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Gavin’s voice was a growl of command. “Why did they single out Briana, lad?”
“She…” He swallowed, and shot a glance at the others. “She attacked them, my lord.”
Gavin’s brow furrowed. “Briana attacked them?”
The villagers nodded, dreading what was to come. Gavin O’Neil’s temper was a frightening thing to see. It was already there, growing with each moment, darkening his eyes, flaring his nostrils.
“Are you saying the English did nothing to provoke the attack?”
The lad stared at his fingers as they played with the ragged edge of his hat. “The English didn’t even see her until she charged into their midst with her sword aloft.”
“Her sword?” Gavin spun around, glancing upward, seeing the empty space over the mantel where his father’s sword always hung. “What did they do then, lad?”
Briana pushed aside the servant’s hand and sat up, brushing tumbled red locks out of her eyes. Her voice, a husky mix of breathlessness and energy, deepened her brogue. “They laughed at me.”
Everyone turned to stare at her. But the only one she saw was her father. His face, looking tight and angry. His eyes, staring at her with a look of puzzlement. It wasn’t the proud, joyful expression she’d been anticipating.
Hoping to put the light of pride back in his eyes she hurried on in a rush of words. “At first they managed to evade my blows. But when the leader ordered me to throw down my weapon, and I refused, the English dogs were forced to defend themselves.”
“Aye, my lord. ‘Tis true.” The lad nodded. “One of them struck her with the flat of his blade, knocking her from her horse. When she fell to the ground, she seemed stunned, but she’s a true O’Neil. She managed to get up and attack again.” There was admiration in his tone. And a sense of awe, that one small female could take such blows and keep her senses about her.
Briana O’Neil was a constant source of amazement among the villagers, for, despite her life of luxury as daughter to the lord of Ballinarin, she was a wild thing, always plowing headlong into danger. There were those who said she was in a race with her warrior brothers, to see who was the fiercest. There were others who said she was merely trying to please a harsh, demanding father. Whatever demon drove her, Briana O’Neil was surely the fiercest female in their midst.
“That’s when the leader pinned her with his sword, drawing blood. He ordered his men to mount and ride. And when they were safely away, he followed, my lord.”
Gavin spoke to the lad, but kept his gaze fixed on his daughter. “Did the soldier say anything?”
“Only that he had no desire to have the lass’s blood on his hands.”
Gavin’s eyes had narrowed with each word until they were tiny slits. Now he swung the full weight of his fury on his daughter. “You little fool. Is it death you desire?”
“Nay, Father.” She struggled to her feet, determined not to let him see any weakness in her. “I desire the same as you.”
“Do you now? And what might that be?”
“I’ve heard it since I was a wee lass.” With her hands on her hips she flounced closer. “Freedom from tyranny. And death to the bloody English.”
Gavin’s voice rose, a sure sign that his tightly-held control was slipping. “And you thought you’d see to it all by yourself, did you? You’re an even bigger fool than I thought. It’s lucky you are that the leader of that band had the sense to only wound you. He’d have been within his rights to kill you.”
Crushed by his words, Briana exerted no such control over her own temper. With eyes blazing she shouted, “You call me a fool? If I had been Rory or Conor, or even young Innis, you’d have had nothing but praise for my courage. I’ve watched you, Father, sitting around the fire at night, boasting of your sons’ courage. But never once do you recognize that I have the same blood flowing through my veins. The same courage. And the same need for vengeance. Why can’t you see it? Why can’t you see me?”
He caught her arm and pulled her close until his breath seared her skin. His voice trembled with emotion. “Oh, I see you. And do you know what I see? A foolish, headstrong lass who hasn’t one shred of sense in that empty little brain. Don’t you understand that those soldiers could have taken you with them for their sport?”
If he’d expected to shock or frighten her, he was mistaken.
“I wish they had tried.” She tossed her head. “They’d have found my knife planted in their black English hearts.”
It was, for Gavin O’Neil, the final straw. He looked, for a full minute, as though he might strike her. Instead he flung her from him and looked toward his wife. “You were charged with teaching your daughter the ways of a woman.”
Moira stood a little straighter, aware that half the village was witnessing this scene, and the other half would hear every word of it repeated before nightfall. “And so I shall. But you must be patient, Gavin.”
“Patient? Patient?” He slammed a fist down on the mantel, sending candles toppling.
Nervous servants hastened to upright them before they began to smolder.
“I’ve been patient long enough.” He pinned his wife with a look that had long struck fear into seasoned warriors. Moira knew that he had now crossed the line from anger to full-blown rage. There would be no stopping him until the storm had run its course. “Now I’ll take matters into my own hands.”
Moira braced herself for what was to come. Beside her, her daughter watched with wary eyes.
“This very day Briana will go to the Abbey of St. Claire.”
“A cloister? Nay, Gavin. You can’t mean this.”
“You know me better than that, woman. I do mean it.”
Her voice quavered. “I beg you, Gavin, don’t do this thing.”
“It is the only way to assure she will live to womanhood.”
Briana’s eyes had gone wide with shock and fear. “You wouldn’t send me away. I couldn’t live without you and Mother. Without Rory and Conor and Innis. I’d rather die, Father, than leave Ballinarin.”
“You should have thought about that before you took up the ways of a warrior. Now you must pay for your foolishness. In the convent, you’ll learn a woman’s ways.”
“A woman?” Her voice rang with scorn. “What care I about such things?”
“You’ll learn to care. A woman is what you are. What you cannot deny. You’ll learn how to pray and weave. How to be humble and docile and respectful. In the silence of the cloister you’ll learn how to hold that tongue of yours. In the cloister you’ll have time to contemplate your foolish, impulsive behavior.”
“I have no desire to learn a woman’s ways.”
“I care not what you desire. I care only what is good for you. If, after a year, I receive a good report from the mother superior, I’ll consider allowing you to return to Ballinarin.”
“A year. Gavin, consider what you’re saying.” Moira stepped closer to her daughter, while fear began growing in the pit of her stomach. She could see the darkness in his eyes; could hear it in his voice. This time it was more than anger; it was desperation. This time he meant it. He would do whatever it took to keep his beloved Briana safe. Even if it meant breaking her spirit. And her heart. All their hearts. “They’ll dress her in coarse robes, and force her to sleep on the floor. And her hair, Gavin. They’ll cut it all off.”
He couldn’t bear to look at the mass of red tangles that spilled around a deceptively angelic face. It had always secretly pleased him that his only daughter had inherited his mother’s lush, coppery hair.
Because they lacked conviction, his words were hurled like daggers. “All the better. ‘Twill be good for her humility.”
Briana’s eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back furiously. She’d rather die than let the village lads see her cry.
Gavin saw the way his daughter was struggling for control and turned away abruptly. He had crossed a line. There would be no turning back now. By evening, all in the surrounding villages would know that Gavin O’Neil had banished his only daughter to the Abbey of St. Claire, to turn her into a lady.
Because I love her, he told himself. Because I would do anything to keep her safe. Even turn her out of her beloved home, and deny her mother and me the pleasure of her company.
“I’ll have a messenger ride ahead to the cloister. Pack her bags and bid your daughter Godspeed, Moira. Briana leaves on the morrow.”
Chapter One (#ulink_9b410f75-144f-5163-bf65-98b72815e5f2)
The Abbey of St. Claire 1656
“Briana.” The voice of tall, stern Sister Immaculata came from just outside the doorway. “You must wake, child.”
“Not yet.” The figure huddled deeper into the nest of coarse blankets, wanting to return to her dream. It had been such a sweet dream. She’d been riding her favorite steed across the lush green hills of Ballinarin, in the shadow of towering Croagh Patrick. Her best friend, Innis, and her brothers, Rory and Conor, had been with her, laughing and teasing. She’d been free. Gloriously free of the odious rules that now governed her life. Prayers before dawn, followed by a meal of tasteless gruel, and then work in the fields until noon, when the Angelus was prayed and they were allowed a meal of meat and cheese before retiring to their cells to pray and rest. The afternoon was the same. Endless work, followed by bread and soup, and then evening vespers. Even sleep was regulated, broken at midnight and again at three o’clock in the morning for common prayer in the chapel.
Out of consideration for their age, the older nuns were given duties inside the convent, scrubbing floors, washing linens, cleaning the chapel. The younger ones, students and postulants alike, worked the fields and tended the herds.
“Briana, you must get up now.” The voice was beside her. A hand touched her shoulder. That, in itself, had her coming fully awake, for there was no touching allowed in the convent. There were no hugs. No squeezing of hands. Even the brush of one shoulder by another caused both parties to stiffen and turn away.
She opened her eyes. The blaze from the candle held in the nun’s hand made her squint. “I’ve only just fallen asleep, Sister. It can’t be time to pray yet.”
“I haven’t wakened you for prayer, child. Mother Superior awaits you in the refectory.”
“The refectory? She’s eating?”
“Nay. She is seeing to a meal for the lads who have come to escort you home.”
Home. Briana blinked, unable to say the word aloud. Her banishment of one year had grown to two, and then to three, as she had railed against the injustice of the rules, managing to break every one of them. For each rule she broke, the prospect of ever seeing Ballinarin again had become so remote, she had feared it would never happen. And now, without notice, she was being given a reprieve. Still, though there was the slightest flicker of hope, she held back, refusing to allow it to burst into flame for fear it would be snuffed, as it had so often in the past. “But why now?”
“I don’t know, child. Mother Superior will explain it to you. Now hurry and dress.” Satisfied that her young charge was not going to fall back asleep, the old nun took her leave as silently as she had come.
Briana slipped off the coarse nightshift and crossed to a basin of cold water, washing quickly. Then she dressed in a shapeless brown garment and scuffed boots, before folding up her pallet and setting it in a corner of the room. A quick glance around assured her that the cell was as clean and as bare as when she had arrived, three years earlier.
Despite the time she had spent here, there was nothing of Briana in this simple cell. No mementoes of home and family. No small comforts. The sleeping pallet consisted of a rough blanket on the floor. On a plain table rested a basin and pitcher, which bore no adornments. There was no mirror. For that, Briana was grateful. She had no desire to see how she must look now, with her hair shorn, her hands, rough and callused, the nails torn and ragged from her hours spent tending the crops and flocks in the fields. Even her body had changed. Gone were the soft, round curves of younger womanhood. Over the years she had grown taller and reed slender, with the merest slope of hips, and breasts so small and firm, they were easily concealed beneath the robes of a peasant.
She stepped from the cell and pulled the door closed behind her, moving soundlessly along the darkened corridor.
When she entered the refectory, Mother Superior hurried over.
“These lads have come to fetch you home.”
Briana glanced at the lads who were seated at a long wooden table, eating a hastily prepared meal of meat and cheese and crusty bread. With a sinking heart she realized that they were the faces of strangers. The lads she’d known in her girlhood had probably moved on with their lives, no doubt with wives and children of their own.
“Why am I being summoned home?”
Mother Superior motioned for her to sit. At once Sister Ascension, the cook, waddled over to place a platter of meat and cheese in front of her.
While Briana dutifully ate, Mother Superior explained. “Your father was recently wounded.”
“Wounded? What…?” Her words trailed off at the look on the nun’s face.
Mother Superior gave a sigh of dismay. Even after three years of training, the lass still hadn’t learned to hold her tongue. But at least she had remained seated. The firebrand who had first come to the convent would have leapt to her feet and demanded all the details immediately.
“The wounds are not serious. But your mother desires your assistance in caring for The O’Neil. She feels that the challenge is too great for her to carry alone.”
Briana’s smile was quick. “Aye. My father healthy is challenge enough. My father wounded would be unbearable. Especially once he started to mend.”
Then another thought intruded. It was her mother who had sent for her, not her father. Did that mean that he had still not forgiven her? She felt the pain, sharp and quick, then quickly dismissed it. It no longer mattered. Once Gavin O’Neil saw her, he would realize that she had changed. She would win his love. She had to. It had been the one thing that had always driven her.
She suddenly found that she had lost her appetite. The thought that she was really going home had her nerves jumping. Because she had often been lectured on the sinfulness of wasting food, she gathered the rest of her meal and placed it in a pocket of her robe, before getting to her feet. Across the room, the lads pulled on their cloaks and headed toward the door. Briana and Mother Superior followed.
In the courtyard, the horses were saddled and ready. Mother Superior handed Briana a coarse, hooded traveling robe. “The ermine-lined cloak which you wore here was given to the poor. As was the purse of gold which your father sent. But though this is a humble replacement, it will serve its purpose, Briana, and keep you warm throughout your long journey.”
“I care not for clothes, Reverend Mother.”
“I know that, child.” It was one of Briana’s most endearing qualities. The lass had no artifice. And though she was an incorrigible rascal, she was much loved by all at the convent.
It had been plain, from her first day, that she would never fit in to the life of a humble sister. But it was also plain that she was kind, and dear, and with her impulsive behavior and irrepressible humor, the most impossible challenge of Mother Superior’s life. As she looked at Briana now, she wondered just how she would fit into that other world beyond the convent walls. She’d had no time to flirt, to dance, to experience the things of young womanhood. By now, the women Briana’s age would be wives and mothers. And though this sweet lass would be treated like a woman by those who met her, she was still, in her heart, that naive girl of ten and five who had burst upon their silence and order, bringing with her chaos and passion.
The older woman lifted a hand and Briana bowed her head. “Until we meet again, child, may God hold you safely in His hands.”
“And you, Reverend Mother.” Briana turned away and was assisted onto her mount.
With a clatter of hooves, the horses moved out.
Briana turned for a last glimpse of the Abbey of St. Claire. Mother Superior stood, her hands folded as always inside the sleeves of her robes. Behind her the roof of the building, and the cross that rose from the highest peak, were still cloaked in darkness.
Briana turned her head and stared straight ahead. Toward the sunrise, just beginning to tint the sky. There lay Ballinarin. Her heart fluttered with unrestrained happiness. At long last, she was going home.
“What is it? Why are we stopping here?” When the leader of their little group signalled a halt, Briana urged her mount forward.
“A village, my lady.” From his position at the top of a small green hill, the lad pointed. In the distance could be seen the thatched roofs of sod huts, and the smoke from turf fires, and beyond them, the towers and turrets of the distant keep. “We’d be wise to seek shelter before it grows dark.”
“I’m not yet weary. I could continue for a few more hours.” For every hour would bring her closer to home.
“You have been away now for several years, my lady.” He kept his tone respectful, but Briana felt the sting of censure. “There are many more English soldiers in our land now. And no one, man or woman, is safe after dark.”
It was on the tip of Briana’s tongue to remind the lad that she was an O’Neil, and that the decision should be hers and hers alone. But though it stung, she knew he was right. She had been sheltered so long, she had no way of making a proper judgment. The lad was only looking out for her safety.
Reluctantly she nodded. “Aye. We’ll seek the shelter of a tavern then, and be on our way again in the morning.”
Below them lay a field of green. Peasants from a nearby village could be seen tending their flocks. It was a pleasant, peaceful scene that brought a smile to Briana’s lips as she and her escorts urged their horses down the hill. This was what she had missed. Laughter, as clear and tinkling as a bell, carried on the breeze. The sound of voices raised in easy conversation. How long had it been since she had heard such things? Even in the fields, the sisters and novices never broke their vow of silence.
As her horse moved in a slow, loping gait between the furrows, she lifted a hand and waved, and the men and women straightened and returned her salute.
She was halfway across the field when she heard the thunder of hooves. For a moment she didn’t know what to make of it. Then, seeing the lad in front of her turn and mutter an oath as he unsheathed his sword, she followed his gaze.
An army of English soldiers, perhaps fifty or more, was heading directly toward them from a nearby forest.
With a feeling of dread Briana looked around. They were caught in the open. Trapped. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to seek shelter from the trained warriors bearing down on them.
The leader of her escorts, a fierce, muscular lad of perhaps ten and six, shouted orders. “The village. At once. It is our only hope.”
As they urged their horses into a run, Briana glanced over her shoulder. The peasants, caught offguard, were being cut down by the invading soldiers’ swords. In the blink of an eye, five, then ten, then more, were seen falling to the ground, screaming in anguish.
The air was filled with the sound of voices shouting, swearing. Women weeping. The sharp clang of metal on metal as those few peasants who were armed strove to defend themselves. Horses whinnied in pain as they died, crushing their riders. That only made the soldiers more determined to retaliate against those peasants who dared to fight back.
The once tidy rows of grain were now slashed and torn, the earth red with blood as the mounted soldiers overtook the fleeing peasants and, in a frenzy of killing, left not a single one standing.
When they had finished with the peasants, the soldiers turned their attention on the five horsemen, fleeing across the fields. Within minutes they fanned out, determined to cut off any chance of escape.
