The Bloody Quarrel (The Complete Edition) (4 page)

“I think I’m pregnant,” Bridgit said softly.

“Very funny, Bridge! We can always rely on you to say something to give us a laugh at the end of the day.” Riona smiled. “I never knew you had it in you. You’ll be giving Dev a run for his money before long!”

Nola chuckled too but Bridgit did not smile and, slowly, the grins faded off her friends’ faces.

“What, you are serious?” Nola gasped.

“I am. But I wish I wasn’t,” Bridgit said, her voice barely a whisper. The fear had been growing within her, to the point where she had to say something. But saying it did not make it go away.

“Why do you think you are pregnant?” Riona hissed.

“Well, unless the moon has changed since we came here, I’m late. And I’m never late unless I’m pregnant,” Bridgit said simply. “My appetite has gone as well and I cannot abide the sight nor smell of meat. That always happens too.”

“You don’t know that. You’ve never been in Kotterman before. This is not normal. We are not eating right and with everything else that is happening—” Nola said instantly.

“I know this is not Baltimore!” Bridgit snapped. “But I think I know my own body after all these summers!”

“Well, that might be it as well. You’re not as young as you were,” Riona said gently. “Maybe it is your change in life happening.”

Bridgit shook her head. “Why are you working so hard to persuade me that I am mad and imagining things?” she demanded.

Riona and Nola looked at each other and then Nola reached out to take Bridgit’s hand. “Because we know what you’ve been through before and what this could mean.”

Riona took her other hand. “And because were relying on you to get us out of here and get us home.”

Bridgit could feel the tears threatening to burst through the barriers she had put up after that fateful night back at Baltimore. Once she would have let them through. But she forced them back with an effort of will. “I know,” she said. “I know what it all means and that is why I have been struggling to sleep these last few nights. They have churches here and they are always praying, but will a Kottermani priest want to save the baby of a slave like me?”

“You don’t know you are going to lose this one,” Nola said firmly.

Bridgit had to clench her teeth to stop herself from howling. “I have lost all the others. What makes you think I can keep this one?”

“Because you are not the same Bridgit,” Riona said.

“What are you talking about?” Bridgit snorted. “Look at me, it is the same person.”

“Not inside,” Nola said. “We’ve all seen it. It’s as if they left your fears or something behind when they took you.”

Now it was Bridgit’s turn to reach out and hold her friend’s hand. “But I am afraid,” she whispered. “Afraid I shall let you all down.”

They embraced her then and again she had to work at keeping her tears in check.

Her friends drew back and she could see they were examining her closely. But it was as usual easy enough to keep her thoughts from her face. “Come now. Let’s talk of something else. Like what are we going to do about Ely?”

“I wonder what her story is,” Nola said. “How did she come to speak Gaelish? Does that mean there are more of our people here?”

“Who knows? But I can’t trust her yet. The question is, did Gokmen put her in with us so we could talk to the guards or did Prince Kemal order her put in with us, to act as a spy and report back if we plan to do anything. I want to think they look down on us and see us as broken but I worry they are too clever for that. But you are right, we should at least pretend to be her friend: she might let something slip. And make sure the children try to play with her. Most people cannot resist children and that will tell us if she is a friend or not. If she ignores the kids or sends them away then we know she is not with us.”

“And our plan to escape?”

“I need some more time to think about it,” Bridgit lied easily. “Come on now. We need to get some sleep. Who knows when the crying will start?”

They lay back on the thin mattresses, which were stuffed with something strange and lumpy, and wrapped thin sheets around their shoulders. That was just one of the many strange things about this land. The idea of going to sleep without a fire or a blanket was strange, and yet neither of those things was needed there.

Bridgit made sure her breathing was slow and even, knowing her friends were listening for that. But her mind bounced from fear to fear.

Things had seemed so simple just a few days ago. She’d had terrible things to worry about, but they were all new worries and they could all be faced and fought. Now an old enemy had come from her past to terrorize her again.

This was a different battle from the ones she had lost against it, however. She could feel the old Bridgit trying to take charge, wanting to fall to pieces and knowing that she was going to kill the new life within her the way she had all the others before – with the exception of Kerrin.

But the new Bridgit was trying to fight back, saying that things would be different this time. During the day, when she was surrounded by children’s laughter, the new Bridgit was able to win. But at times like this, in the dark and still, the old Bridgit was unstoppable.

She could see it all happening in her mind’s eye. She would lose the baby, lose her life and never get to see Kerrin again. Worse, the children she was protecting would also be lost.

She tried to fight back, tried to tell herself that she could still rescue them and get back home, to where Sister Rosaleen could save the pregnancy, but she didn’t believe herself. She wrapped her arms around her middle and prayed to Aroaril to keep the baby safe this time.

It had not worked before and she doubted it would work this time.

She wrapped herself in a sheet and murmured Kerrin’s and Fallon’s names. That was the one hope she clung to at times like this. That Fallon would come and rescue her.

“Where are you?” she whispered into the darkness.

Fallon woke up slowly, his left arm and shoulder aching from where Kerrin was resting on him. Both his son and his dog were still sleeping so he rolled out of bed and massaged some feeling back into his arm. His head felt thick after just a couple of glasses of wine and he ruefully remembered why he did not drink much. He splashed a little water on his face but could not look in the bronze mirror. He was scared what he might see in the eyes looking back at him.

The knowledge of yesterday sat in his stomach like the heavy weights the fishermen used on their lines. It only started to lift when he remembered the decision he’d had made the previous night.

The more he thought about it, the more he was sure it was not a dream but a message from Aroaril. It had seemed so vivid and was so clear in his memory. His own death was the only thing that could wipe out the crime of murdering Prince Cavan.

“Hey, Dad, is there anything to eat?”

He forced his dark thoughts away and turned, contorting his face into something close to a smile. “Why don’t we go and see?” he suggested.

He doubted there would be anything – there was no more Prince Cavan to give the orders. But they discovered everyone else enjoying fresh bread, cheese, cold meat and fruit.

“It arrived with a note from that chamberlain Regan. As far as the kitchens are concerned, Prince Cavan is still here, so they are sending everything up as usual,” Devlin explained.

Kerrin filled his plate high, tossing chunks of meat to Caley, but Fallon just took a hunk of bread and a cup of water. He had to talk to Padraig and explain things to him. He was tempted to tell to his friends his plan but they might try and talk him out of it. That must not happen.

Kerrin reached out and grabbed his arm. “Dad, I have told Caley she has to stay with you now,” he said softly. “You need her.”

He shook his head but the dog stood by his side, even when Kerrin rushed off to find Padraig. He looked down at her as she stared up at him, her tail swishing from side to side. “You wouldn’t look like that if you knew what I had done,” he told her.

“Fallon!” Gallagher said sharply.

He looked up from Caley, trying to make his face look normal.

“Regan is here.”

Fallon was on his feet before he knew it and hurrying down to the main door into their rooms, Caley at his heels. It was open, Regan standing at the threshold, being watched by Devlin and Brendan. As Fallon had suspected, there was now a locking bar on the outside, although the guards were far away down the corridor.

Fallon clenched his fists at that. They were so sure he was beaten that the chamberlain had walked into the heart of their company without so much as a dagger. Then he opened his hands. That was good. Just let him get near Swane and Aidan and he would show them how wrong they were.

“The King’s greetings and you are to make ready for a meeting of the nobles in two turns of the hourglass. Prince Swane will be brought to the usual waiting chamber and you will escort him into the room, then stand behind him during the session. Afterwards, you will escort him back into the waiting chamber and he will be returned to his confinement,” Regan said. “He will say nothing to you and you will say nothing to him, nor will you do anything to him. Is that understood?”

Fallon had to take a moment to hold back the surge of anger that filled him. “Understood. And agreed,” he said through gritted teeth.

“There will not be many such occasions. But you must fulfill your end of the bargain in order for the King to live up to his,” Regan said, this time with a hint of warning in his voice.

“We will do this. But we don’t have to enjoy it,” Fallon told him.

“Just so,” Regan nodded. “Remember. The waiting chamber in two turns of the hourglass. Do not be late.”

Fallon did not bother to reply and signaled to Brendan, who swung the door shut. He heard the locking bar being slammed into place and thumped the door angrily in response.

“If things were not bad enough, now we have to stand near that bastard Swane without ripping his head off,” Brendan growled. “I suppose we shall have to go and get ready.”

Fallon shook his head. “Not yet. Get Padraig and I shall explain.”

“What is it?” Gallagher demanded.

“I have a way out of this,” he said, then stalked back to Cavan’s bedroom.

*

“What is going on?” Padraig asked. “Why the mystery?”

“I need a couple of volunteers, men with no families,” Fallon said. “There is only one way out of this. I shall kill Swane and Aidan today.” The others began protesting but he plowed over the top of them. “With them dead, you will be able to get out of here and sail to Kotterman to get back our families.”

“They’ll kill you!” Devlin said.

“That is a price I am willing to pay. I deserve it,” Fallon said.

“And what about Kerrin?” Padraig asked coldly.

“You can look after him until Bridgit is back. I am no good with him anyway. He deserves better,” Fallon said.

“Have you gone mad?” Padraig demanded. “That lad needs his father, not an old fart like me! Bridgit did not save him for this. And what if we cannot get her back? What of him then? Your duty to the living outweighs your guilt over the dead.”

Fallon shook his head. “The answer came to me in a dream last night. I have to kill them to save my soul.”

“Don’t be a bloody idiot!” Padraig raged.

“What if it goes wrong? You will doom us all,” Brendan rumbled.

“They will not stop me,” Fallon vowed. “I cannot live with this guilt any more. I have to avenge Cavan and save you all from the nightmare I have cast you into. This gives you all a chance. Soon as that bastard Aidan is dead, break out. Make for the ship. I’ll give you the nod when I am about to strike and you need to run in the opposite direction. By the time I am finished, Kelty and his guards will not know what to do.”

They all protested then but he let it wash over him.

“I will not let you do it,” Padraig declared.

“You cannot stop me. For if I am not there, the King will send his guards in to kill us all anyway. And you know this is the only way out of this pit,” Fallon said, locking eyes with the wizard until Padraig blinked.

“What do I tell Kerrin?”

“The truth,” Fallon said. “Tell him sorry. And tell Bridgit sorry as well.”

Padraig smashed his hand on the table. “I shall do no such thing! My daughter sacrificed herself for that boy and now you are going to abandon him! If you are going to throw away her gift, have the courage to say it to him yourself.”

Fallon shook his head obstinately. His head heard the words but his heart knew the truth. He would never be free of the guilt until he sacrificed himself.

“Don’t do this, man,” Devlin urged. “There has to be another way.”

Gallagher and Brendan joined in, pushing him to think again, to come up with something else.

“I will lock you in here until you come to your senses,” Brendan said.

“That you cannot do. For if we are late, it will be Kelty and his men breaking down the door,” Fallon said.

He could feel their frustration rising as they argued more. But he just said nothing, until it petered out.

“Get ready. We cannot be late,” he said. “And get out of it when I give the signal, because I’m going to take plenty of those bastards with me.” He reached into his bolt bag and felt for the bloody quarrel. He would put that into Aidan’s black heart and then he could face Cavan and look his Prince in the eye.

Bridgit lay on her mattress and closed her eyes and ears to the noise around her. Every passing day made her more sure she was pregnant. She knew her body and attempts by her friends to tell her otherwise just annoyed her. Every day she tried to tell herself this pregnancy would be different but every day it was harder to raise herself.

“Bridge, we need you,” Riona said. “It’s a mess downstairs.”

“Maybe later,” she said and rolled over. After a while she could sense that Riona had left. She knew she should get up and help but even the needs of the children could not make her move. She wrapped her arms around her belly and held tight. To lose Kerrin and now to lose another baby … it was not fair. What had she done to so anger Aroaril?

Footfalls told her Nola was approaching. For a small woman, she knew how to make an entrance. “Bridge, we need to talk about how we are going to escape,” her friend said. “Everyone is going to want some answers soon and we have no idea how we are going to get out of here, let alone free a score of slave gangs scattered around this maze of a city.”

“I’ll think about it. I’ll be down soon,” Bridgit said, pressing her eyes shut.

“Are you sure you are all right?” Nola asked worriedly.

No, of course I am not all right! There is not one part of this that is right!
she screamed inside her head.

“Fine,” she said.

She could sense Nola wanted to stay and say more, but shouts from downstairs summoned her away.

Bridgit opened her eyes and stared dully at the mattress, seeing the lumps and bumps of the filling. Where was Fallon? Why hadn’t he come for her?

*

“You have to come quickly! Something bad has happened!”

Bridgit came awake in an instant, her heart racing – something must have happened to Kerrin. Then she remembered where she was and lay back down.

“What is it, Ely?” she asked irritably.

The girl’s eyes were wide and she was trembling with fear. Bridgit shed both her sheet and her inertia as fear ripped through her for one of the other children. “What is it? Is someone hurt?” she asked worriedly.

“It is Gokmen. He is furious. One of the slaves has done something and he demands to speak to you about punishment,” Ely whispered.

Bridgit took a deep breath, fearing her heart would burst, it was hammering so hard. At least it was making her feel more awake than she had been for the last two days.

“Let him do what he wants. I am not the leader here. Who cares what I think?” she said.

Ely shook her head, tears rolling down her face. “You have to come. Or they will kill them, like they did before.”

Bridgit shut her eyes, trying to close out the memory of Sean and Seamus. That could not happen again. “Right,” she said, forcing her mind into action. “Come on.”

She walked downstairs, Ely following nervously behind, to find a bristling Gokmen pacing around the entry hall, a pair of nervous guards hovering nearby.

“Follow me!” he snarled.

Bridgit stopped and crossed her arms. “Where?” she demanded.

Gokmen stormed across to her. “Do not question! Follow!” he roared.

She ignored his rage. “Not until you say where.”

He turned away and she saw him clench his hands into fists, before beckoning to Ely and rattling off a long string of Kottermani.

“Through the city to the fields outside the walls,” Ely translated.

“Then let me fetch a hat and water and we shall leave,” Bridgit said calmly.

Ely’s eyes were wide with terror and Bridgit added a little snap to her voice. “Tell him!”

Ely gabbled the message and Gokmen let out a roar of frustration, but Bridgit refused to be hurried. If she obeyed everything he said then she was handing all the power to him. And if someone had done something wrong, she needed every bit of help she could get. The memory of what he had done to Sean and Seamus would never leave her. But every time a thought came to the surface, her other worries dragged it back down into the depths.

Gokmen was nearly apoplectic by the time she was ready and charged off up the street. Bridgit set her own pace, which was much slower and resulted in another torrent of angry Kottermani.

“It is too hot for me to walk fast,” she told Ely with a calm she did not feel.

It was of course also a chance to see as much of the city as possible. The place was a rabbit’s warren and any chance to understand better how its streets flowed had to be taken.

None of this put Gokmen in a better mood by the time they got outside the city and into the fields, where a pair of Gaelish women were kneeling in the hot sun, surrounded by guards.

From the expressions on many of the guards’ faces, Bridgit could guess what they thought the punishment would be, and she felt sick. She pushed that down ruthlessly. The women were not from Baltimore but she recognized them as mothers from Killarney.

“What is going on here?” she demanded. “Get them out of the hot sun! Do you want to kill them? They will be ruined as slaves if you treat them like that!”

But Gokmen had obviously had enough. “They tried to escape!” he roared, pointing at the two women.

“That cannot be so,” Bridgit said, keeping her voice soft, and quiet. “They know what is at stake and that their children are at risk. Let me ask them what happened.”

The two women turned towards her, hope and fear warring on their faces.

“We weren’t running! We just needed a piss but the guards wouldn’t let us go. We just wanted to go away from the fields, not on the crops,” the younger said urgently.

Bridgit tapped Ely on the arm. “Tell him that,” she instructed. “Make it clear that they were doing it to protect the crops and the people who would be eating them.”

Ely nodded and spoke to Gokmen, before receiving a blast of Kottermani.

“He doesn’t believe them,” she said.

“They must be punished. They know the sentence. Five guards each,” Gokmen said roughly. “No one will try it again once they see that.”

Bridgit would never have taken that from Fallon and she was not about to accept it from another man, even if he was a slave master. Instinct took over. “Now listen here!” Bridgit stormed closer and jabbed him in the chest with her forefinger. “If you had already made your judgment, why call me out here?”

“To explain it to the others,” Gokmen growled down at her.

Bridgit crossed her arms again. “You are wrong and you will not punish these women,” she snapped.

Gokmen shook his head. “You are not in charge here. They will be punished and, if you argue, then you will share their punishment.”

She took a deep breath. Part of her wanted to bow her head and agree, crawl away and go and lie on her mattress. If those men raped her then that would be the end for her baby. They could not harm her unborn child. That thought blazed through her head and the Bridgit who had hidden Kerrin and then gone out to fight took over.
They would not harm her child.
She had no weapon this time but her wits and courage. That would have to be enough.

“Wrong,” she countered. “You will release them and escort me back to the children.”

Gokmen looked over at Ely and Bridgit reached out without looking and dragged her translator closer. “Tell him that he will punish nobody, or punish us all,” she hissed.

Ely looked as though those words might choke her but managed to say something.

Gokmen spoke swiftly to his guards and there was a cheer of laughter afterwards. Then he turned back to Bridgit, ignoring Ely, an unpleasant smile on his face. “You have been too long without a man if you want to share this punishment! So be it, you will join them!”

“Then Prince Kemal will have your heart torn out when he returns,” Bridgit said loudly, anger roaring through her.

Gokmen shook his head. “Why would he do that?”

“Because I am pregnant,” Bridgit announced, pinching Ely to make her shout the words in Kottermani. “And Prince Kemal is the father!”

Everything went very silent at that and the guards looked closely at her and then at Gokmen.

“That is not possible,” the slave master said, but his voice was uncertain.

“Why else did he make me leader of my people? Why else has he shown me favor?” Bridgit snapped.

Gokmen looked over to his guards, at the women and then back to Bridgit, plainly unsure of what to do. “I cannot believe it,” he said. “Prince Kemal has a young and beautiful wife.”

“Do you want to bet your balls on it? Get it wrong and your last days will be spent screaming,” Bridgit told him. Inside her mind she was yelling at herself, saying how crazy this was but on the surface she gave him nothing.

“I shall summon a doctor,” Gokmen announced.

“Doctor?” Bridgit asked Ely.

“They can heal your hurts. But they don’t usually deal with slaves,” Ely whispered.

Bridgit felt her heart jump a little. Maybe the doctor could help the baby! “We shall wait for him in the cool. All of us. And bring water,” she ordered.

Gokmen glowered at her then snapped out orders in Kottermani.

“If you are not pregnant then we are as good as dead,” Ely muttered, her teeth almost chattering in fear.

Bridgit merely gave her a wink.

It was obviously a nervous wait for Ely but Bridgit was curious to see what this doctor was and if he was anything like a priest or priestess. He turned out to be an elderly man with kind eyes and soft hands, who handed her a clean jug to fill with urine. That was strange enough but then he sniffed it carefully and took a mouthful, rolling it around his mouth with a thoughtful expression before spitting it out and washing out his mouth. Bridgit did not know whether to be fascinated or revolted.

She watched as the doctor and Gokmen spoke quickly.

“He says he has more tests to do that will take two days to be sure but he believes you are pregnant,” Ely said softly, relief in her voice.

“Can he tell if it will be a healthy babe?” Bridgit asked urgently.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” the girl admitted.

Bridgit felt her heart slump a little at that but rallied as Gokmen approached.

“It seems you are telling the truth,” he said roughly. “For now anyway. But I shall speak to Prince Kemal on his return.”

“Ask him carefully, if you value your life,” Bridgit advised. “For he listens to me.”

“So what do I do with them?” Gokmen gestured towards the two frightened women.

“Let them go. They have been punished enough by a morning in the sun. And everyone knows what will happen if they do anything else. But you should tell your guards to let my people have a break for a piss now and again, with all the water they are drinking. And you can send that doctor down to come and see the children, as well.”

Gokmen hesitated for a long moment and she had to quell a sudden shudder of fear that he would order her punished anyway. But then he began shouting at his men and she did not need Ely to translate to know the slave master had buckled to her bluff. The two women were freed, pausing just long enough to kiss her hand.

“Thank you! Bless you!” they said.

“The baby is Fallon’s,” she whispered, embracing them. “I lied to them, but we shall be long gone before they discover it.”

They hid quick smiles, bowing their heads, before heading back to the fields.

“Now, escort me back. It is too hot out here,” she said, hiding her triumph and wanting to sit down somewhere cool before she vomited in public.

*

Gokmen did not accompany them back, something for which Bridgit was heartily grateful. She was barely able to believe what she had done. Yet the way the guards kept away from her said it had worked. Of course there would be all sorts of trouble when Prince Kemal returned, so she had to be away by then. That was the only thing that would save her unborn child. The icy despair that had gripped her melted away in the heat of that knowledge. She looked around the city as they walked, trying to understand it.

“Ely, tell the guards we must walk back through the markets. The children are getting bored of the food they are given and I need to see what else is available,” she said.

Ely looked back at her worriedly. “They will not like that,” she said slowly.

“Tell them Prince Kemal’s baby will become sick without it. And they will be punished when he returns and I tell him,” Bridgit fired back.

Ely gaped at her and she shoved the girl towards the guards. “Quick now!”

The guards had argued briefly among themselves before agreeing, as she knew they would. It was a dangerous game, but now she was playing it, there was no way to stop. So Bridgit and Ely found themselves walking through one of the city’s markets, the nervous guards about three paces behind. She doubted the guards could hear them talk and, even if they did, they wouldn’t understand what was being said. They would be able to tell if there was an argument under way though, so she decided to keep things light.

“So, where did you learn our language?” she asked Ely.

“That is not important.”

Bridgit heard the tone in Ely’s voice and cursed herself. She needed to start this far more gently if she was going to win Ely over. She was a slave: of course she was going to be suspicious.

“Well, what do you think the children might like to eat?” She changed direction. “They are bored of lamb, flat bread and dates. You must have potatoes here?”

Ely shook her head. “It is the wrong season for them. They are grown in a different part of the empire, anyway. But maybe they would like to try oranges.”

“And what are they? Some kind of animal?”

At this Ely burst out laughing, a surprised giggle that she covered with her hand.

Bridgit was torn between feeling foolish at having said something silly and relieved that she had made Ely laugh.

“No, they are a fruit. They are shaped like a ball and when you tear the skin off, there is sweet, juicy flesh beneath.”

“I like the sound of that. Anything else? What was your favorite when you were a child? If you liked it, I am sure the rest of the children will enjoy it.”

Bridgit congratulated herself as Ely thawed out gradually, talking about some fluffy grain that soaked up meat juices and gravy.