"My mother died many years ago, after a miscarriage, and my father two years ago. I never had any brothers or sisters, and even though I was married, I never had any children. It was a diplomatic marriage, like yours, Aidanna. I was fooled by a pretty face and simpering demeanour, and the splendour of the household they kept.
"I soon discovered that the Earl's title was about the only thing he hadn't sold to keep himself in the style to which he and his family were accustomed, and I was expected to earn all the money to support them. We made our living from several farms, and I've also been trained at the Inns of Court. But all my property had to be sold eventually to pay my wife's family's debts, though I made money secretly by investing in merchant ships."
"I nearly lost everything when my father-in-law backed the Anne Boleyn faction at court. But fortunately my wife died just then, before I was made completely bankrupt, and dragged down with them through no fault of my own. I was younger then, only in my early twenties, so I was not held to be part of their plotting against the king. Some of my property was restored when the Earl's household was broken up, but I vowed then to never be so vulnerable or foolish again. To be on the winning side, and watch the powerful, and become like them.
"I was bitter, twisted after all of this, but consider the man I was then, young and naïve, suddenly waking up to find myself used, deceived, nearly executed, almost bankrupt.
"Mayhap that was why I was so determined to help you against Donal. I knew what it was like. And like you now, I had to fight back, except that you have friends and family. I had no one to help me except myself.
"And no one who ever truly loved me either. My wife had betrayed me one hundred times over, with her childhood sweetheart whose coffers weren't as rich a mine. I found that out too once her father fell from grace, and her lover cast her off for fear of being attainted of treason. She died after giving birth to his child.
"I won't say I'm one hundred percent pure and chaste, Aidanna, but my heart has never ever been touched until now," he whispered softly as he stroked the hair back from her forehead.
"But I tell you truly, and hope you can hear me, that I do love you. I'm sorry I tried to leave, or said I should never have taken you to bed. I wanted to make you happy, even for a short while, me, Declan Burke, who has never worried about any one's happiness but my own before, only my own ambitions."
He felt her forehead and neck, and knew she was starting to run a fever. He got some cool water, and wiped her down, and put all the blanket and clothes over her that he could as she began to shiver.
"Please, Aidanna, please, don't leave me," he begged stridently, as he felt her slipping away, but she was oblivious to all but her pain.
In the small hours of the night Aidanna grew delirious, and raged for nearly three days. All of her innermost fears and torments were revealed to Declan, and he sat by impotently hour after hour as she screamed herself hoarse. She relived the terrible experiences of her imprisonment and trial, until Declan could barely stand to hear her words, so guilty did he feel at all she had suffered. How could he have ever believed her responsible for her step-son's death?
Every so often, her ravings would be punctuated with the plea, "Don't leave me, Declan!"
Then he would cling to her and reassure her, until she would eventually quieten, only to have begin the cycle all over again some time later.
Aidanna's wound looked dreadful, but Declan kept cleaning it out with boiling water, and using the rest of the bread to draw out the poisons. He forced her to drink some tea with herbs in it, spilling more down her front than into her mouth, but on the fifth day her breathing seemed easier, and her ravings ceased altogether.
Declan had an unexpected visitor in the shape of Conn, who called out to Aidanna and him from the beach as he pulled the coracle ashore.
"Conn, why are you here? Has something happened?" Declan demanded as he emerged from the cave, looking pale and dishevelled.
"The weather was too poor to go back up to Argyll, and I got a cargo of furs to bring back from the North. I heard rumblings back at Kilgeever castle, and thought I'd better return here instead of pressing on to Dublin. Where's Aidanna?" Conn demanded, as his eyes focused on Declan standing in the sunlight, and took in his bedraggled appearance.
"She was attacked by a seal. I think she's getting better now, but she's still very weak, and hasn't been conscious once."
Conn ignored Declan as he went hurrying towards the cave, and once inside, examined her thoroughly himself.
"When did it happen?" Conn growled.
"The day you left. Thank God I came back for her."
"You've done a fine job of nursing her, Declan, thank you," Conn said after a lengthy silence, and put his hand on the older man's arm. "You really do love her then? You're not just toying with her?"
"I do love her," Declan said, without a moment's hesitation. "She has become the whole world to me, Conn, and I can't live without her."
"If you married her, the entire Burke clan would be against you," Conn warned, looking at Declan sharply.
Declan hadn't really thought as far as marriage yet, but he nodded. "I know, but I don't care."
"You could of course prove that Donal Mor had been responsible for all the murders, but many would have their doubts."
"I have no doubts now, not after what he tried to do to me. There were witnesses. And even if there weren't, it's a question of honour. Aidanna can't hide in this cave forever like an outcast for something she didn't do. She must have justice, and I don't mean English justice either," Declan said firmly.
Conn sighed. "I'm glad to hear you say that, but it may already be too late. Donal is starting to move on the O'Flahertys, stealing land, cattle, attacking ships. They've hired Scottish mercenaries, razed whole villages to the ground in order to press his claim to the succession which went with Aidanna's marriage portion."
"So you've come to ask me to help stop Donal?"
Conn nodded. "But there is more to it than that. Aidanna's father Murtagh has resumed the leadership for now, but he is asking for all who would wish to take Aidanna's place in the succession after him to put their names forward by the end of the full moon. The man who wins will get to marry Aine, Aidanna's sister."
"Why does he not take Aidanna back?" Declan argued. "She is the rightful heir, from her brother Cathal's own lips!"
"Murtagh is convinced of her guilt, though why I have no idea. They've never got on very well, and I suspect he has always blamed her for her mother's death," Conn said simply.
"Well, now is not the time to hold ancient grudges when Donal is on the move."
"Aye, that's true, but Murtagh thinks with a mind of anger, not of reason."
" What can we do? I can't leave her here, and she won't be well for weeks."
"You could leave her with Ruairi," Conn suggested.
Declan shook his head. "I'm sorry, Conn, but I can't. I tried to leave her before. It was like having my heart ripped from my body. But perhaps we can do something about the succession problem?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Before he died, her brother Cathal had all the men in the clan swear their loyalty to her as the leader. Tell the men she is still alive, and not to agree to put their names forward no matter what her father says. Present all the evidence we have as to her innocence with Ruairi's help, and trust that they will all do the right thing."
Conn approved of the idea at once. "It's true, they won't be able to proceed without breaking their oath to accept her as tanaist, and most of them are ment of their word. Her innocence will help sway the rest. But what about Donal?"
Declan found some parchment and ink, and sketched out a plan of the defences of Carrickmore castle, which he was sure Donal was using as his base of operations.
"You know the other Burke strongholds better than I do, but if your clan retreat, get everyone into the O'Flaherty castles, including all the livestock they can, and then move to occupy the Burke castles when they
are out on campaign. If you take his main stronghold, Donal will have nowhere to run except the sea," Declan directed, as he put the finishing touches to his battle plan.
"I'll try, but everyone is in summer pastures at the moment, fattening the cattle to last through the winter."
"Then with the rest of the ships, go do some trading, for wood, wine, essential supplies. Call in all the favours you can from the neighbouring clans, especially those who might be willing to support Donal."
"It will be difficult with the O'Donnells, with Tomas gone," Conn sighed. "They'll have to choose a new leader themselves, if only temporarily."
"They don't have to fight on our side. They could just look after the ships, the trade side of things," Declan reasoned.
"I think their new leader will agree to that, if it's Tomas' brother Ronan, which oddly enough means ‘little seal'," Conn said, casting a look at Aidanna as she lay on the bed.
"What manner of man is he?"
"Young, but slippery enough, and extremely loyal to Aidanna, even if not to her father Murtagh. I'll have him keep most of our ships with his own, and the rest will go out for a bit of trading."
Conn gave a small smile at the last words.
Declan looked hard at him. "Whatever you do, don't aggravate the English. The last thing we need is for them to get involved in this dispute. Donal could use their assistance, under the pretext of having to fight to maintain English law, to attack the O'Flaherty strongholds. It isn't pretty to think what will happen to your castles then."
"Damn him, he's outwitted us at every turn, hasn't he," Conn raged, as he went out into the cool evening air.
"I was as deceived as you were, but then he's been plotting and planning this all along, hasn't he? Even four years ago, he saw his chance when he killed Aidanna's brother Cathal.
"Killed, do you say?"
"Aye, I'm sure of it. Then he urged the marriage to Angus, didn't he?"
Conn scowled, and shook his head. "No, he tried to marry her himself, but Aidanna threatened to throw herself off the castle ramparts first. So in the end Murtagh put forward Angus, and she agreed, so long as it was in name only."
"A resourceful woman, your cousin."
The Sea of Love Page 11
