Lost in the Mist of Time

by Karen Michelle Nutt

  Aislinn didn’t mean to, but a chuckle escaped her lips. “I didn’t know it was in need of saving.”

  “No Christian woman would dress the way ye do nor would she defile young children. Ye woman will be damned, if ye continue yer evil ways.” Aislinn’s temper rose. How dare this man accuse her in such a way? “I believe you are out of line, dear Abbot. I do nothing to threaten these children and never would. They are playing a game and having fun. That is all. If you see something more to it, then maybe it is you that should search your soul for the evil that is obviously residing there.”

  The Abbot Kirwan’s mouth dropped opened, so stunned that she would dare say such things to him. “Are ye a heathen that ye speak to me in such a manner?”

  She took a step forward, but Dougray took hold of her arm and pulled her slightly behind him. “She is of the Christian faith, as ye and I are.”

  Aislinn would have rather fought her own battles, but seeing the situation was out of hand, she was wise enough to remain silent.

  Kirwan looked to the woman that had her hair cut more like a man’s and who spoke with strong words. “I would like to hear it from her. Do ye practice the Catholic faith?”

  She was about to make another retort that would have definitely gotten her in deeper trouble, but she wisely decided against it. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “I do. So you can rest assured that my soul is not in danger.” “Ye have been here near a month and yet ye have not been to confess yer sins.”

  “Maybe I have none to confess,” Aislinn nearly shouted.

  “That will be enough.” Again Dougray intervened. “Abbot Kirwan, I will take care of the matters here. We will see ye at Mass tomorrow.”

  He didn’t want to be dismissed, but when Dougray spoke a demand, even he would not question it. He nodded, but his gaze found Aislinn’s. His beady eyes bore into hers, but she did not flinch, causing him to be even more perturbed. He moved on and Robert Burke was quick to follow him.

  Murrough approached Dougray. “Abbot Kirwan and Robert Burke locking heads together will not amount to any good. Do ye want me to go with them?”

  “Aye, but let them do all the conversing.”

  “Understood.” Murrough hurried off to catch up with them.

  Dougray then turned his attention to Aislinn. “Just appease me here. Why do ye insist on causing problems?” Just when she was about to give him a reply, he held up his hand to halt her words. “Nay, do not go denying it. I want ye to listen to me on this, if not anything else. Abbot Kirwan, though I do not believe in his ethics, will make yer life miserable, especially if he believes ye to be the worst kind of sinner.”

  “Then why do you allow him to be here?”

  “Dunhaven has been his home for many years now. He is to stay. The people come to confess their sins to him.”

  “And you? Do you confess your sins to that man?”

  “That man is from a holy order as was many of his family before him. Ye will speak of him with respect.”

  “I respect people who deserve it, and as far as I could see, that man didn’t qualify.”

  “I refuse to argue with ye further. Ye will bite yer tongue where Abbot Kirwan is concerned, or I’ll have ye gagged and bound.”

  “Fine.” She turned away from him to watch the children, who were oblivious to what had just happened.

  Dougray had not wanted to fight with her, but yet again it seemed that they were at each other’s throat. “Aislinn?” She wouldn’t look at him and by the set of her jaw he could tell that she was upset. “We have both been under a lot of tension of late.” The apologetic tone he took drew her back to him. “Maybe ye would like to have some privacy tonight, without the clamoring of hungry men ringing in yer ears. May I interest ye in a quiet dinner with me and maybe a game of chess?” “Is this a date?”

  “Date?” He wasn’t sure what she meant.

  “Never mind. I would love to.” She was called away when Regan decided to attack Edmond for not making a goal. By the time she had settled the two down, she noticed that Dougray had already mounted his horse and was heading in the direction of the keep.

  After dinner, Dougray began to set up the chess pieces. It wasn’t for the game itself, but to enable him to have some time alone with Aislinn. He found himself thinking of her far too often during his hectic days, bringing a smile to his face as he recalled something she had told him. He found that when she wasn’t trying so thoroughly hard to annoy him, he actually looked forward to her company.

  And now after their long, leisurely dinner they were ready for a game of chess. She insisted that he start it. After a few moments, he decided on his strategy and his topic of conversation. “What other pastimes did ye enjoy back home?”

  “Oh just about everything. Basketball, baseball, absolutely loved swimming and track. I never felt so free when I was running for long distances. I did a lot of my thinking and sorting out on those occasions.”

  His brows lifted in a quirky arch. “Running long distances?” “Yeah, Connor and I run cross country.”

  “Hmm.” He studied the board before he made his next move. “Ye like to keep busy.”

  “Doesn’t everyone?” She was quick with her turn, making him think that she wasn’t paying much attention to what she was doing. She lifted her bold dark eyes to meet his.

  He reluctantly let his gaze drop, if only to study the board again. “Not everyone has the energy that ye possess, Aislinn.”

  “Never was one to sit for very long, unless I’m writing.”

  “Aah aye, your smut books,” he teased her. “Ye do like the written words.”

  “As much as I like to keep physically active, my mind is going a hundred miles an hour in the imaginary phase. Stories flit across my mind, and I just can’t wait to get them onto paper. I remember as a kid that I used to love to tell stories. You know not just the little tiny short ones, but the elaborate detailed kind. Once I was started, I could go on forever without taking a breath.”

  “As well I can imagine.” His smile remained on his extremely handsome face, warming her from across the table.

  “Now you must answer a few questions of my own.”

  His smiled slipped, and for a moment, she thought that he was going to refuse, but then he nodded.

  “You are Catholic?” “Aye.”

  “Not quite a practicing one, are you? I mean I haven’t seen you running to the chapel for mass.”

  “It is difficult to explain. The old ways are present here at Dunhaven, what the priests call the pagan teachings. Neala was my teacher long before I was obligated to endure the teachings of the church. Then when I was forced to go to England, my grandfather immersed me in the protestant ways. I have had enough of religion to last me a lifetime.” He turned the questioning to her. “Ye stated to Abbot Kirwan that ye were of the faith, or was this simply a way to appease him?”

  “It was the truth.” She nodded. “Baptized and raised Catholic from the day I was born. I will admit that since I moved out of my parent’s house I have been more than a little relaxed. I am now of the guilt-ridden club that only attend twice a year, once for Christmas and then Easter to fulfill my moral obligations.” She leaned her elbows on the table and folded her hands under her chin. “Why is the Butler so determined to have your head?”

  “He dislikes me.” He was avoiding her gaze with a pretense of studying the game at hand, but she knew better.

  She made an annoying buzzer like sound causing him to look at her. “Not good enough. Try another one.”

  He hesitated for a moment. “It is of a personal nature, that much I will tell ye. He blames me for something that I had no control over.”

  “You explained to him that it wasn’t your fault?” “Aye, many times, but he listens with a deaf ear.”

  “That does make it difficult. Okay, if you aren’t going to elaborate on your feud, how about telling me a little about your time in England.”

  “Ye are a nosey one, aren’t ye
?”

  “Yep.” The even whiteness of her smile was dazzling making him feel relaxed. He was enjoying their time together, getting to know each other.

  “They were long years that made me wish for home more times than not. My grandfather was forever on my back to learn the ways of the court, but I had no desires to be paraded around like some beast in a cage. It was my great pleasure to accept being knighted, especially since it enabled me to return to Dunhaven.” He took his turn before looking at her again. “Now it is my turn to ask ye a question.”

  “Shoot.” She leaned back in her chair and waited for him to ask away.

  “Ye speak the language well enough, as though it were a second skin to ye. How did ye come by this knowledge?”

  “Spoken in the home by both my parents, along with French, Italian, Spanish and Cheyenne for good measure.”

  “What is this Cheyenne?”

  “Native American Indian.” She grinned. “It’s where I get my dark eyes.” “Beautiful eyes, I might add.”

  “Thank you.” She accepted the compliment graciously. “My mother is a quarter Cheyenne and her grandmother was adamant that she not forget her heritage. Languages were so much a part of our lives that I thought everyone spoke a multitude of them. What a shock it was to find out I was wrong. I have to admit that finally one of the languages I know has come in handy.”

  “Very well, I would think. Ye know our language better than the Irish know it themselves. And I’m referring to your century. I could not help but notice that they mainly speak the English tongue. There has been much change for that to occur.”

  He saw the sorrow cross her face before she spoke and it pained him to know that his home would surely suffer. “A country should be allowed to speak their own language, but I am afraid that there will be events that will drastically change the way the people of Ireland live. English rule in the end will dominate.”

  “I don’t understand. We have great Chieftains, seasoned warriors. How could we be defeated?”

  “I’m afraid a lot of the loss was because Ireland would not unite and fight as one. Something I do know though that might put a smile on your face. Believe it or not Grania O’Malley will grow up to be a great chieftain, but unfortunately no one will grant her the title.”

  “That little gangly lass, Dubhdara’s daughter?”

  “Yes. She grows up and causes quite a bit of havoc on the sea, for nearly forty years.”

  “Well if miracles never cease to exist. It is good that ye saved her from those men.”

  Instantly their eyes locked. “Could this be the reason why I was brought here?”

  “Could be, and if what ye say is the truth, then I am grateful for it. Female or not, I will take anyone causing mayhem for the English.”

  Aislinn chuckled causing him to join her. “Rather good of you to say so. Hey, why are you being so nice to me?”

  “Puts ye off guard, does it?” His mustache twitched and he winked at her. Her grin turned almost mischievous. “Well maybe just a little, but…” She looked at the board game and made her last move. “…but not enough to let you win. Check mate.”

  His smile left his face as he gazed down at the board, not believing that he had lost. His blue-gray eyes lifted to her beaming face of triumph, causing him to grin also. “It seems that it was I who has been distracted, milady.”

  “Care to go for another round?” She was already setting up the board.

  “I’ll have to warn ye, I will be keeping my mind on the game this time.”

  Chapter 31

  Aislinn had waited for Dougray in the library until it became apparent that he was not going to show. She was disappointed for he had promised her that they were to tour the countryside this morning. Teige finally found out from Dermot that he had left before dawn, but he wasn’t sure on what business or when he would be returning.

  She didn’t want to be cooped up in the castle so she made her way out to the courtyard, where people were already set up for the day, selling and buying their goods. Teige walked at her side, which she found she didn’t mind so much. She rather liked the young man’s company.

  She browsed around the tables not seriously shopping, but enjoying the conversations. She was about to move on when she happened to spot Dougray conversing with the over-voluptuous Fiona. Her feet failed to move and her eyes narrowed dangerously, as it slowly dawned on her why Dougray had stood her up. Obviously the woman had been the one to detain him. A surge

  of jealousy coursed through her veins, and it nearly took all her restraint not to stalk right over there and pull out every golden strand of hair from Fiona’s head.

  Teige seeing her arrested expression followed her line of vision. “Damnation,” was whispered under his breath but Aislinn had heard him.

  She pinned him down for some answers. “Okay, you know something, don’t you?”

  “Know what, milady?”

  “Don’t milady me, Teige. I see it in your eyes. Who is that woman to Dougray? She has him simply entranced.” “Trapped is more like it.”

  This did not make her feel better. “Come clean, Teige.” “Fiona…. She is….”

  “Yes?” Her intense gaze was making him squirm. “She is just Fiona.” He couldn’t meet her gaze.

  “Since you’re not going to tell me straight out, how about if I guess.” When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “I think that Fiona has designs on yer lord, does she?”

  “She likes many men I am afraid, but seems to love none of them.”

  The dawning of his words seeped in. “Oh, and what does Dougray feel for her? Don’t spare me.”

  “I don’t want to make things difficult for milord and ye.”

  “Difficult?” She laughed. “Do not worry. Dougray can be with whomever he wishes.” She shrugged trying to show him she really didn’t care. “I was only curious.”

  “Ye mean ye don’t mind? I thought that….” “What did you think?”

  “Nothing, milady.”

  “Please stop with the milady. A.J., remember?” She gave him a nudge and smile, but once they began walking again, that grin slipped from her face. She didn’t know much about Fiona, but she did know that she didn’t like the woman’s hands on Dougray. She strode up to the two, not caring in the least that she just might be barging in on a private conversation.

  “So we meet again…Fiona, isn’t it?” Aislinn smiled pleasantly enough, but Fiona was not fooled.

  “Aye, milady.” She gave a slight nod. “If ye will excuse me, I have business to attend to.” She strode away with an air of dismissal.

  “Was it something I said?” Aislinn asked innocently.

  “Fiona has an errand to run,” Dougray stated simply, forcing Aislinn to bite her tongue with the retort, “I bet she does.”

  “You stood me up, you know?” “Stood you up?”

  “We were to go riding, Dougray.”

  “I did not forget.” He had been looking forward to spending time alone with her, but he received pressing news that he couldn’t ignore. “I fear that I have to postpone our riding excursion. There has been another incident with the Butlers. I must tend to this matter personally.”

  “Oh, I understand.” She couldn’t quite keep the disappointment out of her voice.

  “Another time perhaps?” His eyes had wavered over to where Fiona was standing watching them.

  Aislinn noticed the exchange, pissing her off all over again. “Don’t bother.” She started to move away, but his hand shot out to stop her. She whirled around; her anger blazed tightly in those dark eyes. Confused, he let her go watching her stalk off in a fit of underlined fury.

  When he saw Teige glance at him with a small shake of his head, he was even more puzzled. He scratched his head trying to make sense of what had just happened.

  Dougray silently rode alongside Murrough out to the small piece of land that had been taken care of by the MacKennas. Declan MacKenna, the youngest son, had made it out alive and was the
only link to what had happened. The only problem was he was four years old and was unable to tell them a blasted thing. What could he expect? By the time they had found the lad, he was shivering in the cold and in shock.

  Dougray wanted to go back to the homestead and see if they had missed any clues, anything that might help them to uncover who had murdered the whole family and slaughtered the livestock.

  While Dougray was preoccupied with other more pressing matters, Aislinn busied herself with the children. Another game of soccer was put together and this time she didn’t hesitate to join in.

  Cormac walked over to Teige who was still on guard. “Looks like fun,” he commented.

  “Aye, that it does. Wouldn’t mind if I had a go at it too.”

  “A.J. would probably slaughter us.” Cormac chuckled and Teige’s mouth twitched with amusement.

  “She is strong woman, Cormac, if ever I knew one. I sometimes wonder who is guarding whom.”

  “I have had the same thought myself.”

  They watched the process of the game for a moment. Cormac became quite involved and let out a yell for Lynelle to watch out for her brother, for

  he was close on her heels. “Moira I see has joined in on the fun.” He couldn’t help but notice how her slim hips moved to and fro as she tried to block Regan from passing her. Cormac let out a low whistle. “The lass has grown to a woman right before me eyes. Now why have I not seen this before?”

  “Aye,” Teige answered. “She has beautiful dark hair, don’t ye think? And her eyes…her eyes are like the blue of a clear lake.”

  Cormac let out a chortle and he slapped Teige on the back, nearly knocking him forward. “Ye are smitten, are ye not?”

  “Me?”

  “Aye. Ye going on the way ye are describing the lass, as if she were a goddess.”

  Teige took a deep breath that was more of a sigh. “She’s grand.”