"Then Kieran and I must wed immediately," Fortune said. "Colleen tells me the Deverses will return from England by Lammastide. Will is to marry his cousin Emily Anne at Michaelmas."
"Then you most certainly cannot be wed to Kieran until after his brother has married, Fortune," James Leslie said firmly. "The Deverses will not be pleased by what has transpired while they were away. If they return to find you married to Kieran it will make bad blood between the people of Maguire's Ford and the people of Lisnaskea. William Devers asked you to marry him, and you turned him down. Nicely, but it was still a refusal. If you and Kieran publicly declare yourselves, and wed before William marries his cousin, it will be an even greater insult. You know you have our permission to wed Kieran. All we ask is that you wait until after Michaelmas, and William's nuptials."
"I agree with you, my lord," Kieran Devers said quickly, forestalling any vocal outburst by Fortune, to whom he now turned. "Your father is right, sweetheart. I love my father, and my brother. I don't want a feud between us over our decision."
"But they will be offended anyway," Fortune reasoned.
"But their offense will be less since Willy married first," Colleen interjected. "My stepmother will fume, I guarantee you, but with Willy wed she will be able to put a far better face on the situation than if she returned to find you and Kieran a fait accompli. What worries me is her desire to possess Maguire's Ford which she had hoped to gain when Willy married Fortune." Colleen turned to the duchess. "Kieran says the estate is yours, my lady. Is it so? Please understand that while I love my stepmother, and would not be disloyal to her, I love my older brother too. Lady Jane is acquisitive. She will not like the idea that Kieran will have this place through marriage to your daughter who spurned her son."
"Kieran will not gain Maguire's Ford," Jasmine said quietly. "My two younger Leslie sons have been raised Protestants. Being the younger in our family, they have nothing to recommend them but their good name. My eldest son is the marquess of Westleigh. My second son, the duke of Lundy. My third son will one day inherit his father's dukedom. Only Adam and Duncan are titleless, and landless. They can well live without the former, but it is difficult to live without the latter. I shall divide Maguire's Ford equally between them. To steal this estate away from me on any grounds would require a great deal of influence at court. I do not believe your stepmother has that particular resource, but I do."
"But then where will Kieran and Fortune go, especially given his intransigence regarding the matter of religion?" Colleen wondered. "He has said something to me about the New World."
"Aye. Sir George Calvert is attempting to found a colony in the New World based on the principles of religious freedom. He is a Catholic himself, well-liked, and well respected. The king is very fond of him. If anyone can succeed in such an endeavor, he can. I believe there is a place for Fortune and your brother in his colony. When we return to England we will see what progress he has made. In the meantime I shall write to my son, Charlie, who is at court. He will obtain whatever information I need. Do not worry about Kieran, my dear. There is a safe harbor for him, and for Fortune. Now, however, we must make a berth for you. Our guest chambers are small, but very comfortable. I'm certain Adali has already shown your maidservant where you will lay your pretty head." She smiled at Colleen.
"You are most gracious, my lady," the younger woman said, curtsying. "I am so glad that Kieran insisted I come to Erne Rock to meet Fortune, and her family. My mind is at peace now knowing my brother will be safe."
Lady Colleen Kelly did not depart Erne Rock for several days despite her good intentions to do so. She found she liked the duke and his wife. Fortune frankly delighted her, despite her outspoken ways. She could well understand why her stepmother had not taken to the girl, but she could also see that while Fortune had been the wrong lass for Willy, she was absolutely the right girl for Kieran. Lady Jane lived a rather insular life in Lisnaskea, Colleen realized, for she herself had been gone for several years, and knew that in Dublin Fortune Lindley would have been much appreciated for her wit, her beauty, and her intellect. Her older brother and Fortune were a perfect match although she knew that their marriage would bring trouble for them. Her stepmother would find some way to exact revenge.
"Have you chosen a wedding day?" she asked the couple the night before she was to finally leave for her own home. Kieran looked to Fortune.
"A few days after William is wed," Fortune said. "When Lady Jane learns we are remaining here at Maguire's Ford for the next few months, she will have no choice but to invite my family to the wedding, for to exclude us would be a dreadful faux pas as my parents are of high rank, and friends of the king. And we will have no choice but to go, lest we appear to either be snubbing the Deverses, or our absence give rumor to the lie that it is Will who turned me away in favor of his cousin, Mistress Elliot. Such a thing would be unthinkable."
"Mama would like that," Colleen said candidly. "When will you tell the family of your own plans?"
Fortune's brow grew troubled. "I do not know," she said. "I am frankly at a loss how to broach it. I do not want to spoil your younger brother's wedding day, and I fear such knowledge would."
Colleen nodded. "Kieran will have to go back to Mallow Court," she said. "If he remains here at Erne Rock there will be no stopping the gossip. It will certainly come to my parents' ears when they return. Mama's servants love Kieran, but now that he is not the heir, they are loyaler to my stepmother and Willy, mindful of their own futures. I cannot blame them."
"Lady Kelly is absolutely right," the duke of Glenkirk said. He put a comforting arm about Fortune. "I know you love each other, poppet, but until the day you are wed, you and Kieran must be separated. The Deverses will be angry enough when they learn of this turn of events. However, Sir Shane is a reasonable man. I shall be able to make our peace wi him, but his wife, and her son will be mortally offended. There will be nae forgiveness there, poppet. If I am nae mistaken, they will go out of their way to make difficulties."
"But Lady Jane is getting what she always wanted. Will will wed his cousin, Mistress Elliot," Fortune said despairingly.
" 'Twas not you Mama wanted for Willy, Fortune," Colleen said. " 'Twas your rich estate. She thought she could stifle her disappointment over her niece, and accept you as a daughter-in-law because you would bring her son Maguire's Ford, and Erne Rock castle. But once she met you, saw how beautiful you were, how willful, and determined you were to run your own life, she knew she could not bear you, for you would have taken Willy away from her, which is something that poor Emily Anne will never do."
"How astute you are," the duchess said quietly.
"Please, do not think me disloyal, madame," Colleen replied. "I love all my family, and would have them happy. Mama cannot help herself. She is ambitious for all her children. Using some of the inheritance her father left her she arranged marriages for my sisters, Mary, and Bessie, with minor lordlings in England. She was very proud of those matches. Only the fact that my Hugh's mother is English placated her and enabled her to give her consent to my marriage. She doesn't really like the Irish even if she is the wife of an Irishman. She means no harm. She has done her best to be a good wife to Papa, and a good mother to all of his children. Only Kieran escaped her vigilance, but because he has been so amenable about Willy being made Papa's heir, she is willing to tolerate what she refers to as his impossible behavior. Every family, she says, has at least one bad penny."