Authors: Ellen Gable
“It’s fine,
Uncle.” She turned around and glared at David, then released a long and audible
sigh. “Good day, Mr. O’Donovan,” she said, then she hurried into the safety of
the Martin household.
* * *
David fixed a
smile on his face as he rode away from the Martin residence. His insatiable
appetite had been fed by the servant’s luscious body. And he, and Missy, had
been right. They had heard footsteps outside the henhouse. Knowing that someone
might be watching, and he was hoping that it had been Miss Martin, made the
experience all the more exciting.
Of course, when
he noticed her trying to avoid him, he knew without a doubt she had seen them.
Ben or Patsie would have recognized their moans and avoided the area. Of
course, Mr. Martin almost never poked his head outside his office during the
day. That would have been a disaster, as Missy would likely lose her job and
he and Liam could possibly lose his business.
A grinding,
gnawing feeling in his stomach rose up and wiped the happy expression off his
face. She had just seen part of him unclothed and she hadn’t yet seen Liam in
that way. David counted on her not saying a word to Liam. Of course, for
modesty’s sake, she would be too embarrassed, he was sure of that. However, if
Liam ever did find out, he would be furious.
So why was there
a gnawing feeling at the pit of his stomach? Caroline Martin was a beautiful
girl, and of course, his brother’s betrothed, but she had a lot of spirit in
her, liveliness which at times seemed to contradict her innocence. No, he
couldn’t think of any other young lady, upper or lower class, who allowed
herself to speak so freely. It was obvious that Miss Martin had scant
experience in the finer points of polite society. And, for that, he was
grateful.
He dismissed the
feeling and smiled again. David found himself thinking of ways that he could
interact with her. And, contrary to what Miss Martin was feeling at this
moment, he greatly looked forward to her upcoming marriage to his brother.
Bantering with her was more entertaining than watching saloon girls dance. He
laughed out loud at her comment about kicking him.
Oh, Miss Martin, any
time, any time
.
Chapter13
The late October
afternoon air was warm. Caroline decided to take advantage of the weather and
read outside. She settled beneath the maple tree, using the trunk to steady
her back. She had been reading, for the second time, the book “Emma” which
Liam had given her some months before. However, she was too distracted and
closed the book. She began to make a mental list of what needed to be
accomplished before her wedding to Liam next week.
Final gown fitting,
Friday at two p.m
.
She and Liam
would begin their new life together, welcome children and, similar to the
stories in most of the books she had read, they would live happily ever after.
The clopping
sounds of a horse and carriage drew her attention to the laneway. She
recognized the smaller O’Donovan carriage and Liam in the driver’s seat.
Liam wasn’t
scheduled to come for a visit until tomorrow. He had told her that he had
business to attend to in Cheltenham.
She picked up her
skirts and hurried toward the carriage which had stopped in front of the
house. She slowed her pace when she noticed that Liam had not yet emerged.
From her vantage point, it appeared as if he was waiting. Without seeing his
face, Caroline sensed that something was wrong. Liam almost always drove the
buggy or his horse around to the stable. Coming closer, Caroline could see
that Liam’s head was lowered.
As he heard her
footsteps, he finally looked up. Liam said nothing, but his expression seemed
sad, disappointed. The way his eyes peered at her, she knew that whatever was
bothering him had to do with her.
“Liam, what’s
wrong? Did someone die?”
He silently shook
his head. He stepped down from the carriage and wound the horses’ reins around
the front hitching post. His movements were measured and it took a long time
to accomplish a task which should have taken a few seconds.
He finally stood
tall and silent before her.
Still holding
onto her book, she blurted out, “Look, I’m reading the book you gave me. It’s
quite good, a wonderful story. It’s. . .”
He nodded, his
expression somber, his eyes avoiding hers.
She took him by
the hand and led him to the porch and sat down on the steps, pulling him down
to sit next to her. He resisted and withdrew his hand.
“I should rather
stand,” he said flatly.
Caroline immediately
stood up, leaving her book on the top porch step.
“What’s wrong?
We are to be married next week.”
“Well, that may
well be under discussion.” His tone seemed uncharacteristically sardonic.
“Under
discussion? Whatever do you mean?”
“I just returned
from Cheltenham where I met with a client of mine, Mr. Olson, who does chores
at the convent there.”
Caroline imagined
the color must have drained from her face.
He knows about the trip to the
convent.
“You were there
with the servant girl after I told you I would not take you.”
She gasped; her
throat closed like a rosebud. What could she say? Her husband-to-be just
caught her in a lie and now he was about to break off his commitment to marry
her.
“You have nothing
to say?”
“I made a
promise, Liam, and I. . .”
“What about me? There
were prudent reasons for not taking you, reasons that were sound and for your
safety.”
“I realized that
no one would take me and so I began to walk. Patsie was trying to convince me
not to walk, and that it would be dangerous. But I’m rather stubborn.”
She stopped and
studied his face. He was not smiling. In fact, there was a hint of a frown.
“Go on,” he said.
“I kept walking
and. . . someone stopped and asked where I was going and agreed to take me.”
“Someone? Did
you know this person?”
“I cannot tell
you that because he did me a favor and I was able to be with Selly when she
died.”
“He? A man took
you?”
“Nothing
happened. Can you not trust me?”
“How can I trust
you after I’ve found out you’ve lied to me?”
“I’m not lying
now. And I don’t want this person to. . .”
“Caroline, he
could have. . . I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I told you.
Nothing happened.”
“Nothing
happened? You’re out cavorting with some other man and. . .” Liam was now
raising his voice.
“We weren’t
cavorting. He was just driving me to. . .”
“Stop.” Liam
exhaled as if he had been holding his breath the entire time. He turned his
back on her and walked ten feet away, close to the horse. He remained quiet
for several long moments.
Caroline wanted
to cry, but she knew that she couldn’t do that right now. She wished that he
would say what he had come to say, break the commitment, cancel the wedding,
and leave so that she could go to her bedroom and release her tears.
She had never
regretted being with Selly. She knew that David wouldn’t tell anyone and she
was sure that Patsie wouldn’t reveal their secret. It never occurred to her
that perhaps someone might have seen her there and mention it to Liam.
He continued to
stand beside the horse, in silence, his shoulders squared. Although he was
only ten feet away, he seemed unreachable.
“Miss Caroline,
I. . .” Patsie stopped as she stepped onto the porch and saw Caroline’s face
and Liam, his back to them, standing near the horse. She tiptoed down the
steps and whispered into Caroline’s ear, “Mr. Liam, is he bein’ upset ‘bout
some’n?”
Caroline waved
her hand to indicate to Patsie to go back into the house, but the servant
remained beside her. Caroline mouthed, “Go on.” Patsie shook her head, but
the older woman eventually did what she was told.
Caroline studied
Liam’s back, his shoulders slumped.
What is he thinking?
She anxiously
rubbed her hands and shifted from one foot to the other. She wanted to shout
at him, “Just tell me that you’re calling off the wedding, just be done with
it.”
He finally turned
around and walked up close to her. Despite his disappointment and pain, his
eyes regarded her with affection.
“I don’t want to
break off our engagement.”
Caroline closed
her eyes and exhaled.
He placed his
hands on her shoulders and pulled her to a close embrace. She responded by
hugging him tightly. “Liam, thank God. I love you and I don’t want to break
off our engagement because of. . .” Now she couldn’t even say it.
“But you need to
promise me right now that you’ll never, ever lie to me again.”
For a few
seconds, Caroline was silent, her head lowered.
“Caroline?”
“Before I promise
that, I ought to tell you that I’m not the person you think I am.”
“What?”
“I. . .was not. .
.born wealthy.”
Liam closed his
eyes, then he regarded her with a slight smile. “Your uncle has already told
me about that. You are from wealth presently, are you not? And even if you
weren’t, I would not care about that. What is important to me now is that you
will never, ever lie to me again. Will you promise me that?”
“Yes, Liam, I
promise that I shall never lie to you again, ever.”
“No matter what
the consequences?”
“Of course. I
shall never, ever lie to you, Liam, never. Please believe me.”
“I do, Caroline.
And will you promise. . .”
“What?”
“That you will
herein always obey me.”
She blurted out,
“Yes, yes, of course.”
“If you cannot
trust that I know what is best for you, then you ought not to be marrying me.”
With that, he
kissed her forehead and broke away from her. He untied the reins and got into
the carriage. He paused before tipping his hat and forcing a smile. She
waved until he was out of sight.
“Sure an’ ye
know, I told ye there’d be trouble, Miss Caroline,” she could hear Patsie say
as she stepped onto the porch.
“I told you to go
inside, Patsie.”
“Ye’d better be
after thankin’ the good Lord fer that one, Miss.”
Chapter 14
One week later,
Liam lifted out the cigar box from the top drawer of his desk. It was the only
possession he owned of his father’s that did not have negative memories
attached to it. Jack offered him the container years ago after he had finished
using the box. As a boy, Liam used it to store his marbles. Now, he kept
items in here that served to remind him of the important events in his life.
On top, and probably
the best memory in the box, was the admission ticket to the Centennial
Exhibition.
He carefully
unwrapped the brown paper covering his father’s gold pocket watch. Despite a
thorough cleaning, the piece still reeked of smoke. His father had worn it on
the night he died in the fire.
Liam held onto
the watch, the metal casing cold in his hand. It really was an exquisite
looking timepiece. He found himself wincing as he studied the thick gold chain.
Liam still carried scars on his legs from the marks the chain made when Jack
had used it to reprimand him. He exhaled, and with one swift motion, ripped it
from the timepiece, then wrapped up the watch and placed it inside the box. He
dropped the chain in the trash can next to his desk.
He picked up the
envelope. The coins inside were a cruel reminder that saying no to Jack was
the worst offense.
“
Get up, son.
It’s your 16th birthday. Time to get dressed. Time to become a man.” His
father lit the oil lamp next to the bed. “Wake up, I’ve got a present for
you.”
Liam had gone
to bed a few hours earlier, but roused enough to say, “Father? A present?
It’s not my birthday until tomorrow.” Liam sat up in bed and ran his fingers
through his hair. He had dreaded his 16th birthday since David shared his
experience two years ago. Thinking that he would have one more night before
having to confront Jack, he was caught off guard and unprepared.
“It’s
tomorrow, Liam. After midnight. Get up. Get dressed. I’ve got a surprise
for you in town.” Although his father was several feet away, his whiskey
breath burned Liam’s face and he turned away.
Liam remained
in his bed and made no attempt to remove the covers or get up. He kept his
gaze downward.
“Liam, I don’t
have all night.”