A Toast to Starry Nights (26 page)

This was actually happening.

The more I passed over the threshold,
the more memories and feelings emerged inside and more of the scene manifested
before my new-found sight.

I know this person.

Her name is Ona.

Of

Ona Ni Brahain

C
hapter Sixteen-

“Ona, we have no choice. Your Uncle, the
Bishop, gave his word that we will be wed once I return. Banns will be cried
within the month. 'Tis a promise he and I make you. Hide in the woods with
Moire and Bride. You know where the Druid's Cave is, use it. Once a week, your
uncle's cook will have a basket prepared for you to take back to the
hidey-hole. I will be back in three month's time, and we will wed before your
uncle. You have my word.”

The forest we stood in offered no
shelter for my feelings of abandonment. I did not wish for Padraic to go
a-pirating with the Spanish. Our Earls left us to the English invaders. The men
who swore to protect kith and kin threw Ireland to the wolves... and I did not
want my beloved to die by cannon, sword or noose. T'would be English ships
pillaged, and they were not known to be kind to pirates or the Irish. Letters
of Marque were not a guarantee of safety. I felt decidedly ill to my stomach.

“Padraic, why must you leave as well?
Can you not hide in the forest with us?” Already the English swarmed upon the
countryside, like rats seeking the richest morsels to feed upon. The thought of
protecting my younger sisters from hoards of rapacious English seemed
impossible.

“Dublin Pale grows, and with it, the
want of our new lords to rid Erie of the Irish. If I stay here, I'll be killed
like every other able bodied man. If I can make coin by sailing with the
Spaniards, we can go to France or Rome... Catholics are still safe there. The
greedy hand of England's Henry cannot grasp that far.” His sky blue eyes peered
into mine. “You are strong Ona. You can do this. Your sisters need you.”

At ages eight and ten, yes, my sisters
do need me since our parents and brother died from kinepox. Our uncle could
shelter us for only so long. Already the English worked to remove his influence
in the Church to claim the properties as their own. To settle them with English
and deprive my people of their rightful homes and faith.

I swallowed. “I will need blankets and
pallets for the three of us. Wood for a fire. I'll ask Mara if she will join
us. Ever since her Iain was strung up as a rebel, she has nurtured a fire in
her belly against the English. We'll need a knife. I will also take Bran. He
will be good to have around.”

Padraic nodded. “I will give you my own
blade and another for your cousin, a pallet for the wolfhound too. Bran will be
good company to the girls.” His arms held me against his chest as he kissed my
forehead. “We will be together again, never fear it.”

My heart lived in my throat as I asked,
“When do you leave for Spain?”

“Your uncle says there's a ship sailing
within the week. I will be back by Michaelmas. You can carry Michaelmas daisies
in your bridal bouquet.” He offered me a smile of reassurance.

“I wish there were another way.” My eyes
searched his face, memorizing every angle as if it were the last time I were to
lay eyes on him.

Again, he kissed my forehead and
murmured, “As do I. But there is no other way. I shall return for you. My heart
will not allow for anything else.”

My own heart broke a hundred times with
the knowledge that he was to leave us. “Come, let us tell Uncle that we have
reached an understanding.”

A smile broke forth on his face as his
hand held mine. “Your wish, my lady.”

We walked over moss-covered stones as we
left the wood to my uncle's home, nestled in a wee valley only a few miles from
the coast. My mother's younger brother did well when my grandfather placed him
in the church. In these volatile times, he was the one constant in my life,
next to Padraic.

He met us on the stone steps of his
home, hands wringing together below his gaunt and haunted face. He wore not his
bishops' robes but boots, breeches and a tunic, with his black hair tied back
with a strip of leather. A look of relief washed over Uncle Sean's face as he
saw us come into view.

“Good, you found her. Hurry! There is
little time.” At his words, Padriac started trotting and I picked up my skirts
and ran with all my might towards the Churchman.

“Uncle, what is it? What is wrong?”

“That English bastard of a King put a
warrant on my head! Treason against the Crown for not surrendering Church lands
to his agents! Pah! I will destroy this house and those of the villains before
the English can claim them. If they want to live here, let them toil and build
their own housing. The Kavanaugh are holding the castle at Wicklow, but how
long they can hold it is another matter. The English are intent in expanding
the Pale.”

“You are leaving, Uncle?” I knew he
wouldn't destroy the church, but suspected the invaders would have no such
qualms... they would rebuild the houses with the stone from the only unrazed
building. The English were perverse like that.

“Aye. We go to France. You and your
sisters, too.”

I think not, not without having a say in
my own fate. “No.” If it meant waiting longer to be Padriac's wife, then a
thousand noes. The thought of my fate bounced about by sundry people as if it
were a sheep's bladder of air irritated and upset me to no end. Aye, I would
lose my home. I would lose the man I loved as a father, and I would also lose
the man I loved as a best friend and lover. No. I would have Padraic as my
husband this night.

Uncle looked confused. “What do you
mean, No?”

“I wish to marry Padraic first. I will
be his wife this night if not in truth, then in spirit. If he is to go sailing
and left to whatever fate lies with that, than so be it. I will not be deprived
of him longer than necessary, and every night we have until he leaves will be
spent celebrating the wonders of youth and life and all the things I've been
holding back.” I was certain no misunderstanding could be had of my meaning.
“Please Uncle, let us wed tonight. I will go to France with you if it can be
done.” I hounded him incessantly to approve my betrothal and marriage to
Padraic since I was twelve and in his charge after my parents perished. “And
best I be wed should I grow a rounded belly while Padraic is at sea.”

My betrothed laughed at my
audaciousness. If allowed my wants, I would have born Padraic a son or two by
now. Only his honor and self-control left me with my chastity intact. No more
than kisses and cuddles he and I shared, much to my irritation. Padraic laughed
hard, because he more than anyone in the world knew of how much I longed to
join myself with him in all ways.

Padraic was an orphaned lordling, as his
parents died when the English swarmed Dublin and absorbed his family's
ancestral lands for their own on the orders of Henry, Eighth of that name.
Padraic was sent to be the Bishop's charge, one day destined to for the church
himself since he possessed naught to recommend him for a grand match but for
his name. Since the first time we met, Padraic and I have been inseparable,
brought together by loneliness and mutual unspoken understanding.

The look in my uncle's green eyes
softened. “I will waive the banns. You marry tonight, if that is acceptable to
you, Padraic.”

There was a short moment of silence.
“Aye.” Padraic turned to me and said, “You need not hide in a cave. 'Tis safer
for you to flee to France with your uncle. I can claim my wife there easier
than I can here. I won't have to worry about you all if you are safe with your
uncle and tucked away from the English.” His eyes shone with the promise of
adventure as he asked Uncle, “Where? Paris? Marseille or Avignon?”

My uncle answered. “Paris. 'Tis a
shorter voyage and less wearing on my wee birdlets.” Uncle put his hands on my
shoulders as I stood in shock at how easily life moved around one, whether it
was willed or not. “Ona, are you well?”

“When do you believe the English will
arrive?” The thoughts of my sisters at the mercy of invaders spurred me to know
what our time frame was. Just how hurried would I be to the alter? How long
will I have my husband, should the worst happen while sailing with the Spanish?
Today was a fateful day, a day of good and terrible things. I could feel it in
my soul.

Uncle's eyes spoke all the words a mind
can house. “Within four days. They gather from the Pale.”

So soon... My heart beat like the wings
of a hummingbird. “We haven't much time, have we? Let Mara and my sisters serve
as witnesses.” I turned to face Padraic and Uncle left us alone as he returned
inside the house. “Forgive me for being so bold for demanding you to marry me.
Are you certain you are sure you want to do this?”

“I have never been more certain of
anything in my life. Your idea of celebrating wonders of youth and life do have
certain merits, as there have been certain things I have held back, as well.”
He winked at me and I flushed with excitement. “It will be easier to reach you
in Paris. I won't have to sneak around the English. I didn't want you hiding in
the cave in the midst of the invaders, but I couldn't think of another solution
with the little funds I have. You deserve a better life than I can give you
now... but if you will have me, I will gladly be yours. This night and always.”

I would have him if we were naught but
paupers with only the rags on our backs and the stars above as our roof. “We
can use my dowry to survive so you can go with us to France. If you go sailing,
I will miss you dreadfully. That, and I hear the sea is a jealous mistress and
I have no want to share you with any other woman.”

Padraic laughed.

A knot formed in my throat. “I wish we
had more than the next few nights. But I cannot bear the thought of having come
so close to being with you to have it taken all away and left to an uncertain
fate.” I knew him, his sense of honor and duty. He would go. Padraic wouldn't
have mentioned sailing if the arrangements hadn't already been made. He would
have given his word and once given, never revoked. “You will do what you must
do, else you won't be satisfied. And every day you are gone, I will think of
you and remember these next few nights.”

He smiled and a roguish gleam shone in
his eyes. “You will drive yourself mad with longing, as I plan on making the
most of these next few days. Nothing but pleasant memories, my dear. You will
be intoxicated with lust.”

“Or full of your child.”

“A blessing, but that it means a longer
wait before we can create new memories.”

I blushed and smiled shyly at my
bridegroom. “I am glad I met you, Padraic De Barra.”

He smiled wide and replied, “Likewise,
Ona Ni Brahain, soon to be Ona Mhic De Barra. You have been my Evening Star in
the darkest of days.” Padraic placed a kiss upon my forehead then brushed my
lips with his. Footfalls sounded to separate us.

My old nursemaid came outside to join
us, my sisters in tow. Maeve, Moire and Bride were followed by my cousin Mara
and Uncle Sean.

“If you wish to make the most of your
time together, my children, then best you wed now and spend the rest of the day
celebrating. We destroy buildings and flee come tomorrow eve.”

Mara spoke up with a twinkle in her
merry brown eyes, “Finally, cousin? You caught yourself the Stag of Ballycairn?
Took you long enough, nearly nine years of hunting.”

I smiled wide at Mara. “Aye, I shot him
with Cupid's Arrow, lo and behold, the Stag himself. Some things are worth the
wait.”

Uncle touched my shoulder. “Do you wish
to get ready, or do you prefer to do this now? Either way, I must hear both
your confessions “

“What say you, Padraic?” I looked up to
his face.

“I am ready now if my lady is, but it is
your choice, Ona.” His hand grasped mine as he brought it to his lips in an
ardent kiss.

“One moment, if you will, Uncle. May I speak
privily?”

“Aye Ona.” He stepped inside the stone
house and beckoned me inside. We went to his library and sat in wooden chairs.
I would miss the smell of his leather-bound books when we leave Ireland.

With no hesitation I asked him, “What of
my dowry?” I knew only that my parents left something for each of their
daughters. I knew not what the dowry consisted of, but for my peace of mind, I
needed to know that I wouldn't go to Padraic empty handed.

Uncle looked thoughtful. “My sister and
her husband left you and your sisters a dowry consisting of five gold coins
each, twenty of silver and fifty of copper. Three bolts of linen, two of wool.
Two changes of clothes, one pair of shoes and a small bag of salt. It is a very
respectable dowry.” He cleared his throat. “You three shall divide your
mother's jewelry and a necklace of matched pearls from me added to it, so that
you have something to remember me by.”