Atticus smiled, and kept his gaze upon her, for truly, there was nothing else thatcouldcapture his attention.
***
Fallon shifted from one foot to the other, uneasy under that steady regard. She resisted the urge to scrub a hand over her face to make sure there wasn’t a smudge of dirt that made him stare as he did, but then, she would be lying if she wasn’t guilty of the same. With the sun shining on hair thatheld analmost blue-black hue, his onyx eyes catching the light and reflecting the same, he was quite spectacular to look at.
“Hmm. What’s this?”
Fallon glanced to where Atticus had bent down to pick something upfrom the ground. When she saw the portrait of her mother, she put her hand in her pocket and realized that there was a hole inside that she hadn’tevenknown about. Luckily she hadn’t lost theonething that tied her to part of her past.
Hedidn’t immediately hand it over, butstudied the picture in the small, oval frame.“Is this you?”
“No. It’s my mother.”
“Indeed.”Hepeered more closely. “Ah.Icansee the difference now, but the resemblance is…remarkable,” he murmured.He glanced at her, and for a brief instant, shethought she saw a fleetinghintof recognition pass before his eyes before it was quickly veiled.
As he handed the pictureto her,hekept that same unnerving focus on her face. Their fingers brushed as she took theitem, sending waves of fire licking across her skin. “She was a very beautiful woman.”
“Thank you.” She tucked thesmall portrait away in herreticule and tied the strings together firmly.“Shall we rejoin Eliza and Brendan?”
He offered his arm to her, and for a time they walked in silence. Wishing to turn the subject to something of import, she asked, “Do you know when theAlgondawill be in port next?”
“I’m not sure,” he returned noncommittally.
“For someone who relies on the cargo he is delivering to make a wage, I would think it would be rather important to keep track of when he might be expected,” she said curiously.
“I do business with several ship captains other thanMr. Flannery. Besides, I’veknownhim for some time. I trust him implicitly to arrive when I need him to.” He turned to her. “Why do you ask?”
“I fearit’sa personal matter.”
His brows drew together. “I see.”
They said no more as they topped a hill and saw Brendan and Eliza sitting together rather cozily. While Fallon had feared of beingin the wayearlier, now she found that thecouple’scontinued affection for one another made her feel rather awkward when it came to being next to Mr. Clare,for they would never have the same sort of close relationship that her cousin shared with her future husband.
However,after they had joined Eliza and Brendan,it wasn’t long beforeFallondiscovered Mr. Clare had a talent for storytelling and some of the tales he shared about his life on the sea as a privateer soon had them all laughing, includingherself, so thatby the end of theouting, she had relaxed and actually began to enjoythe company, Atticus Clare included.
It waslate afternoonbefore everything was packed back up and they began their journey to Shawsea Hall. Thankfully, Brendan didn’t drive quite as recklesslyon the return trip, but when Fallon saw her aunt standing outside with Martina Durmor, her stomachstilldropped to her feet. Immediately, the conversationshe’d had with her aunt about staying away from Mr. Clarebegan spinning in her mind. As Atticus assisted her down, the joy she’d feltearlierabruptly burst like a popped balloon.
As Brendan greeted the two older women with a charm that came naturally, Atticus did the same, although he was a bit more reserved. And it was obvious, to Fallon at least, that thetwo matronsweren’t nearly as receptive to himeither.
“I’m surprised Mrs. Stuart isn’t with you,” Francine noted.
“She had a prior engagement,” Atticus returned smoothly. “And since I was already at Hayes Manor this morning, I decided to make a nuisance of myself for the rest of the day.”
“Oh, nonsense.” Eliza smacked him playfully on the arm. “You regaled us with quite some amusing swashbuckling tales, you rapscallion!”
He bowed slightly to her. “It is my continual goal to please those around me.”
Eliza laughed, but Fallon’s breath caught as he turned and looked directly at her, as if conveyingsome sort ofa secret messagemeant only for her.
“Miss O’Malley. Ishould like to have a private word with you.”
Fallon blinked, the spell broken as Martina addressed her. “Of course.”
She obediently followed the other woman inside. Once they were in the parlor, she turned to her with a pinched expression. “I am confident that my son shall soon make you an offer of marriage which would make your aunt very happy, butnot if you intend to make a fool of him by cavorting with Mr. Clare who has a mistress in town. Am I unclear in any way?”
Fallon noted that she didn’t claim the union would makeherhappy as well, but she didn’t remark upon it as she shook her head. She found that some battles were easier to fight than others, even if her heart might be bitter because of hercurrentsituation. “I understand perfectly.”
Shenodded. “I thought you might. Your aunt has done a lot for you since you arrived. The thing to do would be to repay that kindness by making a good match. I know you wouldn’t want to disappoint her.”
