The Faithful Heart (44 page)

 

 

“It’s not quite finished yet,” Morgana sighed, before turning to the
head of the mercenaries and asking his name.

 

 

“I’m Captain Reynolds, my lady,” he bowed, his eyes full of
admiration for her feat.

 

 

“Well, Captain Reynolds, you can see that the men who employed you
are now dead. There will be no pay for any of you. But we would like
to start to rebuild our fleet, our homes, and would welcome extra
pairs of hands if you and your men aren’t afraid of hard work. We
couldn’t pay you as much as you would get for soldiering, but with
food and land and houses, you wouldn’t do badly if you chose to
stay,” Morgana offered.

 

 

Captain Reynolds looked to Ruairc for confirmation, and then said,
“We shall discuss your generous offer amongst ourselves, and I am
sure many will be willing to stay. But lady, I would warn you
now....”

 

 

“About the Spanish invasion, yes, we know all about that, and would
pay you well if you choose to fight.”

 

 

“No, no, my lady, ‘tis worse than that. Dermot and Brendan have also
got the O’Reilly clan on their way here as reinforcements,” Captain
Reynolds said hurriedly.

 

 

Morgana grabbed him by the arm. “Are you sure?” she demanded
anxiously.

 

 

“They are waiting nearby for a signal, a loud shot fired off. It
will be dangerous for you to go back to your castle at Lisleavan
with them lurking nearby, and they might try to overrun your land as
long as they are here,” the Captain warned.

 

 

“We needn’t worry too much, though, for we are on the alert already
for the Spanish invasion force. Besides, no such signal will go off
now that Brendan and Dermot are both dead.” Ruairc shrugged.

 

 

But a second after he had spoken, the signal from Tulach regarding
the sighting of the Spanish ships was fired.

 

 

“Good Lord!” Morgana cried as the cannon blast reverberated in her
ears.

 

 

“What are we going to do?” Finn cried above the noise.

 

 

Morgana leapt onto the back of Dermot’s fine charger, and waved her
sword to catch everyone’s attention as they all stood talking
frantically at once.

 

 

“MacMahons, Maguires, listen to me! The Spanish are invading to put
Princess Mary on the throne of England. They will destroy you homes,
your crops, and your families if they get through. Some of us will
die if we do fight, but the English administration in Dublin will
blame us if we don’t.

 

 

“Worse still, the O’Reillys are coming, at Dermot’s instigation, to
try to help wipe us out. If we don’t all stand together against
these two common enemies, we will be cut down. Please, will you
fight by my side, and Ruairc’s and Captain Reynolds',” Morgana cried
at the top of her voice.

 

 

A roar went up. “Fight! Fight!”

 

 

“Listen then. Here is what we must do if we wish to have any chance
of success. I want my men and the English mercenaries to pretend to
fight, and my men only, lie down and play dead. The ones in the
center should fall the most frequently. They will think that is our
weakest point, and move in for the kill. Wait for my signal, a
single shot, and then rise up, surround them, and attack.”

 

 

The mock fighting commenced almost immediately, with some fairly
convincing grunts and groans from the men.

 

 

Morgana moved to the trees to tell the Maguire men hiding to get
ready. “Wait for my signal, and you men, and circle around so they
can’t retreat.”

 

 

A short time later, seeing the supposed battle taking place, the
O’Reillys began to flood the field by the score. They attacked any
man wearing the Maguire colors of blue and yellow on their sleeves,
and the whole field, particularly towards the center, became a pile
of bodies, as the genuinely wounded fell atop those men still
playing dead.

 

 

The fighting was the most vicious Morgana had ever seen. Magnus
O’Reilly was at the head of his force, which rode straight to the
centre and cut swathes through the Maguire forces like a hot knife
through butter.

 

 

Morgana’s fury rose as she tried to carve out a passage for herself
in an effort to reach the enemy leader, but her way was blocked by
two of Magnus’ sons, and she was forced to retreat. She turned her
horse to look at the state of the rest of the battlefield, and as
she did so, she saw a flotilla of large ships sailing on the lough
past Ma Niadh, heading straight for Lisleavan.

 

 

Morgana spotted Ruairc amid the thickest of the fighting, looking as
though he were about to drop from exhaustion and fatigue. She
spurred her horse towards him, but her steed lost its footing and
she was thrown to the ground.

 

 

She heard Ruairc shout her name, and then she was crawling under the
horses’ flying hooves as she struggled to get to the edge of the
clearing.

 

 

“On my signal, men! Now!” Morgana shouted, as she fired off her
pistol.

 

 

The O’Reilly soldiers stood stock still for a moment in stunned
surprise as the dead sprang to life, and the MacMahons and
mercenaries turned on them in full force. Morgana’s men
simultaneously began to pour out of the trees, with extra weapons
for their combined forces.

 

 

Morgana saw Magnus O’Reilly desperately trying to retreat. She
grabbed at the bridle of a stray horse galloping towards the trees
in terror, and leapt onto his back. Pulling her sword from its
scabbard, Morgana rode off in hot pursuit, and several MacMahon and
Maguire horsemen followed on behind.

 

 

Morgana knew Magnus O’Reilly was the key behind all of the
misfortunes that had befallen her family. If she ever had any hope
of clearing her name and Ruairc’s, she had to capture him alive.

 

 

Morgana leaned low over the horse’s neck, and soon caught up with
him. Magnus defended himself wildly with his sword, but Morgana
wounded him in the arm with a clever strike, and dragged him from
his saddle onto the ground, where he continued to struggle.

 

 

“Damn it, there have been too many deaths already over this
unceasing feud, Magnus! Dermot and Brendan are both dead because of
your poor guardianship of them, and the way you encouraged them to
carry on your feud secretly, since you dared not move against my
father openly. Don’t make me kill you too!” Morgana panted as she
pulled him to his feet angrily, and stripped his weapons from him.

 

 

“You’ve killed them both?”

 

 

Magnus scowled, and Morgana could see genuine regret on his face, as
well as admiration for her achievements.

 

 

“They murdered my father, poisoned him, stole all my ships, killed
my brother Conor two years ago. Don’t tell me you didn’t know of
this!”

 

 

“I knew nothing!” Magnus bellowed, shock etched in the craggy lines
of his face. “May God forgive me for having incited them to cause
you harm! I thought they would confine themselves to acts of piracy,
and stealing Morgan’s cattle. I never dreamt they would kill your
brother and father!”

 

 

“Why did you do all this! Why have you hounded my father and the
clan for so many years?” she demanded angrily, as she looked into
Magnus’s brown eyes.

 

 

“Because Morgan took your mother from me so many years ago, and
killed her! You killed her just by being born!” Magnus rasped.

 

 

Morgana gaped in astonishment at his incredible revelation, but
promptly defended herself. “No, Magnus, it wasn’t my fault or
Father’s that she died. My mother had a growth. She knew she was
dying and yet said nothing. Father blamed me too, but it was her
decision, don’t you see?”

 

 

Morgana shook him as she demanded, “Now, what is your decision, life
or death? Because I am not going to allow you to live if you intend
to continue harming my clan.”

 

 

“I’ve been dead since you mother left me!” Magnus said bitterly.

 

 

Then he looked up into Morgana’s violet eyes.

 

 

“Perhaps you are right.Perhaps there have been too many deaths.
Dermot was always wilful, but Brendan could have turned out better
if I hadn’t encouraged him to carry on my grudge against your
father.”

 

 

He blinked, and said quietly, “I don’t know why I never saw it
before. You’re the picture of her. Even more than Morgan, whose
characteristics you share, you are like Grainne.”

 

 

“Thank you for the compliments, Magnus, but we haven’t time for
this! Listen to me! The situation is desperate,” Morgana pleaded as
the old man’s eye took on a dreamy, faraway look.

 

 

“Do you realise what you’ve done, attacking us, inviting the Spanish
here to put Mary on the throne, allying yourself with the Earl of
Kildare and his son Silken Thomas? Your family will lose everything!
Mine and Ruairc’s clans may be attainted for treason as well!”

 

 

Magnus’ eyes refocused, and stared back at Morgana’s earnest violet
gaze, defeated. “I don’t care about myself. I am an old man. I have
made many mistakes and it’s time I paid the price.   But my
people, they will all be thrown off the land.” He sighed
regretfully.

 

 

“If you admit your mistakes, and speak on my behalf to the English
government representatives in Dublin, I promise you that I shall do
everything in my power to see you are spared, and that none of the
O’Reillys shall be left to starve. But you must
help
me.
Stop the fighting at Ma Niadh, and ask your men to help drive out
the Spaniards while there's still time,” Morgana appealed to Magnus
urgently.

 

 

He looked around the battlefield, and nodded at last. “I will do it.
I will call off my attack, and bring my forces to Lisleavan,” Magnus
agreed.

 

 

Morgana left Magnus in the care of her men and instructed him to be
taken back to Ma Niadh.

 

 

She rode on to Lisleavan just as the Spanish forces began to land,
and saw her men fighting well. Some O’Donnell and O’Connor ships had
blocked them in the harbour, so there was no chance for them to
retreat by sea. Morgana turned her horse around, and rode hastily to
Cullen Castle.

 

 

“Get all the men and weapons on the march now.Leave only a token
guard behind. The Spanish have been driven up to Lisleavan by the
O’Donnells, and are landing and besieging the castle now. We need to
get around them to the east and make sure they don’t penetrate any
further into the countryside,” Morgana explained hastily to Angus.

 

 

He began to shout orders, and Morgana could hear dozens of men
scurrying to get ready inside.

 

 

“And the challenge?” Angus asked as he buckled on his sword and
threw his cloak around his shoulders.

 

 

“I killed Brendan, Aofa killed Dermot, and Ruairc is restored. The
O’Reillys came for battle as well, hoping to help Dermot and Brendan
finish us off, but the MacMahons and their English mercenaries moved
over to our side, and we have routed them. I’ve got Magnus O’Reilly
not only to agree to peace terms, but he has pledged his men to help
fight the invasion force,” Morgana outlined for him quickly as he
made ready.

 

 

“Who says miracles don’t happen.” Angus shook his head
incredulously, and took a last glance around the castle before they
thundered out of the gates together towards Lisleavan.

 

 

The Spanish invaders were heavily armed and had come prepared for a
siege. Morgana saw them packing the gates nearest the docks with
explosives, and ordered her men to drive them back quickly.

 

 

Some of the Spanish were attempting to forge ahead to the
monasteries and Kilgarven, but Angus’ troops rode around the
battlements, and made every effort to block their way.

 

 

The fighting was frenetic, and interrupted only by a sudden loud
blast which cause everyone in the field to turn towards the lough in
bewilderment.

 

 

Morgana herself nearly jumped out of her saddle when the thundering
roar erupted, and she looked on in horror as one of the ships turned
into a blazing inferno. An accident with the powder had set the
whole lower deck afire.

 

 

Since it was moored so closely to the other ships, and their timbers
were all so dry from the recent hot weather, Morgana’s former fleet
began to go up in flames like so much kindling.

 

 

Morgana watched regretfully as her ships were incinerated. But one
unexpectedly beneficial aspect of the conflagration was that the
remaining Spanish soldiers leapt off the boats and waded onto the
shore, all their fight knocked out of them. Their weapons, stores,
and provisions on board the vessels were utterly destroyed.

 

 

The fighting was still fierce around the castle precincts, however,
and Morgana’s arm soon grew weary with wielding her sword.

 

 

“We have to draw back. We’re taking heavy losses!” Angus roared
above the noise of the battle.

 

 

“Let some men from inside come out to rout them!” Morgana called.

 

 

She spurred her horse harder to ride around the citadel.

 

 

Morgana gave the orders and protected the gate on the eastern side,
away from the fiercest fighting, as her troops charged from the
gates and swarmed after the enemy.

 

 

The Spanish, panicking because they couldn’t retreat to their
burning ships, decided to make one last desperate attempt to secure
their freedom.