Hush Now, Don’t You Cry (6 page)

“That’s nice,” he murmured.

I was just drifting off to sleep, listening to the smack and hiss of the waves on the rocky shoreline, when I heard the sound of a door opening. Instantly I was awake and alert. We had not locked the front door, feeling ourselves to be safe on an estate with a high wall around it.

“Daniel,” I whispered, “I think someone’s trying to get into the house.”

Daniel still lay in blissful slumber. I wondered if I had imagined the sound until to my horror I heard voices—a man’s voice and then a light female laugh. I sat up, not knowing what to do next. Surely burglars did not chat and laugh as they went about their business? I fished around in the darkness for my robe, but before I had time to act I heard heavy feet coming up the stairs. The bedroom door was flung open and the electric light was turned on. A large man stood in the doorway. He was gray haired and middle aged, big boned rather than fat, but with the unmistakable round red face and shock of hair of a typical Irishman. I was also aware of someone standing in the shadows behind him. That much I took in as I sat blinking in the bright light, clutching the bedclothes to me to preserve something of my modesty.

“What the deuce?” The man looked as startled as I did. “What is going on here?”

Daniel had stirred and grunted in his sleep at the bright light in his face. Now he sat up suddenly at the sound of a strange voice. “What’s all this?” he demanded.

My first thought was that the man was Alderman Hannan in person, but that notion was dispelled when he roared, “Who the devil are you?”

“I could ask you the same thing, sir.” Daniel was now wide awake and in fighting spirit. “Or do you make a point of bursting into people’s bedrooms in the middle of the night?”

“As to that, I am Joseph Hannan, and you are trespassing on my family’s property. Thought the place would be empty for the winter and you’d have a nice quiet spot to entertain your fancy girl, did you, my boy?”

Daniel got out of bed and took a step toward Joseph Hannan. He was several inches taller and stood face-to-face with the man. “In the first place she’s my wife and not my ‘fancy girl,’ as you so crudely put it,” he said. “In the second my name is Daniel Sullivan and I am here as a guest of Alderman Brian Hannan, whom I was expecting to see tomorrow.”

“My brother didn’t let me know that there would be any outsiders present,” Joseph said, sounding a trifle defensive now.

“Ask him yourself if you doubt my credibility,” Daniel said. “But I can assure you that if I wanted a few days away with my wife, the last thing I’d consider doing is sneaking into someone else’s house when I can afford to pay for a perfectly good hotel.”

“Then may I ask why my brother invited you to come here at the same time as the family? You’re not some relative I don’t know about, are you? Some lost kin from Ireland he’s tracked down? He never invites outsiders.”

“He was doing me a good turn. I was at a meeting with him the other day and he heard that I’d had to abandon my honeymoon after only a couple of days due to urgent business in New York. So he most kindly offered me the use of his guest cottage.”

“But surely not at a time when the family was coming?”

“I think he assumed that the family would stay at the main house,” Daniel said.

Joseph scowled. “Damned inconsiderate of him. He knows I often choose to get away from the others and have the guest cottage to myself.”

I thought I witnessed the shadow in the background start to tiptoe back down the stairs. And I remembered Mrs. McCreedy saying that Joseph Hannan rarely brought his wife with him.
He’s got a lady friend in tow,
I thought with a smile. That’s why he’s come up early and wants the privacy of the guest cottage. Joseph Hannan noticed my expression and annoyance flushed across his face.

“The family wasn’t expected until tomorrow,” Daniel said. “At least that is what Mrs. McCreedy told us.”

“Then my brother is not here yet? I was hoping for a word with him before the hordes descend. It’s downright impossible to talk to the man in New York, now he’s rushing all over the place with his political aspirations, leaving me to run the business alone.”

He stood scowling at us.

“There must be more to this. My brother is not noted for his generosity to outsiders. Something to do with Tammany Hall, maybe. He wants to make sure he can sway the election his way.” He studied Daniel’s face. “Am I close to the mark? You’ve influence at Tammany and he wants you to get him votes?”

Daniel said nothing so Joseph Hannan went on. “That would be more like Brian than a simple act of kindness to a newly married couple.”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself,” Daniel said.

“I will, as soon as he damn well gets here,” Joseph said. “You can bet your boots I will. He’s not the only Hannan brother, you know. Damned dictator—summoning us all here, as if we were his lackeys. And it’s bad enough having the whole family present without a horde of outsiders.” He paused, looking from Daniel to me.

“So I suppose I’ll have to rethink my plans for tonight,” he said as neither of us showed any inclination to move.

“I gather there are two bedrooms,” Daniel said. “You’re more than welcome to the other one.”

Joseph Hannan took a belligerent step forward then thought better of it. “Downright inconvenient,” he said. “I don’t like having my plans upset. It’s too bad of my brother. Never bothers to consult the rest of the family about a damned thing.”

Daniel just stood there, arms folded.

“Mrs. McCreedy has all the beds made up and ready in the main house,” Daniel said. “I don’t know whether she’ll be sleeping there tonight, but as you’re a family member, I’m sure you’ll have a key. Now if you don’t mind, my wife and I would like to go back to sleep.”

Joseph Hannan snorted, then turned on his heels and stomped down the stairs. I picked up a hint of whispered conversation and then the front door slammed.

“The arrogance of the man,” Daniel said. “I really think he expected us to slink out and leave the place to him.”

“He had a lady with him,” I said. “I heard her voice while you were asleep.”

“Ah, so that explains why he didn’t want to be with the rest in the main house. I don’t suppose Brian would have welcomed Joseph’s mistress with open arms, not if he’d a wife he left at home.”

He climbed back into bed. “This is almost becoming farcical,” he said. “Are we never to have a peaceful night’s sleep as man and wife?”

“Daniel,” I said as he turned out the light and climbed back into bed, “why didn’t you tell him that you were a police officer?”

“I decided that now was not the right moment,” Daniel said. “More interesting to listen to what the man had to say when he didn’t know I was with the police. Ah, well, let’s get some rest. I hope to sleep off this damned chill or grippe or whatever it is. I’d like to be at my best when they all arrive.”

With that he pulled the covers over his face and promptly fell into a deep sleep. I lay awake, still disturbed by the nocturnal visit and by the events of the day. I listened to the crashing of waves onto the shore and my thoughts turned to that poor little girl. I pictured her body lying on those rocks and I snuggled up closer to Daniel. There were so many dangers in life and no way to prevent them. I was now married to a policeman. Danger was to be part of our lives. When I had been living alone and running my detective business I had found myself in danger several times. To begin with it hadn’t worried me but lately it had preyed on my mind. I suppose that now that I had Daniel, I didn’t want to lose him.

Seven

Eventually I fell asleep but my dreams were troubled. A little girl dancing on the lawn with a lamb until a great shadow loomed over her and a voice said, “Now the light has gone out of our lives.”

By morning the sadness melted away and I awoke quite cheerfully to another day of brilliant sunlight. Daniel awoke not quite so cheerfully, acting like most men with a cold—in a thoroughly bad temper. I tried to remind myself of my recent vows of in sickness and in health, made him hot tea and a boiled egg and tucked a rug around his shoulders.

“What would really help is a mustard plaster,” he said. “And something to steam. That’s what my mother always did for a cold. Friar’s Balsam, I believe.”

“And what did you do for a cold when you were not with your mother?” I asked, trying to keep my expression sweet and caring.

“Nothing. I never had time to be ill so I just kept on going.”

“Would you like me to walk into town and see if I can find a chemist who stocks the things you want?” I asked.

“That would be wonderful.” He reached out his hand and took mine, looking up at me with gratitude, making me glad that I had acted like a dutiful wife.

I left him with a rug over his knees, sitting in the sunshine, while I put on my cape and hat and went into town. The gardener was working near the gate and he dropped his tools and ran ahead to open it for me. “You’re walking, are you, miss?” he asked. “You don’t need anyone to summon you a carriage or a cab? I’m afraid we’ve no coachman or chauffeur here until the master arrives.”

“I’m happy to walk. I’m enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, thank you,” I said. “It’s a treat after living in New York City.”

“Are you a relative over from Ireland?” he asked.

“No, not a relative. My husband knows the alderman. I’ve never met him.”

“I understand he’s coming later today, or tomorrow, so you’ll have your chance.”

“What’s he like?”

“Not my place to say, ma’am. He’s a tough man to work for. Likes his orders carried out instantly and to the letter, but he pays well. Nothing stingy about him. And he’s very good to his family, so we hear. Supports the lot of them.”

“Does he?”

“Oh, yes. Mr. Joseph is the only one of them who does an honest day’s work from what I can tell.” He looked around as he held open the gate. “But I shouldn’t be talking like this. And I’ve work to do. There will be hell to pay if there’s a single dandelion left in this lawn.”

With that he ushered me through the gate and shut it hurriedly behind me.

On the opposite side of the street was an ordinary brick colonial house, and as I looked at it, I noticed a lace curtain twitch back into place as if someone had been watching me. I set off at a brisk pace into town, found a chemist, and came back laden with a chest rub—Friar’s Balsam—a tonic guaranteed to put people back on their feet instantly, and some grapes to make Daniel feel better. I found him reading and he seemed to have perked up quite nicely, eating a good healthy amount at lunch.

But he still declined to come with me down to the seashore in the afternoon. “I think I’ll take a nap after I’ve inhaled some steam,” he said. “If you could just boil me some water and find me a towel to put over my head.”

I did as he asked, leaving him swathed like a fortune-teller.

“Don’t take any risks or climb over rocks, do you hear?” he called from under the towel. “I don’t want to find your body lying there where you’ve slipped and hit your head.”

“No, Daniel,” I said with mock meekness, making him laugh. I laughed too then. “Do you realize that I went out almost every day over the rocks to gather seaweed when I was a child.”

His face appeared from the towel. “Yes, but I suspect you were not wearing fashionable shoes and a tight skirt in those days,” he said.

“You’re right about that. I was mostly barefoot. But don’t worry, I’ll be careful. I’ve no wish to slip and ruin my new clothes.”

So off I went. I looked toward the big house before I crossed the lawns, feeling something of an interloper. Wouldn’t the rest of the family give us the same hostile reception as Joseph Hannan when they arrived? I kept going until I came out of a group of rhododendron bushes to see the ocean below me. At this point the ground fell a sheer forty or fifty feet to rocks below. I looked for a way down but couldn’t find one. Further around the point the cliff turned into a tumble of rocks where there had been a landslide at some stage, but I wasn’t about to attempt that either in my good clothes. So I started along the cliff path, back in the direction of the town. As the path turned a corner I was rewarded with a flight of narrow steps going down the cliff, leading to a little patch of beach. I went down and found a flat rock to sit on. After looking around to make sure nobody was watching I removed my shoes and stockings, then hitched up my skirts and waded at the edge of the ocean. The feel of gentle waves running over my toes took me back to my childhood. I walked along the edge of the water, peering into rock pools, looking for crabs and starfish, delighting in gently waving anemones as I had done as a little girl.

I lost all consciousness of time or place and it was only as a big wave rushed in, catching me unawares and completely soaking the lower half of my skirt, that I realized where I was and that the tide was coming in. At the next instant I realized that I was now cut off. The narrow strip of shoreline along which I had come was now underwater. I was going to have to find a suitable spot to scramble up the cliffs. I soon realized that this was not going to be achieved in a ladylike manner. There were places when the slope was more a tumble of rocks, but it would still require serious clambering. Not that I found this as daunting as other young ladies would have done, having done more than my share of clambering.

I tried to assess exactly where I was in relation to the estate above me. I wanted to come up at a spot where I could slink to the cottage unseen. I was well aware that the members of the Hannan family were due to arrive this afternoon and I certainly didn’t want to run into any of them with my skirts sodden and probably torn by the end of the climb.

As I picked my way gingerly over the rocks, clutching my shoes and stockings, I heard a voice saying, “No, it can’t be a mermaid, can it?”

I looked up and saw a young man perched on an outcropping high above me. He was dressed in the sober suit of a city gent with a stiff collar and black ascot, but he sat on the cliff edge with his legs dangling over like a large child. The first thing I noticed about him was that he was a most attractive young man. Yes, I know I was now a married woman but one does still notice these things. He had light brown hair that waved just the right amount, a neat little brown mustache, and a good, firm jaw. He also had dark eyes that were now alight with amusement.