The Renegade(22)
“By the living God, Wife, you have a man’s head on your shoulders, for all your womanly shape and softness. You see right to the heart of things where most men would stop short. I think you are wrong in this particular case, though. I believe Alexander could find nothing better to do at this time than what he intends.” He hesitated, weighing his next words. “Why, you ask, and to what end? The answer is plain and simple. He does it for the good of the realm. Think about it, Marjorie. Angus Mohr MacDonald is a canny and powerful man, with soaring ambitions that could make him dangerous. He is absolute Lord of Islay, but his influence reaches far into the other Western Isles—into Jura and Mull to the north, and beyond that as far as Rhum and Eigg, and even east to mainland Argyll and Kintyre and the Isle of Bute. Indeed, almost to Arran itself, just across the firth in front of us. He is close to becoming a threat, growing more powerful with every year that passes, as his Islesmen spread his influence and the island folk accept him. And that is what Alexander seeks to check, here in Turnberry.”
For long moments the crackling of the fireplace was the only sound in the dark room as Marjorie thought about what her man had said. Finally she spoke. “So, how does he intend to check him?”
“By making an ally of him, rendering him beholden to the King’s grace.”
“And how will he do that? Angus is no fool. He’ll see to the heart of it.”
“I agree the man is no fool, nor will Alexander treat him as one. But as I said, Angus has ambitions. Tomorrow, the King of Scots will ennoble Angus Mohr.”
“What?” Marjorie snorted. “How will he do that? By knighting him?” The scorn with which she emphasized the word embodied the contempt with which the Gaels regarded the Norman French notion of knighthood.
“No, that would be folly. He intends to bestow upon Angus Mohr the title of Lord of the Isles, in perpetuity.”
The countess’s mouth fell open, and her eyes grew wide as she began to perceive the implications of what her husband had said. “Sweet Jesu,” she breathed eventually. “Sweet, sweet Jesu … That is either the most brilliant idea I have ever heard or the greatest, most tragic foolishness ever dreamed up by man. Alexander is playing with fire, juggling live coals … ”
“Aye, but juggling brilliantly, based upon what needs to be done. Angus Mohr’s ambitions must be set at naught, and peacefully, before he gains sufficient influence to require stronger measures to restrain him. And what better way to do it than by pandering to his lusts? The man already sees himself as an island potentate.
“Alexander’s solution is pure diplomacy, inspired strategy, and magnificent politics all in one. The lordship of the Isles will set the seal on Angus Mohr’s pretensions. It will grant him the equivalent of an earldom in rank and possessions, but without the formal status of earl, and as Lord of the Isles he will be established as the dominant puissance, the presiding force, in the Western Isles. We do not believe he will be able to resist the lure, even though he sees the hook built into it: in accepting the lordship, he will be acknowledging Alexander’s right as King of Scots to grant it to him, and that will make him the King’s man in the eyes of all, Church and state, both in this realm and in England, with Edward himself as witness to it. And it will cost Angus nothing, save the time and effort of travelling to Dunfermline for formal investiture at some future date. But it will make him, beyond dispute, the King’s representative in the Isles of the west. And that in turn will set him and his Islesmen up as defenders of the King’s realm against any insurrection among the Macdowells of Galloway or any other. A powerful ally to have, think you not?”
“I am impressed,” Marjorie said eventually. “As a stratagem it appears to be both sound and sensible. I can find no fault in it. And it should work, providing Angus Mohr accepts. And I believe he will, for the reasons you say. But … ” She frowned. “There’s already strife enough between MacDonald and the Macdougalls. How will Alexander of Lorn react to this?”
“That’s the beauty of the whole thing.” She heard the enthusiasm he had been at pains to conceal before. “He has no choice, cannot object. Alexander is already sheriff of Argyll and Lorn, in the King’s name, and therefore this development strengthens his position, too. When Angus Mohr accepts the lordship of the Isles, he will accept, publicly, the task that goes with it. He will be pledged to support the King’s interests in the west. And that in itself practically ordains alliance between him and Alexander. It will bring peace to the west for the first time in a hundred years.”