Aonghas

 !SPOILER ALERT!

Sir Aonghas, husband to Lady Myrredith, Lord of Cyndyn Hall.

Aonghas, or “Lady Cyndyn’s husband”, as he is called behind his back, is not well liked. He is a great bear of a man with excessive appetites for drinking and fighting. He is quick to anger and a mean drunk. Aonghas aspires to “rough around the edges”, looking out of place in the noble finery he was not born to. He prefers the battlefield, where his gruff manners do not draw fire from his wife.

Despite his barbaric exterior, Aonghas has the most tender love for his wife, and is a troubled soul. The underlying cause of Aonghas’ pain is deep seeded insecurity in his relationship with his beautiful and refined wife, the Lady (and real master) of Cyndyn. He won her hand through combat, in an ill-conceived, ill-timed tourney held by Myrredith’s father, the late Lord Rudthar “God rest his soul!” and is certain he could never have won her hand otherwise. He feels unworthy of her and is painfully aware that Myrredith would have married Sir Hugh, if  the King’s Champion had participated in the tourney or the lady had been allowed to choose. This places him firmly across from Hugh in a love triangle with his wife, in the first book of the series: The Innkeeper’s Son. This does not go unnoticed by Don Miguel Medina Scarosa, a traveling troubadour and troublemaker. This Spaniard scoundrel wheedles into their lives and whispers lies into Aonghas’ ear – about his wife and Hugh – to aggravate the situation for his own malicious pleasure.

Though Aonghas has many flaws, he is still brave, loyal and honorable. Many readers tell me they find him one of the more interesting characters, and his loss at the battle near Hillshire was devastating. He is a tragic but relatable character. In the end he teaches the protagonist, Billy (and us) that the heart of a hero is sacrifice.