Cave of Secrets Read Free

demanded of his wife. ‘Is he deliberately trying to ruin things for me?’
    ‘Of course not,’ she said, keeping her eyes lowered so she did not see the anger in his face.
    ‘Are you certain, Kate? Do you know what just happened? For an hour I had been doing my best to win Richard Boyle’s confidence. I said I was trying, in my modest way, to create a gentleman’s country estate here like the magnificent place he built for himself near Lismore.
    ‘I was trying to work the conversation around to my other ambitions, when the earl commented that more Protestants are entering the Irish parliament. The balance of power is tilting their way, he said, so the time is right to extend the plantation of Munster. That means taking more land away from Catholic landowners and giving it to loyal Protestants.’
    Flynn waited for his wife to react. She waited for him to reveal why this was upsetting him.
    After a moment he continued. ‘Parliament, with Boyle as its most powerful member, oversees the plantation scheme. Some friends of his are eager to acquire plantation lands in this area as a speculative venture. Through a deal with the earl,they will receive the properties free of charge and then sell them on at inflated prices, making a huge profit for everyone involved. Except the original landowner, of course.
    ‘When the earl told me about this, I regretted having made such an effort to impress him with my property. As a Catholic landowner, I must find a way to keep it from being seized. Thinking fast, I suggested that a local landowner like myself would be perfect for organising the scheme. All I would require was a central base to act from. Boyle is a clever man, he knew at once that I was hinting at a position with the Dublin administration.’
    ‘You are a clever man too, William,’ his wife murmured.
    But her praise did not cheer him. Instead he scowled. ‘Unfortunately, at that very moment a servant rushed in claiming that Thomas had run away. Richard Boyle heard it all. He was standing right there with his son Roger, Baron Broghill. How could the earl respect a man who cannot govern his own child? You should have seen the expression on his face. Thanks to that miserable son of yours, now the earl would not trust me to mind mice at a crossroads.’
    She laid a gentle hand on her husband’s arm. ‘Tom is your son too, William. And I am sure the earl will not hold such a small incident against you. If he has sons he must know something of boys. Besides, Tom would never run away. He is merely playing one of his pranks.’
    ‘So much the worse for him if he is!’ Flynn sprayed spittlein his anger. ‘I’ll cane him within an inch of his life!’
    His wife took half a step back to avoid the shower. ‘Your guests are waiting,’ she reminded him. ‘Surely you can mend your fences with the earl. As you said yourself, you have a gift for making people like you. Flatter him and tell him some of your best stories. Meanwhile, perhaps I might lie down for a while?’ She looked at him hopefully, seeking his permission.
    * * *
    Outside the cave the light was fading. Tom saw that his arm was being tightly gripped by a boy smaller than he, though obviously stronger. Donal’s skin was chapped by wind and weather. His shaggy black hair fell to his shoulders. His eyes were a brilliant blue. Salt-stained woollen trews, with a bit of rope for a belt, were his only garment. His upper body was as bare as his feet.
    Donal was not impressed by Tom’s greater size. His fingers already had discovered that the newcomer’s arm lacked muscle. His cheeks were as plump as a baby’s. Although Tom’s clothes were torn from his scramble down the cliff, his brown hair remained tied at the nape of his neck with a stiff grosgrain ribbon. There were silver buckles on his leather shoes.
    Donal knew he could take those silver buckles if he wanted. ‘Your clothes would make a cat laugh,’ he said.
    Tom was insulted. ‘This is what men