Fallon sat up and ignored the pounding in her head, her anger currently taking precedence over any pain. The man was as infuriating as Atticus Clare!“Howcanyou possiblyimagine Icould be a spy for England when I have alwaysdespisedeverything that the monarchy has stood for?Do you think that it pleased me to see my parents die in the faminewhen I was a child, left to fend for myself in the midst of a village quarantine?Do you believe that I rejoiced when my grandfather was killed in pursuit of Irish freedom?” She shook her dark head.“If so, I fear you are severely deranged.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “This accusation from the woman whodecided to act rashly by boarding an unknown vessel?Did you even know if it was bound for Ireland, or jump on the first one you found?”
“Of course, I did!” she snapped, resisting the urge to stamp her foot in frustration. “Besides, it wasn’t as ifIhadmuchof achoice, now did I? You never saw fit to help meas you promised,and it wasn’t as though I could rely on anyone else, so I was forced to take matters into my own hands.”
“Youwere supposed to bepatient,” he growled.
“I couldn’t wait any longer!”She clenched her fists at her sides. “Locklynwas in the process of procuring aspecial license. If I would have remainedat Shawsea Hall, Iwouldbe a married woman right now!”
At last, Fallon was relieved to see that her words had made an impact, for those dark eyesnarrowed to sparkling onyx slits. Hepushedoffthe deskand walked over to the opposite side of the room. With his hands on his hipsand his back rigid, he muttered,“He wasn’t supposed to act so quickly.”
Fallon snorted. “Are you telling me, or him, becauseI suppose he didn’t receive your request that he take his time!” She crossed her armsand glared at his backside. To hear him speak, it wasasifall of this washerfault. As if she’d ever had any sort ofcontrol over any of it!
Slowly, he returned that obsidian gaze to her. “You’re right,” he said softly. “I should have returnedfor youbefore now, butI was reluctant for you to return to Irelandwhere the danger is worse than ever before.” He heaved a sigh. “I just thought I would have more… time.”
Some of Fallon’s anger faded with his words. He almost sounded… defeated.
“Iregret that you feelas if Ifailed you, but I intend to remedy that.”
Falloncouldn’t even breathe, the air in the room was so thick with tension.And hope.“Whatdo youmean?”
“Ishall personallytake you to Carraroeto Father O’Leary.”
The joy that had bloomed in her chest abruptly crashed when she realized what he’d said. “What? No, you can’t go ontoIrish soil! The soldiers—!”
“I’m a man of my word, Miss O’Malley. A man of honor, even if you aren’t inclined to believe it.” He started for the door, but paused at the last moment and said over his shoulder,“You should rest.”
She held out her arm.“Wait!”
He wasalreadygone.
***
“You’re in a foul mood this morning.”
Atticus scowled at his first mate. They were sitting together in the galley and ate their breakfast in strained silence. The other crewmen had already scattered, for the moment the captain had returned, they knew a storm was brewing on the horizon that had nothing to do with the weather.
“Now isn’t the time, Flannery.”
“Why don’t you justconfesshow you feel?” The Irishman spoke as if he hadn’t even offered a silentcautionaryto leave well enough alone.
But if he wanted to start a fight, Atticus’s fists were aching to pummel something. Although, at the moment, he wasn’t sure if he wanted that person to be Sean—or himself. Fallon was angry with him, and for good reason. Neither the Raven or Atticus Clare had treated her very kindly of late. In truth, he rather felt like the scoundrel many claimed he was and like an infected wound, it was festering inside of him, threatening to burst.
“And what good would that do but cause her to feel betrayedeven more?” Atticus stood and left his half-eaten plate of food on the table. Normally, hecleaned up after himself, but he was too distracted at the moment to care about manners. He just wanted to get away from Sean and his blasted match matching.
“You could start byexplainingabout Josephine, that the reason you were always together—”
“That’s enough!” Atticus spun on his longtime friend with an angry slash of his hand through the air. His stance rigid and unyielding, he warned, “I’ve tolerated all I care to, but you are severely overstepping where you have no right.”
Those bushy, red eyebrows lowered. “I care about Fallon even if you won’t admit that you do.”
“Damn your eyes! The problem is that Idocare. Too damn much!” He shoved a hand through his hair. “There! Is that what you wanted to hear?” With an irritated growl, he paced to the other end of the galley and stared out at theonething that had ever made sense to him.
The sea.
When things had gone sour in the past or he felt stranded and alone, the open waves were his sole source of comfort. Fallon could easily become that anchor that he clung to so desperately, but the timejustwasn’t right.Who knew if it ever would be?Too many obstacles separated them from one another. She was determined toresidein Ireland, while he had business that required his attention in England. Notonlythat, but he was a wanted man and he refused to bring her down with him if he was captured.
With a heavy sigh, Atticus crossed his arms and turned back to Sean. “If you can’t understand my hesitation in telling Fallon the truth, then you are more naïve than I gave you credit for.”
