The Faithful Heart (13 page)

 

 

The three men stared at Morgana silently, and finally Ronan nodded.
“I will agree to your requests, but your restitution, generous
though it is, doesn’t explain the hostilities in the first place.”

 

 

“You may question my captains personally about the matter, but
Seamus swears to me that they have no idea why you have blocked
their trade in the town or halted the ships at Assaroe,” Morgana
maintained.

 

 

She cleared her throat, and asked quietly, “Are you sure they were
our ships? We have made many ships for other families in the past,
though not so much in recent years. Where they Irish or Spanish
made?”

 

 

“They were Irish made, with your pennants,” Tomas said firmly.

 

 

“How long ago was the last incident you can recall?”

 

 

“About six months ago the piracy started, and the cargo was stolen
from Flanders about three months ago,” Declan replied. “I was there
myself, and though I recognised none of the men, it was one of your
ships, I am sure.”

 

 

“I’m afraid that they were ships which deliberately appeared to be
ours. Seamus tells me our fleet has been dwindling for the past
year. I have no Irish made ships left, only my ten Spanish ones,”
Morgana announced.

 

 

They looked from one to another at that news.

 

 

“Renegade crews, then?” Tomas suggested.

 

 

Morgana shook her head, and said with more certainty than she felt,
“For what benefit? To make sure they could never return to their own
home ports again because of your ire? That makes no sense. They
couldn’t trade once they had left themselves open to charges of
piracy, nor could they enter any other ports once the word got
around. Nor can any of my ships enter any ports at the minute, since
the English government officials are claiming we owe two thousand
pounds of duty.”

 

 

“Two thousand pounds!” Declan gasped.   "It's not possible."

 

 

Morgana nodded. "Exactly my point. Even if my fleet were trading at
full strength and I was blessed with all the weather gods, I would
never be able to move that much cargo. But as it is I have scarcely
any ships left compared with when I left for the convent at Killour.

 

 

“Now you see why I need your help, Ronan. I must have money to pay
those taxes, and I need seaworthy ships which can go to each port to
pay them. I also need to know what happened to the twenty ships
which seem to have vanished without a trace."

 

 

She paced up and down in front of the hearth for a moment as they
considered her words.

 

 

Then she looked the older man straight in the eye. "And I am not too
proud to admit that I can’t restore my family fortunes on my own.
With Father ill, and Finn and Patrick away, I am all alone. The
Maguires and the homeless MacMahons who have taken refuge from their
own clan are counting on me, and I can’t let them down. Please,
Ronan, Tomas, Declan, will you help me repair my last remaining
ships, and find my lost ones, and all the men who have disappeared?”
Morgana beseeched them.

 

 

Once again the men looked from one to the other. They were giving
nothing away, but nor did she senses any treachery. God help her
family if they had become enemies….

 

 

“Morgana Maguire, we have listened to your appeal, and would like
you to wait outside until we have discussed the matter,” Ronan
stated.

 

 

She bowed deeply, and did as she was asked, withdrawing from the
chamber silently.

 

 

Morgana went out of the great hall with a sinking feeling in the pit
of her stomach, and sat in a window seat gazing out at the open
seas.

 

 

Since she had had no sleep the night before, she nearly drifted off
to sleep as she waited, but a small movement behind her made her
turn her head. She saw Niamh O’Donnell, a thin girl with blonde hair
about two years older than herself, come out of the great hall.

 

 

“Father will speak with you now,” she said with a smile.“We are glad
you are back, Morgana.”

 

 

The two women gave each other a hug and kiss. “Thank you, Niamh, and
I am sorry about all this....”

 

 

“You were in the convent at Kilgarven,” Niamh said, cutting off her
apology. “You had no way of knowing, did you?”

 

 

Niamh gave her childhood friend another quick hug, and then opened
the door to the hall.

 

 

Ronan asked Morgana to take a seat near himself, and the four young
men and women waited for him to proclaim his decision.

 

 

“I am inclined to believe I may have made a mistake, and judged
things simply by appearances rather than by the facts of the case.
The fact is that people do not change that much, and old loves and
loyalties die hard.

 

 

"Morgana, since you have been in the convent, you are blameless for
the misdeeds against my family, and whoever is responsible, it is
not the Maguires. We have never engaged in any bitter rivalries in
all the years we have lived side by side, and it is not in the best
interests of either clan to do so now.

 

 

“True, my cargo has been stolen, and I have lost two ships, but your
ships have been used by others to do the harm. I do not know what
has happened to your crews if those ships have been lost, but if
they are still alive, I will make sure we find them.

 

 

“As for you remaining ships, I will have my men help provision and
repair them. The treasure you have brought will be examined, and
though I will take back what belongs to Niamh, I will offer you a
fair price for these other pieces. I will pay you in food and other
items you may list for me for your ships here at Belleek. My
goldsmiths will melt down the rest of the treasure and mint it into
coin for you to pay the taxes to the port authorities."

 

 

Morgana was overjoyed, but she waited patiently and respectfully for
the older man to finish.

 

 

“I have a ship heading for Sligo now which will take a message to
Tiarnach O’Connor telling him to lift the ban on your ships, and
which will also bring back food and supplies for you.If you give it
clearance, it can sail up the lough to deposit its cargo anywhere
you wish within the next three days. Please make a list of
provisions, and send some men to carry out your orders in Sligo.

 

 

“I will also send word to my fleet at Assaroe to end the blockade,
and again, to send a shipload of supplies up the lough.

 

 

"I feel certain the MacMahons are responsible for all of this, since
they are the only ones who stand to benefit from both of our losses,
and our enmity towards one another. I for one am not willing to
allow their nefarious practices to go unpunished,” Ronan concluded
firmly.

 

 

She rose from her seat to clasp his hand. “I thank you, sir, for all
you have done. And intend to do. But please, Ronan, while I thank
you for your overwhelming generosity in the face of this crisis, I
would not have you move against the MacMahons. They would surely
know we suspect them. If they think that, they might do even worse
damage to both our families.

 

 

"No, for the moment, the money and the food is more than enough. As
soon as the ships are repaired, we can start our own trade.

 

 

“If there is any chance of also securing a prize bull, and some
sheep and cattle, as well as a new millstone, I would be very
grateful, but for now this is all the help I need,” Morgana smiled.

 

 

Ronan laughed at her odd requests, but agreed to help.Then he and
his sons began to move around the castle like a whirlwind, issuing
orders, supervising the gathering of her list of requests, while
Morgana hastily scratched out two lists of provisions for her men to
take to Assaroe and Sligo.

 

 

Niamh came back wearing a cloak, and accompanied Morgana down to the
harbour, where she boarded each of the three treasure ships and
reclaimed her lost property. Morgana had the men unload all the rest
of the gold and silver, and the carts were heaved up to the castle,
where the treasure was unloaded. Ronan’s metal workers then began to
melt it down, and minted it into coins of various denominations.

 

 

Morgana then bought out every shop in the town to provision her
three galleys, and the carpenters and sail makers in the town turned
out
en masse
to obey Ronan’s orders to give the Maguires
every assistance.

 

 

Morgana handed one list to Stephen, and another to one of her crew
men and said, “I want this load to go to Tulach, and this one to go
to Má Niadh. The livestock can go straight to Lisleavan, along with
the seeds and farming equipment.”

 

 

“What about weapons?If the MacMahons really are trying to cause
trouble....” Stephen began to argue, but Morgana interrupted
angrily.

 

 

“If the O’Donnells give us munitions, the MacMahons will use it as a
golden opportunity to trouble them. No, we will buy them elsewhere,
and ship them ourselves. For now we have to feed the people, get the
men into fighting condition, and make the castle fit to withstand a
siege. We must do it all secretly, is that understood? If the
MacMahons find out, they will do anything they can to stop us.”

 

 

Stephen nodded, and he and the other men took the money and prepared
to leave.

 

 

Morgana was anxious to get back to her sick father in Lisleavan, but
with all the activity going on at the castle, in the town, and
aboard the ships, she resigned herself to staying overnight as
Niamh’s guest.

 

 

“Father says you must stay for supper, and then you and the men and
carts can come back on one of our ships tomorrow,” Niamh informed
her.

 

 

She looked up from her lists. “All right, Niamh, and thank you for
you hospitality, but I really want to see my father as soon as
possible.”

 

 

Niamh sat down next to her at the huge dining table in the great
hall. “I understand your concern, Morgana, and it does you credit as
a daughter, but you look exhausted. You have dark rings under your
eyes, and you obviously didn’t sleep at all last night if you rode
here from Lisleavan. Go to my room and lie down, while I see to
everything. After all, I know a bit about ships myself you know, and
I like nothing better than to go shopping.” Niamh smiled.

 

 

“No, really, I’ll sleep tonight, Niamh, I promise. Right now I have
letters to write, plans to discuss with my men, repairs to oversee.”

 

 

“Father asked if you wouldn’t mind him coming to Lisleavan as well,
to pay his respects to your father.”

 

 

“Of course he is welcome to sail down with us. Father will be
delighted to see him, I’m sure.” Morgana gave a bright smile. She
knew her father would be delighted.

 

 

"Very well, if you're sure I can't help you with anything more, I
shall go get ready for the trip."

 

 

"Not at present, no, but I promise, if there is anything else you
can do, I won't be shy about asking. You're the nearest thing I've
ever had to a sister, and I'm more grateful than I can say. And look
forward to a time when I can repay you."

 

 

"So poor Aofa is—

 

 

"Worse than ever, and certainly not poor."

 

 

They both rolled their eyes.

 

 

"I'm sorry to hear that for your sake, truly."

 

 

"And yours, since I am sure she conspired to steal your trousseau,
out of greed, and spite too, I'm sure," Morgana admitted.

 

 

"Well, envy said to be a deadly sin. As is avarice. I know that
however bad her afterlife is going to be, she certainly creates a
hell for everyone else as well as herself by never being satisfied
or grateful for anything she has."

 

 

"Indeed, and has watched her whole clan struggle to eek out a meager
living and yet still starve all around her, while she lives a life
of leisure and luxury without lifting a finger except to plot and
scheme."

 

 

"Well, those days are over now that you're home. Thank God for it,
and may she never have a day's luck with her ill-got gains." Niamh
shook her head in disgust, and went off to pack for the journey.

 

 

Morgana remained at the table in the great hall and made lists of
purchases and instructions for the three ships about to sail.
  

 

 

Then she sauntered down to the harbour to watch the barnacles being
scraped, the decks sanded, the sails replaced.

 

 

After a time, she called her three captains together.

 

 

“I already have a man on the way to Sligo, so I want your ship,
Kevin, to go down to Limerick. Pay the taxes, and see if you can
secure a cargo of hides or fleeces to trade in Spain. Pay the port
taxes, and see if there is anyone who can explain what they were
levied for. Try to get a cargo manifest if at all possible, and I
want you to record the value of everything you buy and sell down to
the last groat, is that clear?”

 

 

“What do you want me to pick up in Spain?” Kevin asked.

 

 

“Wine, salt, and beans. Then I want you to take the wine to
Flanders, and bring back some dyes and spices, especially saffron
and liquorice.”

 

 

“And you, Pronsias,” Morgana said, turning to the second captain,
“after your trip to Galway, I need you to around and up to New Ross
and Waterford, and get as many fleeces as you can from the
monasteries down there. Then I'd like you to take them to Flanders,
and bring back some wine from France. Sell the wine at Dublin, and
see what other cargo you can pick up. You can run between the east
coast ports and Bristol and Bridgwater as often as you have to, but
keep on trading, and make sure you get a steady profit. We have to
get back onto the trade routes, or we're done for.”