The Faithful Heart (2 page)

 

 

At length he managed to say in an even tone, "But Morgana, don't you
see, we need to resolve the past if either of us is ever to move on
into some sort of future."

 

 

"To what avail? Dredging up my brother's murder, which is all I can
think of whenever I see you, Ruairc, can't change anything that
happened. I want to leave it all behind, don't you see? I don't want
to be cursed with remembering!"

 

 

He sighed and shook his head."My dear, I know it was painful at the
end, but was it really such a curse?" he asked gently. "I remember
so much joy too."

 

 

She stabbed at the ground with her hoe as though trying to rip the
recollections from her mind. "Nay, any joy there might have been was
all a lie. Ours was a dynastic match—"

 

 

"Never on my side! And I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me
it was on yours."

 

 

She stiffened, but kept her eyes firmly on her task."It matters not,
Ruairc. It's all in the past. This serves no purpose, my lord. My
future is as a nun here at this convent. In less than a fortnight I
am to take my final vows. So your trick hasn't worked. Nothing you
can say will seduce me back into your arms. Spare yourself the time
and breath, and just leave now."

 

 

Morgana lifted her head to look at Ruairc squarely as she finished
her impassioned speech. But even as she was demanding that he go,
she inhaled the musky maleness of him, and her stomach began to turn
somersaults. She struggled frantically to subdue the longing she
felt every time he was near. Despite her brave words, she ached for
one of his masterful kisses to overpower her more rational self.

 

 

Almost as if sensing her inner thoughts, Ruairc moved closer to her.
Morgana stepped back hastily to avoid any physical contact. She
tripped over her rake and would have been sent sprawling had Ruairc
not caught her.

 

 

He pulled her close, and then smoothed down the white novice's habit
in a soothing gesture.

 

 

"Morgana, my love, I know you think you have just cause to hate me,
but I swear by the holy ground of this convent, I have never done
harm to you or your family."

 

 

She struggled at that, but he held onto her firmly. "And I also
swear on my aunt's life,
a thaisce,
I have
not
come
here to fight with you, or trick you in any way. I've come to tell
you that your father isn't at all well, and will not rest until you
come to see him."

 

 

Morgana sagged against Ruairc, taking comfort from the strength and
the warmth which emanated from his huge frame. He had called her
‘treasure’, just as he had always done. It had been her brother
Conor’s pet name for her, and reminded her powerfully ofall the
wonderful times they had shared together

 

 

But far too many suspicions still lurked in the back of her mind for
her to surrender to his embraces.
The caresses of a killer….

 

 

She also realized the two of them were in full view of the entire
convent as the nuns headed out of the cloister and into the church
for prayers.
She couldn’t be allowed to be seen in any man’s
arms!

 

 

"I c-c-can't leave," she stammered, pulling away. "My duty, my vows.
I must...."

 

 

"I've spoken to my aunt already. She has released you for as long as
you need to be away. I know you are supposed to take your vows in a
fortnight's time. She's explained all that.

 

 

"But she pointed out that even if you miss the bishop this time,
there will be other times for him to accept you into the Church.
There may not ever be another chance to see your father again,"
Ruairc added.

 

 

He saw Morgana stiffen visibly as she digested the import of his
words in stunned silence.

 

 

He knew Morgana so well, and yet she could be such a stranger,
Ruairc reflected, as he gazed at her lovely face under its coif, and
longed to see the vibrant auburn hair concealed underneath.

 

 

A stray curl peeped out, and he tucked it behind her ear, and said
in a softer tone, "Morgana, I know how difficult this is for you,
especially since you and your father have had so many differences in
the past.

 

 

"But the truth is, he has been ill for some time. Though he has done
his best to rally, I fear the worst. The whole family has been sent
for, and I have been charged to bring you home safely to Lisleavan
with all possible haste."

 

 

Morgana gasped as his warm fingers caressed her cheek. She slapped
his hand away and gave an arrogant toss of her head. "And why, if
this were true, would he send
you
of all people to fetch me,
Ruairc? My father must know you're the last person I would ever
trust, or would ever wish to see again, even if he could bring
himself to trust you again, which I very much doubt."

 

 

Ruairc's emerald green eyes glittered coldly, and his mouth
tightened into a thin line. "I don't know the exact circumstances of
the illness, for I have been in service in Dublin these past two
years. I was only summoned to Lisleavan a week ago," he temporised,
not sure how much of the truth he ought to reveal to her at this
point.

 

 

"Your father summoned me to make amends before he goes to meet his
Maker. He's sorry for the wrong he did me by suspecting me of his
heir's murder. We have made our peace with one another, Morgana. He
sent me because he trusts me, and he knows that no matter what you
think may have happened in the past, I have always held you in the
highest esteem and loved you most purely.

 

 

"Please, Morgana, you know this to be true. I would never let any
harm come to you," Ruairc asserted. "Please, my sweet, no matter
what you think I may or may not have done in the past, surely you
know in your heart I would never willingly cause you injury if I
could possibly help it, let alone do it with the kind of
cold-blooded calculation it took to murder your brother."

 

 

Morgana stood with her back to Ruairc, weighing his words.

 

 

He came up softly behind her, and pleaded quietly, "Morgana, I give
you my word, if all is well at Lisleavan, you can stick my head up
on a pole with your own two hands. I pray your father will be well
again soon. If that is the case, I assure you, you can come back
here as soon as you like. But if he really is dying, I think you owe
it to him and the rest of the clan to be by his side. To patch up
your differences, and ease his troubled mind.

 

 

"I'm only his foster son. You're the eldest of his remaining
children. I know you are only a woman, which in the Irish way of
things is not always desireable for the succession, but you are a
far better heir than any who have put themselves forward. And as for
your sister, well—" He waved his hand dismissively. "The less said
on that subject, the better. You know I'm right, Morgana. Your
father needs you. Needs
us
, no matter what you think of my
character and motives in coming here. He trusts us both to do what
needs to be done, for the good of all the clan. The harvests have
been poor, and there has been trouble with neighboring landholders,"
Ruairc added reluctantly.

 

 

"With your elder brothers, you mean!" Morgana spat, spinning around
to face him, her eye blazing with furious loyalty to her clan.

 

 

Ruairc almost laughed aloud with relief. For a few moments he had
almost feared she would retreat back into the cloister. Her true
nature was now showing itself once more, as she gathered her tools
and then hitched up her skirts.

 

 

"If the clan needs me, has summoned me, then I must obey. I hope
you're wrong about my father, but if the Mother Superior has given
me permission to leave, I might as well take advantage of her
generosity and go," she reasoned as she strode purposely toward the
main building of the convent, a low stone edifice with mullioned
windows.

 

 

Inwardly she knew it was what she had wanted to do from the moment
his woody fragrance had swirled around her sensually. But she would
not think of that now, not when her family needed her. She could not
allow her attraction for Ruairc to get in the way of her better
judgment ever again.

 

 

With a sweep of her skirts she flew up the stairs into the entryway.
Ruairc had to run to catch up to her.

 

 

"I'll be right with you, my lord Ruairc."

 

 

"At your service. I'll be waiting, my lady Morgana." He gave her a
deep bow.

 

 

With a flurry of skirts, she flew up the stairs to ready herself.
The news had been grim, but the prospect of getting to go home left
her with the strangest feeling, as though she were walking on air.

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

 

Ruairc followed Morgana with his eyes, watching the pendulant sway
of her narrow but shapely hips with eyes that burned, and a heart
that sang.

 

 

Lord, but she was lovely. Had he forgotten how much? No. He had
forgotten nothing, not one jot about her. It was merely that she had
matured fully from girl into woman, the two years of separation and
evident sorrow refining her lovely features, and tempering her into
something even more finely wrought than the treasure he had
cherished from the time they had been old enough to understand the
special love they shared was not merely that of a brother and
sister, but man and wife.

 

 

He dragged his gaze away from the now empty doorway and turned left
instead of right. He tapped on the first portal he came to. When
there was no reply, he re-entered his aunt’s private study.

 

 

Ah yes, prayers, he reminded himself.

 

 

He knelt, crossed himself, said a few brief prayers for Morgana and
her father, and the soul of his dearest friend Conor, and then sat
down comfortably by the fire once more.

 

 

As he sat sipping the small glass of wine he had left on a low table
in the snug wood-panelled room, he mused on how predictable Morgana
was after all. Her clan, her home, meant everything to her. It was
this overwhelming love which had made her take to the convent two
years ago.

 

 

Though he knew from his aunt that she had struggled desperately to
be a good nun and devote her life to God, the wildness inside her
had refused to be tamed. There had been no mistaking the light that
glowed in her violet eyes at the prospect of seeing her family and
friends again, even though her attitude towards him had been less
than friendly.

 

 

Ruairc felt a pang of conscience prick him sorely. Was he doing the
right thing by insisting she come back with him? He wanted to spend
every waking moment of the rest of his life with her, of that he was
sure. He knew he was being selfish by jumping at the chance of
coming to see her, and of having such a good excuse as her father’s
illness to spend some time with her.Morgana’s father had really sent
for her, but Ruairc had volunteered to fetch her himself, if only to
catch a glimpse of her, reassure himself she was all right.

 

 

And yes, she was completely correct about his intentions. He had
waited for months, years, waiting for her to admit that the cloister
was not for her. He had known her time for taking her vows was
drawing near. He probably would have invented some excuse to come up
from Dublin to see her had it not been for her father’s timely
summons. He couldn’t just sit by idly and have her ruin both their
lives by locking herself up in the convent forever over something
they were both innocent of.

 

 

But to take her back to Lisleavan would be to expose Morgana to
danger. For he had neglected to mention what he and her father
Morgan both knew with absolute certainty:
that someone in the
household was poisoning the old man.

 

 

But to take her back to Lisleavan would be to expose Morgana to
danger. For Ruairc he had neglected to tell Morgana what he and her
father both knew with absolute certainty:
Someone in the
household was poisoning the old man.

 

 

Ruairc smoothed down his thick raven black hair he had unconsciously
ruffled. He stood as his aunt entered the room.

 

 

“I take it you've been successful in persuading her to go home, for
a whirlwind is sweeping through the novice’s quarters.But something
troubles you, my son. You haven’t lied to the child, got her to
leave under false pretences?” Agatha the Mother Superior demanded of
Ruairc.

 

 

“No, Aunt, not false, but not entirely truthful either."

 

 

At her startled look, he held the back seat for her by the fire, and
once she was settled, explained in a near whisper, "Morgan Maguire
is being slowly poisoned by someone in his household.I hope and pray
we will find the culprit. Will be able to discover the means of the
poisoning, and stop him from falling into further decline. But if he
dies, we know what it will mean for Morgana. She will become the
clan chief, at least for the short-term."

 

 

Agatha sighed heavily."Such a great burden for such slender
shoulders.

 

 

“And one even great than I think the poor girl knows.The Maguire
clan have had a hard year, and it will get harder. Things seem to
have fallen apart in the
sept
, not because her brother Conor
died, but because Morgana went away."