Claire Delacroix (50 page)

Tullymullagh
April 1172

’T
was Easter Sunday at Tullymullagh, the promise of spring in the air and the first hint of green tinting the ground. The sun shone with vigor, the birds had begun to sing. ’Twas a season of rebirth and renewal, a time of reaffirming bonds betwixt lord and tenant.

Brianna and Luc, recently returned from Llanvelyn, strolled from the village chapel through the throngs of villagers. The walls had been completed beneath Uther’s supervision this winter, much to Brianna’s relief. Now all followed the pair to the hall, bearing customary gifts of eggs, chattering merrily, all eagerly anticipating the hearty feast the Lord and Lady of Tullymullagh would grant their tenants.

Indeed, the most tempting scents carried from the kitchens into the bailey. All of the villagers had a word of welcome upon their lips, all lips curved in smiles. More than one pressed a first flower into their lady’s hands and she flushed beneath her husband’s proud glance. ’Twould be a week of great festivity and Brianna was glad to be home.

She had liked Llanvelyn’s pastoral beauty well enough and its tenants had been charming as well. But Brianna had seen quickly that Luc did not intend to tarry there. She accompanied him to Pyrs’ grave and knew she did not imagine that Luc said farewell. She understood they would return to Llanvelyn at intervals to ensure that all went well, but Tullymullagh would be their home.

Brianna hugged the secret lodged in her belly and thought perhaps Llanvelyn would be a good gift for their son.

If indeed, ’twas a son she bore. A daughter would be just as welcome, she decided with a smile.

They had nearly reached the portal of the hall when the echo of hoofbeats made all turn to the gates. A black destrier trotted proudly under the portcullis, tossing his mane when the knight astride him pulled him to a halt before the company.

“ ’Tis Burke,” Luc murmured in evident astonishment, then strode to welcome his brother.

Brianna wondered why Luc’s brother had returned here. Surely he could not bear some summons from Gavin? Surely Burke had not surrendered anew to his father’s authority?

The brothers shook hands, Burke saying something to Luc before they turned as one to Brianna. What was this? They matched steps, looking more similar than Brianna had realized before. Not only were they of similar height and build, but there was a steadiness in both knights’ eyes that was compelling.

Though only one man’s sapphire gaze could make her heart leap.

To Brianna’s astonishment, Burke dropped to one knee before her. “My Lady of Tullymullagh, ’tis the season for atonement and I do owe to you an apology.”

Brianna blinked, uncertain what to make of this confession.
She looked to Luc, but he appeared as bewildered as she. “An apology?” she echoed.

Burke nodded but once. “Though I see all has ended well enough, I must confess that I did not take wholeheartedly to your quest. I did you grave disservice, my lady, in not truly endeavoring to win your hand.”

Brianna gasped in surprise. “So, Gavin was right!”

Burke grimaced. “Aye, he knows me well enough.” He flicked a glance to Luc and thence to Brianna, inclining his head once more. “I grant you belated congratulations on your nuptials and trust you found what you sought.”

Brianna looked to Luc in turn and felt herself flush as she smiled. “Aye, that and more.” Luc lifted a brow, and she turned her attention back on the repentant knight before her. “But why did you not truly pursue the quest? Did you not desire a bride?”

Burke sighed and frowned. “I could not in good conscience court the esteem of a lady when my own heart is securely held by another.”

“Who is she?” Brianna asked with delight. “When are you to be wed?”

But Burke’s eyes were filled with sadness. “It matters little. Alys spurned me, seven years past, though still she holds my heart in thrall.”

“Oh! She did not return your regard?”

“She did not know of it,” Burke declared grimly. “I never told her, to my own regret.”

“If you love her, she must be told!” Burke looked uncertain, so Brianna put her hand on his shoulder, wanting only to persuade him. “Burke, do not repeat an error I nearly made! I thought to spurn Luc when I doubted his heart,” she confessed softly. “But I was wrong. ’Twould have been most grievous, if he had not told me the truth, for we would have sacrificed the happiness we now share.”

Burke shook his head in defeat. “But I do not know where Alys has gone. She fled her family home.” He frowned anew and cleared his throat. “My lady, this is not for you to resolve. I came here only to apologize, for my behavior was unchivalrous.”

Brianna straightened as an impulsive thought came to her. “I will not forgive you,” she declared pertly, enjoying how quickly both brothers’ heads snapped up.

“Brianna!”

“My lady!”

Brianna lifted her chin. “I will
only
forgive you if you seek this Alys and tell her of your love.” The men blinked. “I will only forgive you, Burke de Montvieux, if you depart upon your own quest for a bride. And without delay.”

Burke looked dumbfounded by this condition, but Luc began to chuckle. Brianna met her husband’s sparkling gaze and smiled beneath his proud regard. “The lady makes good sense in this as much else,” he counselled his brother. “Indeed, Brianna holds love in such great esteem that she has persuaded me to her cause.”

Burke looked between the two of them, though truly Brianna was aware of little but the love shining in her husband’s eyes.

“I will do it!” Burke declared suddenly. The assembly, listening carefully to every word, erupted anew in a cheer. “I will find Alys and tell her the truth!” The knight rose from his knees with purpose. “I will go this very moment.”

“Nay, stay for the midday meal at least, brother of mine,” Luc teased, then winked at Brianna. “If Alys proves as much of a challenge to your convictions as Brianna did to mine, you shall need your strength.”

“Oh!” Brianna launched herself at her husband and he scooped her up in his arms as he laughed. She tapped his chest with her fingertip, more than happy to be nestled
against him as he strolled toward the hall once more, Burke trailing a discreet distance behind. “I am not so troublesome as that, sir!”

“Nay, but you are most beguiling when your eyes flash.” Luc punctuated his declaration with a kiss. Unable to wait a moment longer, Brianna whispered to Luc the news she had been saving. She was not disappointed by his response.

“A child? You bear a child?”

“I bear your child.”

Luc scanned the bailey anxiously. “Is there a midwife at Tullymullagh?”

Brianna laughed. “Luc! Such aid will not be needed for another six months.”

“One cannot prepare overmuch,” he said grimly.

Brianna grasped his hand and laid it firmly on her still-flat belly. “We shall have ample warning, Luc, that such time is upon us.”

He exhaled and grinned, bouncing her lightly in his arms. “Aye, you speak aright.” Then he caught her against his chest, his sapphire gaze sobering. “I would not lose you in this, Brianna. There is no choice between you and a babe.”

She kissed his cheek, easing the furrows of concern from his brow. Indeed, she was humbled by the depth of love shining in his eyes. “There is no choice to make, Luc.”

“But you are so tiny!”

“My dame was tinier than I and was said to have managed the deed with ease.”

Luc’s eyes narrowed assessingly. “Then why do you have no brothers and sisters?”

Brianna lifted a brow. “My father would not hear of her conceiving again.” She felt her lips curve in a smile. “ ’Twas the only thing they argued about, to my recollection.”

Luc harumphed and ducked beneath the portal without
putting her on her feet. “Yet again, I can only conclude that Connor of Tullymullagh was a man of rare good sense,” he declared with resolve. “Time ’tis, Brianna, that you were warm in the hall.”

“Luc, I can yet walk!”

“You should not strain yourself.”

Brianna laughed aloud at his protectiveness, even as she kicked her feet playfully. “One day,” she scolded lightly, “you will realize that I am not wrought of gossamer like a fairy queen.”

“And do you imagine, Brianna,” Luc asked, his voice so low that it awakened all the tingles within her, “that ’twill make any difference at all?”

Just one look into the intense blue of Luc’s eyes told Brianna the truth. She caught her breath and shook her head beneath his steady regard, transfixed as Luc slowly smiled.

For the certainty of Luc’s love suited Brianna of Tullymullagh very well indeed.

urke de Montvieux crested a rise, reined in his destrier, and stared at the scene spread before him. He had ridden hard for three days, pushing his steed to the limits of the beast’s endurance, Brianna of Tullymullagh’s challenge in his ears.