He raised both iron gray brows in astonishment. “Me? I’ve got no complaints.” He waved to the waiter and had another beer sent to his table. “Except that I’d like to have my daughter at Ballaburn again.”
“That’s not possible. Not now. Perhaps in a few months.”
A few months, Irish thought. It might not be too late. “You’re going to stay at Petty’s then?”
“A while longer. Mr. and Mrs. Garrison have offered to rent me a room. Those are the people who have taken Kit in. Do you know anything about that, Irish?”
“Garrison.” He said the name thoughtfully. “Don’t they make shoes in a shop over on Elizabeth Street? Good work as I recall. They’ve been part of Saint Benedict’s Parish as long as I’ve been there.”
“That’s the Garrisons. But I wasn’t really referring to them. I meant about Kit finding a place with them.”
“I would assume that’s Colgan’s doing.”
“Yes, but Kit has a sponsor. Someone who helps pay for his schooling and clothing, the extra bills the Garrisons have incurred. Do you know anything about that?”
“How would I?”
Lydia sighed. “I’d thought perhaps that Nathan said something to you about it.”
“Nathan? You mean…Nathanis the child’s sponsor?”
“Your astonishment isn’t very flattering to him. Of course he’s Kit’s sponsor. I just wondered if he ever said anything to you. He kept it a secret from me.”
“My, my, my.” Irish was grinning. “Just who is this rapscallion anyway?”
Lydia related the incident in The Rocks. “Nathan told me there was nothing to be done for the child and then I stumble upon him again, clean and pressed, a brightness in his eyes that wasn’t there before, and I almost didn’t recognize him. Nathan’s responsible for giving Kit this opportunity and I would never have known if I hadn’t come back to Saint Benedict’s.”
“Why do you think he kept it to himself?” Irish asked. “He could have gained a little ground in your eyes if he had said something earlier.”
“Don’t you see? He didn’t do it to impress me.”
“He impressed the hell out of you anyway.”
“He did that a long time ago,” she said softly. She raised earnest eyes to Irish. “Don’t tell him I said that.”
Irish shook his head. “Not a word.”
Lydia hesitated, absently pushing some food around on her plate. “Nathan told me once that a murder conviction led to his transportation. Is that true?”
“As far as it goes.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nathan didn’t murder any whore. I believe that. I always have. Has he ever told you about it?”
“He only told me he hadn’t done it. I believed him, too.
Irish briefly described the murder for which Nathan was convicted. “Nath doesn’t say much about it,” he continued. “Brig told me most of what I know.”
“And Brigham? How was it that he was transported?”
“The damn fool wanted to be with his friend. Tried to come to Nathan’s rescue and ended up on the same ship with him. Later, when he was able to leave Van Dieman’s Land, he traveled to Sydney. That’s where I found him and through him, Nathan. He always made it clear that when I took him on that I was taking on his mate.”
“They’re very close then.”
Irish shrugged. “In an odd sort of way. It always struck me how Brig wanted Nathan close so he could protect him and...”
“Yes?”
