The Faithful Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

might even think
    you're spying for your brothers, and are after Morgana for her land
    and wealth.”
     
     
“Especially since my charming brothers are enforcing the dissolution
    of the monasteries in the MacMahon territories even as we speak,”
    Ruairc revealed.
     
     
His aunt gasped and clutched her side as though she had been
    stabbed. "No!"
     
     
“It's true, I'm afraid. Only one or two of the religious houses just
    on the border with the Maguire lands to the south to start with, but
    I fear it's only the beginning." He shook his head bitterly. "I’m
    sorry to say, I don’t know my own family any more. I certainly don’t
    know what will happen to our land in the future if this keeps up.”
     
     
“I can't believe Dermot and Brendan would do such a thing!”
     
     
“Greed is an excellent motive for many people’s behavior, as well
    you know,” Ruairc pointed out with a grimace.
     
     
They both lapsed into silence, and Agatha sighed deeply. “I thank
    you for your candor, my son. Once again, I would warn you of what
    will happen if you take Morgana back to Lisleavan.”
     
     
Ruairc sat down with a weary sigh, and shrugged. “I’m glad I've been
    able to open my heart to you, for it's cleared things in my own
    mind, speaking aloud thoughts and worries I couldn’t voice to
    others."
     
     
"Such as?"
     
     
“Honestly, the things I've seen and heard in the past few days since
    I came from Dublin go against all I have ever loved or believed in.
    My loyalty is ultimately to Morgana, but I have fears for my own
    people now that the MacMahons have been driven off their own lands,
    and English and Welsh mercenaries are put in their place.
     
     
"I'll be completely candid with you, Aunt. I don’t think I'm strong
    enough to stop my brothers myself. But perhaps together, Morgana and
    I, and mayhap Finn and Patrick also, if they are willing, can
    prevent all we've known and loved from being swept aside."
     
     
"How, my son?"
     
     
He started to pace restlessly in front of the hearth. “My brothers
    are siding with the English against their own people, taking King
    Henry’s side in the divorce question for their own benefit. He
    wanted to marry Anne Boleyn for the sake of a son and heit, but it's
    allowing the entire Protestant Reformation to take on a whole new
    character.
     
     
"I fear no good will come of any of this. It leaves us all in a
    dreadful position regarding Spain’s support for Katherine of Arragon
    and the princess Mary, and with the rest of the Catholic countries
    on the Continent. This can do the Maguires harm if only from the
    trade point of view. As for politics, well, who knows. But I have
    the feeling it's only be a matter of time before they move against
    the Maguires outright, and we need to be prepared."
     
     
Agatha stared at him in disbelief. "But it's still only winter. The
    ground is saturated. And there is the planting--"
     
     
He nodded. “Indeed. We have a little more time. Fortunately, Patrick
    and Finn are due back soon, one from the south and the other from
    Scotland. With Morgana coming home now, outright confrontation with
    my brothers can probably be avoided for the moment. But once the
    summer campaigning season starts, the Maguire and MacMahon clans
    could very well be at war."
     
     
She crossed herself. “God forbid."
     
     
"Amen."
     
     
She reached out her hand to urge him to sit beside her. He left off
    his restless pacing in front of the fire to join her.
     
     
"What will happen if Morgan dies? You say it is poison?” Agatha
    demanded.
     
     
“Then Morgana is the heir, as Conor declared. No one else has put
    themselves forward. There's been no need, for Morgan was well up
    until recently. If he passes, it will be up to her if she decides to
    accept the position, or hand it over to Finn or Patrick. I would say
    though, that they would both be unwilling to accept. Though Morgana
    is only a woman, she is the pick of the whole clan for