“Aye, silly. Today in the meeting with Mam and Da. He wants to marry you and doesn’t plan to let them change his mind.”
Alannah’s thoughts whirled again with all the things she’d overheard.“She’s the only one I can truly be myself with, and she’s genuine with me in return. She’s my equal ... in fact, she’s better than me.”
Zaira was right. He’d said he wouldn’t be swayed from marrying her, that he was determined to win her.
But that was precisely the trouble. He might have this momentary attraction to her, think he wanted to marry her, believe they were right for each other, but ultimately, she would do him more harm than good.
“Do you care about him too?” Zaira’s tone wasn’t pushy or even nosy.
Alannah hesitated. Did she dare admit she liked Kiernan so much that at times the desire scared her?
She swallowed the reservations holding her back and nodded. “Aye, I’ve never cared about a man the way I do for Kiernan.”
Zaira gave a bounce and a clap. “I knew it!”
“But I can’t have him, Zaira,” Alannah quickly protested. “I’m not the right woman for him.”
“Who says?”
“Everyone.”
“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about the two of you.”
“But it does. And I’ll only cause embarrassment to him and your family.”
Zaira reached for Alannah’s hand and dragged her to the bed beside her. As Alannah sank into the mattress, Zaira laid her head on Alannah’s shoulder in a sisterly way—or at least as sisterly as Alannah had imagined since she’d never had one.
“You’re a wonderful person, Alannah. And people will see that the same way Kiernan has. The same way I have. Eventually no one will think about all the rumors and how you and Kiernan met. All that will matter is that you’re together.”
If only that were true. But nothing ever seemed to work out in her life so perfectly. God didn’t look with favor upon her the way He did others.
Besides, even if Kiernan cared about her, she had to do what was best for him. And the best thing was for him to havea woman who could help him succeed in life, especially in giving him a dowry that would help him with his brickyard.
Before she could formulate a response, the pounding of hooves resounded in the lane coming toward the front of the house. It was a pounding so furious that the bearer could only be bringing bad news.
Zaira sat up, and Alannah did too.
What could it be? Had something happened to Riley and Finola? Or perhaps there was news of Sullivan and Enya. What if one of them had succumbed to the cholera?
Alannah grasped Zaira’s hand at the same time the young woman clasped hers, as if they’d both concluded the same thing at the same time.
They remained stiff and unmoving on the edge of the bed until the horse halted. A moment later, footsteps thudded up the stairs, across the veranda, to the front door, and a rapid pounding reverberated through the house.
Responding footsteps came from the hallway outside Zaira’s room, probably Kiernan’s or his da’s.
Zaira scrambled off the bed and crossed to the door. She opened it a crack and peeked out.
“Mr. Shanahan?” a man shouted from outside. “You’ve got to come right away.”
The footsteps on the interior stairway leading down to the entryway hastened.
“It’s urgent!” the man called. “The Farrell gang is at the brickyard causing havoc.”
Alannah jumped up now, too, and gasped. The Farrell gang? There was only one reason the Farrell gang would be threatening the brickyard. And it was because of Torin.Shaw was probably hunting for him and hoping to destroy him.
Zaira threw open the door the rest of the way and headed out into the hallway. Alannah followed, her heart pounding.
The house door banged open, and the voices resounded throughout the entryway, hurried and grave.
