Restoring Dermot

by Andrea Boyd

  Wrapping my arms around her, I gave her a tight squeeze. Gwen had come into my family right after the death of my parents. I had been so angry then, but she never let it get to her. She had always seemed to know just what I needed. And how did I repay her? By leaving without telling anyone where I was going. There was so much shame for my actions. Not once did I try and contact her or anyone else in my family.

  “I am sorry. I am so sorry.” It was all I could say.

  She squeezed my shoulders. “You owe me no apology. All has been forgotten.”

  This seemed impossible to believe, but I had no choice but to accept it.

  The children were introduced, but it would take a while to get them straight in my mind. Besides Deidre, Garrett and Brianna had added a couple of sons to their family. Six-year-old Andrew let it be known right away that he preferred to be called Drew, and Morgan, who was three and the spitting image of his father, could not care less that he had an uncle.

  Reagan and Gwen’s crew was the largest. It was uncanny how much Nic reminded me of Dunbar. I could not help but wonder how different things would have turned out if my oldest brother’s life had not been cut short. I remembered their oldest daughter, August, but I hardly knew her. She had been little more than a baby when I left. Dallas, Tomas, and Caitlin had been added since then.

  I did not even realize that Deidre had come close until she reached up and hugged me. “Uncle Rian, I am glad you finally made it back home. It is so good to see you again.”

  “I missed you too, Brat.”

  Adrika was standing at the edge of the crowd with her hands folded in front of her, a look of uncertainty straining her features. I had never meant to leave her on her own. Reaching for her hand, I pulled her to my side. “Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my wife.”

  Every one of them greeted her as part of the family. They were all truly amazing. They had welcomed me back with open arms and had accepted my wife despite the circumstances of our marriage. It was great to be back in my home country with everyone I loved.

  We left the warmth of the sun as we stepped inside. In Aisling, the front door of the castle opened directly into the great hall. The ball would be held in this room at the end of the month, followed by the Session meetings. Other than the drapes covering the back wall and the upholstery on the settees along the edges of the cavernous room, nothing else had changed. Same arching ceilings, same beaded chandeliers, same parquet floor with the compass design in the center—it added to the comfort and feeling of home. I had not grown up here, but my brother living here had made it seem like a second home to me.

  Gwen placed her hand on Nic’s arm. “Go upstairs and let your uncle know his brother is here. He should be awake from his nap by now.”

  “Terence is here?” I had not expected to see him here in Aisling. I remembered how much he hated to travel.

  Gwen turned back toward me. “Did you really think he would miss your homecoming?”

  “I will go if you will tell me where to find him.”

  Brianna took charge like the queen she was. “He is staying in your old room on the second floor. Do you remember where it is?”

  I barely got a nod in before she began speaking again. “Adrika, the two of you will be staying in your father’s suite. You can go freshen up, if you would like. I take it you have not had dinner yet. I will have something prepared. We will meet both of you in the family dining chamber in fifteen minutes.”

  She put her hand on Adrika’s upper arm. “The family dining chamber is through that door to the left of the main dining hall.” She pointed to the door closest to us on the left side of the great hall.

  Adrika only nodded, but she looked lost. I felt hesitant about being separated from her so soon after our arrival. Taking her hand in mine, I led her toward the stairway. “We will be back down in a moment.”

  At the second-floor landing, my wife led us to the end of the hallway toward the back of the castle. If Reagan and Gwen still occupied the same suite, we would be neighbors. I was not expecting what awaited us on the other side of our door. The room we entered was as dark as a cave. With the exception of this suite, I had been all over this castle as a boy. I had expected to be greeted by the usual light flooding through every window as it was in all of the exterior rooms I had been in.

  Adrika made her way to the windows and pulled the heavy drapes back to reveal an unobstructed view of the ocean. I helped her with the task until every window was exposed. A glass-topped, wrought iron table with matching chairs sat near the glass door leading out to the balcony. I didn’t remember there being a table in either of my brother’s suites, but I supposed there was no need since we all used the family dining room downstairs.

  On the other end of the room, a sitting area was arranged around the fireplace. I could really appreciate the rustic browns and greens of this suite. This was what a mountain home should look like rather than the jewel-toned Cordelian style found throughout the castle in Dermot.

  “I have always wanted to stay in this suite. Please do not tell your sister, but my parents hated this room. Father complained constantly about the draft from the ocean, and Mother offered more than once to pay to have it redecorated in her own style. Queen Brianna finally told her that she felt it was unpatriotic for the queen of Aisling to have a room decorated in the style of a foreign country.” She covered her smile with her hand. “Mother was livid.”

  I was surprised to see Adrika looking almost giddy as she told this.

  She noticed me studying her and dropped her head. “I should not have told you that.”

  I tilted her face back up toward mine. “I am your husband. You can tell me anything. I was just wondering if you agreed with Brianna.”

  She seemed to think it over. “I do agree with her, but I also feel it would dishonor Mother to change things at home now that she is gone.”

  Nothing I said on the subject would be right, so I decided to let it rest for now. We stepped into the bedroom and repeated the process of opening the drapes. It was then that I noticed the watercolor paintings. Brianna had always dabbled in the art, but if these works were done by her hand, she had improved her skills over the years. Every painting was a view of the mountains of Dermot as seen from her beloved Moya Ocean.

  A delicate looking wrought iron bed sat in the middle of the room. I sat down on the side of it and bounced a few times.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I wanted to make sure it would hold up. After all, it has been days since we shared a real bed together.” I wiggled my eyebrows, and she covered a giggle with her hand. I gathered her in my arms for a lingering kiss.

  She pulled back to look at me and smoothed her hand over my hair. “I thought you wanted to greet your brother.”

  She was right. I felt the sudden urgency to get to Terence before someone else did. I gave Adrika one more kiss with promise and then left the suite.

  As I approached the opposite end of the hall, my brother was backing out and closing the door behind him. He turned to face me, and I could read the frightened look in his dark brown eyes. He did not know who I was, but I would have recognized him anywhere. He was thicker in his body and of course, older than I remembered, but he still had the same dark curly hair, and his eyes still held a hint of the innocence within. At thirty-three years of age, Terence was eight years my senior, but he no doubt still had the mind of a child and likely always would.

  “Terence, it is me, Rian, your brother.”

  He took a step to me and his face crumpled as tears instantly streamed down his face. It nearly broke my heart, causing my regret to multiply. He touched my face and hair as if to prove to himself that I was truly there. “Rian. My brother, Rian. You have come home.”

  I pulled him into an embrace, swallowing hard to keep from crying. “I am home. I am sorry I ever left. Please forgive me.”

  He pulled back and placed his hand on the side of my face. “I missed you, Rian. You must be hungry afte
r such a long trip. I think it is time to eat. Do you want something to eat, Rian?”

  I had to laugh. Did he think I had gone without food for the last ten years? “Yes, Terence, as a matter of fact, I am hungry. I think there is food downstairs. Come on, everyone is waiting for us.”

  Catching up with my family was a wonderful experience, but after spending two hours over our meal with more chatting than eating, I needed a break. Adrika had somehow ended up on the opposite end of the long table and was deep in conversation with Deidre. It was good to see that she already had a close relationship with at least one person in my family. I let those nearby know that I would be back in a moment and then left the room.

  I made my way to the windows at the back of the great hall for a view of the Moya Ocean. A clear blue sky reached down to embrace the turquoise waters, gently splashing against the buttes and rocks that jutted from this part of the sea. It was a beautiful scene—one that always calmed my spirits.

  It was almost alarming to hear the sound behind me that could only be that of a very small child. I looked around the room for its source and saw a towheaded little girl toddle out from the hallway leading to the servants’ quarters. I slowly made my way toward her and squatted down a few feet in front of her.

  “Hello, little one.”

  Her green eyes looked up at me with wonder and then a huge grin split her face, showing off eight tiny teeth in the front. My heart twisted in my chest. By age and appearance, she could have just as well been mistaken as my own. This was exactly how I pictured the little one Fiona took from this world. It caused a longing for another chance at fatherhood.

  The little girl took a few unsteady steps in my direction. Heavy footsteps fell coming from the hallway, no doubt belonged to someone in pursuit of their wayward child. Austin Connor, steward to the castle of Aisling, came into view and swooped the little girl up into his arms, causing her to giggle. “There you are. I swear, I cannot turn my eyes away from you for a moment.”

  I stood, drawing his attention.

  He leaned into a quick bow with the baby in his arms. “Prince Rian, it is good to see you again.”

  “And you as well, Austin. This must be the baby of your family. She is beautiful.” The man had not even been married the last time I saw him, but it was easy to assume all that could happen in ten years.

  “Thank you. This little one is actually the only one at this time, but my wife and I hope she will be joined by many more.” The baby in his arms began to fuss a little. “Well, I had better get her back to her momma. I hope you enjoy your stay, and if there is ever anything I can do to make your time here more pleasant, please let me know.”

  “I certainly will. Thank you, Austin.”

  Plans for the future began forming in my head as he walked away. I wanted a family, but I did not want to welcome children into a loveless marriage. The first thing on my mental checklist—I needed to work on my relationship with my wife.

  Twenty

  Adrika

  Brianna placed her hand on my arm as we meandered through the mazelike garden beside the castle. “Just wait until you see what is planned for tomorrow night for the adults.”

  We had been in Aisling for almost a week. It seemed the queen had plans for the entire family for every minute of every day. I was not used to so much activity, nor being around other people for every waking hour. It was exhausting.

  In a few quick steps, Deidre caught up to us. “Oh Momma, please allow me come this time. I am almost sixteen. Is that not close enough to being an adult? If Rika is going, then I want to be there too.”

  “This is for the married couples. It is wonderful that you are so fond of Adrika, but trust me, she will want to spend some time with her new husband. You need to stop trying to monopolize her time.”

  Deidre’s bottom lip pushed out into a pout, and she fell back to walk beside Gwen. There was nothing for me to say. Honestly, time with just me and Rian seemed like a wonderful dream at this point, but it did not sound as if we would be alone in these plans Brianna had for the adults.

  We came around the final hedge that brought us to our destination—the archery range. Deidre had invited me to practice in years past, but my parents would never allow me to participate. It felt daring to attempt it even now. Rian’s encouragement had prompted me to accept Gwen’s offer to give me lessons, but now that I was here, I felt shaken and unsure. My sisters-in-law were known for their prowess. If rumor could be trusted, both had marched into battle while I had rarely even left the grounds of the castle.

  A small table sat between the two ranges with a stand on each side holding arrows. As we drew closer, I noticed the row of intimidating, thin-bladed knives lining the table’s surface. I did not even want to think about what those were used for. Sweat trickled down my back, causing a shiver.

  Gwen took up one of the bows and an arrow from the stand. She stood in line with one of the targets. “Here, I will go first to show you how it is done. You stand with your body angled to the target like this.”

  I turned my body to mimic hers. Another target was set up for Brianna and Deidre, but they were both watching our lesson, which only made it more uncomfortable for me.

  “Make sure you hold your arm level. Take your time, aim, take a deep breath and release it along with the arrow.” Her arrow flew straight to the dark center of the board with a thump. Why could she have not hit one of the outside rings? It was doubtful I would ever be able to hit the center.

  “Now you try.” Gwen handed the bow to me. It felt awkward in my hands.

  I held it up the way I had seen her do it and pulled back on the bowstring, trying to get a feel for the weapon. I chose an arrow while a young servant pulled Gwen’s arrow from the center of the target—as if I needed that space to land my own. I would be lucky to hit one of the outer rings.

  I placed the arrow against the bowstring and pulled it back, expecting any minute for Gwen to tell me I was doing it wrong. My arms quivered with the effort. My muscles were giving out as I tried to aim, leaving me no choice but to release it. The arrow did not even make it to the target. It was not even in line with the target.

  No one said anything. The two women beside us finally began concentrating on their own practice. I hoped to be relieved of the bow for a moment as Gwen took her turn, but she continued to instruct me.

  “Hold your elbow higher. For now, you need to release the arrow as quickly as you can before your muscles give out. You will gain more strength with practice.”

  After three more shots, I was able to hit the target. It grazed the edge just before landing in the grass where the others had gone. There was no sense of accomplishment. I wanted to scream in frustration. Here I was, not measuring up again. I would never make it up to the skills of these women, and at the same time, I could not quit.

  As I reached for an arrow, the gleam from one of the knife blades caught my eye. I grabbed one of those instead and slung it with all my might toward the target. Time seemed to slow down as the knife flipped through the air, giving me time to think about what I had just done. My temper was on display for the women in Rian’s family to see. I had made a fool of myself and my actions would be amplified once the knife hit the ground like the arrows I had sent before it.

  All sound faded except for the vibrating thud of the knife point hitting the bulls-eye. There was a moment more of silence before Deidre’s cheers split the air. Brianna reached across the table to grab my arm with a big grin on her face, and Gwen slapped me on the shoulder.

  “Who needs a bow and arrow? Give this girl a knife, and watch your back.” Gwen was actually laughing, as if I had accomplished a great wonder. Surely these women were just as efficient at throwing a knife. Besides, I probably would not be able to do it again if my life depended on it.

  Brianna leaned in toward me. “Had you trained with a knife before?”

  Her question was a foreign one. It was certainly something I never thought I would hear. “No, my parent
s only allowed a staff.”

  Gwen rubbed her hands together in front of her, a silly grin lighting her face. “Oh, I have always wanted to learn to use one of those. I bet I could use it on Reagan without causing too much damage.”

  I laughed at the remark without revealing the fact that I had indeed used it on Rian once. These two queens were turning out to be nothing like I had imagined. I promised to teach them how to use a staff, and then we practiced some more. I threw three more knives, hitting the target in various places every time. Before we left, I had also managed to land an arrow as well.

  A table was set with dishes in the garden closest to the castle when we got back. It was evident that we would be dining outside for the noon meal. I had worked up the biggest appetite. Our dinner could not come soon enough.

  August came running out the back door and flew into her mother’s arms. “Mom, make Dallas stop calling me Gussie. He has Tomas calling me that now as well.”

  Gwen pushed flaming red hair back from the girl’s face. “He has been calling you that for his entire life, and you have never minded before.”

  Her freckled nose wrinkled as her green eyes looked up into her mother’s blue ones. “Yes, but I will be a teenager later this year. Gussie is a baby name.”

  The two named boys came running out just ahead of their father, who carried Caitlin. She and Nic favored Reagan, the younger two boys had blond hair and blue eyes just like Gwen, making August the odd one out. The girl instinctively moved to the side when her father got there. Reagan drew his wife in with his free arm and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. I could not help but envy the picture they made. He whispered in Gwen’s ear, bringing a smile to her lips and a blush to her cheeks.

  Gwen took the toddler from him. “Hello, Sunshine, are you hungry? I bet you are.” She swayed back and forth smiling at the girl as Reagan stood transfixed by the scene. Would I ever have that with Rian? I ended my staring, hopefully before anyone had noticed, and looked out over the Moya Ocean instead.