The Forest Lord (57 page)

Three times what thou givest returns to thee.

Mrs. Byrne put her hand at the small of her back and arched to stretch her muscles. It would be good to leave behind this elderly shape and resume
her own
.
A little spell away from duty.
She glanced in the cracked mirror on her dressing table and smiled at the face framed by its masses of red, curling locks.

"By Dana," she said, "it's glad I'll be to rest, indeed."

"Who do you speak to, Mrs. Byrne?"

She smiled and opened her arms to Donal. He skipped into the room and hugged her about the waist.

"Mother and Da told me you have to go away. Why?"

"It's sorry I am to be leaving you, to be sure, but I have a special job to do, and I must go elsewhere to do it."

He stepped back and frowned up at her. "What job?"

"In some ways, it's not unlike what your Mother and Da have done for the dale—help people when they have great troubles and sorrows."

"I heard Da tell Mother that he may not be able to help the dale anymore. Why?"

"You know your father is special, just like you. Some of the gifts that make him special… well, he traded them to be with you and your mother."

"Like talking to animals, and making the snow fall?"

Naturally the child would think of what gave him the most pleasure. He was a boy, after all, no matter how gifted.
"Just like that.
Only I'm thinking that your Da won't lose as much as he believes."

Donal beamed. "Will I grow up to be like him?"

"I hope so, lad. And like your mother as well.
The best of both worlds."

Quiet footsteps crossed the threshold. "I trust my son has not disturbed you, Mrs. Byrne,"
Eden said with a smile.

"Disturbed!
Wisht."
She kissed the top of Donal's head. "He's always been a pleasure, my lady."

"Your father is at the stables, Donal,"
Eden said. "Why don't you go and see your new pony?"

Donal was gone before either woman could draw breath.
Eden laughed.

"He will miss you, Mrs. Byrne." She glanced at her feet. "So shall I."

"But not too much, I think. You'll be busy enough, my lady." She winked, and
Eden blushed. "Two bairns with their father's gifts—"

"But Hartley told me that this child would be—"

"Ordinary?" Mrs. Byrne chuckled. "I have my doubts. They—"

"They?"
Lady Eden gulped.

"Oh, my
runaway tongue
. Don't you fret, my
lady.
They'll be no match for you."

"Mrs. Byrne…"
Eden hesitated, and then forged ahead. "You have not always been a housekeeper, have you?"

Nuala sighed. She was not to escape with her disguise intact.
"Nay, my lady.
Not always."

"Are you like my husband?"

Nuala laughed.
"One of the Sidhe?
Oh, no, my child. But I have known a few in my time."

Eden
shook her head. "Hartley told me of the talisman you gave to his servant, Tod, which enabled him to fly to
London without suffering harm. You also convinced the American to let my son go. I suspect that there are many more things you did to help us, entirely without our knowledge. I have guessed for a while now that you are not an ordinary woman."

"No more than you, your ladyship."

Eden
smiled.
"Oh, no.
I have found that I really am quite ordinary—and satisfied with very ordinary things."

"Love is never common," Nuala said. "Nor is the making of new life."

"And what new life will you be making for yourself, Mrs. Byrne?"

"I shall go wherever the wind blows me."

"Or wherever others need a little help?"

Nuala chuckled.
"No, not ordinary at all."
She lifted the portmanteau. "I must be going, my lady."

"
Eden."

"
Eden," Nuala said with a nod. "My name is Nuala."

"It's a lovely name. Here, let me summon Armstrong to help you carry your luggage."

"No need. It's light enough." Nuala lifted the portmanteau to prove her claim. "And now… it's time for me to be on my way."

"Will you not at least allow our coachman to take you wherever you are bound?"

"Ah, but it's on my own two feet that I find the interesting things in the world." She moved toward the door, and
Eden gracefully stepped aside. The two women walked to the front entrance, and
Eden did Nuala the honor of accompanying her several yards down the drive. The day was sparkling with new-fallen snow, the kind that never seemed to blacken with dirt or crust over. The sun shone brightly. There was not a trace of wind.

Hartley's powers had not yet abandoned him.

"Blessed be," Nuala said, taking
Eden's hands. "Give my love to your husband."

Eden
leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Will we ever see you again?"

"I shouldn't be at all surprised." Nuala smiled, and for an instant let the glamor drop.

Eden
's eyes widened. "You are—"

"A child of the earth and of the sky."
She bowed.
"And now farewell, Lady Eden Fleming."

Eden
half lifted her hand. "Farewell. God bless you!"

Nuala had gone but a few steps away when the animals came to see her off. Among them were foxes and rabbits, bounding through the snow beside the drive. But towering above all was the stag, crowned by wide branching antlers woven with mistletoe and holly. He bent his great head in salute.

Farewell, Lord of the Sidhe. May you keep the magic alive just a little
longer.

She smiled to herself, pulled her cloak about her, and began to whistle an Irish tune as old as the hills.

So it was that the earl found redemption, Lady Eden Fleming discovered the joys of giving, and the
Forest Lord learned how to love
.

And they all lived happily ever after.