“Of great woe, for that cry is of thy own foolish mistake,” she said ominously. “Beware the protection dear of the fairest lady. In the next, thy life is forfeit.”
Frederick sagged against the corridor wall, his expression wrought with disbelief and agony. She had plunged the bladeinto the curve of his torso and he was bleeding fairly profusely, but he knew from experience that it more than likely wasn’t a mortal wound. Still, it hurt a great deal and needed to be tended immediately. More than his shock, he was bloody well furious.
“Why did you do that, you foolish sow?” he demanded.
Eefha didn’t say another word. She shut the door in his face and threw the bolt. Then, quite calmly, she returned to her stool and sat. All the while, she had been puffing steadily on the shite pipe. She never missed a puff.
Emllyn was stunned. She could hear Frederick on the opposite side of the door, cursing and grumbling, and she kept waiting for him to kick the door in and kill both her and Eefha. But he never touched the door; he cursed steadily and loudly and eventually his voice faded away. That was how Emllyn knew he was leaving; eventually, he simply faded into silence.
It was quiet again but for the popping of the fire. Emllyn looked at the smelly old woman through new eyes. The woman had clearly protected her from the enraged Irish warrior and Emllyn was shocked, appreciative, and touched. She was trying to figure out what to say to the old woman, conveying words of gratitude that she might hopefully understand, when the door jolted again with a series of heavy blows.
“Open the door!”
It was Devlin. Emllyn jumped up and raced to the door, throwing the bolt and pulling open the heavy panel. Before he could say a word, Emllyn pointed at Eefha.
“Your aunt stabbed a man who appeared at the door and demanded entry,” she said, breathless. “He came to the door and demanded I open it but I did not, so he said he was going to break into the room and punish me. Your aunt went to the door and stabbed him!”
She was pale-faced and excited. Devlin’s gaze lingered on her a moment before passing an amused glance at his aunt.
“Why do you think she has been coming to this chamber to sit with you?” he asked, pushing into the room and closing the door behind him. “She is a better protector than any seasoned warrior.”
Emllyn looked at the old woman with her mouth agape. “She is here toprotectme?”
“Of course,” he replied as if an old lady with a knife was the most natural thing in the world. Then he began looking around the room and noted the table and new furnishings. “I see the accommodations are better today. Have you eaten yet?”
Emllyn shook her head. “I have not.”
Devlin ran his hand over the old table, warped and leaning. “We shall remedy that,” he replied. “Do you recognize this table?”
“Should I?”
“It came from one of your English ships.”
Emllyn looked at the table, the chair, pondering his statement, but she just as quickly pushed it aside. She wasn’t yet finished with the discussion of Eefha’s shocking offensive.
“Wait,” she demanded, throwing out her hands as to stop all chatter and action. “I care not where you got the table and chair at the moment. I want to know how you can so easily brush off what your aunt did. Shestabbeda man!”
“I know. I saw him downstairs in the hall.”
Emllyn stared at him, aghast. “Is he dead?”
“Nay, but she sufficiently wounded him.”
“But you said she was not dangerous!”
“She is not dangerous toyou,” he said, amused with her bewilderment. “Lady, Eefha is here to protect you. She did what she is supposed to do. Freddy will think twice before coming back up here and trying to molest you. In fact, I would wager to say he will not try it again, at least not with Eefha around.”
Emllyn let it all sink in. So she was being protected by an old mad woman who was fearless with a dagger. It was unconventional to say the least but in the same thought, it was quite pleasing. She felt strangely comfortable with the old woman’s protection. Still, one more thought crossed her mind as she gazed at Devlin. It was a serious thought and her expression reflected it as such.
“Will she protect me from you?” she asked.
Devlin’s humor faded. “She will not need to protect you from me,” he said. “I will not harm you.”
She lowered her gaze. Technically, that was true. He’d never harmed her. But he had given her the most glorious experience of her life, wicked as it had been.Be compliant,her mind screamed because, so far, being compliant had worked wonders. The mighty beast of de Bermingham had softened to her. But the last shards of stubbornness flared in her at his softly uttered statement. She found she could not keep silent on the subject.
But, God’s Bones, the man’s mere presence was making her heart race.
“That is a matter of opinion,” she said. “It is true you’ve not drawn blood or physically caused me great pain, but you have… that is to say, youhavetouched me.”
