Brigid of Ireland (Daughters of Ireland Book 1) by Cindy Thomson

Author:Cindy Thomson [Thomson, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2014-11-12T22:00:00+00:00

In just two days the frail woman regained enough strength that Ardan thought it time to visit Dunlaing. He rehearsed his royal appearance in his mind, wondering if his words would be sweet enough to the king who still resented Brigid over the preposterous pet fox matter.

When they reached Cashel, Ardan left the women sitting in the cart, their hands tied to its sides.

“What’s yer business?” the guard bellowed from atop a wooden lookout tower.

“I’ve come to see King Dunlaing. I am his druid.”

The man disappeared and another guard opened the fortress door. He was taller than Ardan and quite chatty as he led the way. “So, druid, have ye spoken to King Dunlaing of late? I hear negotiations between our king and yours are going nicely. Seems there’ll be sharing of grazing land without bloodshed.”

Ardan halted. The guard continued talking and walking until he realized Ardan was no longer beside him. He chuckled. “Come along, man.”

Ardan’s blood rose to his head. He marched up to the tall guard and grabbed him by his leather helmet. “Do ye cower in the face of battle, warrior? Do ye fear fighting for King Aenghus of Munster?”

The man’s teeth chattered. “N-n-n-no, sir.”

Ardan didn’t let go. “I see cowardice in yer eyes. Yer unfit for service. I’ll see to it that yer king knows this.” He patted the man’s ruddy cheek while keeping a grip on his helmet with one hand. “Pity this head will soon be separated from these shoulders. No king can tolerate disobedience. Hearing about it from a visiting king’s head druid… well, that would be an insult. Aenghus will likely order yer head sliced from ye this very day.”

The guard’s lips turned blue. “Oh, please, nay. What do ye want of me, druid?”

Ardan smiled and let go of the man. “Well, I suppose if yer king was not to hear of my visit today, I could be persuaded not to mention yer failings to my king. If King Dunlaing doesn’t hear of it, yer king will not either.”

The man bowed and scurried in front of Ardan as they continued down the hall. Ardan was let into a small room where he found Dunlaing laboring over a board game. His attendant sat opposite him on a low stool. Twin candles hung from the rafters, illuminating the activity while casting shadows around the game.

“I beg to enter the king’s presence.” Ardan stood at the room’s edge. His escort had already left.

Dunlaing turned to look. The attendant’s mouth hung open. He was young. Ardan didn’t remember seeing him before. The lad probably had no idea who had entered the room.

Dunlaing shoved his chair away from the table. “Ardan, what brings ye here today?” His blue eyes appeared gray in the dim light, but the creases at his temples told Ardan the king was in a fine mood.

“I have a matter to discuss. Something of utmost importance.”

The king joined him at the door and held out his signet ring, which Ardan kissed, a custom he detested, but endured.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.