“Or you’ll wish you would have.” Kiernan didn’t wait to gauge the man’s reaction. Instead, he nudged his horse forward down the road. His back was stiff, and a part of him expected another shot to ring out, one to scare him, maybe even injure him. But after several long moments withnothing, he picked up his pace, his heart thundering with his pulse.
For as much as he wanted to shelter Alannah—and Torin—trouble was drawing closer. He just prayed he would be ready with a solution when it finally caught up to them.
13
At the firm knocking on the front door, Alannah stepped out of the dining room and into the entryway. Mrs. Shanahan, Zaira, and the boys had been gone for most of the day visiting with family friends but would be home in time for the evening meal.
The other maids had been given the afternoon off to do visiting of their own. Since Alannah had no one to visit—except Torin, which wasn’t an option—she’d stayed behind. She’d almost finished setting the table and needed to hurry back to the kitchen and help with the final preparations for the meal.
But without anyone else there to answer the knocking, Alannah hesitated.
Torin’s warning from two nights ago still rang in her head.“We got word the Farrell gang is planning to do something soon. No matter what happens to me, you need to promise to stay here and not show yourself.”
Torin wouldn’t want her to open the door, would tell herto let the person come back another day. Kiernan would probably say the same thing.
Not that she was talking to Kiernan.
The knocking resounded again, a wee bit louder. What if the person was bringing a message from Torin? Or Kiernan? Or even Mrs. Shanahan letting them know of a change of plans for the evening?
Alannah started down the hallway toward the door.
She’d open it a crack. That would be safe enough, wouldn’t it?
As she reached the door, she stopped and listened. She couldn’t hear anything on the other side except the sounds of summer—the rustling of leaves in the breeze and the buzzing of cicadas.
At the tap of footsteps retreating across the porch, Alannah quickly turned the knob and opened the door enough to see the form of a young woman with a fashionable riding dress and brown hair beneath a lovely hat. A beautiful black horse was tied loosely to the hitching post near the stairway.
It was Shelia. The woman who’d once won Kiernan’s heart. Alannah had seen her on other occasions but had never spoken with her.
Why was she visiting? Too curious to resist, Alannah swung the door wider. “May I help you?”
With one foot upon the top step, the woman halted, then turned. Alannah could understand why Kiernan had been smitten with her. Shelia was lovely in an elegant, refined way with pale skin, a slender face, and a narrow nose.
Her thin brows arched just a little, as though surprised to see Alannah—or anyone—there.
“The Shanahans will be back soon, to be sure.” Alannahwaved at one of the wicker chairs in the shade of the veranda. “You’re welcome to have a seat while you wait.”
Shelia hesitated. “Kiernan isn’t yet home?”
“No, Mr. Shanahan is gone most evenings.” Alannah had stayed in her stifling room for the past two nights to avoid him. She’d hoped that would send the message she wasn’t interested in spending any more time with him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t seemed to accept her unspoken message and had sought her out this morning in the kitchen.
She should have known Kiernan wouldn’t be so easily swayed. After all, he believed they were friends for the sake of being friends. He didn’t realize she’d offered friendship as the basis of a match that had been one-sided.
She owed him an explanation. But she wasn’t sure how she would ever be able to face him without burning up with embarrassment while she explained her mistake. She would blame Bellamy.
Shelia stepped back up on the porch. “I’d actually heard Kiernan wasn’t visiting with any of his potential matches tonight, and I was hoping to catch him—well, before the family returns.” Her cheeks flushed at her admission.
Shelia had visited only a couple of nights ago and hadn’t stayed for long. What if she hadn’t come to see the family then either? What if her sole purpose in stopping by on the previous visits had been to see Kiernan?
Something sharp pricked Alannah. The young woman was about to become engaged to Kiernan’s best friend, Liam. The party was coming soon, in about a week. Why would she be seeking Kiernan out privately so close to becoming engaged? Unless she was having second thoughts about marrying Liam and had decided she wanted Kiernan after all.
Alannah couldn’t stop from studying the woman’s face, needing to find the answer—not that it mattered. Alannah wasn’t matched with Kiernan anymore, probably never had been. Besides, with as many visits as Kiernan was having with other women, he’d likely fallen for someone else by now, or at least found a woman who would make him happy.
Ultimately, that’s what really mattered, wasn’t it? He was a good man, and Alannah only wanted him to be happy.
Shelia, on the other hand, had caused him heartache. If she started to take an interest in Kiernan again, what was to prevent her from hurting him more?
Alannah couldn’t let that happen. She shouldn’t have invited Shelia to stay, needed to get her to leave before Kiernan returned. “If you’re hoping to get him back, you’re too late.”
