L'eau Clair Chronicles 04 - Lady of the Keep by Sharon Schulze Page B

that
she needed to capture anyone’s attention. All eyes had shifted back to the dais
once O’Neill disappeared from sight into the stairwell. “We gathered here to celebrate.
Please, let the revelry continue.” After a discordant start, the musicians
struck up a lively tune that was swiftly accompanied by the hum of renewed
conversation.
    The others seated at the high table had remained silent
throughout the byplay, but now Will rose and drew Connor aside. “What would you
have me do, milord?”
    Connor glanced about the chamber, his gaze coming to rest upon d’Athée’s satisfied expression. While he doubted d’Athée
had had any part in bringing O’Neill here, that he’d enjoyed the man’s insults
to Lady Moira was obvious. “Send Padrig to make certain Henry kept a strong
guard posted, and have him learn what he can about how O’Neill came here,” he
said in a low voice. “Send word to the guards along the cliffside to redouble their vigilance. You stay in the hall and keep watch over the
revelers,” he added, with a meaningful glance at Sir Ivor. “Lady Moira has
worries enough without more being heaped upon her.”
    “Do you need any help upstairs?”
    He shook his head. “With three guards there already? You’ve a
poor opinion of my abilities.”
    Will grinned. “Nay, milord. ′Tis just that I hate to miss
any of the excitement.”
    “I doubt it will be exciting,” Connor said wryly. “Maddening,
I’ve no doubt. But Lady Moira’s presence should be sufficient to keep me from
strangling her brother—unless, of course, she decides she wants me to.”
    “The bastard deserves it,” Will said, his smile gone, his voice
cold. “Simply for what he said to her, never mind anything else he might have
done.” He raked his hand through his hair. “But since she’s a gentle lady,
she’ll not let you harm him.”
    “You might be surprised,” Connor said, recalling Moira’s
determination to defend her child. If she thought her brother—or
anyone—represented a threat to the babe, she’d do whatever necessary to protect
it.
    He’d do well to remember that himself, should he and Lady Moira
disagree about what was best for her.
    He clapped Will on the back and gave him a push toward the table.
“Go on, keep them busy while I find out why O’Neill came here.”
    Will caught sight of a buxom maidservant headed their way with a
platter of food. “I’ll do my best, milord,” he said. His grin restored, he
motioned Padrig to his side.
    Satisfied that Will would keep everything here well in hand,
Connor left the hall.

    Moira stood in the corridor outside her solar and waited for Lord
Connor. Only the guard’s presence beside her door kept her from slumping
against the plaster wall and giving in to the despair enveloping her.
    If she sought refuge within her bedchamber, she’d never find the
courage to leave it while Aidan remained within Gerald’s Keep. No matter how
much she dreaded—and needed—to hear what her eldest brother, her least
favorite, had to say.
    Why had Aidan come here? Why now? Henry had said the messenger
came from the MacCarthys. Did this mean her brothers had decided to join forces
with her enemy once again?
    Anything was possible with the three of them. If they believed
they’d gain some advantage from such a scheme, they’d forge an alliance with
the devil himself.
    Well she knew the lengths they’d go to get what they wanted. When
they’d decided ′twas necessary for them to form a connection with the
Normans who’d risen to power in Munster, they’d seen her wed to Lord Brien.
    Not that it had done them much good, she thought dryly.
    Her husband felt they were too wild, too erratic to be of much
use to him. He’d thrown that fact in her face more and more often as the years
passed, barren years when she did not provide him with the heir he’d married
her to gain.
    A chill ran through her as she recalled Lord Brien’s last months.
She rubbed her hands over