“She’d choose me.”
Mr. Shanahan didn’t respond immediately. “Very well. Let’s bring her down and ask her which man she prefers, you or Kiernan. If she wants Kiernan, then you leave her and go on your way.”
“Fine,” Shaw stated, almost as if he already knew who she’d choose—him.
But could she? She shook her head. Ach no, she never could, not even for a wee minute.
Mr. Shanahan called out an order to one of the maids. Footsteps hustled down the hallway toward the back servants’ stairway.
Before anyone opened the door and happened to see her standing there in the darkness, Alannah ducked into one of her hiding spots behind the big potted plants—the place she used from time to time during the day when she took a reading break.
With the large fern leaves hanging down over her, she slid the wicker chair in position to cover her the rest of the way. It was difficult enough for someone to see her there during the daylight. She guessed it would be harder in the darkness, even by lantern light.
As she huddled low, her heart thudded so loudly, she feared it would give her away.
She waited tensely for someone to step outside and call her name, but as the moments passed, the door remained closed. Worry continued to beat a steady tempo against her chest. All the while, her mind scrambled to find a solution to the conflict with the Farrell gang. Was there a way to keep those she loved safe?
Those she loved.
A sweet but piercing ache sliced through her. Oh aye, she loved Kiernan. She could deny it all she wanted, but she’d been falling in love with him since he’d helped her find shelter at his sister’s home.
He’d been so kind and considerate from the first moment she’d met him. And his concern for her the night of the fire in St. Louis—her pulse always raced whenever she thought of how he’d acted. He’d come stomping into the O’Briens’ house calling for her, his voice frantic.
She’d been in the dining room packing valuables for the O’Briens to save from the fire. When she stepped into the hallway and Kiernan’s eyes landed upon her, the relief in his expression had been so unexpected that she had the wildest desire to rush to him and bury her face against his chest.
Of course at the time, she’d been embarrassed by the strength of her desire for Kiernan, had known it was inappropriate to be thinking of him so informally. But as he stalked down the hallway toward her, all brawny and handsome and intense, she hadn’t been able to resist him when he scooped her up and carried her through the house, out the back door, and directly to the waiting carriage.
That was the trouble with their match. He was still very much irresistible. Which was why she’d kissed him.
She let her fingers linger over her lips, the memory of Kiernan’s mouth upon hers earlier in the day. He’d kissed her as if she was the most precious thing he’d ever touched. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. The kiss impacted him just as it had her. She couldn’t forget that he’d even met with his parents and convinced them to agree to the match with her.
A man’s call resounded from the side of the house nearby. “I’ll check the kitchen and the other buildings. You look around the grounds.”
It was Shaw and Charlie. They’d apparently moved their search outside.
Maybe she should have left while she could still make her escape. Even though she was mostly hidden behind the plant and chair on the porch, if they examined the area thoroughly, they might spot her.
“If she really did leave,” Charlie called, “my guess is she went to the brickyard.”
Rays of light began to penetrate the darkness of the backyard, and a moment later, the two men, each carrying a lantern, stepped around the house. One of them made his way across the yard toward the summer kitchen. The other veered near the veranda, holding his lantern low and shining it underneath the porch.
She tried to scoot farther behind the plant and chair. There was a crack between the two, and if the light hit her just right, he’d probably see her face or possibly her hair.
The light bobbed closer.
She scrunched her eyes closed, as if somehow that couldkeep her hidden. All she could do was pray fervently that Charlie wouldn’t decide to come up on the veranda.
At the squeak of the back door, her eyes shot open. More light spilled outside, which was not what she needed.
“You’re trespassing, Mr. Farrell!” Mr. Shanahan stepped outside. “I suggest you be moving on your way if you don’t want to make more trouble for yourself.”
“If you’ve got nothing to hide,” came Shaw’s response by the summer kitchen, “then you won’t mind us taking a look.”
Mr. Shanahan started to say something else, but a woman’s voice cut him off. “’Tis alright, Da.” Zaira. She’d followed Mr. Shanahan out onto the porch. “Alannah went to her room and got her cloak the moment she heard about the attack at the brickyard. She’s probably halfway there by now.”
“They have no right to take her.” Mr. Shanahan’s reply was low and angry. “She’s Kiernan’s.”
Alannah hugged her arms around herself more tightly. Under any other circumstance, Mr. Shanahan’s words would have warmed her. But at the moment, all she could think about was figuring out how to get Shaw and Charlie to leave without harming any of this dear family and their property.
