“Aye, he is a craven tallow-faced sack of mold, I hae just begun m’rule and he is sendin’ his men tae trod upon the m’lands and threaten the realm? Och nae, I am feelin’ murderous — did I tell ye I met him at a tournament?”
“Aye, aye... ye won the joust — ye forget Young Magnus, ye hae told me of it numerous times. Ye are always boastin’ on yerself — we might want a bit more humility.”
I chuckled. “‘We might want a bit more humility,’Yer Majesty.”
He groaned and teased me, “Och, the wee man must be called ‘yer majesty’ or he will feel poorly.”
“Aye, I will feel poorly, like I did the morning I awakened and prepared for the joust. I was already exhausted, havin’ competed in many games already, yet Istillbeat the champion of the King of England.”
Fraoch shook his head, “Och nae, ye are determined tae tell the story. I was there, I lived it!”
I laughed, leaned back, and continued, “...of course beatin’ the King of England is worth the ridicule of m’brother — twas a proud moment and I will tell the tale of it again and again, the King of England is a be-slubberin’ mule, and we must remind ourselves he can be beaten. I hae done it before, I will do it again.Regardlessof the state of m’walls.”
We nodded, but then Fraoch said, “I am certain we will prevail, but the state of the walls is dismal.”
I said, “Aye, all it will take is a catapult and we are beaten.”
Sean scowled. “The only savin’ grace is twill take months tae bring a catapult up that terrain. It buys us time.”
I nodded. “And ye forget that I can bring a catapult by time travel.”
“Och, I dinna think of it — we could go get some fine cannons, though I am not certain if we hae the time.”
I said, “All we hae is time. We can send someone for more weapons, I can send the women and children tae safety. Lochinvar arrives today. Colonel Quentin will arrive day after tomorrow. He will bring weapons and begin tae strategize. Master Cook will lend a hand with the build... there is a great deal tae do, but I need m’men around me afore I plan m’next step.”
“What time will Lochinvar arrive?”
I looked out in the direction of the King’s Park. “Any minute now.”
Sean scoffed, “He is liable tae cause more trouble than he solves.”
“Ye are verra hard on him for someone who caused all the trouble in the world when he was a young man. Ye used tae terrorize the auld men of the castle, especially the ones who stood in yer way, and here ye are, an auld man, standing in a young man’s way.”
He chuckled. “I ought tae kick yer arse for callin’ me auld.”
“‘I ought tae kick yer arse for callin’ me auld,’Yer Majesty.”
He groaned. “Och nae.”
I laughed. “Besides ye daena hae the strength or the army tae do it.”
Sean said, “Fine, but ye helped me terrorize the auld men. Ye remember when we were working on the walls at Kilchurn? Ye would distract Baldie and I would move his tools a bit tae the left and he kept wondering why they were shifting?—”
“We did it for days.”
“He never caught on until I finally moved them across the room. He was furious, ye remember?
I said, “Aye, his face turned deep crimson, I thought we would hae tae revive him.”
“He was yellin’ that he would tell the Earl tae hae us both whipped!”
I stood and acted it out, “He stamped his foot! Remember how we laughed? And he stamped his foot again!”
I sank back intae my chair.
“He never would tell the Earl on us, he was too fond — he would strike us himself tae keep the larger trouble from our door.”
I said, “Och, I miss that man.”
