He still thought of her\u2014still thought of Brigh\u00edd of the Imbolg, chieftain, warrior, the uncrowned queen of Eire, the fiery woman who\u2019d run roughshod over her father and claimed leadership of her clan instead of her brother, the man who would become known as the Ridden Druid. Brighid and Seamus had been lovers for quite some time by the day he\u2019d left to tend to the arranged marriage he\u2019d saved his brother from. She\u2019d been right, of course, about him not loving her, and he\u2019d been right about her not loving him. But it had been nice while it lasted\u2014comforting, almost easy.<\/p>\n
Too easy, maybe. I didn\u2019t deserve her. I don\u2019t even know that Finn did, but I imagine they must have come to love each other.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDid you love him?\u201d he asked without meaning to, voicing the question that rose every so often when he thought of those halcyon days with Brighid.<\/p>\n Marin startled, looking at him for a moment. \u201cWh\u2014oh. Do you mean Finn? Did Brighid love Finn?\u201d<\/p>\n Seamus nodded, feeling a flush rise to his cheeks. Hopefully, the darkness would hide it, or she\u2019d pass it off to the morning chill rather than sudden embarrassment.<\/p>\n \u201cI married him all over again, didn\u2019t I?\u201d She reached over and squeezed his arm. \u201cShe loved Finn and he was devoted to her\u2014but in some ways, she loved her brother more, and she never forgot about you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKind of her,\u201d Seamus murmured as he turned away. The sick feeling he hadn\u2019t noticed was there faded. Things like that had been happening with uncomfortable frequency and it left him unnerved. \u201cI\u2019m afraid I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t lie,\u201d Marin said. She smiled and squeezed his shoulder. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason for it, not with me. Come on. Let\u2019s finish out here, then we\u2019ll get some hot drinks and you can tell me everything\u2014all the things you\u2019re afraid to say. Someone else needs to know. It might as well be me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" He still thought of her\u2014still thought of Brigh\u00edd of the Imbolg, chieftain, warrior, the uncrowned queen of Eire, the fiery woman who\u2019d run roughshod over her father and claimed leadership of her clan instead of her brother, the man who … Continue reading