‘I know that!’
‘Well, what the hell are you doing sitting around whining at me then?’
Kieran slammed down his pipe and stood up, striding off to the gate without a backwards glance, his expression so determined Liam could almost feel sorry for William now.
Almost, but not quite.
It was a precarious position to be in but Kieran really couldn’t think of any other way to see her. Her father had firmly shut the door in his face and she was well and truly ensconced inside under lock and key for the night, hence his perch upon the roof above her windowsill. He was hardly comfortable, hanging with his head at an angle that had the blood rushing to his ears, but it was the only way he could spy when she arrived. Fortune favours the brave, if sometimes foolish, Liam often liked to say. Kieran wondered which one he was tonight.
Dinner must be well over by now, judging by the rumbling of his stomach, and Kieran knew Maeve enjoyed writing in her journal in her room at night. She’d even confessed to a few entries about him but not the details, of course.
Just then she appeared, beautiful as ever in a blue and white flowered dress, and Kieran had a terrible urge to wait for her to lift it over her head and reveal what lay beneath, but shook his head clear. He leaned over with a stick he’d picked up earlier instead and tapped lightly on the window. It was louder than he’d intended and he winced.
Maeve heard it immediately and walked over cautiously, staring out then jumping as she saw him, dangling half upside down. Possibly looking a bit mad. But to her credit she regained her composure and lifted the latch to open the window.
‘What on earth are you doing?’
‘Visiting.’ Kieran said it with what he hoped was a lighthearted, daring manner and she seemed to think it was, letting out a small giggle.
‘Goodness, you could fall to your death.’
‘At least I’d see an angel before I pass,’ he said and she giggled again. Kieran would have loved to continue to coax more amusement from her but his legs were beginninΩg to ache. ‘I need to talk to you, Maeve. Meet me by the river,’ he pleaded, changing his tone.
‘Now?’ she said, scandalised.
‘Yes. Please. It’s important; I must speak with you.’ He slid slightly and her hand flew to her mouth.
‘Oh dear lord…alright. Give me a minute though.’
‘I’ll wait near the bridge,’ he said before clambering away, glad to get down at last and run off to wait for her.
The water was dark as it eddied against the shore and the moonlight shone across it, lighting the ripples in liquid silver rows. Kieran watched, impatient for her arrival, although still unsure what he would say. It would be better to say nothing, of course. He father would never allow them to be together and the only sensible thing to do was to walk away. That was what he should do, anyway.
Ten minutes or so later she finally came, and he was so happy she had turned up he forgot about protocol, wrapping her in his arms, and it felt so natural, so right. Kieran knew then, suddenly without question, that he had to have her by his side in life. She was his. It was unthinkable that she ever belong to another.
‘What…what was it you had to tell me?’ she said, her words muffled against his chest, the sweet scent of honey assailing his senses.
‘Just this,’ he replied, throwing words aside for the second time in their relationship and kissing her in the same sudden way he’d done in her front parlour that day, in a rush of unrestrained longing that stole their breath. ‘I love you, Maeve,’ he said, the confession like a weight lifting off his heart. ‘Come with me to Australia. Leave all of this behind.’
Her face crumpled and she fell against him, crying as she told him what he’d feared. ‘Father…Father is hoping for me to marry William.’
‘And what do you want, my love?’
She pulled back, wiping at her cheeks, and the moonlight lit the tears still swimming in her eyes. ‘I want you,’ she whispered.
He kissed her again, her soft body pressed against his, and his passion for her was so strong he had to fight against himself to restrain from taking her, then and there on the grass near the old stone bridge with that dark, silvery river lapping nearby. He pulled his mouth from hers and held her in a long hug instead, trying to calm the raging heat in his veins.
‘Ah, my girl, my beautiful girl. What are we to do?’ He rocked her against him, his chin resting on her fair hair and she sighed, the gentle lap of the small waves the only other sound.
‘I won’t be able to fight it if Father and Lord Whitely come to an arrangement.’
‘No,’ he had to agree, ‘but…but you could avoid it altogether.’ He pulled her back, holding both her hands to watch her face as he asked the next. ‘Run away, Maeve. Elope with me to the other side of the earth and take your chances on a life filled with love and adventure. It’s what you want in your heart. You know it’s true.’ He was taking a big risk in the game now but Liam was right. He was running out of time for any more caution.
‘But it’s…it’s so far from my family…’ She was hesitating so he tried again, using every bit of persuasion and charm he’d ever possessed.
‘I will be your family. I will be your sun and your moon.’ He threw his hands towards the sky, where that brilliant orb glowed above them, before kneeling before her. ‘I will worship you all the days of your life. Marry me, Maeve. Choose a life with me.’
She bit her lip. ‘Father says you’re nothing but a smooth-talking rogue.’
‘I’m using words because they are all I have for now. The only proof of my love…and I do love you, Maeve, more than the fields love the rain…’
‘I’ll have no money this way, no dowry…’
‘More than the river loves the sea…’
‘Kieran…’
‘More than life itself, Maeve. Marry me.’
Maeve’s lovely brown eyes bore into his as her mouth slowly stretched into a smile. ‘Aye, then, how can I say no to such smooth talk as that?’
Kieran felt his whole life turn on a pin in that moment and he stood up so fast and kissed her so urgently it made him dizzy, but that was quickly overridden by his desire once more. And something else. Suddenly it wasn’t just about winning a game; it had become something far more sacred. A blending of their entire beings, an entwining of hearts.
‘We’ll have to keep it a secret from everyone, even your siblings. No-one can know,’ Maeve whispered, her forehead resting against his.
‘Aye,’ he agreed. ‘I’ll come for you before dawn’s light on the day and we’ll marry before anyone can stop this from happening.’
‘What about my passage?’
Kieran frowned. He hadn’t thought about that.
‘I’ll figure something out,’ he promised. ‘Just make sure you’re packed and ready to go and I’ll take care of everything else.’
Maeve smiled at him, her trust evident. ‘I expect it goes without saying but I…I love you too, Kieran.’
Something melted inside him at her words and he kissed her long and slow, a new reverence there now. It may well go without saying but he was damn glad she had.
Four
He was turning it over in his hands when Liam found him.
‘Thinking about wearing it around town now, are you? Can’t say you won’t get mugged.’
Kieran started, then wrapped up the fob watch in the velvet cloth it had always lived in, placing it back in the drawer. ‘People aren’t so desperate that they’d rob a friend.’
‘They might not do it for the watch, just on account of you lording about the place now that you’ve got land.’
‘Ha,’ Kieran said, but there was deep thought in those eyes.
‘What’s going on?’ There’d never been room for anything less than straight honesty between them.
‘I may need to sell it,’ Kieran said. ‘How would you feel about that?’
‘Will you tell me what you’re needing to sell it for?’
‘No.
’
Liam nodded slowly. ‘Well, sell it if you must. You’d have good reason, I know, but don’t forget we’ll need as much money as possible to build a farm. It’ll take more than trees and hard work, Kieran.’
‘Aye, I know.’ Kieran looked worried as he rubbed his face.
‘I trust you,’ Liam said simply and his brother sent him a grateful smile before he walked out. Liam had no idea what Kieran would need so much money for right now but he’d bet his own last shilling it had something to do with Maeve O’Shannassey. And whichever way you looked at things, that didn’t bode well. The girl was being seriously courted by William Whitely now and everyone knew a marriage betrothal was inevitable, despite the fact she and Kieran could barely tear their eyes from one another whenever they crossed paths. His brother was destined for a broken heart when they left but there seemed little to be done about it now.
Liam shoved such thoughts away, busying himself with the last of the packing instead and focusing on the new life that beckoned come tomorrow. The past few weeks had dragged by so slowly it seemed impossible that the mundane, exacting existence they were all well used to would change so drastically. Even just the idea of being on a tall ship seemed ridiculously exciting. Liam had waited his whole life to push out from the shoreline into the great oceans of the world, to follow the gulls until land was so distant even they disappeared. To let go.
It promised to be a day he would never forget and it tingled through his skin every time he thought about it.
‘Here’s the last,’ Eileen puffed as she dragged a case out of her and Rory’s tiny bedroom.
‘Good lord. How have you managed to accumulate enough stuff to fill another trunk?’
‘It’s mostly seeds ’n’ herbs and vials and the like, and warm blankets of course. The children will need them on the voyage.’
‘Not so much when we get there, I’d wager. It’s not near as cold as here, from what I’ve read.’
Young Thomas could be heard terrorising his brothers outside. They were playing Captain again, a game they’d invented that involved Thomas, the eldest, always playing captain of the ship they would soon board in real life, his little brothers James and Matthew his hapless crew. Eileen rolled her eyes as she went to the door. ‘If you don’t behave I’ll have you tied to the mast when we go,’ she yelled and a quieter game soon followed. ‘What were you and Kieran discussing?’ she said, turning back into the room and walking over to the fire to put the water on.
Liam shrugged. ‘He had Da’s watch out. I think he plans to sell it.’
‘What? What on earth for?’ Eileen asked. It was the only thing of value the family possessed and she looked suitably concerned.
‘He didn’t say.’
She sat in the rocking chair then, tapping the teapot thoughtfully as she waited for the water to boil. ‘Mr Leary said he saw him down in Kilrush last week. Said he was at the shipping office for some time.’
Liam frowned. ‘I’ve got the letters of passage so I don’t know what he was doing in there.’
‘Maybe he was just confirming things again,’ Eileen said.
Liam felt the blood drain as another possibility occurred to him. ‘Maybe he feels we’re one ticket short.’
Eileen stared at him, aghast. ‘But he…he would need Maeve to elope,’ she said. ‘Good God, what will Whitely do then?’
‘Let alone her father. They have connections everywhere in port. They could have him chased down and thrown in gaol.’
Eileen paled and stood to pace the room. ‘We’ll have to talk him out of it. ’Tis sheer madness.’ She shook her head angrily. ‘What the hell is he thinking, doing this?’
‘He’s thinking he’ll bed the girl so fast it will be too late and Whitely won’t want her.’
She paused, considering that. ‘He’ll have to wed her before we board. Perhaps even tonight.’
‘Looks like we have a decision to make then, you and I,’ Liam said, ‘whether to halt this thing or help him do it. If he’s made up his mind there’ll be no stopping it; maybe it would be best we say nothing and I follow him – make sure someone has his back.’
‘Aye,’ Eileen said, sitting down heavily. ‘I suppose that’s an idea. Stupid fool, endangering all our futures with his reckless ways.’
‘Fortune favours the brave, if sometimes foolish.’ Liam looked over at her and gave a helpless shrug. ‘And they say there’s no fool like a fool in love.’
Eileen sighed. ‘Except the fools who help those who are.’
Kieran checked the watch again, thinking it was nice to hold the time for a change. Like he was holding fate in his hands. It was almost three. Perfect. He clicked it shut and wrapped it carefully, stuffing it in his bag and tiptoeing his way out. The letter on the table would tell his family that he would meet them in port at midday when the ship was due to sail and to take his things on board. They were all packed on the back of the cart, along with everything else the Clancys were taking with them, and Mr Leary would return the dray along with the horse once he’d waved them off.
There was only one thing left to do and it was the most dangerous part of the plan of course: getting Maeve to Kilrush. He hoped she’d made it to the bridge with her father’s horse and hurried his steps.
It was pitch black as he arrived and he trod carefully now, aware she could have been seen or caught.
‘Maeve?’ he whispered and a figure came out of the shadows.
‘Kieran,’ she said, rushing to him, and he held her for a relieved moment.
‘All ready, my love?’ he said and she nodded, her eyes filled with apprehension. He kissed her, putting what assurance he could into the act, and she relaxed a little in his arms. ‘Let’s go.’ Kieran mounted the steed and pulled her up behind him, instantly glad of her warmth and form at his back. The stallion’s name was Midnight and he was a fine animal; Kieran just hoped he wouldn’t be caught as a horse-thief as well this night. Woman-thief would be bad enough.
They rode swiftly, putting distance between the past and the future with every mile, and Kieran urged Midnight on, conscious that he needed to meet the man from the pawnshop at dawn to get the cash, pay for Maeve’s passage and get to the church on time for their nuptials. Quite a heady schedule.
The moon shone brightly above as it danced through the clouds and Kieran was grateful for its pale light. A lame horse was the last thing they needed now. On and on they went, streaking along the road, the wind sharp against their cheeks, the bite of the last Irish spring night they would ever know cutting through their clothes as they made their escape.
Then finally they could smell the sea salt: Kilrush was there at last. Kieran slowed Midnight to a walk as they entered the port town, mindful of drawing any attention to themselves as they clopped along the shadowed streets towards the pawn shop where the sale would take place. It was eerily quiet, save the lash of the sea that pushed and pulled like a restless animal against the docks, and Kieran had every sense on alert as he drew up near some stables and lifted Maeve down.
‘You need to stay well out of sight,’ he said, checking the watch. ‘Don’t worry, we’ve half an hour yet. I’ll wait with you.’ He took her to the stall he’d paid for last week where her travel trunk was well-hidden and tethered Midnight before settling her on a hay bale with a blanket to wait. ‘Are you too cold?’ he asked solicitously, drawing her close and kissing her forehead.
She shook her head. ‘Not really.’
Kieran kissed her mouth then and she kissed him back with an eagerness that matched his own. ‘Not much longer, my girl.’
Checking the watch again he saw it was time to make his sale and he tasted her lips once more before moving off. It was freezing near the shop, the wind that whipped off the water bitterly cold, and Kieran willed the man to come as the faint light of dawn crept over the horizon. Fortunately, he arrived, right on time, and Kieran went into the shop, fetching the sum he’d been promised before exiting. So far so good.
H
e reached the stables once more and hurried over to Maeve, puzzled to find her crying, her body pressed against the wall.
‘I’m sorry, Kieran,’ she managed, but he didn’t hear any more. He couldn’t see anything either, only the blur of bodies and the flash of a white cane. Then a sudden terrifying void of pain-filled pitch black.
Liam was getting worried, more and more so with every passing minute as they searched every street and corner for Kieran. The sun had been up a good few hours by now and the situation was moving on towards critical. Kieran had left a note saying he’d meet them at the ship but Liam and Eileen knew the chances of him turning up on time, let alone unharmed, were greatly diminishing. Not now that they’d seen Maeve O’Shannassey being led out of town by her father in Lord Whitely’s carriage, the family horse in tow. If she’d been caught it was highly likely Kieran had been too.
Liam cursed his decision to follow Kieran at a distance on their neighbour’s mare, knowing that if he hadn’t lost sight of his brother due to the O’Shannasseys’ far superior mount he might have prevented this from happening.
‘Kieran,’ Eileen called desperately. They’d checked the gaol; they’d even checked the morgue, but he was nowhere to be found. And the boat that promised them all a better life was sailing in half an hour’s time. Liam knew he wouldn’t get on it without Kieran; he could never leave without finding his brother first, no matter what the cost.
‘I tried the shipping office,’ Rory said, running towards them, panting. ‘They’ve not seen him.’
‘Did you try the docks?’ Eileen asked, her voice tight with worry.
‘Aye. Not there either.’
‘Did you try beneath them?’ Liam said and three pairs of terrified eyes collided.
‘I’m coming too…’ Eileen said.
‘No, we have to get back to the children. They need to get on board,’ Rory said.
‘Mr Leary…’
‘Has done enough.’
Eileen looked mutinously at her husband before her shoulders slumped. ‘Will…will we still go?’
In a Great Southern Land Page 3
