Page 83 of Bound By Honor
Nessa blushed. “Mayhap. Nothing I do seems to discourage him.”
“Good. I like him.”
An hour later, with her father, Dermot and Brian, she set off for Dunluce in her father’s carriage, the guards riding behind. Áine was glad for her fur-lined cloak as the wind blew in sharp gusts, warning of a coming storm.
Áine stepped into the great hall of Dunluce, her stomach in knots. What would she see in Angus’ face?
He was standing with his back to her, talking with his cousin and Earl Richard and his countess, Lady Margaret. When the others looked up, Angus turned and their eyes met. What Áine saw overwhelmed her. His blue eyes were alight with happiness, his smile wide.
Her heart leaped with joy. The tall, handsome Angus Og Macdonald had remembered her.
Striding toward her, he greeted her father and brother and then Brian, tousling his red hair. “Greetings, Young Prince.” Then he bowed before Áine, reaching for her hand. “My lady,” he said, pressing a warm kiss to her knuckles.
“I feared you had forgotten us,” she said, trying to sound amused when, in truth, she had spoken her fear.
“Nay, I could not. Our enemies delayed my return.” He draped her hand over his arm and led her to the earl. Her father and brother followed, sharing subtle laughter between them. Over his shoulder, Angus said, “Laugh if you will, but I have the prize.”
“What prize?” asked innocent Brian.
“He but pays your mother a compliment,” said her father.
Wine was served. When they all had a cup, the countess turned to Brian. “Would you like to see the children before dinner?”
He nodded vigorously.
She beckoned a servant. “Take young O’Neill here to the new wolfhound pups where my own children like to gather but don’t let them wallow in the dirt. They are all dressed for dinner.”
Brian went willingly, accepting the servant girl’s hand. “There are new pups?”
Dinner was a grand affair. After so much deprivation and war, Earl Richard must have wanted to lighten all their hearts. Music filled the hall, the sounds of flute, lyre and horn bringing ancient tunes to life.
Over a meal of fish soup, roast beef in wine sauce and vegetables simmered in herbs and spices, the company conversed, telling stories from the past year. The children, sitting at the long tables set at right angles to the head table, chattered like squirrels, especially when apple tarts, the first of the season, were placed before them.
“The young prince has grown,” remarked Angus sitting on Áine’s right, her father on his other side. “He seems a happy child.”
“He is,” she said watching her son, his expression full of delight as he licked the juice from his tart and chatted with the de Burgh children.
“Does he remind you of his father?”
“Only his hair. The O’Neill was a different sort of man. Honorable but never far from battle, mostly with kin.”
“That sounds like the Macdonalds. Not that we wish it that way. The peace is, unfortunately, ours to keep.”
Once the meal ended, the long trestle tables were taken down and the children urged to sit in front of the dais as the earl waved in the entertainment.
TO ANGUS IT WAS like a scene from a May fair, rich with laughter, dancing and the sounds of timbrel, tabor pipe and drums. Brilliant colors flashed before his eyes as jugglers tossed gleaming balls into the air and acrobats tumbled across the carpets laid upon the stone floor. Their elaborate costumes of crimson, green, blue and gold satin and silk were like a canvas of a mad artist whose paint splashed from the brush.
The children squealed with joy.
Having just left behind battles and war, to Angus the elaborate display seemed almost dreamlike. Leaning close to Áine, he said, “Has this been going on for the year I was away?”
She laughed and her brown eyes, catching the candlelight, sparkled like diamonds. “Not like this. I do believe your arrival has inspired celebration.”
“Then mayhap I should arrive more often.”
“Now, that is a worthy thought.”
Angus heard the words and felt a pang of guilt. “The times in which we live do not allow me long periods to spend with you. Still, I agree we need more time.”
