'Then God bless you, laddie, and your lass too. I'll be at your wedding no matter your stepmother's outrage afterwards.'
'Colleen will be there too,' Kieran said softly.
The older man nodded his head. 'This will be the first secret I ever kept from my Jane, laddie. I love you greatly to do so.'
'Ah, Da,' Kieran told his father, 'in all the years since my mam died, the one certainty I've always believed in was your affection for me. I return it, sir, and thank you for your blessing upon Fortune and upon me.'
'I tell you, laddie, I am grateful I have lived most of my life when I see how the world is changing about us,' Shane Devers mourned.
'Changing with the world while holding fast to your ideals and ethics seems to be the only way to survive,' Kieran said quietly.
'The young can change,' his father replied fatalistically. 'The old cannot, or do not want change.'
Kieran chuckled. 'You're not that old yet, Da,' he said.
'I'm old enough to want peace in my house, and peace in the land,' Sir Shane said. Then he downed his whiskey, and stood up. 'I'm off to my bed now, laddie. I would suggest you not be around in the morning when your brother leaves with his bride for Dublin.'
Kieran nodded. 'I agree, Da. Perhaps I will ride over to Erne Rock tonight. There's a fine moon rising, and there's no rain. Tell Colleen I will see her on the fifth. Molly and the girls will be there too.' He chuckled. 'All your black sheep, Da.'
His father laughed. 'Black sheep are far more interesting than the docile white ones,' he noted, and then left the library.
Kieran sat for several more minutes before the peat fire; then he arose, and set his crystal tumbler on the silver tray by his chair. Going out into the empty antechamber of the house he looked up the staircase. His father would be in his own bedchamber now. His stepmother would have been lulled into sleep with wine. William would have, by now, it was hoped, breached Emily Anne's virginity. He would do little more, Kieran suspected, and smiled to himself. He wondered if there was any depth or passion to his pretty sister- in-law, or his brother. No matter, he thought, leaving the house, and going to the stables where he saddled his horse.
Riding out he thought his wedding night with Fortune would be more interesting and active than his brother's. Willy, however, would do his duty, and provide Mallow Court with children for the next generation. They would be more English than Irish though, Kieran realized, and sighed sadly. There were some changes he didn't like either, he realized.
The ride was uneventful, although he did spot the shifting shadows of several local poachers. They, however, recognized his horse, and ignored him as he passed by. He rode down the main street of Maguire's Ford, passing two cottages where he knew he would be more than welcome. His horse clopped across the little drawbridge of Erne Rock, and into the courtyard. A sleepy stable lad came to take his mount, leading it away as Kieran Devers mounted the staircase, and entered the castle.
He found his future father-in-law awaiting him in the hall.
'I thought you'd come tonight,' the duke said.
'I've told my da I am to wed Fortune,' Kieran replied.
'He'll be at the wedding, and gave us his blessing,' the younger man replied. 'My stepmother is planning to match a granddaughter with one of your lads.'
James Leslie laughed aloud. 'She doesna gie up, does she? Well, Leslie men, nae matched in the cradle, tend to wait to wed. She could hae her wish in the long run. I want nae feud between our families, Kieran. 'Tis yer brother who is the difficulty. 'Twill be up to yer da and his wife to keep William in line. I'll nae hae my lass insulted by him again. 'Twas fortunate I was unarmed this day, or the bride would hae been a widow before she was deflowered.'
'I suggested the same thing to my brother Willy,' Kieran said.
The duke nodded. 'Yer a good man, Kieran Devers. I'll be proud to call ye my son. I only regret that yer stubborn nature will take Fortune from her family, but if she's content to go wi ye, then we must be content also.'
'Were not your family once Catholics, my lord?' Kieran asked.
'Aye,' James Leslie replied. 'But times change, laddie, and what good does it do to argue over semantics in the matter of religion? Faith is what counts, Kieran. Our good Lord Christ once said that in his father's house were many mansions. Surely one road alone canna lead to all those mansions. But while I will nae condemn ye for the manner in which ye worship, there are those who will, and laws to punish ye if ye do nae conform. I dinna agree with such laws, but I will follow them until they are changed. When we are in England ye must obey the king's law for all our sakes. Yer nae the stuff martyrs are made of, laddie; and I'll nae hae my family endangered by yer rebellion. Is that understood, Kieran Devers? If ye want my help, ye must play my game by my rules. Ye do understand that, don't ye?'
'Aye, my lord, I do. I will do whatever I must to see that Fortune and I can make a good life together. I swear it!' he said.
'Good,' James Leslie said, well pleased. He thought the lad would behave himself if importuned. 'Now, I see nae reason for yer returning to Mallow Court other than to obtain yer belongings. Can ye find the room which ye shared wi yer brother, and which was yers the last time ye visited wi us?'
'I can, my lord,' Kieran replied with a smile.
'Then welcome to Erne Rock, laddie, and welcome to this family of ours. Ye hae nae idea what ye've let yerself in for, Kieran,' the duke chuckled. 'Oh, try not to let Fortune seduce ye before the wedding. She's ripe for trouble, but then I suppose a day, or two will nae matter.' Then James Leslie laughed for his about-to-be son-in-law actually blushed. 'Go to bed, laddie,' the duke said. 'I'd be a fool if I didn't know the women in my household well, and yet they sometimes surprise even me.'
Kieran bowed to the older man, and hurried from the hall and up the stairs to the guest chamber where he had twice stayed in the past. The hall was chill with late September. The torches lighting the passageway flickered eerily. Entering the chamber he closed the door behind him, and then turning caught his breath with surprise.
'I knew you would come tonight,' Fortune said softly. She was lying naked upon his bed, her red-gold hair her only adornment.
'So you mean to seduce me, do you?' he said in equally soft tones, walking across the small room to stand over her.
'Aye,' she replied. 'You want to be seduced, don't you?' Reaching up she drew him down upon the bed.
'You are the boldest virgin I have ever known,' he told her.
'I didn't know you knew any virgins,' Fortune responded with a wicked grin. 'Kieran, you know I'm mad for you, and I know that you love me. In less than a week we will be man and wife. Why must we wait until then to enjoy each other?' Her lips were dangerously close to his, temptingly moist, and half-parted.
I'll never be a saint, he thought, as he kissed her slowly, deeply, his mouth working against hers. His head spun with the nearness of her. The perfumed scent from her body surrounded him. 'One taste, sweetheart, and then no more until our wedding night,' he said sternly. 'I'll not have you coming to the altar looking too sated and well satisfied. Do you think that's a secret you could keep, my bold innocent?' His hand swept down the curve of her body slowly, sliding around to fondle the cheek of her bottom.
Being touched so suggestively was entirely different than she had anticipated, Fortune considered. It had seemed to her the right thing to do when she had decided to await him in his bedchamber. Now she wasn't certain she was ready for such intimacy. When he pushed her back upon the pillows her heart began to hammer wildly. Fascinated she watched as his fingers trailed lightly over her silken flesh.
