Then suddenly a huge roar of outrage echoed in the Hall. The painful grip on her arms and legs was loosened. Dudley was lifted off her in the middle of his rutting and thrown clear across the room, causing the others to scatter. Adam de Marisco helped her up. “Do you want me to kill the bastard, little girl?”
“Yes!” she sobbed, then, “Oh, God, no! It’s Dudley, the Queen’s pet, Adam. You must not! Just put them out! All of them! Now!”
The castle’s men-at-arms had returned and, under de Marisco’s direction, put the Earl of Leicester and his cronies out into the cold night. Then the lord of Lundy returned to the Hall where he wrapped a cloak about the shivering woman and held a cup of wine to her lips. “Drink it, little girl, it will warm you.”
She gulped from the goblet gratefully. Finished, she said, “Thank God you came, Adam. Oh God, I wish I could kill him!”
“Who will come the next time, Skye O’Malley?”
“What?”
“I said who will come the next time? You were lucky tonight. Who will rescue you the next time? You need a husband, my dear. You’re far too beautiful to be alone, and you simply cannot protect yourself. Now listen to me—if you can’t protect yourself, how can you protect your children?”
“I’ve kept them safe so far!” she retorted hotly.
“By sending them away from you, Skye. Alone and unprotected is no way for a woman to live.”
“Then marry me, Adam!”
He shook his head. “No, little girl, it would never do for the widowed Countess of Lynmouth to wed a simple island lord. I know now I’ve neither the great name nor the power you need.”
“But you love me.”
“Oh, Skye O’Malley, I do love you, but I’ve my pride, too. You’ll never love me, and I’m old-fashioned enough to want a woman who will truly love me. Think, little girl. There must be someone who has the name and the power, and with whom you might live in peace, possibly even in love.”
She shook her head. But he refused to give up and when Robbie and Dame Cecily arrived the following day, they immediately agreed with Adam de Marisco, and added their voices to his. Robbie was horrified that Robert Dudley would make so free with Lynmouth Castle.
“I’m writing your uncle,” he said. “He’s bound to come up with a good match for you.”
“No!” she was becoming agitated, and paced the Hall frantically. “I cannot go through the pain of loving and losing someone again, Robbie. I cannot!”
The giant Adam de Marisco looked on in amazement as Captain Sir Robert Small, just a shade over five feet tall, shouted at his beloved friend in a voice that would have split stone. “At what cost, Skye? The Queen bides her time. It amuses her to please Dudley, knowing you’re no threat to her. But what if Elizabeth decides to wed you to Dudley? Or bestow you and your fortune upon some other man she wishes to honor? She can do it, Skye. And if she does, there’ll be no premarriage agreement as there was with Southwood. You’ll lose everything you have and find yourself dependent upon your husband for pin money.” He could see the effect his words were having on her. She looked totally panicked, and he felt sorry for her. But she had to see the danger she was in. “Haveyour uncle make you a match. You don’t have to marry just anyone. There’ll be several men to chose from, and the choice is yours. It won’t be like when your father forced Dom on you.
“In the spring I must begin another voyage, lass. I would feel happier knowing I leave you safely wed. Besides protection, you need a husband to take your mind from schemes such as last summer’s piracy.”
“You knew?”
“It had your fine touch, lass. And when Jean rendered me the year-end accounts, I showed no losses even for our two ships that were pirated.”
“I would hardly rob you, my business partner,” she said indignantly.
He chuckled. “What did you do with the rest of the cargoes?”
“They were sold and the money was dispersed among the poor and the churches.”
“It was a good jest on Bess Tudor, Skye, but no more. You were lucky not to be caught. Next time, you could be. I want you to promise me you will not go pirating again.”
“No, Robbie, I’ve not finished with the Queen yet. Besides, I’ve Adam to protect me.”
Adam de Marisco shifted uncomfortably. “You’ll have your new husband to protect you, little girl,” he said as Robbie and Dame Cecily nodded mutual approval.
Skye threw up her hands in mock exasperation. She understood how right they were. “Very well then, you can write to my wily uncle, and I’ll send my own note with yours.”
Their two letters were enough to rouse Seamus O’Malley, the Bishop of Connaught, from an attack of winter doldrums. With the holidays over and Lent just ahead, he had been feeling depressed. Robert Small’s letter instantly ended his dark mood. Mounted upon a fine bay gelding, he hurried off to see the MacWilliam.
The overlord of Middle Connaught was delighted to hear that Skye O’Malley was again in need of a husband. Here was the answer to all his problems. This was the one woman Niall would marry happily, and he would finally see some grandsons!
“On the same terms as before?” he asked the bishop.
