A few hours later, a deckhand woke Liam from his restive doze as the steamer chugged into port in Belfast. Liam thanked the Captain, disembarked, and headed home in the frosty early morning darkness. He was able to hail a taxi, taking him a few blocks away from home. He didn’t want to cause a stir and wake his late-rising parents. He walked the rest of the way, hoping upon hope that Dolly was awake.
~~~
“Wake up, Dolly,” Annie whispered. She gently shook Dolly’s shoulder.
“Uhhggh,” Dolly answered. “Do I have to?”
“Yes, darlin’. It’s Christmas Eve, the mornin’ of the soiree. We have much to do on top of our regular duties. Go take yer bath.”
“My belly hurts. I feel sick.”
“Ye’re just nervous about Liam comin’.”
Over the last week, Dolly had decorated the downstairs of the Dady mansion with their ample supply of Christmas paraphernalia. It was a labor of sheer delight. For the first time in Dolly’s life, she would be celebrating Christmas. Most of all, Liam would be home. She could hardly contain her joy, but she vacillated between that joy and her fear of Liam being forced to marry Mary Tisdale.
“Go take yer bath, Dolly,” Annie said again as she pulled on her stockings and brushed down her skirt. “Let yerself soak in the heat to calm yerself. I need yer undivided attention today. I know he’s comin’ home sometime tonight, and I’m joyous, too. Even so, I need ye fully.”
“Yes, Annie. I know ye need me, but I’m about to burst with joy. I’ll go and soak for ye.”
Dolly left the room in her nightgown with robe in hand.
~~~
Several minutes later, Liam quietly came through the kitchen door, finger on his lips to keep Annie quiet.
“Oh, dear God, ye’re home,” Annie whispered. Liam gave her a bear hug. “Why are ye so early?” she asked.
“To ruin my mother’s prodigal-son moment,” he said jokingly. He kissed Annie on the cheek.
“Dolly's drawin’ a hot bath. I told her to soak in the heat. She’s so wound up about you comin’ and yer mother wantin’ Mary Tisdale for ye.”
“I’m glad ye wrote me about it. I won’t be blind-sided.” He started for the laundry door.
Annie cleared her throat. “Yer not …”
“I am,” Liam said. “Just give a knock when ye think we’ve been in there too long. But please, give me some time, all right?”
~~~
As Dolly prepared a hot bath in the cast-iron bathtub in the laundry room, her heart soared and her belly flip-flopped. Stepping gingerly into the steaming water, she was picturing Liam on top of her, naked and hard in his urgent need for her. It roused her to know he would be home in just hours, and that they would find time to quell the urgency that had been building and building over the last four months. Perhaps tonight, here, in the laundry room, or late in Liam’s own bed, she thought. The Dadys would be leaving in the morning for their Dublin New Year’s holiday.
Dolly was given Christmas morning off by Annie, on account of working so hard the days and weeks before the soiree, so she wasn’t expected to be present in the household that morning. Liam would go downstairs to have Christmas with his parents while she slept in his bed, waiting for his return. Then Annie would go to her sister’s for a few days. Liam and Dolly had been planning this in their correspondence for the last month.
As Dolly immersed herself in the soothing, steamy water, she heard the door to the kitchen open and close. With her eyes closed she said, “I’ll be done directly, Annie. I just got in, and it’s so nice.”
“It’s not Annie, and don’t hurry on my account,” said a soft, familiar voice.
Startled and stunned, Dolly scrambled to her feet, splashing water on the floor. As she turned, she saw Liam rushing to catch her if she fell. As he came to her, he dropped his coat to the floor.
“Liam,” she managed to whisper. She felt shock, then joy as they wrapped their arms around each other.
“I wanted to see ye naked, but I didn’t think it’d be right away,” he whispered in between kisses.
“I’m all wet,” Dolly said. She tried to back away, but he resisted letting her go. Finally, she started to shiver in the cool air of the laundry room.
“Get back in the water, ye’re shiverin’.” He assisted her back down, kneeled alongside the tub, and took off his now-wet shirt. He picked up the wash cloth and lavender soap, lathered it, and began bathing her. Their eyes were locked as Liam began the same gentle ministrations he did months ago when he first brought Dolly from Shaughnessy’s.
“It’s as though ye’re washin’ away my loneliness,” she said. “I’ll be all right now, ye’re home.”
He smiled in agreement, took a deep breath, and moved the soapy cloth over her breasts. She moaned in pleasure at his hand.
“Yer body’s nice and filled out,” he said. “Ye have wee curves. I like it. Ye’ve more to hold.” The delight in his voice made her smile. “I like yer wee belly. It … ye make me want to pleasure ye.” He moved the soapy cloth to her belly and purposefully down below.
“I like it when ye rub my belly, down there,” she said with a naughty-sweet voice. She pointed to the place between her belly button and tuft of dark blonde hair.
“Do ye now?” he whispered sweetly. “All around here?”
He went round and round with the cloth softly, to Dolly’s soft moans of pleasure.
He slowly moved lower, finally reaching back to the cleft between her buttocks. He ran the cloth softly, all the way to the top of her genitals. As she pushed against his hand, he let go of the cloth and put his middle finger on her now throbbing cleft. She was in need of support, so he held her up by her neck and back with his other hand as she held onto the sides of the tub; he continued his stimulation in her nether region for a few pleasure-filled minutes.
“Uuuhhh.” Dolly made the noise quietly as she shuddered, gasped for air, and released. The water splashed with her involuntary movement.
He pulled her out of the water as if she weighed nothing and placed her on the pile of bedding waiting to be washed. He took his trousers off. “I have to get into ye quick, Dee.”
She spread her legs. He climbed in, she pulled him into her. “I dreamed of this everyday ye were gone.” She whispered into his ear. “Ye move so nice.”
“Ye feel so good … like home …” he breathed. After several pleasure-mounting thrusts he came. Breathless and in a limp heap on top of Dolly, who was now crying in her own joy, he managed to say, “God in Heaven, Dee. I missed ye.”
Her only reply was to put her mouth on his. She could feel his smile on her lips.
“I’m glad we got first things first.” He sighed sleepily while Dolly giggled underneath him. They lay quiet in each other’s arms for a long while, basking in their reunion. A quiet knock sounded on the laundry door. “It’s Annie. Time for gettin’ on with the day.”
“I’d better get goin’ upstairs and into bed,” he said. “I didn’t sleep very much on the boat. I’m ready to fall over.”
“Go, then. I’ll see ye later on,” she whispered. She felt regenerated from making love with him. “Stop and get somethin’ to eat in the kitchen. I’m sure there are raisin scones.”
“I’ll grab two and a cup of milk and head off to bed.” He stood up. She joined him, putting her arms around his neck and giving him a wet good-morning kiss. He helped her put on her robe and then pulled on his damp, cold clothes. He shivered and turned to the door, leaving her to get ready for the day.
Before he left the room, he turned back to her. “One more thing,” he said. “Ye’ve not been frettin’ about Mary Tisdale, have ye?”
Dolly lowered her gaze in shame.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “Not a minute more, do ye hear?”
She looked at him shyly. She saw his big smile and the love for her in his eyes. She nodded her head in response, and then gave him a shy smile.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Only
you.”
“I love ye, too, Liam.”
~~~
Just a few minutes before six-thirty that evening, when the guests were scheduled to arrive, the servants began placing a huge buffet-style spread on the dining room table. All day, Annie had been preparing things to eat with the help of two hired servants and Dolly. Stacked on the table were Mrs. Dady’s best pure-white china, shiny silverware laid out meticulously in rows, and perfectly-pressed linen napkins folded in triangles, all on top of a dark-red-velvet tablecloth. There were huge vases of creamy, white roses arranged with rich, green holly branches, placed on either side of the table. The special foods were Beluga caviar, and calamari in an oregano and basil tomato sauce. The Dadys paid dearly for them both, since they were imported. Annie got the recipe for the tomato sauce from the new cookbooks she had borrowed from a fellow cook in the neighborhood. While Dolly and Annie fluttered about in the kitchen, two specially-hired servants passed out fancy finger foods on trays to the guests and made sure drinks were available.
At around seven-fifteen, Dolly was in the dining room replacing a plate of cheeses. When she looked up, she saw Mary Tisdale walking toward the table for something to eat. She had insisted earlier that Annie point out Mary to her when people started to arrive.
“She’s the only young woman here,” Annie said. “Ye can’t be mistaken.”
Dolly’s face flushed with heat at the girl’s relative closeness to her. She wondered if Mary was in on the push to match her with Liam for marriage. She was beautiful with blue eyes, pulled-up dark brown hair, and not a blemish on her porcelain skin. To Dolly, she looked like an expensive China Doll, the kind one doesn’t play with. She was taller and shapelier than a doll, however, with a large bust, and curvy hips. Dolly quickly remembered what Liam had said to her early that morning about filling out and being more to hold. This made her feel better. Mary’s gown was beautiful, a dark-red velvet for Christmas.
She matches the tablecloth, Dolly thought. She smiled to herself. For a moment, Dolly wished she were in Mary Tisdale’s stead and that Mrs. Dady wanted her to marry Liam. If it could be so simple, she thought. As Dolly picked up two empty plates, a question flashed in her mind. What am I doing here, at the Dady mansion? Why does everythin’ have to be hidden? She turned to go back into the kitchen, but not before one last glance at Mary, who was now looking seemingly inquisitively at her. Why is she lookin’ at me? Dolly left the dining room, her face hot with anger, and rushed back to Annie in the kitchen.
“Annie, what am I doin’ here?”
“Gettin’ another plate for the table. Here, more squid.”
“No, Annie!” Dolly could not mask the anxiety in her voice. “Why am I livin’ here? Why do I feel like I’m hidin’?”
“Did ye just figger out which one Mary Tisdale is?” Annie watched her with care and concern.
“She’s the China Doll out there. She was lookin’ directly at me, Annie. Why? She’s so beautiful …” Dolly’s voice trailed off in defeat.
“Oh, aye, she’s pretty. But Dolly Mahan, so are you. Liam is not about to run off with the kind of person who’s exactly like his mother.” Annie walked to Dolly and grabbed her gently by the shoulders. “Why do ye think Liam is so in love with ye? And as fer her lookin’ at you, perhaps she thinks ye’re beautiful, more than she is. Did ye ever think of it that way?
“No.”
“I’m askin’ ye again, why do ye think Liam is so in love with ye?”
“I’m not quite sure. Why would he choose … me?” Dolly had lost her confidence.
Annie put her arms around Dolly. “Liam is head over heels for ye, girl, because ye’re so real, not made up to look like a doll. Even if ye were dressed as Mary is tonight, ye’d still be real. I have never seen him so happy—ever, Dolly. He’s always been so sad. It broke my heart to see him day after day, so lonely and unloved. I’m astounded at his transformation since ye came along. He needed to take ye under his wing, to have someone to take care of and nurture. To teach ye how to fly on yer own.” Annie kept a hold of Dolly. “I didn’t want ye here at first, thinkin’ it too dangerous, but I saw how he blossomed and started to make a happy life for himself. As ye can see, nothin’ is gettin’ in his way. Not his parents and certainly not Mary Tisdale.”
Dolly lifted her head from Annie’s shoulder to study her face for honesty. Annie’s hazel eyes displayed that she was telling the truth.
Just then, one of the hired girls came crashing into the kitchen, forcing Dolly and Annie back to the present.
“There’s a commotion in the front hall,” the girl said. “It seems the son that Mrs. Dady has been prattlin’ on about has made his grand entrance.”
“Hold yer tongue, girl,” Annie said sharply, but with a hidden smile.
“Sorry, mum. Well, he just came saunterin’ down the stairs, dressed, but yawnin’ and bleary-eyed. Apparently, he’d been home all day, sleepin’ in his own bed. I seen him with me own eyes comin’ down the stairs. He’s a handsome one, that boy.” The girl gazed at Annie with enchantment on her face, and then registered Annie’s non-verbal admonishment. “Sorry, mum.” The enchanted look disappeared. “And she was none too happy, the Mistress.” The girl was in full gossip manner.
“Just do yer job,” Annie said. “Here, take this plate of wee cakes out to the table and check on the coffee and tea pots.”
The girl left the kitchen with the fragrant plate, and Dolly and Annie smiled at each other about the foiled prodigal son return. Dolly cracked open the swinging kitchen door and peeked through to see anything she could.
Unfortunately, Dolly got a big, crushing eyeful. “That Mary Tisdale is fawnin’ all over Liam, battin’ her eyelashes and flutterin’ her—Christmas fan,” Dolly exclaimed in a high-pitched, angry hiss to Annie. She heard a flirty giggle from the same direction and snapped her head to look out the door again. A few seconds later her hand went to push the door open but she hesitated.
“Dolly!” Annie whispered. “Get away from that door. You stay in this kitchen.”
Dolly pretended not to hear Annie and kept up her vigil. She saw that while Liam was being polite to Mary, he clearly did not want to be engaging with her. Dolly heard Mary nattering to Liam.
“I hear the weather is absolutely frightful in Edinburgh,” Mary droned, her head tipped to the side, her closed fan placed on her chin. “I wouldn’t live there. I’d much prefer the warm, sunny weather of Tuscany, wouldn’t you Liam?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been to Italy,” Liam said politely.
“I’m surprised you haven’t. I love to travel. I’ve been to India.”
“How nice for you,” he answered.
Impulsively, Dolly pushed through the door into the dining room. She heard Annie’s high-pitched whisper, trying to keep her from going, but go she did.
Dolly saw Liam raise his eyes briefly in her direction. As she glanced in his eyes, she imagined her face was unreadable since Mary Tisdale also turned to look in her direction. She picked up three empty serving plates and moved unobtrusively around guests who were serving themselves. She swiftly retreated into the kitchen behind the still-swinging closed door. She stayed next to the door and stopped it from swinging with her hand.
“My gracious,” Dolly heard Mary say through the door. “What was that all about with the servant girl, Liam?”
“I have no notion what you are talkin’ about,” he said. “I don’t pay attention to servants, only what they do.” He spoke in the tenor of the high society that he so deeply disliked.
Liam politely took his leave from Mary. “I must go to Cook to see to something. Can you excuse me, Miss Tisdale?”
“Why of course, Liam,” Mary said.
After realizing Liam was heading toward the kitchen, Dolly flew into the bedroom off the kitchen. She was fuming with jealous rage. At least I’m not cryin’. Oh, I do hate that girl! Dolly bristled.
Just then Liam came into the bedroom and stood in front of her.<
br />
“May I please sit?” Liam asked.
“Do what ye want, Liam,” Dolly said tersely. She crossed her arms tightly and turned away from him. Despite this, he sat down close, touching her thigh with his.
“What do ye suggest I do, Dolly?” he asked pointedly. “I know ye know the answers. And I am doin’ what I want—to be with you—not Mary Tisdale!”
“She has …everythin’ …” Dolly's voice got very small, “I don’t.” She would not look at him.
“She doesn’t have everythin’.”
“What do ye mean?” She gave him a side glance, feeling a little less bristly.
“She doesn’t have me. You do.”
He knelt on the floor in front of Dolly, nestling himself in between her knees. He took her face gently in his hands and put his forehead on hers. “Ye’re everything to me. I want nobody or nothin’ if I can’t have ye.” He was whispering. His lips touched hers.
She understood.
For the rest of the evening, Annie ordered Dolly stay in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Liam mingled with the rest of the guests for the duration of the soiree, keeping Mrs. Dady and especially Mary Tisdale from speculating as to what, if anything was going on between Liam and the hired help.
“Ye’re not to go to that door, ye hear?” Annie declared, pointing a wooden spoon she was stirring a sauce with.
“I don’t need to, Annie. I trust Liam.”
~~~
Around midnight, all the guests started to leave. The elder Dadys retired right away, and Liam stayed to help the women cleanup. Dolly was as tired as the rest of them, but her demeanor was more positive since Liam had talked with her. Not only that, Mary Tisdale had left the premises, away from Liam. The hired help worked diligently until one o’clock, when a cab took them to their homes. Annie decided to wash the remaining pots and pans in the morning after the elder Dadys left for their two weeks in Dublin.
Eva and the Irishman Page 22