“You better be offering for her hand in marriage first.”
“I was getting to that, you dolt. I’m asking for your blessing.”
Maguire picked him up again. “Argh! What I do for my sister.”
“So does that mean you accept me as your ever-loving brother-in-law?” asked O’Reilly.
Maguire grunted.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” O’Reilly cranked his face upwards to Zach and Chen, his eyes thoughtful, giving a hint of becoming poetic for the Irish are disposed to prose. “She’s an angel with wings. Her kindness and peace are the soft flowering of the soul, and strength of character to remain ever in bloom.”
Maguire did a double take over his shoulder. “Are we talking about the same person?”
“Oh, there are times when she has a bit of a temper, but I love her for it.”
“You’re both crazy. Perhaps this match will take her temper off me.”
Zach chuckled and, to his astonishment, the grim-faced Chen cracked a smile. Maguire may be the dreaded Irishman, striking fear in the hearts of policeman, politicians, and the populace of New York…he was also Fiona’s younger brother. According to Elizabeth, he did not hold a candle to his sister’s temper. On occasion, and when inspired, Fiona who had raised the family when their parents died, lambasted him with her tongue, cutting him to shreds.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Elizabeth was escorted to the Fitzgerald drawing room where she waited for Amanda Fitzgerald. It was a massive room, elegantly appointed without the oppressiveness of the Spencer mansion. Toys were scattered about for the Fitzgeralds had several children. She tapped her finger to her lips. Homey. This was a home. Where family could laugh, tease and experience the joy of one another.
The more she observed, the sadder she became for what she wanted lay impossible. She felt like she had swallowed yeast, and the loneliness inside was festering and had doubled in size. Part of her wished she’d never met Zachary. There would have been no need to want him. No need for loving him. No need for crying over him. No need for pain and tears and heartbreak. Did his proper southern roots scorn women who had babies out of wedlock? No. She’d not go there.
How she had turned everything upside down, forward and backward. Nothing made sense. There was something more and she was going to do her damnedest to get to the root of the problem. Oh, he was attracted to her. She felt it in her bones. What on earth held him back? Why did he always withdraw? Why did he leave her in a constant state of turmoil?
She stared down at her palms as if to divine an answer. There was something more, and she was going to do her damnedest to get to the root of the problem.
Amanda Fitzgerald swooped in like a fresh summer wind.
A servant provided a tray of tea and scones and then departed. “I’m so happy you came to visit today, Elizabeth. Shawn is busy at the factory and, honestly, prying him away from that place is like wresting Heathcliff from the deathbed of the proverbial Catherine.”
“If I may ask, how did you meet? You were from the south–”
Amanda smiled, almost conspiratorial. “There was much intrigue involved. Shawn was an officer in the Union Army. He was kidnapped and held captive in Virginia by Irish thugs from New York. They starved and beat him unconscious. He was dressed in a Rebel uniform to be photographed and hanged.”
“Why photographed?”
“The Irish thug wanted control over Shawn’s sister, Catherine, and the Fitzgerald fortune by painting him as a traitor and shaming the family.”
“How did he get free?”
“My eight brothers came upon the tableau. All of them are sharpshooters. Some of the thugs met their fates, the rest scattered. In the melee, the horse under Shawn darted from beneath him. My brother shot the rope in two and Shawn hit his head on a rock. They brought him home with Shawn not having a clue who he was. I nursed him back to health, hoping he’d regain his memory. During his convalescence, we fell in love,” she said wistfully in a soft Virginia drawl.
“I imagine it might have been difficult under the watchful eyes of eight brothers.”
“And then some. All of them, except one, returned to the war. He was born with a crippled leg and unable to enlist. Despite my brother’s all-seeing presence, a very serious romanceblossomed. The regretful part occurred with the swift return of Shawn’s memory and to discover he was a Union officer entrenched behind Confederate lines. He had heard enough during his captivity with the thugs to know he had to return to save his sister, Catherine, from the Irish mob boss, Francis Mallory. Shawn departed on a dangerous journey and made it to Union lines, yet the war separated us.”
Over the brim of her teacup, Elizabeth gave a sideways smile. “Something tells me there is more to the story.”
Amanda blushed and dipped her head. “I discovered I was in the family way. I don’t know if my brothers were angrier about Shawn being a Yankee or getting their sister pregnant. The war ended a few months later, and I thought another war would begin with all eight of them charging to New York to hang him. Suddenly, a well-dressed man appeared on our porch, an attorney from New York hired to escort me to Mr. Fitzgerald. Enraged, my brothers’ weighty and forceful response was to accompany me for a shotgun wedding. The attorney had no choice in the matter.
“I was huge at six months when I landed on Shawn’s doorstep. I looked up at a huge mansion. Did Shawn work here? Was I to be hired as a maid? You see, Shawn never discussed anything about his wealth. Dreadfully exhausted from traveling, I started to cry. All I wanted to see was Shawn to make things right. My brothers started shouting. How they were going to kill the Yankee bastard. They raised their guns. The cook and kitchen staff came armed with knives and cleavers. The household servants, including the butler, came running with brooms and dust-mops. The hollering was deafening. No one knew what to do about the pandemonium.
“Then Shawn came through the door. My brothers caught him, ready to draw and quarter him. I ordered them to let him go. Shawn saw my condition, hugged me and begged myforgiveness for taking so long. I cried on his shoulder, telling him this was a nice house to be employed at. But how was I going to work as a maid with my gigantic abdomen? I also said we must apologize to the owner for our behavior. He laughed and swung me around. ‘You will never have to work a day in your life. This is to be our home for our family. I own it.’ We were married in less than an hour under the approving gazes of my brothers. Soon, I was ordered to complete bedrest. The doctor confirming I was to have twins. You couldn’t have seen a happier man than my husband.”
“That’s a lovely story.” Elizabeth cleared her throat and then looked about the room. “I didn’t come here to have tea today.”
