and mixed some?herbs in a goblet of wine that she made Skye drink. The medication?would soothe her. Eibhlin had seen cases of bridal nerves before.
Next the nun took soft pads of linen soaked in rose water, and?lay them on Skye’s closed eyes.
“It will take the swelling down,” she told Molly. “We’ll let her?rest for half an hour, then dress her for the wedding.”
Very soon thereafter, Skye O’Malley stood beside Dom O’Flaherty?in the castle’s candlelit chapel and was wed. All the guests agreed?that there had never been a more beautiful bride. Her gown was of?creamy white satin with a deep, square neck edged in a wide ruffle?of silver lace. The low neckline gave the groom a fine view of her? breasts, and Dom O’Flaherty licked his lips in anticipation at the?sight of small, pink nipples.
As the elderly priest intoned the ancient Latin words of the cer-?emony over them, the bridegroom thought lasciviously of how he?would pillow his head tonight on those soft breasts. When she raised her hand to receive the marriage ring, Dom noted the richness of?her gown for the first time. The sleeves were slashed, the inserts?filled with silver lace. This lace also edged the wrists. Her beautiful?Mack hair was unbound, in recognition of her innocence, and topped?by a simple wreath of sweetly scented white flowers.
She was whiter than her gown, and had Dom bothered to look?closer, he would have seen the helpless, trapped look in her eyes.?The drug given her by her sister forced her to comply with the farce.?Her responses were so low that they could barely be heard, and she?moved like a puppet. Her family assumed it was bridal nerves.
They were pronounced man and wife. They turned to face their?families and, at that moment, the chapel doors were flung open,?revealing Niall Burke, his face anguished, his eyes stark with a pain?that only she could understand. Skye simply wanted to die.
“Kiss the bride! Kiss the bride!” came the ribald shouts.
Dom O’Flaherty turned Skye so that she faced him. “Now,” he?said triumphantly, “you belong to me!” His mouth found hers. He?forced his tongue between her soft lips and into her mouth. Around?them came the crude cries of encouragement. The tongue was soft,?and demanding. Seeking to escape this horror, Skye fainted.
“Ho!” shouted Dubhdara O’Malley, well pleased. “Here’s fine?proof of my lass’s innocence! Her first kiss and she swoons! Loosen?her laces, lad. You’re no stranger to women’s clothes, or so I’m?told.”
While the laughter that greeted O’Malley’s sally echoed around?the chapel, Dom O’Flaherty picked up his bride and carried her from?the room. Helplessly Niall Burke watched as the unconscious Skye?was borne back to her room. He wanted to hit the smug young man?who cradled Skye in his arms with such obvious pride of ownership.
For the first time in his life, the heir to one of the most powerful?families in Ireland had been thwarted. For the last three days Niall?had tried unsuccessfully to see the O’Malley, but Dubhdara had been?unavailable to his guests because of his young wife’s lying in. Under?the circumstances, Niall hadn’t expected them to marry Skye off so? quickly. He had thought he had time to speak with the O’Malley.?Though the situation would have been embarrassing, there would?have been no real disgrace in O’Malley exchanging the heir to Ballyhennessey for the heir to the MacWilliam of Mayo.
Niall pushed, along with the family, into the bedchamber. Dom?laid his burden upon the bed. With nimble fingers the bridegroom?loosened the girl’s laces. Momentarily forgetful of his audience,?Dom caressed the soft, creamy swell of Skye’s breast. The hunger?in his pale-blue eyes was unmistakable, and Niall felt a murderous?rage well up in him.
“Now, now, my son, we’ll have none of that until tonight,”?chuckled O’Malley. “Your bride’s got to be able to stand for all the?toasts that’ll be drunk at the feast, and she’ll be in no condition if?you have her now.”
O’Flaherty flushed amid the leers and snickers. Then Eibhlin?pushed through the crowd to Skye’s side and, kneeling, began to?rub the girl’s wrists. “Molly-the wine, please. And a burnt feather.?Da, it would help if all these people left. You too, brother Dom.?If Skye is to be up to enjoy her own wedding feast, she must rest?now.”
The room slowly emptied, and Eibhlin and Molly raised Skye up.?First the feather was burnt and waved beneath her nose, then the?drugged wine was forced between her lips. Skye coughed, choked,?and opened her eyes. “You fainted,” said the nun drily.
“He… he put his tongue in my mouth, Eibhlin,” said Skye,?visibly shocked. “He… he said that I belong to him.”
“You do.”
‘No! Never to Dom O’Flaherty! Never to any man!”
Eibhlin turned. “You may leave us,” she told the reluctant Molly.?Then Eibhlin said quietly, “It’s Niall Burke, isn’t it, Skye? Dear?Lord, he didn’t take your virginity?”
Miserably, Skye shook her head. “He wanted to wed with me,?Eibhlin. He was to speak with Da.”
“But he didn’t, or if he did Da said no. You’re married to Dom?O’Flaherty, Skye. You must face it. It is your duty to be a good?wife to him. He loves you and he is your lord in the eyes of the?Church.”
“I cannot, Eibhlin! I simply cannot! I hate Dom, and I can’t bear?his touch.”
“Some women are like that, Skye. Perhaps you are one.”
“No! When Niall Burke kissed me it was perfect! I wanted him!?The way a woman wants a man… in marriage. But I don’t feel mat?way about Dom.”
“Go to sleep, little one,” said the nun soothingly. “In a few hours’?time you must hostess your wedding feast.”
Sighing, Skye lay back. The herbs were doing their work, and?suddenly she fell asleep, her face still wet with tears. Eibhlin shook?her head. What on earth possessed Da to insist on this marriage,?knowing Skye was so against it? He had always indulged his young-?est daughter, adoring her lavish beauty, delighting in her love of the?sea. He had never before forced her into something.
Eibhlin speculated. Perhaps their father wanted the last of Peigi?O’Malley’s daughters out of his house so that he could be free to?enjoy his second wife, and his five sons. At any rate, though she would never admit it to Skye, the nun shared her sister’s dislike of?O’Flaherty. He was stubborn, far too vain, and for all his fine?education, woefully ignorant. Eibhlin sighed. There was simply no?help for it. It was a man’s world, and a decent woman was either?a wife or a nun. Perhaps, she thought wistfully, it would be different?someday. Eibhlin went back to the chapel to pray for her sister.?There was nothing else she could do.
When Skye awoke several hours later, the terrible reality of her?situation swept over her once more. Her knowledge of men was?limited, but she instinctively understood that her husband was the?sort of man who preyed on the weak and helpless. Dom liked win-?ning. She must not let him know how upset she was.
Slowly she rose from the bed, feeling just slightly dizzy, and?bathed her face in rose water. Still unlaced, she breathed deeply,?clearing her head. She whirled at the sound of the door behind her,?furious that her privacy was to be so quickly disturbed. “How dare?you enter my chamber!”
He smiled lazily. “You forget, Skye pet, that I have the right to?enter your chamber whenever I choose to do so. I am your husband.”
She shivered. “I forget nothing, Dom,” she bravely answered.?He moved toward her, and her courage cracked. “Don’t come near?me!” She backed away from him, but he kept on until she felt the?edge of the bed against the backs of her legs. The look in his eyes?terrified her, and she had to force herself to stand straight, to look?directly at him. She could hear the sound of her own heart drumming?in her ears.
“Your maiden shyness pleases me-to a point, Skye.” His hand?caressed her cheek, slid down her neck to her shoulder, then gripped?the soft flesh. “I am your husband and I will brook no disobedience?from you. Your father has spoiled you badly, but I will not. I will?school you as I do the bitches in my kennel, and you will do your?duty by me. When you err, I shall punish you. Do you understand?me, Skye?”
“Yes, Dom.” Her eyes were lowered in apparent compliance, but?really to hide her smoldering hatred.
“Good,” he said, his voice softening a little. “Now come here to?me, pet.” He took her chin between his fingers and forced her head?up. His wet mouth ground on hers, and his tongue forced itself?between her clenched teeth. She shivered with revulsion. The wet?lips were on her throat. He pushed her onto the bed and, atop her,?pulled down her gown, exposing the small, perfect breasts. His?mouth opened to capture a little pink nipple, and she screamed.
He stopped, raised his eyes, and looked down on her. “Please?Dom, we must face our guests.” Groaning with frustration, he stood up slowly and, giving her a venomous look, stumbled from the?room.
Outside in the hallway he stopped a moment to catch his breath,?to massage the ache in his groin. She was
