'Very well, Fortune,' he agreed, his heart warmed by her generosity and her charm. This was no proud m'lady. The people of Maguire's Ford would take to her without question, and they would be able to continue in their peaceable ways provided that William Devers did not interfere with his bride's authority. Rory wondered how the young man would take to the notion that Fortune would control her own lands and her own wealth. If Rory knew Jasmine, the bridegroom would sign a legal document before he took a step down the aisle to claim the flame-haired beauty.
The rain gradually slipped away, and by the time they had stopped to rest the horses and eat a bit of bread and cheese, the sun was shining. From the look of the sky it would be sunny the rest of the afternoon, Rory decided. Looking about him he saw several familiar landmarks, and realized that because of their early start they would reach Maguire's F'ord by midafternoon. Surreptitiously he watched the byplay between Jasmine and James Leslie. They were so openly and plainly in love with one another that he felt actual physical pain in his heart. Whatever he had said to Adali last night, whatever he said to Father Cullen Butler, there had always been one tiny secret place within him that yet hoped she would love him. Now he could see quite plainly that it would never be. The knowledge was as if something had died within him at that same moment. He sighed deeply and audibly.$$
Hearing the sound Fortune, who was sitting next to Rory Maguire in the grass, turned. 'What is the matter, Uncle Rory?' she said. 'That is the saddest sound I have ever heard.' She laid her head upon his shoulder and took his hand in hers. 'Do not be sad.'
Her compassion quite took him by surprise. He felt his eyes filling with tears which he quickly blinked back. 'Ahh, lassie, we Irish are oft-times subject to black moods that come suddenly upon us.' He gave the elegant little hand holding his a small squeeze. 'It's all right, and now if you are ready we should be going.' He arose and drew her up. 'You were such a wee babe, Fortune Mary Lindley, and now what a fine lady you have grown up to be.'
'I wondered where those dark humors came from, Uncle Rory. I get them too. That, also, must be the Irish in me,' Fortune said. 'For a girl whose father was English, and whose mother is a mixture of English and Mughal, I seem to have a lot of my Irish great-grandmother in me,' the girl chuckled.
They rode on at a more leisurely pace now, the coach lumbering along behind them. The afternoon was bright, the sun warm upon their backs. Finally they topped a hill. Below was a long stretch of blue water which Rory told Fortune was upper Lough Erne, even as Jasmine explained to her husband. The upper and lower loughs divided the area which was known as Fermanagh, running the length of it before it became the river Erne, which emptied into Donegal Bay at Ballyshannon.
Rory pointed, saying as he did, 'There is Maguire's Ford below us, and there on the lough, Erne Rock Castle, where I hope, you will want to make your home, Fortune.'
'Look in the meadows below, poppet,' Jasmine said to her daughter. 'See our horses, and look! Sheep. I see the breeding stock we sent from Glenkirk took, Rory.'
'Aye, my lady, they did,' he replied.
They rode down the hill and into the village. Ahead of them a pack of little boys raced, calling to the villagers in both Irish and in English, 'They're coming! They're coming!' People began to appear from out of the cottages and the fields, lining the road to see the absentee landlord of Maguire's Ford, returned after twenty years.
Spotting a familiar face, Jasmine drew her horse to a stop. 'Bride Duffy!' She slid from her mount's back and hugged her old friend.
The two women embraced again, and then Jasmine drew Fortune forward. 'Here is your goddaughter, Bride Duffy. Make your curtsy, Fortune.'
Fortune curtsied before the red-cheeked country woman. 'How d'ye do, Mistress Duffy?' Fortune said, and met the woman's gaze with her own. 'I am pleased to meet you at long last.'
'Bless yer heart, m'lady,' Bride replied, 'and pleased I am to remake yer acquaintance for you were just a wee babe in nappies when I saw ye last.' She hesitated just a brief moment, then hugged the young girl. 'Now yer back to where you first saw the light of this harsh world, and come to marry, or so I am told.'
Bride Duffy chuckled. 'Just like her mam, she is.'
'Both my daughters have minds of their own,' Jasmine said. 'Come, Bride, and meet my husband, James Leslie.' She drew her friend over to where the duke now stood, and introduced them.
Finally Rory was able to draw Fortune and the Leslies away so they might see the castle. The coach carrying Adali and Rohana had already gone ahead. Erne Rock Castle was set upon a small headland and surrounded by water on three sides. It was almost three hundred years old. To gain entrance one crossed a drawbridge that lay over a moat, which was actually a part of the lough that had been dug out on the land side, and lined with large stones to keep it from collapsing. With its drawbridge raised, Erne Rock was an invincible fortress, small though it was.
They walked their horses across the drawbridge, and upon entering the courtyard they were greeted by several stable lads who took their mounts. Fortune looked about her in order to get her bearings. There were the stables, and there a gatehouse. The courtyard was paved in large flat stones, and not particularly large. She followed her mother up a small flight of steps. There was a red rosebush at the foot of the stairs, growing up from an open flower bed. Fortune cupped one of the roses in her hand and sniffed appreciatively. Then she hurried after Jasmine.
Inside, Erne Rock Castle was a warm and friendly place. There were stone floors on the main level and beautifully polished wooden floors on the upper level. The Great Hall had two fireplaces alight with bright fires this May afternoon. It was not a large room at all, being no bigger than the family's private hall at Glenkirk, Fortune noted. There was a tapestry depicting St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland on one wall. The furniture was of glowing golden oak. There was a paneled and well-stocked library on the main floor as well as a room that Rory used to conduct estate business. The kitchens were located behind and below the Great Hall. On the second floor of the castle there were several bedrooms, each with its own fireplace.
Jasmine opened the door to the large bedchamber, and stepped back so her daughter might look inside. 'Here is where you were born,' she said softly. 'Madame Skye's sister, the doctor nun, Eibhlin, delivered you into this world. You were the hardest of my babies, and were turned about the wrong way. I wagered Mam a gold piece that you were a boy.'
'Were you disappointed?' asked Fortune, who had never heard this story before.
'Nay,' Jasmine replied. 'How could I be? You were a perfect little girl with your grandfather's mole just below your left nostril above your lip. But more important, you were your father's last gift to me, Fortune, and I loved him very much. You, India, and Henry were all I had left of Rowan Lindley, along with some sweet memories. It was the greatest legacy I have ever received.'
'What happened to my grand-aunt Eibhlin?' Fortune wondered. 'Is she still alive? Could we go and see her?'
Jasmine smiled. 'Nay, poppet. Eibhlin O'Malley, God assoil her good soul, died almost two years after you were born.' She wiped the tear that had come to her eye for thinking of Eibhlin made her think of her grandmother. Ireland, Jasmine decided, made her sad. Catching herself she said, 'This will be your room now, poppet, for it is the chamber belonging to the head of the household.'
'I am not the mistress of Erne Rock Castle yet, Mama,' Fortune responded. 'You and Papa take this room. I want one that overlooks the lough.
