Aevum of Itero

Chapter 14

She knew, without a trace of doubt, that she had never been more in love.

She loved his hair. The crinkle of his nose. His wide, explorative eyes. The way his skin felt against hers. The way he continuously danced to an unheard rhythm.

His smile, meant only for her. His laugh. His smell, most of the time.

Even the tiny little bubbles that pooled at the corners of his mouth when he gurgled, or the sleepless nights she now dealt with regularly.

She loved it all.

"May I?" asked Nuala.

"Certainly," said Brenda, carefully setting the dozing Aiden into her friend's arms with a gently swiped kiss over his forehead.

Aiden stirred in his sleep, but did not appear disturbed by the movement.

"Hello, little love," said Nuala. "By God, Brenda, but he is beautiful. I am ever so sorry I wasn't here to assist in the birth."

"You could not have possibly known," said Brenda.

"But Diolún knew," said Nuala with a conspiratorial smile. "He felt it, didn't he?"

"I was blessed to have him here," said Brenda, certain a blush had spread through her cheeks. "I could not have borne either of my sons without his calming spirit."

"His calming spirit indeed," said Nuala, who did little to hide her displayed thoughts on Brenda's true inner feelings.

Diolún had promised to not leave Brenda's side, and in the week since the birth, he had fulfilled that promise.

He had carried Brenda into the Buckley wagon mere minutes after Daragh Buckley had returned the morning after the storm, Nuala had said. Brenda herself had been lost to the world, deep in the realm of dreams as her body healed itself from her wearisome labor.

He had held Aiden whilst Doc Haloran cut the umbilical cord and checked over Brenda. She had awoken in the following days to Diolún who had confessed that he had been frightened she would not, despite the doctor's assurances. What followed had been a devastating conversation, one Brenda could not have possibly faced alone.

They buried Liam beneath the shade of a willow tree beside the graves of Diolún's parents, for Nuala believed the McKays would help to preserve the soul of little Liam to ensure he had been taken to the Lord.

Diolún had lifted an arm, waiting until Brenda collapsed into his chest when the sobs had wracked her petite frame and threatened to send her rolling down the hill.

She wondered if Connor would come across their son's grave, in the future, and ponder the relation of Liam Monaghan to himself.

She had her doubts, as Monaghan was not an uncommon name.

Aiden, she called both Monaghan and Walsham - he and Liam remained Walsh-Monaghans, in her mind. The general consensus between the Buckleys and the McKay brothers was to refer to Aiden simply as a Walsham.

"Nuala," said Brenda, "the times I have gone into town, I have seen papers handed out to passersby advertising the Ladies' Land League. Do you know of the league?"

"Ay," said Nuala, "I am well-acquainted."

"Can you tell me its purpose?"

Nuala explained that the Ladies' Land League had been a short-lived organization from the previous decade, providing supplies to evicted families. It had been poorly received by the press, as well as Catholic and Protestant churches alike, and had been made illegal in the year following its creation.