In the end, they were wed in a fortnight at Villonne, Margaux planning a fête for Midsummer at Montvieux, one of suitable richness to impress a king.
For Margaux had learned of Brianna’s pregnancy and insisted upon summoning Luc and Brianna to Montvieux, necessitating a wait for their arrival. She would not hear of her first grandchild—even a grandchild not hers in the strict sense of reckoning bloodlines—being born in the “uncivilized wilds” of Ireland.
Burke refused to accept a delay in the nuptials, for he did not believe Brianna would abandon Tullymullagh. Sparks flew at Montvieux, each as stubborn as the other, though Alys’s suggestion of the dual celebration seemed to satisfy all.
And it suited Alys well enough to be wed quickly—to keep those busy fingers from counting—but also to
