Inish Clare by Jennifer Rose McMahon

Author:Jennifer Rose McMahon [McMahon, Jennifer Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: time travel romance, fantasy romance, historical romance, fantasy
Publisher: City Owl Press
Published: 2017-11-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Chieftains

We hurried down Shop Street through the middle of Galway City, dodging the rain, and the levity brought a smile to my face that I hadn’t felt in days—since before the Fergal thing, anyway. The misty rain had turned to streaks of wetness as Paul pulled me along by my hand over the bumpy cobblestones. Late-afternoon shoppers dispersed and the streets opened up.

The bright red door of Lynch’s pub caught my eye and I slowed our pace.

“Thanks for doing this,” I said to Paul, as he turned to see why I’d stopped.

“Yeah. Certainly not my first choice of person to share space with.” He pressed his lips together. “But Rory has information we need. I get that.” He paused and checked his phone.

I bent forward to get a clear view down the street and felt anxiety tighten in my core. It was going to be awkward to share space with Paul and Rory again.

And the moment Rory and I shared, right before Paul arrived that morning after the Fergal attack, haunted me. My gut twisted whenever I tried to rationalize it. I lumped it in with the moment Paul shared with Patricia at Smokey Joe’s, as if the two events were similar in some way. Though I prayed they weren’t, and hated that they happened at all.

“And Maeve.” Paul’s voice snapped me back. “I’ve found some more information in my research this morning. Might explain why Fergal’s so hell-bent on stopping you.”

I looked into Paul’s intense face and loved him for caring so much. For making all of this a priority.

“What is it?” I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“A momentous clan council meeting. Next week. It’s makin’ headlines as an historical event, with magnitude that could effect the future of the clans involved.”

I watched droplets of water collect on the ends of his hair and fall. I knew nothing of council meetings.

He added, “Sounds like it could be related to the land disputes possibly. It would explain the rising angst in the MacMahons anyway.”

He watched my eyes glaze over.

“What kind of power do the clans have anymore, anyway? It seems like an ancient thing. More like tradition stuff.” I shook my head, trying to understand the enormity of what was at stake.

I looked out along the cobblestone toward Lynch’s Castle, imagining the same road set in its original medieval time.

Paul smirked.

“Right. The clans hold on to their ancient customs, quietly. They hold more power than common folk know. The rituals and treaties, they’re all honored to this day, protected under Brehon Law.” He blinked rain from his eyes. “People tread on the land like it’s theirs. But sure, it’s sacred.”

“Well, at home, in the States, if you buy land, it’s yours. Doesn’t matter if a clan had it before you.” My head tipped, suddenly questioning the rules back home.

“There’s vast quantities of land in Ireland, not owned by individuals, but held, as territory, in clan names. It’s the true power of Ireland. Its soul.” He pressed his lips together and nodded his head.

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.