She had more questions she needed answered, but the phone rang.
Chapter 82
Everything happens for a reason. This was what Connor kept reminding himself as he waited for the operator to connect his call. When he heard his mother’s voice on the other end, he sighed in relief. Thank God she was home. “Hi, Mom.”
“Connor, we’ve been so worried about you. Are you all right? Where have you been? Is anyone else with you?”
With that last question, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Who were you expecting to be with me?”
“Connor, don’t play games with me. A.J. is here and….”
“A.J.?” Connor looked over his shoulder at the tall Irishman who was eager to be reunited with the woman whom he loved. “Put her on, Mom. There’s someone that wants to say hi.” After Connor explained just how the phone worked, he handed it over to Dougray. He still was hesitant with the strange looking contraption, but his overwhelming need to hear Aislinn’s voice made him give it a try.
“Hello.” He heard her sweet voice, but couldn’t believe it. He pulled the phone from his ear to stare at the strange object.
“It is a trick,” he whispered, but Connor motioned for him to place the phone back to his ear. He did and he heard her speak again, only it didn’t seem as though it was directed toward him. “Mom, there’s no one there.”
“Aislinn?” he nearly shouted into the receiver afraid her voice would fade away. “Aislinn!”
She heard the deep Irish brogue and she thought that her heart would stop beating. It couldn’t be him. “Who is this?” she asked hesitantly.
“Have ye forgotten yer husband already?” He heard her gasp. Then he heard her sniffle back a sob. “Don’t cry, lass. I didn’t mean to upset ye.”
“Upset me?” She choked back a chuckle and a sob again. “I’m so happy,”
she claimed. “Where are you? Is Connor with you?”
“Ireland, and aye, Connor is with me and someone else.” He paused for a moment. “I brought Declan.” He heard her crying again and wished he could see her face. “Did ye hear me, Aislinn?”
“I heard you. I love you, Dougray. Do you know that?”
“Aye, that I do. If I hadn’t known that ye did, I would have never made it through all these months without ye.”
“I’m coming for you. Stay where you are and….” She paused then and looked at her father. “He has no passport. He doesn’t exist in this time. How can….”
“There are ways around it. By the end of the week, Dougray Fitzpatrick will have an identity, birth certificate and social security card. It will be done the way it was for me.”
She didn’t care what her father’s connections were so long as the two men in her life returned safely to her. “We have a son too, Pop. He brought Declan.”
“Declan will be happy to hear ye say that.” Dougray was still on the phone. She turned her attention back to him. “Is it all right with you? Do you mind?”
“Nay. He will be our son, Aislinn.”
“And you will be a father again in about two months, a girl, Dougray. We are going to have a girl.”
“And how do ye know that? Have ye gained a second sight?”
She chuckled. “No. It is called technology. The doctor can determine what sex your baby is before it is born.”
“I have a lot to learn, don’t I?”
“It won’t take you long. I promise. Now, my Pop needs to talk to Connor. I’ll see you soon. Give Declan a hug for me.”
“And what about me?”
“I’m sending you a kiss. I love you, Dougray.” “I love ye too, lass.”
After Connor took down the information that he needed, he said good-bye and hung up the phone. “Well…” He looked at the sixteenth century man and boy that were in his care. He sighed with a shake of his head. “…if you are going to live here now, we need to do something about your appearance.”
Aislinn couldn’t wait. She hadn’t thought twice about the cost of airline tickets that she purchased to spend three days in Ireland, only to turn around and come back home.
She wanted to be there when Dougray and Declan took their first airplane ride. There was no doubt in her mind that Dougray was the bravest man alive, but adjusting to the twenty-first century had to be overwhelming to him and it had to be even worse for Declan.
She entered the Shannon Airport terminal, scanning the throng of people waiting for their special someone. She spotted Connor first and he waved, lifting Declan up above the crowd. She waved back. Then her eyes locked onto Dougray’s.
When she spotted him, she stopped in her tracks. Her memory had held the image of him with his shoulder-length hair and long mustache, a very Irish lord. But now standing before her was a smooth-faced man with his dark hair trimmed well above his ears. His dress was simple, but rich with dark slacks and a long-sleeved, royal blue shirt. His arresting good looks totally captured not only her attention, but also many of the other women who passed by. They couldn’t help but take another look at this devastatingly handsome man. He seemed not to notice the attention he was attracting for his silvery gray eyes clung to hers as he headed toward her. In a matter of a moment, he had her in his arms.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Tell me this isn’t a dream.”
“It isn’t a dream.” He held her tighter erasing the shadows that had crossed her heart for so many months. He looked at her as though memorizing her every feature. He reveled in his open admiration of her. He didn’t care that there were people stepping around them. He couldn’t wait another moment to reclaim her. He pressed his lips against hers, gently covering her mouth losing himself in their softness.
“Now wasn’t this the kind of behavior that got you in this predicament?” Connor’s gentle teasing brought them to their senses. Dougray lifted his head but he didn’t let her go.
His smile touched her slowly, seductively, and his eyes told her what other things he had on his mind. “If my memory serves me, there was more entailed.”
She nudged him affectionately. “You’ll have to wait.”
He sighed, “If I must.” At that moment, the baby decided to kick. Dougray’s eyes widened in surprise, making Aislinn laugh. “It seems our daughter is calling your attention.” He took hold of her waist, or rather lack of one, and felt the roundness that was holding his daughter safe within its cocoon.
“I can’t wait to meet ye, little one.” He looked up again, his smile broadening his handsome face. “I love ye, Aislinn.”
“What about me?” Declan threw himself against Dougray and Aislinn’s legs in a fierce hug.
Dougray leaned down and easily lifted the small boy, while his other arm hugged Aislinn close to his side. “We love ye too, Declan.”
“You are very important in our lives and you will be important to your new baby sister.”
“You have a lass in there, A.J.?” He pointed to her stomach, his blue eyes widening.
“Yes. She can’t wait to meet you.”
“She will really be my sister?” He looked hopefully to Dougray then back to Aislinn.
“Absolutely. She’ll need a big brother to look after her. You will do that won’t you?”
He nodded his head. “I will take good care of her. Does this mean ye will be my ma then?”
“Only if that is all right?”
His answer was his arms encircling around her neck. She chuckled. “I assume that’s a yes.”
He looked up again, this time at Dougray. Before Declan could voice the question, he offered what the little boy most wanted. “I would be proud to call ye son.” That won him a gripping bear hug of his own.
Dougray looked out the window of the plane, still unsure of the contraption. How in the world could this monstrosity lift itself into the sky? He felt Aislinn lean against him, her chin resting on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Trust me, the plane will get off the runway.” He looked at her now with a smile on his face. He couldn’t believe that he was with h
er, that they were allowed another chance for happiness.
He offered his hand to her. “I’ll have to trust ye.”
She looked at his strong hand and let her fingers intertwine with his. He gently gave her hand a squeeze. She returned the gesture before she sought his eyes. Never had she thought it possible to rely on anyone but herself. Somehow Dougray had shown her that she could rely on him and without the fear of losing her own identity. Yes, he needed her, like every other man that she had chosen for companionship, but there was one big difference that made it all so right, all so perfect…she needed him, too. “I trust you to take care of me also, Dougray”
“That, I assure ye, I will.” He leaned forward sealing his vow with a kiss. “They’re at it again, Uncle Connor.” Declan just shook his head making Connor laugh.
“Yep. They sure are.”
Four and a half years later…
Dougray finally was able to launch his career that would eventually restore the forests of Ireland. Large areas of bog land were already being cleared out, allowing for trees to flourish were nothing had grown. It was his gift to his homeland and Donagh had been enthusiastic enough to help finance the adventure.
Dougray was still learning all the wonderful advancements that had happened in the last centuries. It may take him a lifetime to understand them all, but he was an adamant learner and he had tremendous amount of help from the Hennessys.
Aislinn was busy writing her second edition of Irish folklore, and together they were working on their first book, the subject of historical images of sixteenth century Ireland.
Dougray moved to the French doors of his study that overlooked the backyard. He watched Aislinn and their daughter, Bridget, planting her very own tree. Declan raced across the lawn with the water can handing it over to her. He was indeed a good boy and very protective of his sister.
Dougray smiled with contentment. He put his paperwork aside and decided to go outside to join his family. His family, how wonderful those words sounded to his ears. He was thinking just how complete his life was when Aislinn leaned over with a kiss and a whisper in his ear. “Do you remember that special weekend that we had together?”
A roguish grin spread across his face, remembering how wonderful it had been. Connor had volunteered to entertain the children, so they could have time together. They had driven up the coast and ended up at a quaint little bed and breakfast that overlooked the ocean. “Aye. It was grand.”
“It was a little more remarkable than we thought.” He looked at her as the dawning of her words sunk in. “How’d you like being a father again?” she added.
He wrapped his arm around her, his gray eyes actually misting. “Couldn’t imagine anything more rewarding.” He pulled her close to him as they watched Declan instruct Bridget on what she should do next to secure the tree. She looked up at her big brother with her adoring, dark, brown eyes.
“We’re going to have a boy,” Aislinn told him.
Dougray glanced at her. “The doctors can already tell this?”
She shook her head. “No. Neala revealed it in a pool of water to me. It had been a glimpse of our life together. I remembered seeing three children, two boys and a girl running across the grass.” She looked up at him. “It was this backyard, Dougray. I didn’t realize it then, but now I do. I was seeing us here.”
His smoke-colored eyes touched her dark ones. “Before we had ever met, we were aimlessly lost in the mist of time , and in more ways than one. We were destined from the beginning, Aislinn.” He leaned forward and covered her lips with a tender kiss.
Bridget noticed her parents smooching again and shook her head. “Look at ’em, D. They’re mouths are always glued together.”
Declan smiled and put an arm around his little sister. “When a husband and wife love each other as deeply as they do, it’s only natural for them to kiss.” She looked up at her brother not at all convinced.
“Really?”
“Really, Short Stuff.” He ruffled her dark hair making her smile. “Come on, let’s finish the planting of the tree then I’ll give ye a piggyback ride.”
That won him one of her biggest grins and a fierce hug, before her little hands were in the dirt again. Declan glanced at the two people that had made his life meaningful. They were his parents now, but he still recalled bits and pieces of his past, though the memories were hazy, almost like a dream. They had come from a land far away, where he spoke another language, and he remembered a mighty, just lord of a castle and his beautiful, courageous lady.
A smile touched his lips. And he was a part of that story. “Hey, D, are you goin’ to help me?”
“Aye, Short Stuff. Yer big brother will always be there for ye. Ye know that, don’t ye?”
“You’ll protect me from dragons?” Her dark eyes gleamed for a story. “Aye, with my trusty sword, I will defend ye, milady.” He pretended to draw his weapon and fight off an imaginary foe. “Always?” she asked him bringing him to a halt.
He nodded and brushed his blond hair out of his eyes. “That’s what big brother’s are for. Now do ye want to hear me weave a tale or not?”
She clasped her hands together in delight and her dark eyes widened with anticipation. “A story.”
He bowed deep and low, lifting his twinkling blue eyes to hers. “As ye wish, milady. A long time ago in a land far, far away from here….”
…And so the story was told.
Author’s Note
Though Aislinn and Dougray are fictional characters along with those characters of Dunhaven, the chieftain Owen Dubhdara O’Malley was a true figure of Irish history. A handsome, brave man who was the provincial king of Connaught, he governed twenty town lands, or (eighty quarters in Burrishoole). He held more of it as a tenant to the Earl of Ormond. O’Malley’s barony of Murrisk included all the ocean islands from Clare to Inisboffin.
His daughter Grania (Grania Ni Mhaille or Grace O’Malley as the English called her) is known as the Pirate Queen. Grania was an heiress, but according to the Brehon Law, she could never be a chieftain. Yet she was able to keep the love and obedience of her clansmen, especially in the islands. For more than forty years she fought a stubborn fight to keep her lands from the English. She was truly a woman way before her time. Even today around Clew Bay almost everything is associated with her memory.
As for the Tudors, they were one of the ruling families of England during the sixteenth century attempting to rule Ireland. In the early 1500s their influence was at a minimal, only ruling the land around Dublin (The Pale). The rest of Ireland and it provinces were under Anglo-Norman magnates or Gaelic Chieftains rule. As the years went by, the Tudors’ control and power over Ireland gradually increased, and by the 1600s, there had been an enormous expansion of the English influence. Ties to the semi-independent magnates were broken and the remaining Gaelic stronghold in Ulster was defeated. However, though the Tudors had secularly taken over Ireland, they were not successful with the religious transformation. The Anglo-Normans and the Gaelic country remained Catholic and were able to hold on to their lands despite losing their political influence.
I have taken tremendous liberties with history, knowing the state of Ireland in the 1500s was extremely unstable with their skirmishes and small- scale wars. Half of Ireland was made up of Irish lordships, which were independent with their own laws and alliances. I have used the Butler name as the clan that had a dispute with the Fitzpatricks, for in history it is noted that they had an ongoing feud questioning loyalties. There is mention of a Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick, the lord of Upper Ossory, who had spent his childhood in England as a hostage for his father’s loyalty. It was upon his return that the Butlers questioned his loyalties for Ireland and abducted his wife and daughter. Later it is noted that his sept was one of the first to submit to Henry VIII (Henry I, for Ireland) with him being knighted by him. But again the names and events concerning the Butlers and the Fitzpatricks of this story are completely fictional.
The mention of the
Fitzgerald’s demise was a true account of Henry Tudor’s orders. Silken Thomas and his uncles were viciously put to death at Tyburn. Though as far as I know there is no Shane Fitzpatrick associated with helping to secure the safety of the only living male heir of the Fitzgeralds.
St. Michan’s is the oldest parish in Dublin, founded 1095. The most important event noted in the annals of St. Michan’s is the advent of the Dominican Fathers in 1224. It seems through the centuries its history is uneventful without mentioning very many changes until the reign of Henry VIII when he finally claims the title King of Ireland.
St. Michan’s is located in Dublin and anyone may take a tour below the church where the mummified remains are on display. No one knows the identity of these four people who were worthy to be buried on such sacred grounds. I found that it would be an intriguing prospect to weave a tale around an added inhabitant.
Aislinn was referred to Scathach (Scah hah)—the legendary warrior woman who trained many of the greatest heroes, one being the great Cúchulainn. It was almost impossible to reach the warrior woman’s island. So if anyone did, they were considered worthy to be trained in martial arts. She was also skilled in the art of foretelling what the future would hold. I couldn’t resist making the correlation between Aislinn and the goddess. It was just too good to pass up.
At one time, the oak wood forests nearly covered all of Ireland. They were depleted in the Middle Ages to provide fuel and charcoal for mining. Peat fires are mostly in use now.
Yes, there were wolves in Ireland, but with the depletion of the forests, they were without home and food. They were hunted and killed because they were a threat to the livestock. We have Cromwell to thank for this action (along with his infamous actions in regards to the people of Ireland). He is personally responsible for exterminating thousands of wolves.
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