On a Highland Shore (42 page)

“Amen,” William said, and they all laughed, then drank deeply.

With a wink to Nell, the woman left them staring after her.

“Another toast,” William said. “To love.”

They drank deeply again. Margaret looked at the splendid man who was hers. I’ve found it, she thought, the love of legends.

We dinna choose what God sends us, child, any more than we choose our own name. Margaret you are, and Margaret you will be, and your life will be formed by that. You’ll face dragons
.

Margaret smiled. She had. And won.

A
fter being defeated at the Battle of Largs later that month, Haakon of Norway’s fleet retreated, never to return. Three years later, in 1266, the Treaty of Perth was signed, making the Isle of Skye and the other Hebrides Islands part of Scotland, as they still are. Haakon sailed only as far as the Orkneys, where he died in December.

Leod lived to a great age, founding what became the Clan MacLeod. His home at Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye became in time a castle, which still stands. William Ross lived to see his grandchildren. His line still prospers.

Neither Somerstrath nor Inverstrath was ever rebuilt. The Inverstrath and Somerstrath people were delighted that Margaret inherited the title and welcomed Gannon with joy. Most of Gannon’s men stayed with him in Scotland, marrying and building new lives, and Rory O’Neill eventually forgave Gannon for leaving Ireland.

Gannon and Margaret thrived in their new home and lived a full and peaceful life. Their love grew with the decades, and their descendants roamed the Earth, but never forgot their origins. They built a stone fortress that stood for almost five hundred years, and a small stone chapel in which to baptize their first child, a healthy boy they named Alexander after the king. The name stayed in the family for centuries. In time the fortress became known as Kilgannon, or Gannon’s church.

And Davey and Nell…but that’s another story.

I
mixed factual and fictional events, places, and people freely in this story and have done my best to make my depiction close to the spirit, if not the letter, of the past. When faced with diverging records of the same event or person, I shamelessly used the one that best suited my story.

William Ross, the third Earl of Ross, did exist, and in 1263 was one of Scotland’s most important leaders. He was married to Jean Comyn and oversaw the western coast of Scotland. He led the right flank of King Alexander’s army at the Battle of Largs and was less favorably known for invading Skye a few months earlier than I placed it (reports vary, both of the timing and the severity of his attack). The William Ross who emerged from my research proved to be far from the ruthless and cruel man often depicted. It seemed entirely plausible that William might have a sister and nieces and nephews, and that he might have invaded Skye for what he thought was an excellent reason. I have provided my own reason for him, entirely invented. William took the blame for that raid, although we all know it was Gannon’s doing.

The MacDonald clan then controlled the area in which Margaret and Nell and their family lived. Somerstrath and Inverstrath are compilations of some of the beautiful coastline of western Scotland. The Isle of Skye and the Orkney Islands are real, as was Leod, reported to be intelligent, wily, and unpredictable. He was half-Scot, Half-Norse, which served him well all his life. He founded the Clan MacLeod, the home of which is still Dunvegan Castle on Skye. In 1266 the Treaty of Perth was signed, placing the control of the Hebrides Islands, including Skye, into the hands of the king of Scotland. Leod’s son married William Ross’s granddaughter Dorothea.

Harald Hardrata, from whom Gannon and Tiernan are to have descended, was real, a notoriously ruthless king of Norway, and his descendants settled in several parts of Ireland. The O’Neill who led Ulster in 1263 was said to be fair, courageous, and closely allied to Scotland. I found conflicting first names for him and chose Rory simply because I liked it. Whatever his name, his blood-lines still run through those in Northern Ireland, both green and orange.

Men like Nor did roam the seas at that time, and there was a brief, cruel, and short-lived series of raids on Scotland and Ireland in 1262 and 1263, which ended, never to be repeated, after the Battle of Largs. King Alexander III of Scotland and King Haakon of Norway both are factual, and the real events of Haakon’s invasion of Ayrshire and Alexander’s repulsion of that attempt were perfect for my story. After his defeat in Scotland, Haakon limped back to Kirkwall, in Orkney, where he died. He never saw Norway again.

Alexander inherited the throne in 1249, at the age of eight. He reigned under regents, then on his own. He outlived his wife and children and died tragically in 1286, plunging Scotland into the turmoil that would later lead to King Edward of England’s seizure of Scotland, William Wallace’s rebellion, and Robert the Bruce and an independent Scotland.

M
y thanks go to Maggie Crawford, Louise Burke, Anne Dowling, and the entire Pocket team for making the process so painless. To Russ and Cheryl, for reading every generation of this novel with their usual thoroughness and gentle guidance.

To Forrest, MJ, Enrique, Michael, Matthew, Ron/Nor, and Valerie, who cheered me on through some interesting times. To Joe Markowitz, Bill Halle, and the flawless Dr. Michael Kinsman for their integrity, friendship, and support above and beyond. To Sherri, for reading and encouraging me, and Dinah, who helped me keep perspective. To Pam, who said it would be like this, and Bob, Gwen, Nikki and Kim, Bev, and all the kids, for the good times. To Rick and Mary, Jeanne and Don, Jeanne, Susie and Mike, and The Lunch Bunch, for their insight into human behavior and a ready shoulder when I needed it.

To Dick Francis for his encouragement and kind words, and to Barbara and Ed for their amazing hurricane stories and for being survivors as well as great book people. To Nancy and Charles for all the Tea and Sympathy. To Monica McCarty, for being my personal shopper in Scotland.

To Ann McKenzie Stansbarger and Barbara McKenzie of the Clan MacKenzie Society in the Americas, and Alan McKenzie, of the Canadian Chapter of the Clan McKenzie Society and Lieutenant to Caberfeidh, and to the Clans MacDonald and Ross, for their assistance in research. And to the memory of Steve McKenzie, Past President of the Clan McKenzie Society, a wonderful resource, gentleman, and friend.

To all those readers with generous hearts who wrote to encourage me: I thank you profoundly.