Irish Seduction (6 page)

“I must leave now,” he said, his voice thickening with emotion. “Will I see you tonight?”

“If my lord wishes it, I shall be there,” she said.

He shuddered, his body tingling all over in anticipation. He gently pushed her away and stepped toward the portal of light that awaited him.

“Until then,
mo ghra
.” He stepped in to the light and returned to his own realm.

Chapter Four

Richard was waiting for Jasper when he came down the hill from the portal entrance toward the castle. Jasper hurried forward when he saw the distressed look on the other man’s face.

“What’s happened? Is it my mother, Richard? Tell me man.”

“Your mother is fine, Jasper. It’s Noel the cobbler, the farmer nearest the border to the east. He was killed and his house set afire. A runner came in late this afternoon and gave us the news. It was the O’Reillys again.”

“What of the rest of his family? Did they manage to escape,” Jasper asked, running toward the castle.

“They were in the field and didn’t notice anything until they saw the smoke. Other croppers tried to help but it was too late for Noel. He was near death when they found him. He didn’t regain consciousness before he passed on.”

They found the runner exhausted, sitting at the table with a large cup of ale in front of him. Jasper dragged what facts he could out of the man while Richard looked on. Then he followed Jasper to the stables and rounded up their soldiers. When everyone was listening, he laid out the plan of attack. They would leave three hours before sunrise and make their way east, bypassing the burning house and attack the O’Reillys at the crack of dawn.

He was sad and frustrated when he made his way to his bedchamber that night
. When would this carnage stop? When I sell out to the O’Reillys. That will never happen. Not while breath still fills my body.

Even the sight of the beautiful woman waiting in his bed did little to lift the heaviness from his heart. She threw back the covers and made her way on bare feet to hold him tight in her arms.

“I waited for you, my love. What has happened?” She looked into his face.

He rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her.

“Just let me hold you for a moment,” Jasper whispered.

He breathed in her warm smell and tried to block the images portrayed by the runner from his mind. He could clearly see how the fight had gone down. Unarmed, unprepared for battle of any kind, Noel had been taken by surprise when the O’Reilly soldiers had ridden to the farm and slaughtered the cattle and then turned on him when he tried vainly to stop them. The only thing that Jasper was thankful for was that his family was out in the fields and not near the house, or they too would have been killed. The soldiers tended to attack randomly, not caring whether they killed adults or children.

Another woman was now a widow and more children would grow up fatherless. Jasper would see to it that they were brought to the castle if that was their wish and given a home. It was his duty to care for his people.

Leona’s slim fingers traced the lines on his face. The warmth they generated soaked into his tired brain and he slowly relaxed against her. The thought of her having healing powers snuck up on him and he pushed it aside, unwilling to quiz her tonight.

“Come to bed, my love,” she whispered, leading him toward the big four poster.

He let her lead him to the bed and remove his clothing, dropping it in a heap on the cold stone floor. She gently pushed him onto the deep downy mattress and lay beside him, tugging the soft comforter over both of them. Pulling him close, her warm body molded into his.

“Go to sleep. I will hold you while you dream. Tonight you need your rest before you leave with your men to fight for what is right.”

Jasper was too tired to protest and fell asleep in her arms only to be woken by Patrick after what seemed like mere minutes.

“My lord, it is time.” He was shaking Jasper’s shoulder to rouse him.

He pulled his clothes out of the wardrobe and dressed quickly. Patrick handed him his sword which he strapped over his back before he headed downstairs to saddle his horse. When he reached the stables, the men were milling around while they waited for him. They were dressed for battle, with their swords ready. A few of them carried long spears.

Patrick handed each soldier a helmet and a shield when they passed. They mounted their horses and turned out of the stables for the castle gates, the horses’ hooves clattering against the cobblestones in the cold early morning mist.

Thunder crackled in the sky like an angry sentinel. The men made their way in the dim light toward the east. The moonlight guided them along the well-worn path through the forest and over the mountain pass. It was almost dawn when they breached the top of the rise that led down to the river that boarded their land and that of the O’Reillys. They dismounted and gathered together in a huddle to finalize the attack.

***

Jasper led his men home toward the castle. It pained him to destroy farmers’ homes but at least he didn’t kill innocent people like the O’Reillys did. He knew many of the farmers that cropped on their neighbors’ land and they did not fight back when he told them what was going to happen. They stood by and watched when his men set fire to their homes and their livelihoods. They would by now be at the castle, moaning of their fate to the lord and lady in residence. Hopefully that would put a stop to the senseless attacks on his land. If not, they would burn the castle next. He would not be pushed to take innocent lives.

Jasper set sentries out to watch for any retaliation and then he unsaddled his horse. He brushed it well, threw a rug over it, and after putting it into its stall in the stables, watered and fed it. He glanced in on his mare and her foal, happy to see the level of care young Mathew was giving them. Then he headed to the library where he knew his mother would be waiting for news of the attack.

She was sitting in front of the fire with her needlepoint in her hands. Jasper walked over to kiss the top of her head and then sat in the chair opposite.

Resting his head on the high tapestry back he closed his eyes. The scene played out in his mind, and he related the morning’s events for her. She was a soldier’s widow and knew how brutal things could get, but she pushed Jasper for all the details. They discussed the strategy for the retribution that was more than likely to arrive in the coming weeks.

“The O’Reillys have always had a nasty streak and they will try to punish us for this. Of that you can be sure. We will no doubt be inundated with croppers from their lands because they have nowhere else to go. We best be prepared for that too.”

None were ever turned away, finding the kindness on this side of the border worth the risk of running from the mistress of the house. It was said that she was a black witch that called upon demons for her power, always seeking ways to raise more. Jasper’s childhood nanny had been one of those that his father had helped when he was still a babe. They had taken her in without question, accepting another of the O’Reilly’s haunted and scared castoffs.

“I need to understand what drives that woman to be so evil.” Jasper watched the flames dance in the fireplace. “If I could understand that, I might be able to put an end to this violence. It tears at my heart to be constantly on my guard from her, wondering what she will do next.”

“Call Nellie in. She’s the one person that would know better than most. She still has nightmares about her life before she came to us,” Ellen said. “We have not spoken of Edrith in years but I am sure she will help you.”

Jasper rang the bell on the side table and a servant soon entered the library.

“Please ask Nellie to come in,” Ellen said.

“Yes, My Lady.” The girl curtsied to her and backed from the room.

Jasper poked at the fire, his mind blank while they waited for his old nursemaid. He looked up when she bustled into the room. Her small head was covered with a lace cap. Her rough homespun skirts swept the floor when she made her way over to them.

“My lady, you sent for me?” She kneeled down beside Lady Ellen.

“Jasper wishes to talk to you, about your time before you came to us. It is nothing to be concerned about, but we wish to understand what has made Edrith O’Reilly so difficult and evil.”

Jasper walked over to her and taking her tiny hands in his, he lifted her to her feet. “We had cause to attack them again, Nellie. I wish it were not so, but they leave us no choice. What I want to know is what drives them. Her in particular,” Jasper said. “I have heard it said that she is the force behind her husband and that she calls on dark powers to get her way. Is this true?”

Nellie’s face took on a ghastly shade of gray and she pulled her hands from his and grabbed at her apron. She twisted it between her fingers and he could see that she was remembering things she did not want to share.

“Nellie, you must tell us,” Lady Ellen prompted. “We would rather avoid more ongoing battles with them if we can. Anything you tell us could be important.”

“Please, Nellie.” Jasper leaned down to her height. He looked at her, pleading with his eyes. It always got him what he wanted when he was a small boy and he hoped it still worked with her now. He would try anything.

“Oh, away with you, Master.” She batted him on the shoulder but slightly harder than she had done years ago. “I’ll tell you, but you may wish that I hadn’t.” She smoothed down her apron and swallowed.

“It was just after I was brought to look after the first child, a boy, when I overheard the conversation that sent me running to this house.” Her eyes took on a faraway look. “I was in the nursery with the young master when his lordship came in looking for the mistress. He was furious with her, that much was obvious. He went into her chambers when he saw she was not with her child. The scene that followed is burned into my memory forever. He accused her of drawing up demons for power. She laughed at him and called him spineless and weak. She had a nasty tongue and he was too meek to fight back at her when she got in one of her moods. She taunted him with the fact that she was a goddess and he was a mere mortal and she would do anything she wanted. There would be no stopping her.”

Jasper looked at her horrified.
A goddess, how could that be?
“What was a goddess doing here on earth living among humans?” Jasper was totally lost.

“I hear that she had been stripped of her powers and sent here for punishment.” Nellie wrung her hands nervously.

“Could this be true? How could they do this to us?” Jasper turned to his mother. Raking his hands through his hair, he paced the library, thoughts of betrayal spinning through his mind. “They would let a scorned goddess have free rein among us? Let her vent her anger at what the gods had done to her on us? How could they? I will not stand for this.”

Jasper stormed from the library and out of the house. He ignored the cries of his mother when she tried to keep up with him. Eventually she stopped and watched him march up the hill to the spot where the portal opened for him.

He brushed aside the messenger that greeted him and headed for the hall that held Helan’s throne. He approached, his face thunderous, and two guards stepped in front of him with arms ready, barring his way. He called the wind in a ferocious blast and sent them flying to the floor. Other soldiers came running toward him, swords drawn, and he disposed of them with a mere flick of his fingers. He made his way to where Helan and Elena were sitting.

Helan rose to his feet.

“What is the meaning of this?” he roared. “How dare you storm in here unannounced.”

“How dare I? Easy, Helan, very easy indeed. You portray yourself as a kind and wondrous god.” Jasper’s body was shaking with rage. “But I know different. You send outcasts to prey on us and make our lives miserable. To take what is rightfully ours without a care in the world who gets hurt. You have left families without the mainstay in their lives, husbands and fathers. And you say how dare I? It is how dare you, Helan? How dare you sit up here and judge us while setting a viper loose amongst us?”

“What are you talking about?” Elena put a restraining hand on her husband’s arm and rose to face him.

“Don’t act like this is a big surprise to you. You are the ones that sent her to live amongst us,” Jasper spat at them.

“Many of us choose to live alongside the humans, Jasper. That is acceptable in our eyes,” Elena said. “Do you have a problem with a particular god?”

“Edrith O’Reilly,” Jasper said between clenched teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leona and Mari sneak into the room and hide in the curtains behind the thrones. His heart plummeted to his feet. Had he thrown any chance of happiness with her away because of his hasty outburst? He would probably be banned from their realm now and she would refuse to come in the night because of his treatment of her father.
I should learn to curb my anger.
He was normally quiet and well mannered but his temper did tend to rear its ugly head when pushed too far. Not the sort of action a gentle goddess would find appealing in a mate. He dropped his gaze to the floor and waited for Helan to attack him.

“Edrith. Edrith is in Ireland?” Helan asked.

“But we sent her to the Americas,” Elena whispered in a small voice. “How could she be here?”

“Surely being a god she has the power to go wherever she wants,” Jasper replied.

“She was stripped of her powers when she was banished,” Helan said in hushed tones. “Being one of us, we could not take her life, but we had the ability to banish her forever.”

“That was obviously not enough. She is the one that has been attacking our tenants and stealing from us for years.” Jasper was frustrated beyond reason at the god’s inability to curb one of their own. “We know she wants to own our land and all that surrounds them and we will not surrender to her. She must be stopped. I cannot allow her to harm any more of my tenants.”

“What can we do?” Elena implored her husband.

“Word has it that she has been calling up demons for the return of her powers. She has been trying to add to her landholdings for years and is winning with everyone but me. I will not give in to her and since she is there at your bequest, you owe me some assistance,” Jasper said.