Some claimed since he’d had Anne Boleyn executed, he’d become even more demented and unstable. Therefore, the intentions of Killian and the other Irish chieftains meeting with the king, hadn’t turned out nearly as beneficial as they’d hoped. Although when she’d discussed it with the king, he had said the chieftains were free to go and he’d not be inclined to cause further unrest for the Irish, she now had reason to doubt every word that he uttered.
Killian had been given little opportunity to actually speak with the king for he had become more interested in Killian’s skills in battle than what he had to say regarding Ireland or political matters.
Alainn inhaled deeply, attempting to calm herself, as she watched Brendan O’Leary enter the chamber. She deduced it was better to make it appear she wasn’t well acquainted with the man. It was obvious he tried to avert his eyes from her, but she met his for the briefest of instances.
“Why are you here? Have you come to threaten my country and my subjects, as well as myself?” the king began after he had been introduced to the Irishman and he had bowed lowly and respectfully to the king.
“Not to threaten, I simply come with a warning. The Fitzgerald men all wronged you in their treasonous dealings; that could not to be debated so no trouble became of the fact they were dealt with in the manner you saw fit.” He seemed to echo Alainn’s previous words and the king looked from O’Leary to Alainn with growing suspicion as the man continued to speak. “But now you hold two Irishmen in your tower for crimes we have not been alerted to, and this Irish woman; she is a married woman. Sure her husband will seek revenge and retribution if you have harmed or defiled her, and if you should continue to hold her against her will.”
“Ahhh, but in regard to this woman, her husband has not yet come to speak to me of this matter! In truth, the man has not made any claim to her. Perhaps no husband actually exists for no McCreary could be found here in London and I assure you my guards have thoroughly scoured the city for weeks. The only McCreary in the area of Ireland she finally claimed to be her home was a lowly farrier who according to my worthy sources apparently died nearly a year ago. Does this woman appear to be a woman of low birth?”
“No!” Brendan O’Leary agreed. “She looks very much a lady, Your Majesty!”
“Do you know where the woman’s husband might be found then?” he quizzed.
Brendan O’Leary glanced at Alainn as if to get a sign from her as to what she may have actually told the king.
“Might I have a word alone with the lady?” he finally asked.
“Are you her husband?” the king asked in an accusingly suspicious tone.
“No, I am most certainly not wed to this woman.”
“Then it would hardly be appropriate for the two of you to be alone together, would it O’Leary?”
The man seemed befuddled and spoke once more to the king.
“The council of the clans in Ireland will not take kindly to this, sire. Chieftain O’Brien, the man you hold in your tower, sits on the council himself. He is well-known and an exceedingly important man in Ireland. He has connections to a good many strong influential families.”
“Any to the Fitzgerald family?” the king asked in a voice once more laced with suspicion.
“No, not the Fitzgeralds, but he is an O’Brien, and his mother’s kin are O’Donnels. His wife’s grandfather is an O’Rorke, all band in solid allegiance and all remain long-standing powerful and noble clans!”
“And was I not informed at one time of the O’Rorkes’ connection to the Fitzgeralds?”
Brendan O’Leary’s face grew wan in knowing he had inadvertently fed undesired information to the king.
Chapter Thirteen
“Was I misinformed then?” the king asked once more when the man did not respond.
“No, your words bear truth. There is a distant connection. Killian O’Brien’s wife’s grandmother was apparently a Fitzgerald, but I am of the understanding she was estranged from her family when she was barely more than a child and had no further connection with the Fitzgeralds after that time. The old woman has died and in truth, she and her husband possibly had no more affection or respect for the Fitzgeralds than yourself, Your Majesty!”
“So you say, but since O’Brien is a fellow countryman, would you not defend the man, even if you knew he was in alliance with the Fitzgeralds of Kildare?”
“No, Your Majesty! If I had knowledge of the man havin’ a connection, I feel I would be driven to alert you of that information for the Fitzgeralds do no favor to the Irish and cause much unrest with their many known misdealings with the English. But Killian O’Brien is an honorable man who wants only the best for Ireland. As do I.”
The king seemed most interested in noting how often the man glanced at Alainn, and something in the way he looked at her had clearly irked him.
“You know this woman; I can see it in your eyes.”
“Well, she’s undeniably lovely. Her hair and her eyes are truly beautiful and I’m ashamed to admit I find it difficult to tear my own eyes from her beauty. It is true I have seen the woman, but only on one occasion at the home of a friend.”
Alainn knew if the king learned Brendan O’Leary knew the truth of her identity and her connection to Killian, and he purposely withheld it, he would now have grounds to have him placed in the tower for being untruthful to him. Sure that could be miscued as treason as any other crime against the king.
The king’s mood was no longer one of rage and fury so Alainn dared to gaze at him again, and with a quick smile and a mere suggestive glance she soon capably distracted him. She hoped it would be enough to keep the king from lingering upon the knowledge there was a connection between Killian and the Fitzgeralds.
“The young physician will be released and the clans’ armies are now free to go back to Ireland as well. And it is good riddance as far as I can see. And you may go as well!”
Brendan O’Leary wore a grim expression as he looked once more at Alainn.
“And what of the chieftain for Clan O’Donnel? Will Killian O’Brien be allowed to journey home as well?”
“I had thought to let him go, but I have now had a change of mind since you have brought to my attention the possibility he may have been placed here with the sole intent of spying for the Fitzgeralds. He will most certainly need to adequately prove to me he can be trusted and that he will heed my orders. Perhaps he might be capable of doing so in time. Who could say?”
The king obviously watched how Alainn and O’Leary reacted to his words. Alainn attempted to hold her tongue and her temper, and O’Leary continued to become more flustered. King Henry, even in his madness was astute in reading people, he stared from one to the other as he spoke on.
“If he should be capable of convincing me of his innocence on that count I will then see him released, but not until then for if I simply allow him to be set free others will surely think of me as weak and ineffectual. If he cannot prove to me in a satisfactory manner he is not affiliated with the Fitzgeralds, he will remain within the tower until he grows old and withers away.”
“You promised me he would be freed as well,” Alainn seethed in a voice little more than a whisper. “I have your signed decree stating he is free to go.”
“And indeed, he shall be free as soon as he is proven he bears no alliance to the Fitzgeralds. I will ensure no harm befalls him even though he has shown much contempt and given me more trouble than I care to deal with. It is certain, he should have been flogged for his blatant contempt. In truth, as I dwell upon it even now that is surely what must be done. I’ll see it ordered done this day!”
“I have the signed decree,” she whispered again.
“And if you are unable to read the written word as you have previously claimed, how is it you know what name is actually inked upon the decree? It might be utter gibberish and if you are able to read it then it would indicate you have been speaking falsehoods to me. Perhaps you and the Irishman in the tower are both here in hope
s of learning information you might take back to the Fitzgeralds. Is that the actual reason you bargained for his release?”
She did not reply but glowered at him openly. She felt her powers beginning to respond to her fury and her fearfulness. As always they became more powerful when she was angry, but so too did they become less controllable. She inhaled deeply and turned from him, glancing toward the door.
“The decree will bear entirely no legitimacy if I retrieve it from within your pocket and see it tossed within the hearth fire and soon after turned to ashes.”
Alainn continued to shake and shiver in her fury and her fear. Once again she tried to come up with a way to deal with the king which did not include magic, especially as she so vividly recalled the image of the girl being burned at the stake. Given the king’s recent anger and suspicion and his peculiar and hasty changes of temperament, Alainn believed his mind was perilously close to complete madness and he might soon see her meet the same fate as the other young woman.
“What will become of this woman for she is Irish nobility?” O’Leary plodded on with little hope of success.
“That remains to be seen!”
“And what must this woman comply to in order to be set free?” he asked in an infuriated and confrontational tone.
“That is of no concern to you, and I’ll thank you to leave my sight now before I change my mind on allowing you to leave as well. Perhaps I might fill the tower and the dungeon with Irish riff-raff and use them in sport or entertainment. They’d make adequate sporting targets for the soldiers to hone their skills with a bow if nothing else.” The king laughed heartily at his dark humor.
“Sure they would show your guards and soldiers a thing or two about proper soldiering if you dared to allow it to be a fair battle.”
Alainn in her disillusioned enragement and hopelessness of the situation had finally been incapable of stilling her tongue. The king glanced at her in unhidden amusement.
“So you do possess a loyal streak in you for your countrymen? Well I shouldn’t be surprised, you do seem a passionate sort. And is there one of the Irish soldiers you have a particular fondness for, is that why you seem to care so little in regard to your husband?”
Brendan O’Leary looked at Alainn with an expression of confusion, clearly not certain what she had told the king. The king obviously noticed for he threw a curious look of his own at the man.
“Do you know her husband?”
The man was evidently uncertain and growing noticeably agitated and bewildered as to how to respond to this direct questioning. He glanced at Alainn once more clearly discomposed.
“Either you know her husband or you don’t!”
“Actually I was remembering the only time I met Lady Alainn, she was accompanied by the young physician though at the time I thought he was actually her husband or possibly her lover.”
Alainn’s eyes widened in disbelief the man would divulge that information. The king cocked his head and was silent for a time clearly allowing the man’s words to resonate within his mind.
“Yes, well the young physician does seem to be overly concerned for the woman. He did seem to hang about her and scarcely left her side. Come to it, the way he looks at her would suggest he yearns for her. I well understand how that conclusion may have been drawn.”
He stared at Alainn with distaste as he questioned her. “Are you and your physician lovers?” he jealously accused as his eyes possessively peered at Alainn. “Is that the reason why he could not locate your husband because he wanted you for himself? Is it why you have bargained for his release?”
The other man foolishly endeavored to come to her aid, but sorely bumbled the attempt.
“Well I was of course proven wrong in my assumption. You and I are clearly both in agreement the lady is a beguiling lass, and sure the physician, barely more than a lad, is filled with such frequent bouts of lust and desire, and a good many men are driven to gaze upon her obvious natural beauty. I am most certain the man has not done more than but look at her!” O’Leary suggested with noticeable growing despair at the king’s escalating temper.
“Apparently her husband does not share this opinion for he has not been heard from and left her to her own devices for some time now.”
“Perhaps something untoward has happened to the man. If he met with misfortune and his body was tossed in the Thames, we’d possibly be none the wiser. I had thought he would be most concerned about his wife’s whereabouts,” Brendan O’Leary awkwardly continued to go along with the façade.
“You may leave now, O’Leary. I tire of this stale conversation.” The king nodded at the other man, motioned impatiently to the door and immediately went to Alainn’s side.
It was evident the Irishman did not want the king to force himself upon Alainn, but in hearing his thoughts Alainn knew he could think of little he might do to prevent it or to better her situation.
He stalled as he watched the king go to her and pull her long golden hair back and put his lips to her neck even as he remained there in the room. By the look on his face that appeared to disturb him greatly. Alainn sensed O’Leary hoped to dissuade the king for as a fellow Irishman who knew and was associated with Killian, she knew he felt uncomfortable at the debauchery. He continued to stand there still grasping to find a way to assist her as the king began to put his hands on her hip.
Alainn stared at him thinking if he couldn’t find a way to assist her, she hoped he would simply leave for she knew with absolution, she would not allow this indecency again, not after the king had gone back on his word in agreeing to release Killian. She reasoned she must come up with a new manner in dealing with the king, and perhaps her powerful magic would need to be employed. She would not be used in this manner ever again, certainly not if it held entirely no hope in freeing Killian. As O’Leary continued to stand staring at her with the king, she began to wonder if he was appalled by it or aroused, for he remained standing there for some time as the king stood so close to her she well knew what he intended next. She also pondered if the king took some perverse satisfaction in knowing the other man watched him as he had begun to unfasten the ties to her gown. She finally glared openly at O’Leary for she sensed he was truly entranced and aroused at watching the king with her. In his shame his face grew scarlet and he began to back away toward the door, and stumbled nearly falling to the floor.
“Are you certain you won’t reconsider...Your Majesty... and maybe...to avoid any possible repercussions and hostility by the Irish... maybe you might simply allow me to escort Lady O’Bri...”
He abruptly stopped before he’d said the entire name, but the king had clearly caught the slip. He discontinued what he was doing and turned toward the man, his eyes wide and filled with intrigue.
“What name did you speak? You told me her name was McCreary and that she was an O’Rorke before she was wed, but you were about to call her O’Brien?”
“Ah, ’twas just a slip of the tongue, Your Majesty, a simple blunder for she is a cousin to the O’Briens of Munster,” the man continued to stammer nervously.
King Henry looked into Alainn’s eyes and a slow knowing smile crossed his lips.
“Your husband cannot come to claim you or to rescue you for he sits imprisoned in my tower this very moment?”
Alainn stepped away from the unscrupulous man. He hastily grabbed her arm and then placed his hand on her chin. He roughly turned her face so that he might look into her eyes.
“Is that the truth of it, Lady O’Brien? Are you wed to the Chieftain O’Brien held in my tower?”
She stubbornly set her jaw and leered at the man knowing there was entirely no point in denying the truth now.
“Aye, Killian O’Brien is my husband!” she proudly exclaimed.
The Tudor king’s face registered many emotions, from fury to bewilderment, but after he considered the information for a moment, he threw back his head and laughed uproariously.
“What could you possibly find to be amusi
ng?” she hissed.
The king’s eyes had grown cold and unfeeling as he began to speak.
“Your husband sits in the tower because he refuses to bed another woman. I would assume it is because he does not wish to be unfaithful to you.”
“It is because he does not want the likes of a you, the damnable English king, telling him what he should do and whom he should bed. He is a man with a capable mind and a strong will, he does not permit any other to tell him what he can or cannot do or to order him about. Not even you!”
“Perhaps that may be so, but tell me, do you suppose he dares to suspect you willingly allowed me to have your honey mere minutes ago in hopes of seeing him freed? The irony of the entire situation is completely enchantingly amusing!”
She glowered at the man and Brendan O’Leary stood stock still as he listened to the entire exchange.
“Clearly you have spoken falsehoods to me, on many, many occasions. The three of you shall verily meet your end here in London by my order!”
“The three of us?” Brendan O’Leary’s voice trembled in unhidden cowardice and rising fear.
“Not you,” the king gestured to the man and pointed to the door. “You are inconsequential to me, and in truth have fed me invaluable information. Inform the other chieftains and their soldiers they are now free to go. You are all free to go. Be gone out of my sight and out of this city by this day’s end for by then I will order all ships disallowed from sailing to Ireland for some time. Chieftain O’Brien and the young physician shall be put to death at tomorrow’s dawn.”
Then he turned to Alainn and glared at her with something close to hatred in his eyes.
A Witch's Quest Page 15
