The Irish Devil

by Donna Fletcher

  Her chamber was warm from the hardy fire that blazed in the hearth and after removing her clothes and slipping into her nightdress she gratefully sought the comfort of her bed. She laid still, her eyes heavy with sleep, thinking on her husband’s words. Would he seek her out before he left or would those words be the last she heard from him before his departure?

  The busy night had kept her from thinking of his leaving, but now that she had time and her emotions were weary, she found herself upset. She asked herself why his leaving so disturbed her. She realized that she would miss him, miss him terribly. She had grown accustomed to him—whether he scowled, ignored or teased her it mattered not. He was always there, making some ridiculous demand of her. And then there were those times they had spent simply talking and then there were the other times when intimacy and passion ruled.

  She sighed, her eyes drifting closed. “I will miss you, my dark lord.”

  o0o

  Eric stood ready, his men assembled and dawn on the horizon, but there was one last detail he had yet to see to. He gave Colin orders to prepare for departure shortly and left the great hall, taking himself to his wife’s chambers.

  He entered quietly, the heat of the flaming hearth reaching out to him as he passed by it. He stopped a few away from the bed and stared at his sleeping wife. She was beautiful—even the long thin scar could not damage to her beauty. He sometimes wondered if she was real or nothing more than a dream.

  He would often find himself hunting her down during the course of the day just to make certain she was there… that she was flesh and blood and belonged to him. His desire for her was outrageous and yet his desire simply to talk with her, hold her, spend time with her raged out of control as well. He simply wanted to be with her as often as possible.

  He supposed that was why he was presently having difficulty departing. He did not want to bid her farewell.

  Anxious steps took him to the bed and he ran a gentle finger over her thin lips. He wondered what words she had intended to speak before she was interrupted this evening. He could have sworn he felt her need, her desire to surrender, and he had waited with stilled breath to hear her words.

  He wanted so much to know what had been on her lips, but there was no time for discovery… only good-bye.

  He leaned over her and brushed a faint kiss over her lips before whispering, “Faith.”

  She stirred, but barely.

  He kissed her again, his lips more persistent though gentle and she sighed, her body stretching slowly beneath the covers. He slipped his one arm behind her back and moved his other hand to cup the back of her head and then he brought her up to meet his hungry mouth.

  His kiss was not gentle and she woke immediately, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body against his.

  “I have come to bid you good-bye,” he whispered in haste, his mouth finding her warm neck much too enticing to ignore.

  “I shall miss you,” she murmured in his ear.

  “So you say,” he said, his lips moving over her chin toward her mouth.

  “So I mean.” She barely finished before his lips anxiously and demandingly laid claim to hers.

  After satisfying himself with the taste of her for several minutes he laid her back down on the bed. “You mind Borg,” he commanded like a warrior.

  “Aye, my lord,” she acquiesced softly.

  “And take care to behave.”

  She nodded, her eyes welling with tears.

  The pool of unshed tears in her eyes tore at his heart. “I must go.”

  She nodded again, not trusting her voice and feeling much too close to shedding her tears.

  The first tear fell when he moved to leave, the second as his back turned to her and the third when he turned around and descended on her like a man too long denied. He lifted her clear off the bed. She instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, and she locked her lips to his hungry ones.

  Their kiss was urgent and filled with unfulfilled passion. They feasted like two starving souls needing nourishment.

  He attempted to tear his mouth away from hers but she clung to him and only by grabbing the back of her fiery hair and pulling her head back could he disengage her lips from his.

  He saw the ache, the need, the surrender in her dark eyes and cursed the two warring clans that would deprive him of his wife’s capitulation.

  His spoke harshly. “We settle this when I return.”

  She nodded as best she could given that his hand was gripping her hair.

  He brought her mouth once again to his and then reluctantly grabbed her around the waist, yanked her off him and settled her back on the bed. Without a word or glance he turned and marched to the door.

  “Eric,” she called out to him.

  He stopped but did not turn.

  “I love you,” she said without hesitancy or regret.

  He made no response—he simply walked out of the room.

  Chapter Twenty

  A heavy mist swallowed up the large troop of warriors that made its way slowly out of Shanekill Castle. The eerie omen did not bother the seasoned warriors. Why should it? The devil rode at the lead, shielding them from harm.

  Tales were shared of the dark lord’s exploits into the mouth of hell and back again. More tales were told of the fierce enemies he courageously faced and how he always emerged victorious. The men spoke of the many wounds he suffered in battles and how most would have killed a mere mortal man. But most of all they whispered about how no one would dare look the devil in the eye during battle… if they did they would lose their souls.

  Whispered chatter rippled through the ranks of warriors as they trudged along the hard earth, entertaining themselves with tales of their mighty leader. The stories fueled their own confidences and courage preparing them for what was to come.

  And of course as they made their way away from the castle grounds, the mist finally began to dissipate. It was the dark lord’s scowling look and intense blue eyes that were given credit for that—all the men agreed that the mist rolled away in reverence to the Irish devil’s presence.

  Colin, on the other hand, knew better. “Your thoughts are not on the battle.”

  “A skirmish I almost won,” Eric said, his glance steady on the land spread out before him. A mix of rocky terrain and flat earth awaited them and the gray skies overhead promised a wet journey… not an appealing prospect.

  Colin remained silent, aware his friend was not in a pleasant mood and ready to listen if he wished to talk.

  “Have you ever been in love, Colin?”

  Anyone other than Colin would have been shocked at hearing the dark lord ask that question, but Colin knew his friend too well and understood. “I have made love to many women in my two score and seven years and I cared for each one of them in my own special way. But love?” He shook his head slowly. “I cannot honestly say I have experienced a love so strong for a woman that I would want to spend the rest of my life with her.” He paused briefly and then continued. “Though I cannot say I would not want to. To know a love so potent that it tears at the heart and soul is an emotion I might one day wish to experience.”

  “I never thought to love,” Eric said with a sadness that disturbed Colin.

  “Why?”

  “I thought nothing of love. It was a fleeting feeling that came and went at will, like lust.”

  “You think differently now?” Colin asked, adding, “Now that you have Faith?”

  “She is a most unusual woman. She makes no demands of me, obeys me when it pleases her and makes it seem that she obeys me when I wish. She is gentle, yet strong. She challenges life and manages not only to survive but to thrive. And she is firm in her convictions. She is a remarkable woman.”

  “You tell me what you most admire about her. Tell me what troubles you about her?”

  Eric answered, his words edged with frustration. “I find myself wanting to be with her all the time. Not only for intimacy but just to be wi
th, to talk to, to hold, even to argue with. I find I ache to touch her, taste her, tempt her.” He laughed. “How I love to tempt her.”

  Eric turned to face Colin. “I miss her when she is not near me. I want her in my bed, there in the evening when I retire, in the middle of the night if I wake I want to reach out and pull her into my arms, and I want to wake in the morning with my body wrapped protectively around hers. I want to plant my seed deep inside her and watch her belly grow with my child, not just one child, but many. And I want to grow old with her.”

  Colin laughed and gave Eric a hardy slap on the back. “My friend, you have lost your heart and if the devil had a soul I would say you surrendered that as well.”

  Eric was not amused. “You think me in love?”

  “You think not?” Colin asked with a glint of humor in his dark eyes.

  “I never surrender,” Eric said fiercely, as only a true warrior would.

  “You think to love is to surrender?”

  Eric shook his head. “I do not know what to think any longer. Where once I made plans, implemented them and succeeded in my intentions, now I find myself changing my plans from day to day and not even knowing what my intentions are.”

  “Then this time away from your wife is good for you,” Colin suggested.

  “Why?” Eric snapped. “I foolishly miss her already and we are but a few hours ride from the castle.”

  “This time away will help you better understand your feelings toward her. If you continue to miss her, think of her, want her, then what else can you be suffering from but love. This forced distance between you and she will give you answers.”

  “And what of her virginity?” Eric asked, annoyed.

  Colin spoke seriously. “If you love her, will it matter? It is not as if she gave her virginity away. She was robbed of it, if at all.”

  “You believe her a virgin?”

  “What I believe, my friend, matters not. It is what you believe, or rather how you truly feel about your wife that makes the difference.”

  Rain began to fall lightly at first but soon the drops would grow heavy and frequent and their journey would be delayed by the weather and the drudgery of the wet earth. Eric wrapped his dark cloak more tightly around himself and became lost in his own thoughts.

  Faith’s declaration of love had haunted his mind since he left her chambers. He would hear her voice soft yet firm and confident as she declared, “I love you.”

  Her unexpected remark had startled him and he did not know how to respond, so he had fled her chambers like a coward. That did not sit well with him. But giving the situation further thought, he realized that it was not her declaration he was fleeing from; it was his own sudden emotions that had reared up and frightened him. The words had rushed to his lips without thought or consideration of the consequences. His only desire was to respond in kind and tell her how very much he loved her.

  But instead of surrendering, an unacceptable choice to him, he had fled with the words slipping softly from his lips, so his ears were the only ones to hear his whispers of love.

  Now he sat in the pouring rain contemplating his cowardly actions. If he thought as a warrior he would not think them cowardly. He would view them as brave and righteous, a wise decision. A warrior never ruled with emotion; such an act would surely bring defeat.

  But was this a warrior’s decision or that of a man in love?

  Love was not an emotion he had given credence to and now he found himself thinking of nothing else, if this gnawing feeling be love. It would not leave him. It haunted his waking thoughts as well as his dreams. His wife was forever on his mind and he did not mind, he liked her there. And at the moment he missed her.

  He felt empty sitting on his stallion alone. He had enjoyed Faith’s company on their journey from Cork to Limerick. She had fit him and his stallion perfectly and he had found pleasure in their discussions. And he could not deny how much he favored her body being so close to his. She had felt warm, soft and so good to the touch.

  If he was truthful with himself then Colin’s words would ring true. If he loved her, her virginity would make no difference, though if he truly loved her it would, for it mattered to Faith whether he believed her or not.

  He turned again to Colin. “I think Faith keeps something from me about the attack.”

  “Do you know what it is?” Colin asked with sincere interest.

  “I think she knows more about her attacker than she admits.”

  “Perhaps it is someone she knows but fears mentioning.”

  “Possibly,” Eric agreed with a nod. “Or a person no one would believe possible of committing such a vicious act.”

  “You wish to find him.”

  “I wish to see him receive a just punishment for his crime.”

  “And you will be the one to deliver his punishment?” Colin asked, though unnecessarily.

  “No other,” Eric said with such certainty that for a brief moment Colin felt sorry for the poor unfortunate soul.

  “How do you plan on finding him?”

  “Faith.”

  Colin nodded in understanding. “She will give you what you need without even realizing it.”

  “That she will,” Eric said confidently and smiled. “My wife will give me all that I request, upon my return home.”

  “This dispute between the clans may take time,” Colin said with an earnest teasing.

  Eric raised a brow. “Nay, it will not.”

  Colin unwisely argued, though with a smile. “The messenger commented how stubborn both clans are.”

  “I will convince them otherwise.”

  “They may—”

  Eric shot him a deadly look that immediately quelled his response. “They will do as I command.”

  Colin wisely agreed with a nod. “Then we return home?”

  “As soon as possible.”

  Colin’s teasing nature could not be suppressed. “No time for me to dally with the wenches?”

  Eric smiled then and gave Colin a potent slap on the back. “I think it is a wife you need. I will see if I can locate one for you.”

  “Do me no favors, I need no wife,” Colin insisted with a laugh. “And besides, it would not be fair.”

  “Fair to whom?”

  “To the women I have yet to bed?”

  Eric laughed along with his friend. “It is time to lay your reputation to rest and find one woman to please.”

  “I please all women, my friend. There is none impervious to my charm and skill as a lover.”

  “Then I shall have no difficulty in finding you a wife,” Eric said and galloped ahead.

  “Eric, I warn you,” Colin called out, riding to catch up with him and convince him otherwise.

  o0o

  Faith needed to speak with someone. She felt alone, lost and completely confused since Eric’s morning departure. She did not know what had made her declare her love for him and now she wondered if her decision had been a wise one. She needed to talk with a friend, someone she could trust. That someone was Borg.

  She knocked on his chamber door and opened it, accustomed to entering without a response from him.

  A mistake, since he was no longer ill.

  Borg and Bridget lay naked, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  Faith blushed, apologized and quickly fled the room.

  Bridget was the one to find Faith in her chambers several minutes later. “My lady, forgive me for not being present when you rose this morning.” Bridget bowed in respect and hurried to tend the room, though there was naught for her to do. Faith, accustomed to seeing to herself, tended to her own needs and care of her chambers.

  “Nonsense,” Faith said, attempting to calm Bridget’s unease. “You had more important matters on your mind and I am more than capable of tending myself.” She reached out a hand to Bridget. “I am happy for you and Borg and wish you well.”

  Bridget squeezed her offered hand. “Oh, thank you so much, my lady. Borg said you would be happy,
that I was not to worry.”

  Faith moved to reach for her new dark red wool cloak that lay draped over the chair. Bridget immediately retrieved it and held it up for Faith to slip on. “He is right. There is no need for you to worry and it is I who should apologize.”

  “You, my lady?”

  Faith nodded, draping the end of the cloak over her shoulder. “It was foolish of me to enter Borg’s chambers before being properly admitted.”

  “You surprised me,” Bridget said with a generous smile.

  “And myself.”

  “Me as well,” Borg said, standing in the open doorway fully clothed.

  “Please forgive my untimely entrance,” Faith said sincerely.

  “Your apology is appreciated though not necessary, my lady,” Borg said, walking into the room. “My concern is more for the troubled expression you wear.”

  “Now I know why you remain silent—you listen and observe and see much more than anyone realizes.” Faith looked at him with curious eyes. “I even wonder if you are as shy as people think you are.”

  “Oh, my lady, he is not shy at all,” Bridget said before realizing of what she spoke. She immediately blushed profusely, causing Borg to erupt in a robust laughter and Faith to giggle.

  Faith was not only surprised when Borg walked over to Bridget, grasped her around the waist, brought her flat against him and kissed her soundly, but also surprised when she realized she was envious of the happy couple.

  As silently as possible she moved toward the door, intending to give the loving couple time alone. Rook crept alongside her. Borg’s booming voice soon stopped her.

  “Stay where you are, my lady… we need to talk.”

  Woman and dog both froze.

  “I will see to food for you both,” Bridget said, still wrapped in Borg’s powerful arms.

  “And yourself,” he ordered, and then asked of Faith, “Where were you off to, my lady?”