Chapter 24

The winter of 615AD was relatively mild. Little actual snow fell, but with clear days and nights, Taynuilt enjoyed weak winter sunshine and hard frosts. Eoric's manufacture of salt meant that there was plenty to keep the pathways ice-free once more. The harvest had also been good and the grain stores in Lorne were full. The finishing touches had been applied to Taynuilt's stone walls and two large wooden gates had been hoisted on leather and iron hinges to complete the village's defences.

Eoric's jetty had also been completed and work had begun on two boats. While that work was ongoing he had prevailed upon Eochaid to lend him a boat and a captain from Crinan, so he now had the capacity to move a small group of men around the seaboard at will.

Much of Eoric's time in the late autumn and early winter had been taken up by a tour of the various settlements throughout Lorne. His purpose in undertaking this tour was twofold. He wanted the people of the lordship to see and accept his family and heirs and also he had his duty to do in terms of resolving disputes that had arisen during the year.

The girls and the two boys enjoyed the change of scenery that the tour brought and Angus and Connall in particular enjoyed all the attention they received from the womenfolk in each of the settlements.

The boys sat beside Eoric as he was conducting one of his 'justices' in the settlement at Oban. Two families were in dispute over cattle, one man alleging that the other had been stealing his beasts. In retaliation, it was alleged that the man had struck down the son of the other in cold blood. Eoric had to weigh up the statements of various witnesses before giving his judgement.

"Father, it appears from what these men are thinking that both have been stealing the other's cattle over many years now. Isn't it a greater sin to kill a human than to steal beasts?" came Angus' voice into Eoric's head.

"I think you have the rights of it, Angus. But I need to think carefully about my judgement. Not only do I need to think about what is the right thing and the fairest thing to do, I also need to consider what message my judgement will send to others," Eoric replied.

Eoric at last came to a decision on what he would do.

"It seems clear from what I have heard that both of you are as guilty as each other in terms of the theft of cattle. My judgement is that you will each surrender half of your beasts to the common ownership and for the use of the entire settlement," he said.

This brought dark looks from both men, but appreciative murmuring from the assembled villagers of Oban. Eoric knew he had found a judgement that sent a message that no one man was bigger than the community he was a part of.

"The murder of this man's son is a much greater offence. Able-bodied men are what every family, every village and, aye, every lordship depends on. This is therefore a very grave matter. The accepted sentence for one found guilty of such an act is death by hanging..."

There were gasps from the crowd, most notably from three women who stood close behind the accused and Eoric guessed they were his family. He spoke slightly louder over the noise and people quietened to hear his judgement.

"The normal sentence is hanging I say, but I have already indicated how important able bodied men are so I choose not to take that option. Nevertheless, such an offence must be paid for, and dearly if I am to discourage others from striking down their neighbours. My judgement is that you will give up one of your own sons and he will henceforth live and work with me," Eoric pronounced.

"But, my Lord, I have no son, only two daughters," cried the accused.

"Then a daughter it will have to be. She will report to Taynuilt by the spring or you will give me no alternative but to have you hanged," Eoric said firmly.

The man nodded in acceptance of the judgement. Eoric could sense that he thought he had got off lightly while the overall mood of the crowd was once more that their lord had judged wisely. The man who had lost his son also accepted that justice had been done and he nodded towards Eoric in a clear indication of that.

Duty done, Eoric and his family started on the journey back to Taynuilt to see out the winter months.

Spring of 616AD brought interesting news for Eoric. During one of his periodic checks on the East Anglian Queen and Redwald's chamberlain, he discovered that Redwald was raising an army and that he intended to attack Æthelfrith. From the Queen's mind he was able to pick out all of the details of Redwald's plans. The young King Edwin of Deira would be enthroned in Æthelfrith's place as King of all Northumbria, but he would be a puppet King, with Redwald pulling the strings from behind. In this way Redwald hoped to remove the constant threats from Æthelfrith while at the same time gain control over the vast riches that Northumbria represented.

Eoric was busy raising a force to take with him to Antrim in support of King Eochaid. He knew the King would be very interested in the news from the south, as it might indicate there would be no threat to Dalriada or Strathclyde from the Saxons this year. That meant in turn that Eochaid could risk committing more of his own men to the Irish campaign, as he wouldn't need to worry about defending Dalriada.

He was sitting in the main room of the Taynuilt house, sipping from a beaker of water, when Gemma and Sarah entered the house. They were almost physically pushing a young girl in front of them. The girl looked both shy and scared, her head was bowed and she wouldn't look at Eoric. He took in the rags she was wearing and the dirt and grime that covered her. He raised his eyebrow in question at the girls.

"This is Megan, Eoric. She has reported for service as you ordered," said Sarah.

Eoric looked at all three of them in puzzlement.

"Megan is the daughter of the man you passed judgement on in Oban, Eoric. You must remember that you said he had to forfeit one of his daughters or hang. Well, Megan is his daughter and she has been sent to satisfy the judgement you passed," explained Gemma.

Eoric could sense the fleas and body lice that infested the girl and he shivered with distaste. His judgement had seemed a good one at the time, but now he was regretting it.

"I think Megan needs a bath, girls, and then no doubt you will be able to find enough to keep her busy. Megan, you probably feel you are having to pay a high price for another's wrongdoing. I hope in time you will see that service in this household is no great hardship, indeed you might fare better here than you have been hitherto if the present state of you is anything to go by," Eoric tried to say kindly.

At the two references to the state she was in, the girl seemed to find some spirit from within and her head rose so she could deliver a particularly fierce look at Eoric. He smiled back at her in the face of her grim look and her stare faltered in its intensity when she took in his appearance. Sarah and Gemma spun her round and hustled her out to their private bath. Eoric knew that Megan would never have been exposed to such a luxury and thought that she was in for a treat.

Later that night Eoric sat down at the table to wait for his supper. Angus and Connall were sitting on either side of him and they were sending him messages about the large salmon they had caught for their mothers that afternoon. Eoric made sure to praise the boys for making their contribution to life at Taynuilt and projected his thoughts to the boys that he was looking forward to tasting the food they had caught.

A noise from the kitchen doorway drew Eoric's attention and he looked up to see what had caused it. His breath caught in his throat at the sight that met his eyes. An angelic young girl walked towards the table with a wooden platter bearing an entire steaming salmon. She stood at perhaps five foot four, was slim, had shining brown hair and twinkling brown eyes that framed a long, slender nose. She looked younger than Gemma even and her hair was hooked back behind her little ears. The overall look was one of youthful innocence.

Eoric could read that the twinkle in her eyes was due to the affect her appearance was obviously having on him. She had been scrubbed clean and the lustre to her hair suggested hours of brushing. Sarah and Gemma had dressed her in a plain linen smock that did little to hide the small breasts that stood proudly, high on her chest. As Eoric looked he saw the little points of her nipples harden and poke at the linen covering them. The only flaw in the overall picture of loveliness was the remaining evidence of the louse that she had previously been infested with. There were some red spots and rash marks where the girl had been scratching at her skin, but Eoric knew these would fade within a day or two.

He found his voice at last and thanked her for the food that she had delivered. Megan giggled girlishly as she returned to the kitchen. Eoric shook his head at how quickly the girl seemed to have overcome what must have been a huge upheaval for her in being separated from her family.

"Oh dear, father likes her. What are the two wives he already has going to think of that? came Connall's voice.

"Don't be silly. It was obviously mummy Sarah and mummy Gemma who dressed her up like that and sent her in. Don't you think they had an idea how father would react?" chipped in Angus.

Eoric could hear both boys giggling happily inside his head and he realised that Angus had made a good point. He decided that he would try and play the innocent with the girls and see how far they were willing to let this little game of theirs go.

As Gemma and Sarah came out of the kitchen to join the family for the meal, he connected with them and was surprised to find that Angus was not only right, but that the girls intended that he would be taking Megan as a third wife before long. Eoric struggled to keep a broad grin from breaking out on his face.

Only a few days later Eoric had to take his leave of the girls and the two children as he rode at the head of his men en route to Dunadd and then on to Antrim. There had been no time to take anything further with young Megan and that was a disappointment.

The journey south to Eochaid's capital took two days due to the pace of the infantry and Eoric was dismayed to spot Connad Cerr riding beside the King, as Eochaid came out from Dunadd to greet him. Eoric paid his respects to the King and then declined the invitation to dine immediately on the basis that he wanted to make sure his men were settled comfortably for the night.

Once a suitable spot was found for the Lorne men to camp for the night, Eoric knew he couldn't put off the inevitable any longer and he made his way up the path to the hill-fort and the King's hall.

Eochaid had kept a place for him at his own table and when he spotted him enter; he waved him over to take the seat. Eoric breathed a sigh of relief that Connad was on the other side of the King and the noise in the hall precluded any conversation between them. While he knew he could deal with the man easily, he had no great desire to embarrass him in front of the various chiefs and lieutenants that were present.

Eochaid had thoughtfully left instructions with his kitchen staff to feed Eoric only vegetables and fish. As he was quietly eating his fish and answering Eochaid's questions, Eoric felt his temples grow tight and when he closed his eyes he was treated to a hellish 'vision'.

He recognised the features of Æthelfrith from their brief encounter outside Nimue's cave. Now the King of Northumbria lay on his back with blood seeping out from under a metal helmet that remained wedged on his head. The helmet had a large rent on the side, clearly as the result of a blow either from a sword or an axe. The King's eyes were lifeless and staring. A further wound was evident on his sword arm, a large gash that cut deeply to the bone. Finally, a pikestaff protruded from his stomach, the pole snapped off to leave a jagged, splintered stump. Blood and other fluids leaked out around the shaft of the pike.

Eoric was in no doubt that Æthelfrith was dead. Around the King's body, fighting was still in progress and Eoric could see a tight band of horsemen pressing forward to good effect. Two of these stood out from the others, one with a gold circlet round his metal helmet and the other a fine featured youth. He guessed that these were Redwald of East Anglia and Edwin of Deira. A small group on the other side of the battlefield was hastily mounting horses; some of them Eoric could see were very young indeed. They rode off quickly and Eoric believed they were heading northwards.

The vision fractured and was replaced by another. This one showed Domnall Brec leading a charge against the massed ranks of what looked like another Celtic host. From their clothing and weapons, Eoric identified them as Irish and he watched as Domnall's force surged forward and then clashed with the enemy. This time the vision only provided clips and he was shown Domnall ripping down the colours of whichever Ui Neill clan he had been fighting, obviously victorious. The next clip showed a different scene and Domnall was this time on the losing side, fleeing in the face of a Pictish army. Two more clips showed Domnall fleeing from the Picts and then a final scene showed Domnall being struck down. Eoric recognised the setting for this clip, Strathcarron, barely ten miles from King Angus Dhu's settlement at Dornoch. The men fighting Domnall's forces were clearly Celts once more and from the setting, presumably from clan Angus?