Aye, it served him right! Nora had reached her now, and silently took her by the arm to walk with her out from behind the dwelling-house while Conor came striding toward them.
“Is anything amiss?”
Nora said nothing, glancing with uncertainty at Deirdre, who gestured accusingly at Liam as he came around the corner of the dwelling-house.
“He kissed me! We were supposed to be walking together and-and instead he pulled me with him where no one could see?—”
“Aye, I kissed her, O’Byrne, and I’m glad for it—and I believe my soon-to-be bride enjoyed it, too.”
“I didn’t, not at all!” Deirdre railed at him, more infuriated at that moment by Conor’s grin as he went to slap Liam on the shoulder.
“I suppose that’s one way to win her, though mayhap now you’ve hell to pay. She’s spitting mad at you?—”
“Aye, so I see. Now who’s lying, Deirdre? I’d say we would be kissing still if your aunt hadn’t come upon us.”
“Insufferable spawn!” Her face aflame, Deirdre avoided the curious glance from Nora and Conor’s widening grin as she left them to storm toward the feasting-hall.
Liam’s amused chuckling behind her making her mutter to herself every step of the way.
“By God, will he boast to the others about kissing me? Then the rest of them may want to kiss me, too—and I will not abide it, well, other than Darragh…”
That intriguing thought made Deirdre smile in spite of her indignation even as her lips still tingled and the stirringsensation of Liam’s arms around her still haunted her—no, no, she didn’t want him forever plaguing her mind!
Mayhap if she did allow Darragh to kiss her, she would forget all about Liam’s embrace and be that much closer to a decision she had never intended to make.
If she had to choose right now, Darragh O’Sullivan was the only one who had sought to discover more about her as if he truly cared what she thought, what she felt?—
“Is anything amiss, daughter?” came Ronan’s query that echoed Conor’s from moments before, but Deirdre shook her head and hoped she didn’t appear flustered even though her cheeks still felt too warm.
To her relief, Liam striding up behind her held his peace about what had transpired between them when her father shot him a quizzical look—and thankfully, Conor and Nora said nothing as well, though her aunt’s face appeared as flushed as must Deirdre’s.
Nora immediately went to stand with her husband, who stared at his wife as if he sensed something, indeed, was amiss, but she gave him a small shake of her head that seemed to quell his curiosity, for now.
“Very good, then all of your remaining suitors have had some time with you,” Ronan said as Deirdre took her place beside him, doing her best not to meet Liam’s gaze, which felt like heat upon her. “What is your next test for them?”
“A wrestling match, Father…Darragh against Cian and Brendan against Liam. The two winners will then face each other to prove who is more worthy when it comes to strategy and strength—aye, that would impress me, indeed. Do you accept this challenge?”
A chorus of nods came from three of her suitors while Liam continued to stare at her with an intensity that made her feel so unsettled, her breath quickening.
He seemed to be focused upon her mouth, which made her wonder with chagrin if her lips were swollen from their kiss?—
“O’Toole, will you join in this test?” demanded Ronan, clearly not seeing Liam’s assent along with the others’ agreement.
Now he did so with a gallant nod that made her certain he was taunting her with an imitation of Darragh’s earlier gesture, which made her grit her teeth that he would so boldly mock another suitor.
“Aye, Lord, with pleasure. Anything to impress your fair daughter…though I’m surprised she isn’t choosing to wrestle any of us herself after so zealously competing earlier?—”
“I do not wrestle against men!” Deirdre blurted out as laughter erupted around her, making her face flare all the hotter as even her father joined in with her kinsmen—once again atherexpense.
Her fists clenching, Deirdre was certain at that moment she hated Liam to embarrass her with such a ridiculous taunt, though his eyes seemed to twinkle as he smiled broadly at her.
Damn him! How could he tease her so mercilessly and still she felt her heart beating faster at the way he looked at her?
The only one who wasn’t laughing was Darragh, who gave her a sympathetic nod as if recognizing her distress—and which only endeared him more to her than she could ever have imagined possible.
She hadn’t wanted any of these men for a husband—but now he stood out above all the rest. Deirdre found herself hoping, indeed, that he would be the one to triumph as she saw that Liam had sobered, and scowled now in Darragh’s direction.
Any trace of humor gone as Ronan commanded for all of them to strip again to their trousers and bare feet so the first round of wrestling could begin. Her O’Byrne kinsmen formed a circle around the two teams of competitors that hastily obliged her father and then faced each other.
