To Tempt an Irish Rogue

by Kaitlin O'Riley

  Gerald desperately wanted another whiskey. The pain in his chest increased to the point he could barely speak. “I’m sorry . . .”

  Paulette Hamilton rose from where she had been sitting on the sofa and moved to Declan’s side. He placed his arm protectively around her shoulder.

  Sebastian Woods knocked on the door to the adjoining room and called, “You can bring Mrs. O’Rourke in now.”

  One of the burliest Cashelmore footmen entered the study, escorting a very reluctant Alice. His wife was absolutely furious.

  “How dare you treat me this way?” she demanded angrily, until she saw Gerald sitting there, blubbering like a baby. Then she rolled her eyes at him in abject disgust. “Oh, dear God in heaven. You’ve told them everything, haven’t you?”

  Gerald hadn’t, but he knew they knew. It was over. He and Alice had lost everything they’d planned for so carefully.

  “Have a seat, Mrs. O’Rourke,” Sebastian Woods said, rather obligingly. “We’ve just had a very interesting talk with your husband.”

  Alice flounced to the sofa recently vacated by Mara and Mrs. Martin. She crossed her arms and began tapping her foot with impatience. “Well, what is it you need me for then?”

  “We have a few questions for you,” Sebastian Woods answered, eyeing her critically. “Did you know of your husband’s plan to set the house on fire?”

  “Yes, of course. Do you think he thought of it on his own?” She laughed in derision.

  Great tears spilled down Gerald’s cheeks at his wife’s cruel words.

  Mr. Woods continued to question Alice. “Were you there that night as well?”

  “No, I wasn’t,” she snapped. “Had I been there it would have been done correctly. None of them would have survived.”

  Gerald sobbed aloud as he sensed Alice’s utter contempt for him.

  Sebastian Woods continued his questions. “Who sent the letters to Miss Hamilton and Lord Cashelmore?”

  Alice shot an angry glance in Gerald’s direction. “We both did. We had a man in London, keeping an eye on Declan. We wanted him to come back to Ireland to be tossed into prison or flee the country for good. We were hoping the letters would scare him into doing one or the other, but they didn’t seem to do much but break up their little romance.” Alice cast a disparaging glance at Declan and Miss Hamilton.

  “I’ll need the name of your man in London,” Mr. Woods said.

  “Jesus, leave him out of it, will you? He’s my little brother and he was only doing me a favor,” Alice said, bristling with irritation. “I don’t want him going back to gaol!”

  “Well, your brother faces some charges in this case as well,” the tall solicitor stated with satisfaction. “He might have to go back to gaol. As will you.”

  Declan added, “We figured out it was you sending the letters because Paulette said the day she came to Cashelmore, you knew about her and me, and I had never told a single soul about my friendship with Miss Hamilton.”

  Gerald sobbed, unable to look at Declan or Alice for the shame that consumed him.

  “Gerald, after all you said to us about Declan and you were the one who killed our sister?” Ellen Ryan Hanlon suddenly blurted out, eyeing him with confusion.

  “You made us believe from the start that it was Declan’s fault!” Deirdre Ryan Hollingsworth echoed, wringing her hands with worry.

  Gerald could say nothing in his defense. He merely sobbed louder and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

  “I don’t understand how this happened!” Ellen wailed in distress.

  Still confused, Deirdre asked, “But Declan, who are these people? Who is this woman?”

  “Paulette Hamilton is the woman I love,” Declan announced to the room. “And this beautiful woman, unlike everyone else who supposedly knew and loved me, believed me when I said I had nothing to do with Margaret’s death.”

  Placing his hands over his face, Gerald sobbed uncontrollably.

  Chapter 32

  Wedding

  Papa was marrying Miss Hamilton!

  Mara was so excited she had trouble standing still, even though Mrs. Martin had instructed her very carefully about how she was to behave in the chapel. Mara rocked from one foot to another, wearing the pretty, white ruffled-lace dress they had just purchased for her in a fancy Dublin shop. Filled with pride at being a part of the wedding, Mara tried to hold still to be the little angel Papa said she looked like in her new dress. But she was just so joyful because she knew that Miss Hamilton made Papa happy and besides, she loved Miss Hamilton, too.

  Miss Hamilton was kind and thoughtful and never cross with her, and she made Papa’s eyes smile again. Now she would get to go to the magical bookshop whenever she wanted to and she would always be able to play with Sara Fleming. Tomorrow they were all going back to London on a grand ship. Sara said it was her father’s ship and that she and Mara would be able to play together for the whole journey!

  As they waited for the wedding to start, Mara stood holding Papa’s hand in the little chapel. A nervous flutter raced through her when she saw everyone seated in the pews looking at her. Papa said it was a small, private gathering but Mara thought there were still a lot of people there watching them in the chapel. Mrs. Martin grinned at her with pride. She had never seen Mrs. Martin dressed so fancy before and wearing a little hat with a feather, too! Her best friend, Sara Fleming, giggled at her and stuck out her tongue only to get scolded by her mother. As soon as they were married Sara would be her cousin! That made her excited, too. And Mara had already been instructed to call Sara’s parents Aunt Juliette and Uncle Harrison. Mara marveled at the prospect of having an aunt and uncle who did not frighten her.

  Her eyes glanced at her other aunts, Deirdre and Ellen, who were there in the chapel as well, still dressed in dark black with serious faces. They usually frightened Mara with their harsh words and strict manners. They were quite different from Aunt Juliette, who was high-spirited and always smiling. Miss Hamilton told her she had other sisters, too, who would also be her aunts and Mara would get to meet them again when they returned to London. Mara couldn’t wait to go back to the grand house and play in the nursery with Sara, Phillip, and Simon once more. She now had a big family!

  Just then a lady seated at the harp in the back of the chapel began playing softly and everyone stood up. Papa grinned at Mara and gave her hand a little squeeze. Mara felt a bubble of excitement in her chest.

  Then Miss Hamilton entered the chapel, on the arm of that nice Lord Eddington, who gave her some peppermint sticks yesterday. Oh, but Miss Hamilton looked so beautiful! Mara couldn’t help the little gasp that escaped her at the sight. Miss Hamilton’s long gown was white silk with a few ribbons cascading down the back and her blond hair was atop her head, adorned with a crown of white roses. Her face glowed with happiness. Mara thought she looked just like a fairy-tale princess, like the one in the Sleeping Beauty storybook she had. Miss Hamilton smiled brightly at Papa as she walked down the aisle toward them. Then her eyes met Mara’s and she smiled again, and Mara felt warm inside.

  When they reached the altar, Lord Eddington kissed Miss Hamilton’s cheek and moved to sit in the pew with the Flemings. Miss Hamilton then took Mara’s other hand as Mara stood between her and Papa. The chaplain began talking. He was quite old and had no hair on his head. It seemed as if he talked for a very long time, going on and on about love and something called “holy matrimony.”

  Mara held very still, like a good girl, but she found it very hard to listen and her thoughts drifted.

  Last night, Mara, Papa, and Miss Hamilton had a long talk together. She was glad because Papa said that now Mara could call Miss Hamilton “Mama.” She missed her own mother very much. But since her mother had gone away, it would be good to have another mother to look after her again, especially one as wonderful as Miss Hamilton. She wanted a new mother and if she had to pick anyone in the whole wide world to be her mother, it would be Miss Hamilton.

  Papa also explaine
d to her that Uncle Gerald was going away, because he started the terrible fire. Mara felt sad to think of Uncle Gerald. She didn’t understand why he would do such a dreadful thing. He’d always been kind to her, until the night of the fire, when he was angry with her, but Mara hadn’t meant to be a bad girl by getting out of bed that night. She’d just had a bad dream and wanted to see Mama.

  But Papa also told her she didn’t ever have to think about the fire again. Mara liked that idea best of all. Those memories were becoming fuzzier and more faded and that suited her just fine.

  She had two people she loved best in the world right there beside her now.

  Finally the old chaplain stopped talking and Papa and Miss Hamilton kissed each other. Mara giggled a little. She tried not to but she couldn’t help it. Then they both leaned down and hugged her before Papa lifted her up in his arms. He carried her with them to a small room behind the altar where Papa and Miss Hamilton used ink pens to sign some papers with the chaplain. When they were done, they kissed each other again. And Mara couldn’t help but giggle once more.

  Then Papa asked Mara, “So, what did you think of your first wedding, darlin’?”

  She smiled at him. “Oh, it was grand! And now I have a new mama.”

  “Good,” he said, giving her a squeeze. “Because I thought it was grand, too.”

  She like that Papa was so happy. Mara knew how glad it made him that she was talking again, too. She liked talking again, too. It only felt the tiniest bit strange to talk aloud after being silent for so long.

  Miss Hamilton took her aside and put her arm around Mara. Miss Hamilton always smelled like a flower garden. “I’m so happy to marry your father, Mara,” she said in her soft voice. “And the most wonderful part of all is that I get to have the best daughter in the world, too. I know we talked about it last night, but you can call me Mama or Paulette.”

  “I want to call you Mama.”

  “That touches my heart.” Miss Hamilton’s eyes filled with tears, but she looked happy, placing a kiss on Mara’s cheek. “You are a very sweet little girl.”

  “Can I choose any book I want?” Mara asked softly.

  Miss Hamilton laughed prettily, wiping her eyes. “Yes, of course, and you can have as many books as you like.”

  “I feel bad because my toy book with the dancing bear broke.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, but I can get you another one. You can even help me choose children’s books to buy for the store. Would you like that, Mara?”

  “Oh, yes!” Mara nodded eagerly. It would be great fun to be in the bookshop all the time and help Miss Hamilton, her new mother.

  Papa came to where Mara sat with Miss Hamilton. “Now I have the great honor of taking the loveliest ladies in Dublin to our wedding breakfast.”

  Mara giggled in delight and gave a kiss to Papa and her new mother. Not only were they having a celebration today and she was allowed to have two pieces of cake, but also tomorrow they were all sailing to London together!

  Mara couldn’t help but think that it was just like the happy endings in her book of fairy tales.

  Chapter 33

  Homecoming

  “So, you’re the one,” Lucien Sinclair, the Marquis of Stancliff, said as he shook Declan’s hand in greeting.

  Paulette watched in amusement as Declan finally met her brother-in-law. Thrilled to show her handsome new husband and stepdaughter to her family, she beamed with happiness when they arrived at Devon House. In celebration of her marriage to Declan, Colette hosted a wonderful party in their honor.

  Declan smiled at Lucien with a slight nod of his head. “Yes, and so it would seem.”

  “You had us all worried there for a while,” Lucien continued to say.

  “Not half as worried as I was,” Declan responded. “And I thank you for all that you did to help my case.”

  “I wouldn’t have done anything less for my sister-in-law,” Lucien said, patting Paulette’s shoulder.

  “I’m just happy that she’s married,” Yvette added with an impish grin. “I was afraid she would never find a husband.”

  Declan chuckled at the youngest Hamilton sister. “Well, I suppose she more than made up for that now, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, for now she has a new little family!” Yvette exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice and added, “And if I hadn’t become involved and told Jeffrey, Paulette might be on her way to America!”

  “I wasn’t really going to go!” Paulette protested.

  Declan gave Yvette a hug. “Then I must thank you, Yvette, for helping Paulette to see the sense in marrying me.”

  “I’m happy someone recognizes my good intentions!” Yvette quipped.

  Returning to London with Declan’s name finally cleared for good and Mara speaking again, Paulette knew they could put the past behind them and move forward with their lives. Although the events of the last few weeks had been more than a little overwhelming, Paulette welcomed the change from a young woman working in a bookshop to the wife of an earl, the mother of a four-year-old daughter, and a mother-to-be with a baby on the way.

  Happy to have her family around her, sharing in the joy of her own new little family, the only thing left for Paulette to do now was to apprise her mother of her impending condition. With a heavy heart she crossed the room to where her mother sat in an alcove of the parlor.

  “How could you marry someone I had only met once before? How could you marry without me there with you? How could you not tell me? Comment ne pouvais-tu ne pas me le dire?” her mother demanded to know, a look of hurt on her face. “How could my daughter marry without telling her mother first? I ask you! It breaks my heart that you would rush off and not tell me anything.”

  “There is a very good reason for that, Maman,” Paulette attempted to explain as she sat beside her. She had dreaded this moment since she had last visited her mother in Brighton and learned the truth of her condition.

  “I should love to hear it.” Her mother gave her appointed look. “I would love to know how this marriage came to be. Explain it to me please. S’il te plaît, explique-moi. J’aimerais entendre chaque mot. Why was I not part of this?”

  Paulette hesitated briefly then just blurted it out. “I’m going to have a baby in the spring, so Declan and I thought it best to marry as soon as possible.”

  Paulette then braced herself for the expected emotional outburst from her mother, demanding to know how Paulette could have let such a thing occur, how she should know better, what a complete disgrace she was to the family, and how Lord Cashelmore could not be any kind of gentleman to allow this to happen to her daughter. Her mother would probably feel faint from the shock and need to lie down.

  Instead her mother stared at her for a moment or two, her pale blue eyes looking intently into hers. Then Genevieve La Brecque Hamilton did a most astonishing thing. She placed her hand over Paulette’s hand and said most calmly, “Yes, then that was the wisest course of action, ma petite. That was a very wise decision. C’était une bonne decision à prendre. Oui, vraiment, une bonne décision.”

  “Maman?” Paulette managed to ask in surprise.

  “No. Say no more. I understand completely. Do not explain. Il n’est pas nécessaire d’en dire plus. It is clear that you love him, and now you are married. I am happy to have another beautiful grandchild on the way. Et un autre beau petit-enfant en route.”

  “I love you, Maman. Thank you for understanding.” Pleasantly surprised by her mother’s reaction to her news, Paulette relaxed a little.

  “I understand all too well. Do not tell your sisters. Never tell them. Ne le dis à personne. C’était pareil entre ton père et moi. But it was the same situation with your father and me. We too had to marry quickly.”

  Paulette’s jaw dropped.

  “Close your mouth. Je comprends tout à fait, ma chérie. It is not a new story and many a marriage has begun that way. C’est la vie. Although I have a feeling you shall be happier in your marriage than I was. Je t’aime
.” Her mother kissed her forehead, then sat up straight.

  Startled by her mother’s admission, Paulette was too shocked to say anything else. She never could have imagined such a thing of her father and mother!

  “Now,” her mother commanded, “bring him here to me.”

  At her mother’s request, Paulette caught the attention of her new husband, who was on the other side of the room talking with her brothers-in-law and Jeffrey Eddington. Five very charming and handsome men stood there talking as if they were old friends. And with the exception of Declan, they all were. Declan and Jeffrey were beginning to move beyond their mutual distrust and become friends and already Declan seemed a part of them, and Paulette’s heart swelled with pride at the sight. Her husband was the handsomest by far, looking very tall and broad, his green eyes flashing with merriment as Jeffrey told some joke. She knew he would fit in with her family and they would grow to love him for his own sake, not simply because she loved him.

  As the men in her life laughed together, Declan returned her gaze and Paulette signaled for him to come join her. With a smile, Declan excused himself from the group and came to Paulette’s side to face her mother.

  Genevieve looked him up and down. “So Lord Cashelmore, you are the one who has swept my sensible and serious daughter off her feet. Yes, I can see why that would happen. Vous êtes vous-même un belhomme. Tout est clair à present. You are quite handsome. Ah, I understand everything now.”

  To Paulette’s surprise, Declan’s face grew slightly red at her mother’s words. Her husband was blushing and did not know how to answer her.

  Genevieve continued, disregarding her son-in-law’s embarrassment. “But you must be good to her. Occupez-vous bien de ma fille. You must take very good care of my daughter.”

  Declan said, “I intend to do nothing but take good care of her, Mrs. Hamilton.”

  Genevieve nodded her head in approval and favored Declan with a smile and motioned to Paulette. “All of my daughters are special, Lord Cashelmore, but this one, she is a treasure. You are lucky to have her. Elle est sensa-tionnelle. She is magnificent.”