From the moment of our arrival at Will’s camp, I felt at home and ready to tackle anything that might be thrown at me. Will came out to greet us when he heard someone shout my name, and when he saw me sitting my horse with another, laden, at my back and a wagonload of goods behind that, his face split into an enormous smile and he spread his arms wide, waiting to embrace me. I swung down from my mount and he swept me up into a mighty hug, threatening to crush my ribs as he swung me around in a circle.
“Damn, Jamie, you look good,” he said, holding me by the shoulders, and then his face went serious as his eyes moved to take in my two fellow priests watching us from their wagon. “I swear there’s nothing more unwelcome to an unsuspecting host than the sight of an empty-handed visitor,” he said, then laughed again and punched me on the shoulder. “Welcome, Cousin. Bid your fellows climb down and have a drink with us. Patrick will take care of your horses and the wagon.”
He shouted to the man Patrick and rattled off a string of orders, and in no time at all Fathers Declan and Jacobus had been helped down and willing hands were busy with the disposition of the supplies we had brought. I introduced Will to Declan and Jacobus, and he welcomed them cordially, then herded us towards the rear of the camp, where I saw more buildings than had been there on my previous visit.
“Here,” he said, ushering us into a pleasant little clearing at the back of one of the new buildings and directing us to one of several tables with benches attached. “Sit here. It’s comfortable and it smells good, with the smoke from the kitchens there making everyone hungry.”
“Those are the kitchens?” My surprise was unfeigned, for these buildings were more than twice the size of the kitchens I had seen before.
“Aye. I’ve heard it said we are raising an army here, but I tell you, Cuz, if we are, it’s an army of gulls and gannets—save that gulls and gannets fly away once their bellies are full. I swear, I’ve never seen so many hungry people.” He leaned back, stretching out his legs and crossing his hands over his belly. “But the food is good and plentiful, thank God, and we yet have room to sit and spread our legs. And here’s Tearlaigh. Ewan has taught our cooks to make a passable beer from local hops, and Tearlaigh’s been his best pupil. His beer is almost as good as Ewan’s. You’ll find it goes down smoothly.”
A giant of a man had come bustling towards us carrying a leather bucket and with a loop of wooden beer tankards strung around his neck, and now he served us, unhooking tankards from his string and filling them with foaming beer.
“So where is Ewan?” I asked, having taken my first gulp of what was a truly excellent brew.
“He’s around somewhere. I saw him a while ago.” He stood up and looked around, but sat down again immediately. “He won’t be far away. He never is.”
“And Mirren, she is well?”
“Aye, blooming like a flower. She’ll be glad to see you, Cuz.”
I had my own ideas on that, for Mirren, I believed, had little time or liking for me, but I smiled and brought my two companions back into the conversation.
It was good to be off the road after the long journey, and as the sun went down fires began to appear between the scattered tables, and soon we moved to sit by one of them, enjoying the heat, the drifting smoke, and the dancing firelight. The beer was excellent, and some time later I woke myself up by nodding forward and tipping the brew into my lap. I know the three of us slept that night in one of the new huts by the kitchens, but I barely remember moving from the fire, and when I awoke the next morning before dawn, I had no idea where I was.
My two charges and I spent several hours after morning Mass sorting through our clerical provisions and selecting the items we would need in our first week in our new communities. Those included basic liturgical vestments for ceremonial occasions like the consecration of the new churches we would build, and sacramental items like chalices and ciboria used for the Eucharist, as well as mundane but necessary clerical supplies like writing materials. Each of us had his own consecrated altar stone, of course, but we needed bread and wine, for the consecration of the Mass, and salt, holy oil, and chrism for dispensing the other sacraments. We knew we could restock our supplies simply by walking back to the main encampment, but we knew, too, that we would have enough to do in the days ahead of us to waste time fretting over supplies.
Afterwards, Will walked us the length and breadth of the territories that his men now commanded, an area almost two full miles in length and close to a mile in width, comprising a rough oval of low, rolling, tree-covered terrain containing three primitive settlements surrounded by a wide belt of undisturbed, heavy-growth forest. Building was under way in all three settlements, and people were already living in the newest dwellings.