She held her breath and didn’t move. She hadn’t welcomed Shaw’s kiss, hadn’t wanted him putting even a finger upon her.
But she couldn’t deny that she’d liked Kiernan’s brief touch and the closeness. There was also no denying that she was attracted to him. He was a magnetic man and had been from the moment she’d met him.
Yet, where could such kissing lead?
Of course, she wasn’t naive. Wealthy gentlemen sometimes had dalliances with their maids. Everyone in service knew it happened. Yet Kiernan wasn’t like that. She hadn’t known him long, but it had been long enough to recognize he was a good man. He’d never expected favors in exchange for getting her the job at his sister’s. He wouldn’t expect anything now either.
Besides, a gentleman of Kiernan’s wealth and status would never truly be interested in her. Although she hadn’t seen him with any women during his visits to the O’Briens, she’d heard his sister tease him about various women, likely the best and wealthiest of St. Louis.
Aye, sharing a kiss with him would be foolish and rash.She couldn’t let it happen now or anytime. Even though she’d exchanged a few short kisses in her life with different admirers, she wasn’t in the habit of kissing men whenever she was alone with one. She’d always wanted to save kissing for the person she intended to marry.
She sat back. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kiernan recline against his seat, too, putting a safe distance between them.
He was quiet for several moments, then spoke again. “Maybe you will be able to see Torin more often now that I’ve made him a supervisor in my new brickyard.”
Was he remembering the time when she’d cried over Torin? It had been shortly after she first started working at the O’Briens’. She and Kiernan had been talking, and she admitted how she missed spending time with her brother and how she’d never imagined that once she moved to America she wouldn’t be with him.
Hopefully, Kiernan didn’t remember that incident. She normally didn’t get so emotional around strangers.
“He’s no longer working at the glass factory?” She hoped she didn’t sound too desperate.
“No, he officially starts working tomorrow at the brickyard. It’s south of Oakland by a couple of miles.”
Relief swelled inside her. “I’ll be happy he’s out in the fresh air of the countryside away from the cholera. But ’tis a long way to be walking back and forth to work, to be sure.”
“Not to worry. We’ve started construction for housing. Until then, many are staying in tents.”
“’Tis kind of you.”
He shrugged. “Torin’s a very bright worker, always fiddling around with the machines and trying to make improvements.”
“Our da was a mechanic at one of the mills in Tralee, tasked with ensuring that the machines were in working order. Torin takes after him, so.”
She wanted to ask Kiernan more about brickmaking and what that was like and why he’d chosen to start such a business, but the carriage turned off the gravel road onto a narrower dirt lane.
She recognized the tall oaks lining either side and the long grass filled with wildflowers. They’d arrived at Oakland.
She leaned against the window to view the sprawling home. She’d never seen an Italian palace, but she imagined that’s what Oakland resembled with its square tower, cornices rising from the roof, and balconies on the second floor.
The carriage rolled down the driveway, circled a small pond with a fountain in the center, then rounded toward the front of the home.
Large potted plants graced either side of the entrance at the top of a wide stairway. Long covered verandas spread out on either side, filled with elegant patio furniture and more greenery and flowers.
Towering oaks not only bordered the lane but also surrounded the home, providing plenty of shade. Beautiful flower gardens had been planted behind the house, and the woodland and meadows all around glistened in the morning sunshine.
’Twas a home unlike any Alannah had visited anywhere else, and her breath snagged just looking at it. It might not be County Kerry, but it filled her heart to see so much beauty, and she was more than a wee bit happy to be back.
“Is something amiss?” Kiernan paused in straightening his cravat.
“No. Everything is grand.”
“You sighed.”
Had she? If so, she hadn’t noticed. “I beg your pardon.”
He resumed his task of fixing his cravat. “Just making sure you’re all right.”
Was he now? “I thank you, Mr. Shanahan.”
