“Can you put me down, Mom? I don’t want people to see you carrying me around. Besides, I gotta go find Dad.”
“Why? What are you and Dad doing?”
“He said for the next dance he’d carry me on his shoulders.”
I lowered him to the ground, and he danced off in his father’s direction as Eoghanan walked back toward me.
“What the hell was that?”
“I doona know for sure, but I believe ’twas the witch Niall went to for his poisons; a witch who is verra soon to be dead.”
Chapter 33
“I’m sorry. Say that again. The witch who gave Niall the poisons that killed Osla, incapacitated you, and made your mother ill is still alive?” It seemed unlikely that even with Eoghanan gone, that Baodan wouldn’t have gone after the woman with a vengeance.
“Aye, Baodan had her cottage raided soon after they sent me forward but she was gone, and no one has seen her since. I hoped Niall had killed her before the end. He would have, had he succeeded.”
I ran my hands up and down my arms to rub away the cold that had crept over my limbs. “Why would she come back here?” It didn’t make sense to me. It seemed like an accomplice to murder would flee and never come back.
“I doona know. It worries me. I have no laid eyes on the lass until tonight, and I dinna like to see her with Cooper.”
“No.” I shook my head as Eoghanan, pulled me in close to him. “I didn’t either. Cooper said she wanted to know if you were his father. Why would she ask that?”
His chin rested on the top of my head, and he twisted in gently. “I doona know. When the gathering is over, we will find her again. We canna do it now, for there are many here from the villages who have used her services before. She may have unlikely friends.”
*
The search of the grounds took longer than he’d hoped, but it was worth it to ensure that everyone was safe. Eoghanan expected Cooper and Jeffrey were already abed, but he couldn’t bring himself to wait another night to speak with them both.
He heard Cooper’s voice on the first knock and breathed a little easier knowing he wouldn’t be responsible for waking the child, especially when the little lad slept so little to begin with.
“You want me to get it, Dad?”
Jeffrey’s voice neared the doorway. “No, Coop. I got it. You just stay where you’re at.”
Eoghanan stepped back as the door opened. “I’m sorry to disrupt ye. Might I speak a moment with ye both?”
Jeffrey motioned for him to enter and Eoghanan moved inside where he was immediately forced to open his arms to catch the young child flying toward him as he jumped off the bed.
“Cooper, do ye no think ’tis past yer bed time?”
“Well usually, but tonight was a special night.”
“Aye, ’twas indeed. I’m glad that I’ve found ye awake. I need to speak with ye and yer da.”
Eoghanan turned to Jeffrey’s voice. “Is something wrong? Is Grace okay?”
It was Cooper’s voice that answered Jeffrey. “Everything’s fine, Dad. Look at his face. If something was wrong, he’d look worried. He just looks kinda nervous.”
Jeffrey moved to stand in front of him and Cooper, reaching out to mess with his son’s hair. “You are too perceptive, kiddo.” Jeffrey looked away from his son, turning his attention to Eoghanan. “Why are you nervous?”
“’Cause he likes Mom.” Cooper shook his head dramatically, speaking before Eoghanan had the chance. “And I mean really likes her. Isn’t that right E-o?”
Eoghanan moved to stand Cooper back on the bed, preferring to speak with them while he faced them both. “Aye, ’tis yer mother I wish to speak to ye both about.”
“Okay. Let’s hear it.” Jeffrey crossed his arms waiting for Eoghanan’s explanation. Cooper glanced over at his father and mimicked him, crossing his own arms right alongside him.
Taking a breath for courage, Eoghanan spoke. “I know that the three of ye are a family, and I want ye to know that I doona ever wish to disrupt it, but ’tis me hope that ye are open to adding another member. I am verra much in love with Grace. I canna imagine me life without her,” he glanced at Cooper, “or ye Cooper. ’Tis me intention to ask her to marry me, but I willna do so without having both yer blessing.”
Cooper smiled back at him. “Whoa. That’s a big question, E-o.”
Jeffrey continued to regard him pensively, his arms crossed, guarded. “So are you saying that if either of us said no, you really wouldn’t ask her? That’s a big statement, my man.”
Eoghanan nodded. He wouldn’t. Committing to Grace meant committing to her family, and he wanted both of them to accept him willingly. “Aye, I wouldna. I give ye me word.”
“But Dad…” Cooper reached out to tug on his Dad’s arm. “You already told me we were gonna stay, so we’re gonna tell him yes, right?”