The Ground She Walks Upon by Meagan Mckinney

Author:Meagan Mckinney
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781453240755
Publisher: Open Road Media

“My Lord Trevallyan, you know why we’re here.” Drummond sat stiffly in the Trevallyan library, flanked by the aged, bent forms of Father Nolan and Griffen O’Rooney.

“The blight has come to Lir. Famine awaits at our doorstep. Have you made any progress with Ravenna?” Father Nolan’s hand trembled on his cane as if it were a sign he feared the answer.

Trevallyan agitatedly ran a hand through his hair. “Enough of this. I beg of you. Are you to blame this entire famine on one girl?”

“Not on the girl! Never on the girl! ’Tis our fault. We never should have let you marry,” Griffen O’Rooney chimed in. He sat a bit away from the group. His clothes were dirty and tattered, and his nails were bloodied where he had dug in the graveyard, attempting to plant flowers where no flowers would grow.

Trevallyan watched him with unease. It was clear he thought the old man mad and didn’t want him in his library.

“He’s right,” Drummond broke in. “Ravenna’s not to blame. You are the one who must win her love.”

“She knows about the geis. I told her. She doesn’t believe it and neither do I.” Niall poured himself three fingers of whiskey. He meant to sip it, but the next time he looked down, the glass in his hand was empty.

“Can you not win her love, me boy?” Father Nolan asked softly. “With all your money, have you not the means—”

“My money be damned, ’tis not enough.” Trevallyan laughed, bitterly. “The task is impossible. I’m twice the lass’s age, not a boy to be begging for favors. She’s taken up with MacCumhal, and there’s naught to be done about it.”

“But have you really tried with her?”

Trevallyan looked at Drummond with ice in his eyes. If the minister had known him better he might have thought the ice was hiding hurt. “I have approached her. That is all I will say. I’ve done my part. She doesn’t want me. Let us go on without this geis.”

“But the blight—” Drummond interjected.

“The blight has nothing to do with this.” Niall refilled his glass, his jaw set in anger. “Besides, no one in Lir shall starve. We’ll destroy the potato crops and use the land for cattle if we have to, until spring, when we can replant corn. You know I’ll use all the Trevallyan lands and money to protect the well-being of this county.”

“But who will protect you, my lord?” Father Nolan asked.

“Why do I need protection?”

“Your money is not limitless. You will lose thousands of pounds on your crops alone if the blight continues. Too, there are rumblings of rebellion. Some in this county would see you dead.”

Trevallyan met the father’s gaze with a steady one of his own. “If you’re speaking of MacCumhal and his ilk, then let it be said right now that I am not afraid. If they’re thinking of lynching Ascendency in Lir, let them think again. I will not be lynched. I am as Irish as they, and I’ve the God-given birthright of this land.

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