Black X’s marked places where the Bruce’s army had defeated the English. James didn’t miss the X scrawled atop his own now-decimated keep in Douglasdale. The X’s scarred the map, and a finer piece of art James couldn’t imagine.
Circles, however, yet littered too much of the map — those places where the English were still well entrenched.
“With the defeat of Valence, and the taking of Auchinleck, Longshanks will be none too pleased. I expect he’s on his way north as we speak.” Asper Sinclair spoke up from his end of the table.
“I’ve yet heard his health is precarious. Will he try for Scotland if he’s ill?” Thomas inquired.
The Bruce scratched at his beard. “Nay, he’d have his men carry him on his deathbed for the north. I believe we must anticipate he will at least try to invade. But when that will happen, ‘tis anyone’s guess.”
James kept his eyes riveted on the map. “What are your intentions, my king?”
“We need your strategy again, but this time for a more personal intention.” The Bruce paused and scanned the grizzled men. James shifted where he stood.A personal intention?“I would have my vengeance on the MacDoualls for their part in the deaths of my brothers Thomas and Alexander. Garthland Castle here, in Galloway, off the North Channel, is where we will find those fiends.”
With his finger, James circled the larger area of Dumfries and the Scottish lowlands. “I know ye want to take the Highlands as soon as ye might, but if ye desire to wreak vengeance on the MacDoualls, we could use that to our advantage.”
“In what way?” the Bruce asked.
“Why not establish our presence more securely in the lowlands before moving to the Highlands? ‘Tis June in a few days. We dinna know when Longshanks will arrive. What better than to have more of the lowlands under our control to halt his onslaught before it even begins? Once we feel the lowlands are secure, ye assign a Sheriff to maintain control and then we start for the Highlands. The men there are more ready to be on our side. Taking back those lands might be a sight easier as a result.”
Robert’s face split into a wide smile, his entire face brightening. For a man in the throes of war, every line on his face relaxed at the prospect of military success. He pounded James heartily on his back.
“Och, Black Douglas. Has there ever been a strategist such as ye? What say ye men? Should we rout thesassenachshere ahead of pressing north?”
The men pounded the table in agreement, and Robert smacked James’s back again.
“Well, good for ye, lad. Ye won’t be too far from your bride this summer, which should please her.”
James kept his mouth shut and cut a sidelong look to his King. He wasn’t sure his bride-to-be agreed.
Chapter Nine: Life at Auchinleck
Never had she seensuch a spectacle in all her days. Brigid had led Tosia down the steps and jerked back when Tosia froze where she stood.
So many people. She’d known the king had moved his men and those attached to him from a keep farther south to Auchinleck when he’d defeated de Valence in the spring, but that knowledge didn’t prepare her for this sheer number of people in the hall. And from the open doors at the front, many more people gathered outside.
Tables were crammed into every nook and cranny, and the king sat at a raised table at the front of the hall. James sat to his right, ever at the king’s right hand. Above the table hung a saffron banner emblazoned with the snarling red dragon — the banner of the Bruce and Scotland. So many colors, so many people, so much noise!
