The Hart and the Harp

by Sorcha MacMurrough

  He immediately stood, bowed, and offered her his sword. “I’m part of your family now, Shive. You know you can rely upon me, to the death,” Oran vowed.

  Shive smiled her thanks, and prayed that Tiernan would have as much faith in her as this relative stranger, and prove just as devoted and loyal.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Shive spent the rest of the evening in a chair by the fire in the great beamed hall pouring over maps with Bran, her sergeant at arms at Rathnamagh, in order to look for the most vulnerable points in the O’Hara defences. They also assessed which points Muireadach and his allies would be most likely to attack on Ruairi’s lands. Mahon, Oran and three of Shive’s most reliable comrades at arms, Marc, Finn and Angus, were given leading roles in the great plan Shive had outlined for them.

  The conference of war finally broke up in the early hours of the morning. Shive fell into her bed exhausted. She was not awakened until late the next afternoon, when Mahon came to tell her that all of her arrangements had been approved, and that certain of the chieftains she had invited to Rathnamagh from the north were on their way to see her.

  As for Tiernan, there was no message from him. Oran informed her quietly that Tiernan had given strict orders that all her messengers were to be turned away from the gates at Castlegarren.

  “Damn Muireadach. He got his wish, didn’t he? Divide and conquer. Now Tiernan trusts me so little he isn't be willing to listen to a word I say on any subject. It’s also unlikely that Tiernan will come when Ruairi summons him for help, as he will inevitably have to if my guess is correct as to what is going on,” Shive said dejectedly.

  “I’ll speak to him,” Mahon offered.

  “No, I’ll go myself, in person. But first I need to see to my guests.”

  The O’Keefe chieftain, an old but still sharply perceptive man, was the first to give Shive unequivocal support.

  “I’ve never liked or trusted the O’Rourkes, Shive. I’m not about to start in my advanced years. I’m convinced Muireadach was responsible for the deaths of my sons in the past few years. Now only my nephew and my young grandsons are still alive, but they're too young at present to wield power and keep our sept together,” Ronan complained.

  “If you'll pledge us support now, we'll aid you and your heir should you require it, that I promise,” Shive said. “Since your lands are right next to Muireadach’s, you effectively hem him in with his back to the sea if myself, Tiernan, Ruairi and yourself all stand firm.”

  “I agree with you. It does look bad for us, since we’re in such a strategically important position in terms of Muireadach’s advancement,” Ronan O’Keefe replied sadly, weary of all the fighting he had seen in the past few years.

  “I’m sure Muireadach will move against you soon. He's planning a big sweep from the north, I know he is. If the O’Dowds side with him, it could look very bad for us all.”

  But the other chieftains were not so intent on offering support as on attempting to remain neutral.

  “You are just trying to feed off the dead!” Shive raged at the stocky red-haired Tomas MacSuibhne. “You want to see which way the wind blows before you commit yourselves to one side or the other in this power struggle."

  "Since when it is immoral to be cautious?" he fired back.

  "Because by the time you choose to act, it may well be too late. Can you imagine what a tyrant Muireadach would be as high king? You all know Ruairi and Muireadach. Left up to you, which would you choose? Or is it that you are all trying to make yourselves great at my family’s expense? If I fall, or Tiernan, or even Ruairi, it will be only a matter of time before all the weaker clans also fall. The blood of Brian Boru sings in my veins, as it does in Ruairi’s. I pledge my support for Ruairi against Muireadach because Ruairi is just and fair. Muireadach is power mad and selfish. So I ask you again, will you support us if we need help?”

  “Aye, I will,” Tomas MacSuibhne agreed at last, stung by Shive’s words, which had been very close to the truth.

  Eventually the MacDonagh and Costello chiefs and a few representatives of the lesser septs in the area agreed, if not to help Shive outright, then to not help Muireadach either, and the meeting broke up amicably.

  Mahon showed them all out, while Shive conferred with Oran and Bran.

  “How many do you think were sincere in their vows?” Shive asked Oran.

  He shrugged. “We saw the letter saying that the MacDonaghs and the Costelloes were willing to support Muireadach. The fact that they turned up here at all today shows they have their doubts about which side to support. Or perhaps Muireadach is overestimating his level of support. Of course they could just be trying to bide time for themselves, as you said, in case they're scared of what will happen to them if they end up on the losing side. The O’Dowds didn’t turn up, though. We know how strong they are, and they’re just north of Tiernan’s lands.

  “At any rate, no matter what happens, the result of Muireadach’s bid for control will alter the balance of power in this area very decidedly. Since you support Ruairi, and Ruairi is more popular than Muireadach, I think most of them will abide by their promise to help, or at least remain neutral. You’ve traded with them, and despite your father’s heavy-handed behaviour in the past, I don’t think they bear you any ill will. They do hate Muireadach’s father’s memory, and can see he is remarkably and woefully similar to his father,” Oran assessed.

  Shive nodded, relieved.

  “Also, Shive, I think the child you carry will serve to cement a number of alliances. But remember, you will have to produce a fine healthy heir first, and pray God that it's a boy. I doubt the MacDonaghs and the Costelloes will give you any outright support. But nor do I think they'll act against you unless they truly believe your star is in the descendant.”

  "Which no one has any reason to believe for a minute," Bran said with a smile. "Ever since you've become head of the clan, everything you've touched has turned to gold. Even giving up the cattle to Tiernan shows you're a person of good faith who can be trusted, and not greedy or overweeningly ambitious. Your actions have spoken volumes in the region. The fact that you're here now and Ruairi has hardly been in the district for months, not since your marriage to Tiernan, also helps scotch the rumors that the two of you are lovers. So if not lovers, why support him unless he is decent and upright like you and Tiernan."

  Everyone in the room nodded, including Oran. "Am I can personally attest to the fact that she was with us at Bothandun for all these past weeks, and certainly not with Ruairi."

  “But while I was stuck there being questioned and beaten, your former lord has got the jump on us. I just wish I knew how soon Muireadach planned to make his move. He’s up there in the north somewhere, with the O’Dowds perhaps, or maybe even further away, scheming. All I can do is sit here like a beached whale.”

  The men all suppressed smiles at Shive’s exaggerated description of her blossoming figure, and Bran poured them all a glass of wine.

  Mahon re-entered the room and sat down with a sigh.

  “I thought that went very well,” he said optimistically, as he sipped his wine.

  “Let’s hope they all keep their promises,” Shive prayed. “If we can’t trust them, we shall most assuredly lose.”

  She then turned back to her plans for fortifying each of her castles with a heavy heart, wishing with all her might that her husband was at her side. She rubbed her belly and aching back, and fought back the tears as she consulted her map and saw Castlegarren in the center of the vast piece of parchment.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Tiernan, sitting alone at Castlegarren while the chieftains met with Shive, was terribly restless. One part of him longed to ride over to Rathnamagh to see her, while the other still damned her as a faithless whore.

  His pride was such that he swore to himself that he would never take her back. Yet at the same time, he missed her quiet voice, her gentle smile. He recalled the last few times they had shared her bed together. He had seen he
r face, her eyes. She had been so passionate when they had made love. Could it all have been an act?

  He recollected how she had come running down the stairs to say farewell to him, clad only in her bedgown, with the frigid wind tugging at the thin garment. Had those shining violet eyes been the eyes of a woman in love with another man?

  Shive had tried to contact him on numerous occasions, but he had thrown all her missives into the fire unread. In the end, her persistent messages, and Cian’s begging and pleading on her behalf, had actually had the opposite effect intended.

  “That’s it, Cian. Not another word will I listen to. I’m going hunting. No messages from Shive MacDermot are ever to reach my ears, do you hear? And that's final!” Tiernan had shouted as he stormed out of the castle, with Cian hot on his heels.

  “Don’t you think you owe it to Shive to hear her side of the story? She was willing to give up everything to marry you! To help you and your family because she knew in her heart that you had been wrongfully accused of Fiachra’s murder. Would she have done that if she were indifferent to you, or in love with someone else? No. Shive isn’t like that!"

  "All women--"

  “I know you were badly hurt once, when you lost Grainne. Shive isn’t her! Shive is honest, straightforward. You know what it's like to be unfairly accused, to be misjudged. Shive is telling the truth. She never eloped with Ruairi. You can trust her.”

  “If she’s so honest, then why did she ride out and attack the Vikings behind my back? Or challenge her own father to mortal combat, when by rights it should have been me who did that in order to win back my honor?” Tiernan asked furiously as he shot himself up into his saddle.

  “So it’s pride that keeps you from listening to her, then?” Cian challenged as he grabbed his brother’s silver-ornamented bridle and dared to look into his stormy dark blue eyes. “Well, just remember, Tiernan, pride goes before a fall. If you don’t admit you care about Shive now, it may be too late for both of you.”

  “Care for her?” Tiernan laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “Don’t you understand, Cian, I loved her, body and soul. But what did it get me? A lonely bed and a runaway wife. If Shive had known I loved her, would she have behaved any differently? I don’t think so. She would have probably congratulated herself on making an even bigger fool of me than I already was in marrying her. A girl that age. How could she ever love me? How could we ever be happy?” Tiernan said bitterly, tears stinging the back of his eyes.

  “Shive does love you. I am as sure of that as I know that the sun will rise tomorrow! She isn’t mocking you. She came back to you, beaten and bruised. You turned her away. I wouldn’t even have done that to a stray cur in that condition! You also refused to listen to her story. Turned her out of the castle into the cold dark night. Are those the actions of a man who loves her?” Cian raged.

  Tiernan stared at his brother for a moment, recognizing the truth of his words.

  But he was determined not to give in, not this time. Shive was young, foolish, but she deserved to be happy. Tiernan was convinced that she could never achieve that married to him. He loved Shive, but he would never be able to trust her again. Never be able to look his men in the eyes when everyone knew his wife had been unfaithful to him.

  “Look after the castle for me, Cian. I’ll be back in a few days when I’ve had time to cool down.”

  “For pity’s sake, if she loves her cousin, then why is she back home in her own castle without him?"

  “I don’t know. And I don’t care,” he lied. “No more messages from Shive, is that clear? It will be best for all of us to make a clean break, to admit our marriage was a mistake, and get divorced now. We shall assemble the clans when I get back to give them the news and carry out the ceremony. I can only thank God no children have come of our union, for it would only have been one more thing for Shive and I to quarrel about.”

  Cian would have told Tiernan about Shive’s child, but before he realised what was happening, his eldest brother had jerked the horse’s head, causing Cian to lose his grip on the bridle.

  Tiernan now shot out of the castle gates and into the woods as though the hounds of hell were after him.

  Cian cursed him and damned him for a fool at the top of his lungs, but it was too late. Tiernan was gone.

  But Tiernan had heard what his brother had said about his wife loving him. Cian’s words echoed in his head as he sought the solitude of the forest. Yet however hard he tried, Tiernan just couldn’t bring himself to swallow his pride and speak to his wife. He had asked her to come home once before, and look what she had done...

  On the second day after Tiernan had left his stronghold to search for solitude in the woods, Shive’s spies in Muireadach O’Rourke’s territory brought her news that a full army of O’Rourkes and O’Dowds were on their way south. There were hundreds of them, all kitted out for a long summer campaign, and moving with a speed and efficiency they had never seen before.

  “I think they'll do as you predicted. March down the pass at Maumkeogh and effectively spilt Tiernan’s forces in two,” Oran said, tracing the route on the map with his forefinger.

  “Has everyone been evacuated on the eastern and southern sides of the pass yet?” Shive asked Mahon worriedly.

  “They are all gone, except for your surprise troops,” Mahon confirmed.

  “And what of the Vikings?” Oran asked.

  Mahon said, “They've agreed to help guard the pass, especially at the narrow centre and the southern end, where the fighting will be at its heaviest. They’re at Trian now, so I can send a message to them.”

  Oran frowned. “I can’t believe they would fight for Shive after she killed so many of them.”

  “They’ve been very loyal,” Bran praised. “They said you had spared their lives, Shive, so they owed them to you, and would lay them down for you if need be.”

  Shive smiled grimly. “I’m very grateful. But it’s going to take more than their help to hold off an army such as these messengers describe." She stared at the map for a time, then shook her head. “No, I'm going to have to go see Tiernan myself, and explain, give him some sort of proof of what's happening. Oran, you’re coming with me to tell all you have seen, and Tadhg the messenger.

  “Then I shall ride to the northern end of the pass, and help with the preparations. We’ll get some of the O’Hara men in the middle and the southern end. But I think we’ll need a second band to attack from the rear once they've committed themselves to an assault on the pass.”

  “Splitting the forces in three will be a good idea, but what happens if the enemy breaks through?” Bran worried.

  “Hopefully Ruairi’s forces will be assembled on the other side, and on patrol. All I know is if we don’t stop them, they’ll hack Tiernan and Ruairi’s territories in two and raze the countryside. Our own lands will be decimated as well. Famine, disease and a slow painful death will be the best we can hope for even if we're fortunate enough to be left alive, unless we make a stand now.”

  “What if Tiernan won’t listen to you?” Mahon asked. “He never has up until this point.”

  Shive rubbed her eyes, weary of trying to guess what her moody husband would do next. Then she looked at her cousin directly. “We’ve already protected his people by evacuating them, and putting our own troops in. What more can we do if Tiernan doesn’t choose to believe me or help himself? But we must fight on regardless. We're Ruairi’s sworn allies. We must stop Muireadach from ever being high king, even if it means sacrificing ourselves for the whole of Ireland.”

  Seeing her comrades’ faces, she tried to cheer them. “Now, it may not come to that. We’re ready for them, and we're strong, powerful, and fighting for the land we love. For our beloved clans. How can we possibly fail when we have right on our side. So, I expect every man and woman to stand shoulder to shoulder, for love of one another and for Ireland."

  She met the gaze of every man full on, and saw no more anxiety, only zeal.

  "We move the me
n into the field now, and get ready. I’ll meet you at Maumkeogh. And just remember, it could be a lot worse. If Oran here hadn’t helped me escape to come and warn you, you’d never have known about Muireadach’s plans until it was too late. We have countless advantages, and we've wrested the element of surprise from Muiredach. Let's make the most of it.”

  The men dispersed urgently, secure in their roles and purpose. As Shive had reminded them, they would need to strike hard, and fast when the time came, and smash Muireadach's well-laid plans to pieces.