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‘May the Devil take you, Conall, for all your wickedness, and if you hurt one hair on that poor lass’s head, you won’t answer to God. You will answer to me.’
Father Boyle stormed off, muttering to himself.
Conall shouted after him, ‘Don’t worry, Father, I mean to do the opposite of hurting her, many times, every night from this day forth.’
‘Do you have to goad him?’ sighed Rory.
‘Sanctimonious old fool.’
‘Fool he may be, but he is not the only one who will be annoyed with you. Your mother has to be faced, and I don’t envy you that.’
‘Oh, fear not, Rory, her wrath won’t be as fierce as you think, not that it would have stopped me anyway. When I went back to Cailleach, we talked at great length about Kenna.’
‘But you’ve gone off and married a woman she’s never met!’
‘No, but she told me that if I loved Kenna, I should marry her, let nothing stand in my way.’
‘And? Is it love?’
‘Aye, it is. It took me a while to acknowledge it, but I love Kenna, I love her Rory, and I think I always have.’
***
Kenna knew that in the midst of her happiness, there was one who would be hurt by her marriage, and she couldn’t bear to be the cause of that. She found Meyrick down in the mews, feeding meat to his birds. He did not turn around as she entered.
‘So you are come at last to make your excuses?’ he said.
‘How did you know it was me?’
‘Someone who tip-toes in slowly, reluctantly, who else could it be? Besides, I know your step, your smell, the way your voice shakes when you are nervous. It has been like that ever since I fell in love with you, like a fool.’
‘Meyrick I…’
‘I heard, you know. News travels fast around Dunslair, especially that of the Laird’s son being wed. How Conall must be triumphing over me now.’
‘No one is doing that. Please, Meyrick, let me explain.’
‘Explain what? That you knew how I felt about you, yet all Conall had to do was click his fingers, and you went running, straight into his bed? Have you just come from it? You have, haven’t you? Christ, I can smell that bastard on you.’
Kenna wasn’t surprised that he was angry, but there was something more than that in his words. ‘It was not like that. Meyrick, please, look at me.’
He turned, and his face was stiff with anger and so cold that she felt as she had at Sgathach Dun when she sensed the spirit rise at night. The warmth in his eyes which had made his face attractive, had gone, and something feral had taken its place. It was more than anger, it was rage, and Kenna regretted coming alone to see him.
‘See what despair you’ve led me to with your sweet betrayal, Kenna.’
‘I never meant to hurt you.’
‘No, but you have Kenna, you have. You know that I hate Conall. I really hate him. When he disappeared, I didn’t miss him, and as the weeks dragged on and he didn’t come back, I thought he was gone forever. Then one day, back he comes, striding into the hall before everyone, as if he owned the place, and my heart sank, until I saw you come in behind him, all dirty and bedraggled and exhausted. Even like that, there was something about you that drew me in.’
‘Meyrick, stop.’
‘That day, I forgot my anger at Conall. All I saw was you, and from then on, my dreams and my heart were yours. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and for the first time in my life, I thought I had found someone who understood me, who could care for me. And you have led me a merry dance, haven’t you?’ He rushed over to her, fists clenched. ‘I would have given you the world, made you happy. I could have been a better man for you. But it was all for nought. Had I offered you my hand, you would have spit on it because I am a poor bastard who lives down here in the dark among bird shit, and you’d rather have a Laird’s son.’
‘No, I do care for you, Meyrick. I am sorry you are hurt and….’
‘Oh Kenna, I am so much more than hurt,’ he said with a sickly smile.
‘Meyrick.’ Kenna’s voice shook, but she forced out the words, 'I love Conall, that is all. I love him, and I could not in all honour wed one man when I was in love with another.'
