Page 77 of Summer Warrior

CHAPTER 18

Loch Moidart, Argyll, September 1138 A.D.

THE HEATHER-COVERED PROMONTORY, overlooking the joining of the River Shiel and Loch Moidart, that was sometimes rendered an island by the tide, was the place Somerled intended to locate his most northerly castle.

Standing there now with Gillecolum, it seemed to him that of all the windswept places in his kingdom, Moidart might be the most beautiful. For certes, it was the most wild, the most untamed and the most remote. And yet, it was not for those reasons he had chosen the site.

He humbly admitted he was not the first to recognize the strategic importance of the location, for here stood the remains of an ancient hillfort, a guardian of the past. From this spot, he could command the waters west to the Sea of the Hebrides and north to Skye and from Loch Shiel east to Loch Sunart, avoiding the dangerous waters off Ardnamurchan Point. And, if that were not enough, there was sand enough close by to beach his ships.

“Is this the place you would build a castle, Father?” asked Gillecolum.

“Aye, lad, what do you think of it?”

“It reminds me of Ardtornish because it will sit high and look out on the sea loch.”

“Aye, you are correct. The sites for most of our castles have that in common. Do you know why?”

“So that we can see the enemy coming?”

Somerled placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Well said. To see the Norse pirates coming from afar is to be forewarned. And it may not always be the Norsemen that trouble our shores.”

“Somerled!” Angus shouted up the hill. “You are wanted in camp!”

“Is the stonemason ready for me?” Somerled yelled down.

“Aye with maps and drawings aplenty.”

Somerled and Gillecolum retraced their steps back to the camp in the woods. Liadan’s brother, Diarmad MacGilleain, and his crew had raised the tents before he and Domnall had arrived with their galleys.

Liadan’s reunion with her brother had been touching. Each had longed to see the other’s face and tears fell in abundance. In the days since their arrival, Domnall had oft spoken to Diarmad, making Somerled think mayhap they had come to some agreement, for they were easy in each other’s company.

Inside the main tent, Somerled found the French stonemason, Goubert d’Harcourt, with Angus, Domnall, Diarmad and Liadan. They were gathered around a table studying a map much like the one Ruairi had shown Somerled at Ardtornish.

“So, what think you of this site for a castle?” he asked them.

D’Harcourt ran his fingers over his small, pointed beard. “Un bon choix, my lord. Assuming there is stone enough to be had, it should not be difficult to erect a Norman tower here.”

“Excellent,” said Somerled, pleased they could move forward. “Then tell me of the other sites you have seen while I was delayed with the King of Scots.”

D’Harcourt looked down at the map. “Where there is already a timber castle, or hillfort, as you call them,” he pointed to several places on the map, “the building will go easier. Others, like the site at Dunaverty Bay on Kintyre, will, because of their locations, take more men and more time.”

Somerled had known all that to be true. “May I leave you here to supervise the construction, at least the beginning?”

“Bien sûr, I will stay, but we need to find more masons, else the castles you want will take decades.”

“I expect you are right but I will find the skilled men and you can train others. God willing, we will have time. The Norse pirates still plague certain isles but not like they once did.”

When the sun had risen high in the sky, a longship sailed into the loch, approaching the promontory where he and Gillecolum had stood earlier that day. Somerled watched it hove into view. When it was nearly to the beach, Maurice waved to him from the deck.

“’Tis Maurice,” said Angus who had joined him and Gillecolum on the beach.

“Aye and about time.” Somerled strode to meet the Irishman as he climbed down from the deck. Gillecolum and Angus followed, close on his heels.

“I bring news,” said Maurice, “but first ale and food!”

Over a dinner of fresh trout, Somerled finally persuaded Maurice to divulge the news he’d been hiding. “Well?”

“Your mother is in good health and very happy to hear you and Angus survived David’s war with the English. She asked about her grandson and I told her Gillecolum thrives ’neath your watchful eye.”