I did like him, he was kind and held me in the highest esteem, his only drawback was he was excessively boring. If only he would paint, or perhaps take pleasure in the stage.
We approached the castle on foot and fell in with a snaking queue of market tradespeople entering the castle tae sell their wares. At the guard gate, General Hammond approached and spoke tae the men.
General Hammond returned and whispered, “Mairead, we are allowed an audience with the king, but it is notourking. His name is John Balliol.”
I said, “Well, that is absolutely absurd.” I looked up at the walls. “The walls are timber, if he is king, this John, he is nae trying verra hard.”
We were led before this pretend-king, who was sitting upon a chair in the middle of the room, as if twas a throne.
He narrowed his eyes. “What say ye?”
I raised my chin. “How long hae ye been a king?”
The crowd murmured.
“I daena answer tae ye.”
I kept my sight leveled upon him. “Who was the king afore ye?”
He said, “I am the king of Scotland, how dare ye interrogate us in our court!”
“I hae traveled from verra far away, and I was told there would be another king upon the throne. His name is Mag Mòr.”
He said, “I hae never heard this name.”
“Och, nae even an ancestor, nothing? Och, this is worse than I expected.”
“I come from a long line of kings, none of them are named Mag Mòr. I hae been wearing the crown for almost a year.”
“Well daena that just crumble the stone tower, and yer father was…?.”
Hammond behind me whispered, “Careful, Mairead.”
The king asked, “How are ye Scottish, yet ye daena ken the history of Scotland?”
“I am Scottish, I hae just forgotten, my liege. I was wondering about yer lineage, how ye became a king, was it yer father who wore the crown before ye?”
“My rule has been determined by fiat, after the deaths of our king Alexander III and then his heir, Queen Margaret, God rest her—”
“Neither of them were a Balliol?”
His gaze was hard. “Are ye going tae continue tae be insolent, or ought we finish this conversation afore I become angered?”
I huffed and curtsied low. “May your rule be long, sire.”
I kept my head down as I backed out of the room.
At the door, Hammond took me by the elbow and escorted me quickly to the courtyard. “You were too blunt with him, Mairead!”
I said, “I daena have time tae be polite tae a pretend king, he is in my son’s hall, wearing my son’s crown. The true king is Magnus! It is in all the history books. Tis maddening tae hear him deny it.”
We crossed the courtyard as he looked left and right. “We must leave in haste.”
“We are armed, we hae eight weapons hidden upon us.”
“Yes, but we do not want to use them against a hundred men.”
“Well, we can leave but we should find the nearest inn tae make more inquiries.”
