Hours later, Nioclas knew, as implausible as it seemed, his wife was telling the truth. He paced, unable to sit still any longer as the ramifications crystallized in his head. He rubbed his forehead and looked out his window at the land before him. Snow had fallen during the night; the sparkle was blinding in the mid-morning sun. Nioclas stared at it, turning the facts over in his mind.
“Brianagh is the key to the O’Rourke legacy,” Nioclas said, almost unable to utter the words.
Reilly shook his head. “Not quite.”
“Speak plainly,” Nioclas said wearily. “I find my mind is at the end of its sanity.”
Reilly smiled grimly. “Brianagh isn’t the key to the legacy. She is the legacy.” He leaned forward. “Why do you think I’ve been pushing her so hard to stay here? She can’t return—doing so would erase an entire line of time travelers seeking to protect history.”
“How do you fit in? Are you truly an O’Malley?”
Reilly’s face shuttered. “I’m the original O’Rourke protector.”
“So you’re an O’Rourke,” Nioclas pressed.
Reilly stood suddenly, slamming his hands on the table and leaning over it, his face inches from Nioclas. “It doesn’t matter from whom I hail. All that matters is that I exist to ensure that Brianagh O’Rourke is brought here, to this time, to you…and to ensure she stays.”
Nioclas narrowed his eyes. “Why me?”
Reilly barked out a laugh and slumped back in his chair. “You’re the one from her dreams, MacWilliam. And she’s the one from yours, even if you’ve tried to forget about them.”
“What sort of magic is this?” Nioclas demanded, grabbing his sword.
“Powerful magic. I know more about you than even your brother. Do you honestly believe I’d put Brianagh into your arms without knowing everything about you?”
Nioclas’s shock hung between them. He slowly re-sheathed his sword.
Reilly stood. “I’ve given you your answers. It’s up to you whether or not to believe what Brianagh and I have told you. Keep her away from the monolithic structures in the east—yes, MacWilliam, the same one from the legacy you can’t seem to accept. And know this: if you do somehow get her back to where she claims she wants to be, you will not only destroy her direct line, you’ll destroy your own.”
“Aidan will carry—”
Reilly shook his head. “No, MacWilliam. Aidan isn’t a true bloodline. He has his own destiny, in his own time…and it is not that of a MacWilliam. Keep her away from the structures in the east.”
With that, Reilly gave him a bow, then exited the solar, leaving Nioclas gaping after him.
• • •
Brianagh found Nioclas in his solar, rubbing something as he stared at it, lost in thought. She knocked hesitantly, and he immediately locked eyes with her.
“Come in. Please, latch the door.”
Brianagh stepped in nervously. “When I woke up and saw you weren’t in the chamber, I thought…” She paused, then shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t know what to think.”
“I had to speak with O’Malley.”
She bit her lip. “Of course. You verified everything, didn’t you?” When he nodded, she wrapped her arms around herself. “Did he also tell you, as he’s been telling me, that my destiny is here?”
Nioclas didn’t reply. He absentmindedly smoothed his fingers over the object. “Where did you get this?”
The brooch.
“My aunt.” Brianagh felt her chest tighten. She’d been so busy adapting, she hadn’t yet had time to miss them. “Evelyn. She gave it to me when I accepted Matthew’s marriage proposal. She said it was something O’Rourke women wore on their wedding day.” Her eyes brimmed with tears at the memory. It felt as though it were a lifetime ago. Corralling her emotions, she swiped an errant tear. “I miss her. I miss them all.”
It was true.
“O’Malley is the only family you have left?”
She nodded. “Yes. He and I were always the closest, though. Ry is very protective, like a big brother. He used to threaten any boy who came within ten feet of me—it was awful. But I know he did it out of love.”
“To protect you,” Nioclas murmured.
“Yes, to protect me.” A moment passed as she recognized the truth of it. “I’m not part of a legacy, Nioclas, no matter what Reilly believes.”
He didn’t respond. “The mark on your arm…”
“Coincidence,” she replied firmly, hugging herself even tighter.
Nioclas steepled his fingers, then placed them against his chin. “What about the dreams?”
Bri lost her breath. Of everything she’d told Nioclas, not once did she mention her dreams of him. No one knew, not even Reilly. She blindly groped for the table, needing to sit lest her legs gave out.
She hadn’t had a dream of Nioclas since she’d stayed in Reilly’s little cottage on the edge of the sea…since she’d arrived in Nioclas’s time.
“Dreams?” she managed.
Nioclas picked up the brooch again, running his fingers over the engraved hawk. “We were sitting in the grass by a dark lake. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we had just finished a swim. Our clothes were wet, and we had laid them out to dry.” She let out a strangled cry, but he pressed on. “A bird flew overhead. I told you it was a falcon, but you laughed. You told me it was a hawk.” He raised his eyes, gray meeting blue. “When I said hawks were malevolent, you shook your head. The sun caught your hair and it seemed as though it were glowing. You looked like a goddess of the sun.” He smiled at the memory, but it faded. “You told me that the bird had no markings on its chest—a falcon would have stripes. You said the hawk had markings only on its wings.”
Immediately, Brianagh recalled Nioclas in the lists. His chest had no markings…but his arms did. Her gaze flew to his biceps, covered with the sleeves of his tunic.
“Aye. To resemble a hawk.”
Her eyes were so wide, she was certain they were going to fall out at any moment. She couldn’t catch her breath. The dream he described was the last of what she took to calling “the originals.” The lake dream was the last one in a string of repeated dreams. She despaired over dreaming something different, but the ones she did have were sweet enough to last a lifetime. Until the night she dreamed she lost him.
“Nioclas,” she started, but he wasn’t done.
“I had the brooch made to take with me into battle,” he continued, “as a favor, of sorts. I thought if I had you near me, it would protect me from death. I never felt more alive than I did in those dreams.”
She wiped away the tears as they fell, no longer caring about anything but this moment with Nioclas.
“I thought I was crazy,” she whispered. “When I saw you for the first time, I thought I’d lost my mind.”
“No.” Nioclas sighed. “You did not. I thought I’d lost mine when I had those dreams, and after I’d had this brooch fashioned, I told Aidan that our new clan would bear a hawk on our crest. After a goodly bit of ale”—he laughed humorlessly—“I confessed the dreams. I told him all. Aidan, to his credit, believed you were a sign sent from our mother, to help ease the burden of lairdship.” Nioclas looked at her.
“Do you think that’s what it was?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know. Perhaps.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “Do you understand why O’Malley is so adamant that you remain here with me?”
“He thinks we’ll mess up history.”
“He believes you’re the legacy, Brianagh. That you’re the one who will pass the ability to move time to your children, and them to theirs.”
“He’s wrong,” she replied stubbornly.
“What if he isn’t? There are no coincidences in life, Brianagh. Everything happens for a reason.”
“He’s wrong,” she insisted.
“After all you told me about your family last night, after all you’ve shown me, I urge you to consider what may happen to them if you are, in fact, the legacy,”
Nioclas said. “They wouldn’t exist, Brianagh.”
The reality hit her, but she refused to believe it. “I’m not responsible for generations of people! I’m a matchmaker. That’s it. I’m not a legacy!”
“Regardless of whether you are or not, my lady…you have my sword at your feet.” Nioclas slid the brooch to her and stood. “For however long you may need it.”
Chapter 21
Brianagh sat as still as a stone on the battlements, silently staring at the sea. When Erin eventually found her, she’d been there for hours, numb from both her thoughts and the cold.
“Brianagh, you should come inside,” Erin said gently, placing a hand on her arm. “It’s freezing out here, and you’ll catch your death.”
“I miss my family,” Bri whispered.
Erin sat down next to her, linked her arm through Bri’s, and rested her head on her shoulder. “Aye, I know the feeling well. When I married Donovan, I had to leave my clan behind as well. The first few weeks were wonderful. I had my love. I thought that was enough.” She smiled, a faraway look in her eyes. “But by the end of the first month, I missed my daily chats with Mama. I wanted to go back to visit, but Donovan couldn’t go, and I can’t travel that distance without him.”
“Have you seen her since you’ve been back?” Bri asked.
Erin wiped a tear from her cheek. “She died two months after I married.” She gave a watery smile. “Nioclas came to tell me himself. He’s a good man, Brianagh. You’re very lucky to have him as your own.”
“He is a good man,” Bri replied softly. “That’s the trouble.”
“If you care to discuss your troubles, I’m right here. And, despite what the heathen brothers think, I can keep a secret better than either of them.” They shared a giggle, then sobered. Erin continued. “Really, Bri. You’ve been so out of sorts lately, but then I see Nick give you the same kind of looks Donovan gives me, and I don’t understand. Is it because you miss your family? Are you so far from them?”
“Oh, Erin, you have no idea.” Bri sighed, resting her head on top of her friend’s. “I wonder if I’ll ever see them again. And they don’t know what happened to me.”
“Did O’Malley take you from them?” Erin asked, concern etching her words.
“No, I went with him on my own.” Bri’s eyes misted. “But I didn’t think I was leaving forever.”
“Nick is a very wealthy man, Bri. In times of peace, such as this, he can afford to travel. He’s not tight on his purse strings. He keeps his castle simple so as to not draw attention to the clan. Just like he keeps the prosperity of our village to himself—he doesn’t want any problems to arise from greedy lairds, or worse, the English crown.”
“You don’t need to defend him to me, Erin. I think he’s one of the very best men I’ve ever met,” Bri replied sadly.
“Then what grieves you, Brianagh? You have a wealthy husband who loves you—”
“He doesn’t, Erin.”
Erin pulled away and looked at Bri. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Brianagh. He certainly feels something.”
Bri shook her head. “Believe me when I tell you he doesn’t love me.”
Contemplating her, Erin asked, “Do you want him to love you?”
Therein was the crux of her problem. As Brianagh had sat on the battlements and let her thoughts wander, that question had come up repeatedly. Did she want the love of any man? What if Matthew was in love with her—could she ever learn to love him back now that her heart belonged to another?
Perhaps that was the cruelest joke of all. While pretending to be in love, she’d actually fallen, and by convincing everyone they were a love match, she secured her ticket home to her family.
Bri started to cry softly. She drew her knees up and buried her face in her arms, then felt Erin’s arms around her.
“When my mother died,” Erin said quietly as Bri wept, “I felt as though I’d made a mistake in marrying Donovan, because it took me from her. She’d been sick, but no one believed it to be serious. My father died when I was little, and it was just Mama and me most of my life. She cried at my wedding but refused Donovan’s offer to come to the Maguire clan. Claimed she was a MacWilliam through and through.” She sniffed. “But I see now that she didn’t want me to see her suffering. It was selfless and selfish and a million other things I haven’t yet found the words for, and may not ever find. But I am comforted in the fact that when I had her, she loved me very much and wanted only the best for me in my life. When she realized I had a love match in Donovan, she pushed Nioclas to secure his hand. She was the best of mothers.”
Bri wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. “I’m so sorry, Erin. She sounds like she was a wonderful woman.”
“She was. And she always told me to follow my heart first. Perhaps,” Erin said after a moment, “if you love him enough, he’ll love you in return. Nioclas has had a very difficult life. He needs time and encouragement from a woman who loves him. If your love could be enough until then, I don’t think you’ll regret it. Eventually, he’ll return it threefold, and word of your happiness might reach your family. They would know that you are safe and well-loved. The MacWilliam clan respects you very much—they want you to be one of them. Go to their festivals, hold their babies, dance when minstrels visit the castle. They want that from you, Brianagh, because you are the woman Nioclas chose to wed. And maybe you can find a measure of peace believing that your family will hear of the MacWilliams, who are living a happy, loving life on the edge of the sea in the most beautiful land in the world.”
Bri sniffed and returned her head to Erin’s shoulder, and they sat together, staring at the sea in silence, each lost in her own thoughts.
• • •
When Brianagh and Erin returned to the castle, they were greeted by a very flustered lass running from the kitchens to flag them down.
“What’s wrong, Deirdre?” Bri asked, hurrying over.
“There’s a line of men waiting to speak with Keela, and she’s trying to fix the evening meal!” Deirdre exclaimed. “They won’t leave, though. They’ve demanded to see her, claiming the need to spout poetry or some such nonsense.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s out of hand now. They’re crowding the kitchens, and we’re about to take a knife to them so we can get dinner done!”
Bri and Erin exchanged a look, and then Bri nodded firmly. “Right. I’ll handle this. Deirdre, lead the way.”
It was worse than Deirdre claimed. The line of men was actually a large cluster, all blocking the way in and out of the kitchen, clamoring to be heard over one other. Bri stifled a laugh. Poor Keela.
“Excuse me,” Bri said, tapping the nearest man, who looked to be somewhere in his sixties.
“Oh, Lady MacWilliam! Of course, aye, aye,” he said, elbowing men out of the way. “The lady of the castle wants to get through, move out of the way. Lady of the castle.”
Bri felt a little like he was calling, “Watch out, hot coffee!” No one listened.
She placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled once, loud and sharp. Their heads snapped around so fast, Erin let out a giggle.
“Impressive,” Erin murmured. “Teach me how to do that?”
Bri grinned at her, then looked at the men. “I’d like to get inside the kitchens, please.” They parted like the Red Sea, and she swept through them, Erin following closely behind. “Good sir,” Bri called out to one of the men holding a bunch of dead tree branches, “do be so kind as to close the kitchen door behind you.”
“I’ve come to woo the cook,” he replied. “I’m not leaving until she agrees to marry me.”
The other men began protesting and jostling each other again. Bri gave another whistle, followed by a sweet smile. “Tomorrow, you shall all come to the great hall after the midday meal. There, you will talk with me and answer a series of questions, and Keela will have final choice.” She held up her hand at their grumbles. “Be away with you now, if you have any desire to eat whatever t
hat delicious smell is coming from.”
The crowd dispersed and the door was shut, albeit reluctantly.
Bri turned to Keela, who was clutching her spoon like a weapon, and gave her a pitying laugh. “Oh, Keela, we have our work cut out for us with that crowd.”
Keela shook her head in wonder. “I thought you and the laird would choose a mate for me, my lady. I didn’t expect to have to make the decision myself!”
Bri smiled, then got down to business. “Now, Keela, we have a few answers to sort out before we start this process. I need to know where you want to be in the next few years.”
Keela’s face scrunched up. “Well, here, my lady. In the kitchens of this castle, cooking you and the laird tasty meals. I love it.”
Bri nodded, then asked for a piece of parchment and some ink. Her client interview had begun.
• • •
Awkward.
That was the only word Bri could come up with for her interaction with Nioclas at dinner. She’d hoped he would skip it, but as he was a man who ate as much as he could as often as possible, perhaps missing a meal was a bit of a stretch, even for her hopes.
Luckily, she had Erin to keep the conversation from stalling.
“Nick, we really need to find some musical entertainment tomorrow night,” Erin said, reaching for her cup. “It’s important—we need dancing and merriment.”
“Merriment, eh?” he replied. “Where do you expect me to find a minstrel, Erin?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. You know more people than I do, and you’d be paying them, so I think it’s best if you find some.”
Nioclas shook his head in resignation. “Truly, this is your life every day,” he said to Donovan.
“Aye,” Donovan replied cheerfully.
Aidan shook his head in disgust. “You two are perfect for each other.”
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