The Faithful Heart

by MacMurrough, Sorcha

  She bowed deeply, and did as she was asked, withdrawing from the chamber silently.

  Morgana went out of the great hall with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and sat in a window seat gazing out at the open seas.

  Since she had had no sleep the night before, she nearly drifted off to sleep as she waited, but a small movement behind her made her turn her head. She saw Niamh O’Donnell, a thin girl with blonde hair about two years older than herself, come out of the great hall.

  “Father will speak with you now,” she said with a smile.“We are glad you are back, Morgana.”

  The two women gave each other a hug and kiss. “Thank you, Niamh, and I am sorry about all this....”

  “You were in the convent at Kilgarven,” Niamh said, cutting off her apology. “You had no way of knowing, did you?”

  Niamh gave her childhood friend another quick hug, and then opened the door to the hall.

  Ronan asked Morgana to take a seat near himself, and the four young men and women waited for him to proclaim his decision.

  “I am inclined to believe I may have made a mistake, and judged things simply by appearances rather than by the facts of the case. The fact is that people do not change that much, and old loves and loyalties die hard.

  "Morgana, since you have been in the convent, you are blameless for the misdeeds against my family, and whoever is responsible, it is not the Maguires. We have never engaged in any bitter rivalries in all the years we have lived side by side, and it is not in the best interests of either clan to do so now.

  “True, my cargo has been stolen, and I have lost two ships, but your ships have been used by others to do the harm. I do not know what has happened to your crews if those ships have been lost, but if they are still alive, I will make sure we find them.

  “As for you remaining ships, I will have my men help provision and repair them. The treasure you have brought will be examined, and though I will take back what belongs to Niamh, I will offer you a fair price for these other pieces. I will pay you in food and other items you may list for me for your ships here at Belleek. My goldsmiths will melt down the rest of the treasure and mint it into coin for you to pay the taxes to the port authorities."

  Morgana was overjoyed, but she waited patiently and respectfully for the older man to finish.

  “I have a ship heading for Sligo now which will take a message to Tiarnach O’Connor telling him to lift the ban on your ships, and which will also bring back food and supplies for you.If you give it clearance, it can sail up the lough to deposit its cargo anywhere you wish within the next three days. Please make a list of provisions, and send some men to carry out your orders in Sligo.

  “I will also send word to my fleet at Assaroe to end the blockade, and again, to send a shipload of supplies up the lough.

  "I feel certain the MacMahons are responsible for all of this, since they are the only ones who stand to benefit from both of our losses, and our enmity towards one another. I for one am not willing to allow their nefarious practices to go unpunished,” Ronan concluded firmly.

  She rose from her seat to clasp his hand. “I thank you, sir, for all you have done. And intend to do. But please, Ronan, while I thank you for your overwhelming generosity in the face of this crisis, I would not have you move against the MacMahons. They would surely know we suspect them. If they think that, they might do even worse damage to both our families.

  "No, for the moment, the money and the food is more than enough. As soon as the ships are repaired, we can start our own trade.

  “If there is any chance of also securing a prize bull, and some sheep and cattle, as well as a new millstone, I would be very grateful, but for now this is all the help I need,” Morgana smiled.

  Ronan laughed at her odd requests, but agreed to help.Then he and his sons began to move around the castle like a whirlwind, issuing orders, supervising the gathering of her list of requests, while Morgana hastily scratched out two lists of provisions for her men to take to Assaroe and Sligo.

  Niamh came back wearing a cloak, and accompanied Morgana down to the harbour, where she boarded each of the three treasure ships and reclaimed her lost property. Morgana had the men unload all the rest of the gold and silver, and the carts were heaved up to the castle, where the treasure was unloaded. Ronan’s metal workers then began to melt it down, and minted it into coins of various denominations.

  Morgana then bought out every shop in the town to provision her three galleys, and the carpenters and sail makers in the town turned out en masse to obey Ronan’s orders to give the Maguires every assistance.

  Morgana handed one list to Stephen, and another to one of her crew men and said, “I want this load to go to Tulach, and this one to go to Má Niadh. The livestock can go straight to Lisleavan, along with the seeds and farming equipment.”

  “What about weapons?If the MacMahons really are trying to cause trouble....” Stephen began to argue, but Morgana interrupted angrily.

  “If the O’Donnells give us munitions, the MacMahons will use it as a golden opportunity to trouble them. No, we will buy them elsewhere, and ship them ourselves. For now we have to feed the people, get the men into fighting condition, and make the castle fit to withstand a siege. We must do it all secretly, is that understood? If the MacMahons find out, they will do anything they can to stop us.”

  Stephen nodded, and he and the other men took the money and prepared to leave.

  Morgana was anxious to get back to her sick father in Lisleavan, but with all the activity going on at the castle, in the town, and aboard the ships, she resigned herself to staying overnight as Niamh’s guest.

  “Father says you must stay for supper, and then you and the men and carts can come back on one of our ships tomorrow,” Niamh informed her.

  She looked up from her lists. “All right, Niamh, and thank you for you hospitality, but I really want to see my father as soon as possible.”

  Niamh sat down next to her at the huge dining table in the great hall. “I understand your concern, Morgana, and it does you credit as a daughter, but you look exhausted. You have dark rings under your eyes, and you obviously didn’t sleep at all last night if you rode here from Lisleavan. Go to my room and lie down, while I see to everything. After all, I know a bit about ships myself you know, and I like nothing better than to go shopping.” Niamh smiled.

  “No, really, I’ll sleep tonight, Niamh, I promise. Right now I have letters to write, plans to discuss with my men, repairs to oversee.”

  “Father asked if you wouldn’t mind him coming to Lisleavan as well, to pay his respects to your father.”

  “Of course he is welcome to sail down with us. Father will be delighted to see him, I’m sure.” Morgana gave a bright smile. She knew her father would be delighted.

  "Very well, if you're sure I can't help you with anything more, I shall go get ready for the trip."

  "Not at present, no, but I promise, if there is anything else you can do, I won't be shy about asking. You're the nearest thing I've ever had to a sister, and I'm more grateful than I can say. And look forward to a time when I can repay you."

  "So poor Aofa is—

  "Worse than ever, and certainly not poor."

  They both rolled their eyes.

  "I'm sorry to hear that for your sake, truly."

  "And yours, since I am sure she conspired to steal your trousseau, out of greed, and spite too, I'm sure," Morgana admitted.

  "Well, envy said to be a deadly sin. As is avarice. I know that however bad her afterlife is going to be, she certainly creates a hell for everyone else as well as herself by never being satisfied or grateful for anything she has."

  "Indeed, and has watched her whole clan struggle to eek out a meager living and yet still starve all around her, while she lives a life of leisure and luxury without lifting a finger except to plot and scheme."

  "Well, those days are over now that you're home. Thank God for it, and may she never have a day's luck with her ill-got
gains." Niamh shook her head in disgust, and went off to pack for the journey.

  Morgana remained at the table in the great hall and made lists of purchases and instructions for the three ships about to sail.

  Then she sauntered down to the harbour to watch the barnacles being scraped, the decks sanded, the sails replaced.

  After a time, she called her three captains together.

  “I already have a man on the way to Sligo, so I want your ship, Kevin, to go down to Limerick. Pay the taxes, and see if you can secure a cargo of hides or fleeces to trade in Spain. Pay the port taxes, and see if there is anyone who can explain what they were levied for. Try to get a cargo manifest if at all possible, and I want you to record the value of everything you buy and sell down to the last groat, is that clear?”

  “What do you want me to pick up in Spain?” Kevin asked.

  “Wine, salt, and beans. Then I want you to take the wine to Flanders, and bring back some dyes and spices, especially saffron and liquorice.”

  “And you, Pronsias,” Morgana said, turning to the second captain, “after your trip to Galway, I need you to around and up to New Ross and Waterford, and get as many fleeces as you can from the monasteries down there. Then I'd like you to take them to Flanders, and bring back some wine from France. Sell the wine at Dublin, and see what other cargo you can pick up. You can run between the east coast ports and Bristol and Bridgwater as often as you have to, but keep on trading, and make sure you get a steady profit. We have to get back onto the trade routes, or we're done for.”

  “Seamus, you’re going to get a cargo of fish together down south, and sell the herring in Spain. In return I need iron and alum for our hides.”

  “What about the other six ships in dock?" he asked.

  She shook her head and sighed. “We don’t have enough men to handle them all at present, but with any luck the clan will start returning soon. When we do, I’ll send them to England for food for the clan first, and then back and forth to the Continent after that. I want us to trade more items more profitably and more rapidly than ever before. Time is the one thing we don’t have at the moment. You just have to call in at any port you can to make sure the duties are paid, and that our status is good.

  “These mysterious ships which supposedly belong to us are what has done this damage, so I want you to be extra vigilant. Talk to the authorities, other sailors. Try to remember anything distinctive about the other ships that could help us find out who stole them. If there is a particular feature of the boat which we can report to the officials, who can impound them if they turn up. If the MacMahons are behind this, it is only a matter of time before they’re caught red-handed,” Morgana finished optimistically.

  “And you, Morgana, what will you do while we’re away?” Seamus asked.

  “Well, Seamus, I’ll have plenty to keep me occupied, don’t you worry. I'm going to secretly refortify the castles on the lough shore,” she revealed.

  “But Lisleavan is nearest the MacMahons. It will be their main target.”

  She nodded. “Which is why my activities at Má Niadh and Tulach have to be kept secret. They won't know I have reinforcements, and by the time they find out that the O'Donnells have made peace with me, they will either have to stop harassing us, or show their hand to stop us from growing in power once more.

  "Knowing Ruairc's brothers, I'm going to guess they'll do the latter and pick us of like lambs to the slaughter. So let them think I'm devoting all my time to Lisleavan, and perhaps they'll make a foolish move,” Morgana speculated.

  He nodded. “Let's just hope the men return as soon as possible. Otherwise, you'll pretty much be on your own with a troop that can barely lift a sword, much less use it."

  "Right, men, we leave at dawn,” Seamus said, rising from his bench. “Give your father our best wishes, and look after yourself, Morgana. Whatever you do, be careful.”

  “And you, Seamus. Good luck, and God keep you,” Morgana said as she waved farewell to her friends, and headed back to the O’Donnells’ castle.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Morgana still felt restless, so she returned to the town and sought out Tomas and Declan. “I would like to accept your father’s hospitality, you well know, but there are so many things I must do, that I can’t simply sit idly by today. I need two men whom I can trust to give me some sound advice and keep my secret.”

  “What do you wish us to do?” Declan asked at length.

  “Tell your father that I will meet him at Lisleavan tomorrow morning, and come with me to see my abandoned castles?” she requested quietly.

  Tomas, the eldest of the two brothers, nodded, and gave orders for food and horses to be got ready. Morgana took pen, ink and paper, and after making arrangements concerning the minted money and the delivery of her supplies, she and her two companions rode back along the lough shore road to Tulach.

  The three storey castle stood on a high promontory which jutted out into the lough. Morgana had had a jetty built several years before, and had also created a road of wooden chips to prevent carts from becoming stuck in the mud which resulted from frequent flooding of the lough shore in the winter months. Morgana had then built another large gateway at the south-eastern corner of the bawn, or stone wall which surrounded the castle, and doubled the walls on the eastern and north eastern side.

  The new building work had thus created a long fortified corridor through which supplies could be brought into the castle directly from the jetty, and also increased the defences. The parapets could be lined with soldiers in case of attack, and loopholes spaced at intervals inside the courtyard would also help them pick off with arrows or shot any enemy who managed to penetrate into the castle close. A false door concealed the entrance to the cloister, while the main door opened out into the courtyard.

  The bawn had a tower at each of the other three corners, and Morgana noted down that she wanted stone masons to build another inner wall on the west side to match the one on the east.

  Inside the bawn, the rectangular castle had two towers overlooking the north side of the bawn, and an impressive stone staircase which led up to the other two floors. Each floor had heavy iron door in case of attack, and several loopholes through which the defenders could pick off their assailants. The spiral staircase curved around the left, making defence for the right handed soldiers easier, and attack for the enemy more difficult.

  “We’ll go to the top and then work our way down,” Morgana suggested, leading the way as the brothers paused to examine the doors carefully.

  “You know, Morgana, you're taking a great deal on trust allowing us to come hear and look at your defences,” Tomas remarked casually.

  “I am aware of that, Tomas, but you and I were always friends, and I would hate to think any petty squabbles could reduce us to rivals. Besides, I’m hoping you’ll see how impregnable this fortress is, and be deterred from ever attacking,” she added mischievously.

  “That convent can’t have taught you a thing! You’re still a sharp tongued wench,” Declan laughed. He slapped Morgana on the rump playfully.

  There was an obvious attraction between the two men and Morgana based upon youth and mutual respect, but Morgana knew that handsome though they were, she was not drawn to them in the same way as she was to Ruairc.

  She wondered how he was taking her absence from Lisleavan, and knew he would be furious with her for sneaking off without him. But since when had she ever needed permission to do what she thought best for the clan?

  The small party climbed to the top of the house, to a snug room over the stairs with a fireplace and two small windows. Morgana noted that there were some holes in the slate roof, and scribbled it down on her list of repairs.

  “How many pallet beds and men can we fit?” Morgana asked as she gnawed the end of the quill.

  “About ten,” Tomas estimated. Morgana scribbled the figure down.

  There were three other rooms on that level, all about twenty feet square, with a corridor running al
ong the south wall of the building for access.

  “The middle one doesn’t have a chimney or fireplace,” Morgana frowned.

  “You’ll need to put in a few coal braziers, then, to keep it warm, but in each room you can sleep abouttwenty soldiers,” Declan advised.

  Morgana wrote down the figures, and thought aloud, “We’ll also have to make sure the drains are running free. We wouldn’t want the privies to overflow up here.”

  Declan wrinkled his nose and laughed.“Honestly, Morgana I’ve never met a woman like you. You think of everything!”

  “Well, there are only two privies, one at either end of the floor, so if we are going to be putting seventy men up here, we must make sure we see to their needs,” Morgana said logically.