Liam stood in the doorway, his hat missing and his hair askew. He stumbled slightly as he took a step.
“Liam,” Deirdre said with a sigh. “You know this isn’t helping—”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Liam wasn’t drunk.
And he wasn’t alone.
Chapter Twenty-one
DESPITE THE SERIOUSNESSof the situation, Jeremiah had to admit he was happy to be under the same roof as Deirdre that night, even if they would be sleeping in a stable.
He whistled while he finished up his work for the evening. At least no customers had come calling within the last hour. He was glad the livery was doing well, but it made it awfully hard to accomplish the chores that had to be done.
It wasn’t until he had gone out back to wash up that he noticed how late it was. The sun had set some time ago, but that was to be expected this time of year. And yet, it felt later than usual for Deirdre to be arriving with supper.
Once he dried off his hands, he pulled out his pocketwatch. It was going on eight o’clock. Definitely later than normal, but perhaps she had chosen something that required a longer time to cook. Or maybe she was talking some sense into her brother.
Jeremiah set to work finding the second cot and setting it out so they would both have somewhere to sleep that night. He cleaned up the room, and then went to tidy the table near the front door.
When the minutes ticked nearer to nine o’clock, his anticipation turned to worry. He looked around the livery, trying to decide what to do. He couldn’t leave the stable unattended for too long, but he needed to see about Deirdre.
Mind made up, he exited through the rear of the stable and hoped Clara was in a good enough state to allow Roman to watch the place for a few minutes. Hopefully, he’d just find Deirdre deep in conversation with her brother, and they’d quickly be on their way back here, food in hand.
And ready to finally spend some time together.
