fire and get some hot broth into you."

Scott called to his wives that they had a guest who needed heating up and wondered at the sudden giggling from them all. He looked at Tara and could see she was blushing.

"I didn't mean heated up that way! Blast you women, is that all you ever think about?"

His wives simply nodded and grinned at him. Tara couldn't help but laugh herself now as she could see Scott's wives teasing him. Scott dragged a chair over in front of the roaring fire and helped Tara out of her thick quilted clothing. She explained that she had borrowed it from some of the people at Oban before setting out for Inveraray. It had apparently taken her six days of walking to reach the settlement and Scott was amazed at just how hardy the young girl was.

A steaming bowl of broth was soon ready and Tara gratefully spooned the hot liquid into her mouth. She explained that she had spent one night with the monks at Kilchrennan but had had to camp out on the other nights. She claimed to have suffered much worse in her time as a ship's captain.

Once the girl had fully thawed out, Scott asked her what had brought her back to Inveraray so quickly.

"I convinced my father that there was much to learn here your Grace. When I explained about the schools and all the developments you are taking forward it wasn't difficult to get him to agree." She said.

"Somehow I just can't see you sitting in the classroom Tara. I believe I know the real reason you have returned." Scott responded.

The girl blushed again for some reason and Scott's wives giggled once more.

"It's the ship isn't it? You can't keep away from my metal ship!" Scott added.

Tara looked somewhat bemused for a moment then sighed with relief as she realised Scott hadn't twigged her real reason for returning. She glanced at his wives and it was clear from the looks they were giving her that they knew she had returned because of Scott himself. She could feel her cheeks burn, but was comforted that the girls appeared to be happy for her to be here.

Plans were well underway for the St Andrew's Day celebration. Scott could tell his wives were planning another of their little plays, as they kept disappearing together. He wondered what the theme would be this year. Other entertainment was also being planned, with some of the specialists gifted musicians in their own right. They had worked with the craftsmen and made a number of acoustic guitars so that they could contribute a little 'concert' to the overall event.

Scott planned to make his contribution through his culinary skills once more and he thought long and hard about what he should make. He finally settled on a modified version of boeuf en croute, filet steak in pastry. He knew this was very ambitious and that he would need to use the cooking ranges of a number of other houses if he was going to cook enough to satisfy demand. Still, he thought it would be worth it.

Tara seemed to have slotted herself in with his wives very nicely and was part of the planning for the play. Scott wasn't surprised at how welcoming his wives were towards the Irish girl, that was just the way they were. As usual he suspected there was an ulterior motive on the part of the girls and for a change he found he wasn't too averse to their scheming on his behalf. He admitted to himself that he really was very taken with Tara.

The day of the celebration finally dawned and as usual the first part of it was aimed at putting on things for the children to do, things that would hopefully interest them as well as tiring them out so the adults could really enjoy themselves later.

With all the snow around many of the activities had a winter theme to them. Skiing and sledding competitions were staged, including a slalom event. Scott took part in a father and son cross-country skiing and shooting competition with David and Crinan, pleased to see how well both boys could already use Mac's firearms. They didn't win but came a respectable third, Scott being teased by many that for once he was not the winner.

Smaller children were involved in a competition to make the best snow figure or 'sculpture'; adults only permitted to collect snow for them, not help in the actual construction. Once again Scott was pressed into service, to gather snow for James and Tina who between them were making a pretty good job of fashioning a horse's head, modelled on Albannach of course. The great horse seemed to behave altogether differently with Scott's family than with anyone else. He could be difficult to handle, but if any of the children happened to be passing where he was corralled he would snicker and hang his head over the rails in an attempt to get their attention. The children loved him and the snow sculpture had seemed a natural choice for them to try and make.

Scott had initially been scheduled to judge the sculpting competition, but decided to rule himself out as his own children were involved. The same applied to Gabrain who was helping gather snow for young Scott and Kenneth, who were making a mini-longship.