There were still tears in Emllyn’s eyes but there was great happiness there as well. She put her hands on his face, feeling the warmth against her skin.
“Please, Dev,” she murmured. “Can we please be married before you go?”
He sighed heavily. Of course, he want to marry her immediately, this very moment, but he was honest with her when he said he thought it would be easier for her to marry well were she not the widow of a hated Irish rebel. Still, it would behis fondest desire to call her wife before he headed off to battle. He wanted it as badly as she did.
“I am not entirely sure we can find a priest at this hour,” he said.
Emllyn nodded eagerly. “We can,” she said. “De Noble has a priest who gives mass every Sunday. There is a chapel to the east of the keep.”
“Outside of the walls?”
“Aye.”
He could see how excited she was. He didn’t have the heart to deny her. Therefore, he pushed himself off the bed and headed for the chamber door.
“Then I shall return for you,” he said. “Make sure you are dressed and waiting. I will seek out de Noble and have him send for the priest.”
Emllyn was thrilled beyond measure; it was almost enough to make her forget her fear of the impending battle. “Do you think he will?” she teased. “After all, you will be marrying the woman he wants for himself.”
Devlin gave her a wry expression. “I will twist his arm if he doesn’t help me,” he said. “I might even kick him.”
Emllyn giggled as he winked at her and quit the chamber. Quickly, she dressed in the pale green silk she had worn to the feast. Then, she ran to wake up Elyse. Surely the woman would want to attend a wedding.
Together, the women waited for Devlin to return and he did, nearly two hours later. There was very little time for the ceremony before the knights had to dress for the impending battle march, so before Victor, de Noble, Elyse, Connaught, and Trevor, Emllyn wed Devlin in a ceremony that took place in de Noble’s solar. Having no ring to give her new husband, Emllyn gave him the incomplete embroidery she had made instead. It was all she had to give and it said everything she wanted to say.
Everything leads me to thee.
When Devlin rode from the gates just before sunrise, it was with that piece of half-finished sewing next to his heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Eleven days later
Men had beentrickling back for two days now. Beaten, bloodied, the men of de Noble’s command returned to Glenteige telling stories of horror. At first, Emllyn had posted herself at the gates of the settlement, watching every single soldier who passed by and asking them of the battle. She particularly wanted to know of Devlin and Victor, but so far, no one could seem to tell her much of anything. The stories were much the same, however; the O’Byrnes would not go quietly. It had been a blood bath.
But Emllyn would not give up her vigil. She had been at the gatehouse of Glenteige for two straight days, even sleeping inside the small sentry room that was just inside of the great gates. The soldiers had given the woman their cot. On the morning of the third day of her lonely and apprehensive vigil, Emllyn was awoken from a restless sleep by Merradoc.
She could barely see the old physic in the light of the early morning as he quietly roused her. Somewhat startled to see him, she sat up on the creaking cot, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Merradoc?” she said. “What is amiss?”
Merradoc shushed her quietly, draping a cloak over her shoulders in the cool temperatures. “Nothing is amiss,” he said. “I came to see how you were faring. Elyse is concerned.”
Emllyn yawned as she pulled the cloak more tightly around her shoulders. “I am well,” she said. “How is Elyse?”
Merradoc sat next to her on the cot. “She cries constantly,” he said. “But she remains in her solar, trying to keep busy.”
“I asked her to come and wait with me.”
Merradoc gave her a wry grin. “She will not leave the comfort of her rooms, you know that,” he said. “Moreover, she will not let Connaught see that she has been waiting for him. She is very prideful.”
Emllyn laughed softly. “Never let it be said that Elyse has waited for any man.”
“Precisely.”
Emllyn yawned again and looped her arm affectionately through Merradoc’s, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Seventeen men returned last night,” she said softly.
“I know.”
