Heart's Desire

by Sorcha MacMurrough

  Sinead tossed and turned all night and finally gave up all hopes of sleep. She got up and switched on the light in her bedroom. Soon she heard a tap on the connecting door, and reluctantly let Mike in. She avoided looking at him as she padded over to the tea tray and boiled the kettle.

  "I couldn't sleep either. This must be a real shock for you, Sinead. I'm not going to pry, but I think maybe you need to talk about it."

  She took a deep breath. "What would say if I told you I'd fallen in love with Austin Riordan? That we'd been everything to each other ever since I've been up in Killyfassy Forest, and that I've never been happier in my life than I have been in those few days with him."

  Mike sighed. "I'd say that I have only had unpleasant dealings with him at the hospital, but that Maeve was really impressed with him, and can't praise him highly enough. And he certainly seems generous and thoughtful, with the help he gave you about the cradle and the Christmas shopping, and letting you use the car. So, on the whole, he's a rather complicated character. I'll reserve my judgment over whether or not it was a good idea for you to get mixed up with a man of his sort."

  Sinead looked at her brother-in-law sharply. "What do you mean, a man of his sort?"

  He shrugged one shoulder. "I can't really explain, except to say that he is far too attractive and charming to women and that he's completely and utterly ruthless when it comes to getting his own way."

  Sinead nodded. He definitely had done everything in his power to wear down her resistance and get her under his spell. "That's what's upsetting me, Mike. Does this sound paranoidly insane? It's been going around and around in my head ever since I saw him drive past with Margaret this morning."

  "What have you been wondering, exactly?"

  "That Austin was hoping to keep me out of the way in order to assist Margaret in helping herself to the Stephens money. Perhaps they thought the family disliked me so much that they'd help her in her nasty little scheme. Do you think it's possible that Austin is involved?"

  Mike stood up and paced around the room, his hands thrust deeply into the pockets of his robe.

  Sinead sat numbly in the chair in an agony of suspense.

  At length he pulled the other chair in front of her, sat down and took her freezing hands in his warm ones. "My dear girl, you and I've known each other practically all our lives. I would never lie to you. Nor would I wish to hurt you in any way."

  The tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to muster a smile. "Why do I get the feeling there's a ‘but' coming up?"

  "Look, all I know is that Austin Riordan has been trying to come up with the money for more additions and extensions to the hospital. He's submitted all sorts of fabulous plans to the Board of Directors for new neurological, pediatric, and burns units, as well as a new clinic. Things the hospital can't possible afford, but apparently he says he'll have the funding for them all taken care of soon. With Margaret as one of the senior nurses and with the kind of money the Stephenses have got, they'd be setting themselves up for life if she managed to convince a court that she was legally married to Luke, not you."

  "But I thought you said..."

  "I'm sorry, Sinead, but the truth is she's got a marriage certificate from the United Arab Emirates saying she and Luke were wed just before you went out there and broke up their little love nest. As you know, the will leaves everything to his wife, with no first name mentioned."

  Sinead buried her face in her hands and felt a despair she had never known even in the days when she was recovering in hospital from the crash. Was that why Luke had made sure she was in the car? So Margaret could get... No, it was unthinkable.

  She shook all over, and Mike brought her some sleeping pills.

  "No, really, I shouldn't," Sinead said tearfully. "I have to be myself in the morning."

  "Just take one. You need your rest," Mike urged.

  "Half."

  "All right."

  Sinead gulped it down past the lump in her throat and lay back down exhausted. Mike patted her hand and turned out the light. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered where Austin was, and whether he was already crowing over his victory over the gullible little fool he'd lured into his bed so easily.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  During the next few days in Dublin as the court case progressed over her dead husband's will, Sinead often thought she might as well give up and go home. After all, it wasn't as if she were really interested in the money, except insofar as she was convinced she had been lawfully married to Luke Stephens and had given him fifteen of the best years of her life for nothing more than heartache and months in hospital recovering after a near-fatal accident.

  But she stuck it out, determined that the Stephenses would pay for their appalling treatment of her.

  She certainly refused to let Margaret win. Margaret might have had Luke briefly, and would have Austin forever, but she was not going to get the better of Sinead where it counted. With women like Margaret, that was in affairs of money rather than the heart.

  Margaret's despicably oily legal representative presented a convincing case, but it all had to be meticulously checked and double-checked. Days passed as they waited for the results of the investigations.

  Sinead was upset about being forced to come into such close contact with Simon Stephens. For one thing, he reminded her painfully of Luke in terms of looks and personality. For another he always seemed to be eyeing her with distaste, and asking her uncomfortable questions.

  Ten days of unrelenting tension passed in this way. No matter where Sinead and Mike went, she could not take her mind off the awful betrayal she had experienced at everyone's hands. Her brother-in-law began to grow frightened that she would snap. She kept pacing up and down in her room like a wild thing in a cage and peering out of the window into the foggy evening.

  One evening about two weeks after they had arrived, there was suddenly a knock at the door.

  Sinead motioned Mike to answer it.

  He opened the door to Simon Stephens and his solicitor Mr. Trimble.

  "May we come in, please, Dr. Sheridan, Mrs. er- Miss Thomas?" Simon asked.

  Sinead nodded and stepped forward.

  The two men sat in the chairs which the grim-faced Mike indicated. "If you'd like to speak with her alone, I'll go next door," he offered.

  Simon held up his hand and said, "No, of course not. But it would be convenient if we could all sit down and discuss this amicably."

  Mike went through, and brought two more chairs for himself and Sinead.

  "Well, Mr. Stephens, would you care to tell me why you've condescended to call on me?" Sinead said, her tone steeped in bitterness.

  "To put it bluntly, my dear, it's because I want to apologise and admit I've been wrong."

  His term of endearment grated on Sinead's raw nerves. It reminded her too much of Austin.

  "What's the game now, eh? Lull me into a false sense of security, and do some sort of tricky deal?"

  Simon caught his breath, but shook his head and went on less arrogantly, "I can't blame you for thinking that. The truth is, no matter what happens, whether the so-called case Miss Knight has put together is true, we still wish you to have a settlement. My solicitor and I have watched you. We've had both you and Dr. Sheridan investigated, which I apologise for, but felt necessary at the time."

  "Investigated?" Mike and Sinead both gasped.

  Simon held up one hand. "I'm sorry. The truth is that I blamed you for Luke's restlessness. For his drug habit, for his death, even though you of course were badly injured. I was blinded by prejudice in the past, and grief when he died. I now realise I was completely wrong about you, Sinead. And your family. You're all decent people. You were as confused as we were about his behavior, I'm sure, otherwise you would have tried to help him save himself."

  "Of course I would have!"

  He nodded. "I've watched you for weeks now, heard every word you've said, seen the way you treat people and conduct yourself. What I've seen would have
made us all proud to welcome you to the family if circumstances had been even the slightest bit different. I shan't even bother to try to defend my son to you. I've had to face the truth now, and quite frankly can't waste the energy. You were his wife for all intents and purposes for many years. You were loyal and a steadying influence on him, not a bad one. He was the wild one. No matter what, you will want for nothing."

  "The only thing I want, Mr. Stephens, is the truth," Sinead hissed, violet eyes flashing. "I thank you for you apology. I know this can't have been easy for you. But you'll forgive me if I say that all these regrets on your part would never have come about were it not for the fact that you finally met a REAL gold-digger."

  His eyes widened. "Now I never said--"

  "You did the minute you challenged the will because you thought I'd married Luke for mercenary reasons. You never even took the trouble to find out how I was all the months I lay in hospital. I'm sure you hoped I would die just to solve all your problems for you. And don't bother to deny it. No matter who wins this case, it will be with the greatest pleasure that I see you lose this battle. It will probably kill you to have to give up the money. It's worth far more to you than love, honor, duty, respect, or justice. Now please leave."

  The two men shifted uncomfortably in their seats, and finally rose.

  Sinead thought that Simon looked almost shrunken as he stood up and departed, Mike showing them out the door without another word.

  "Now, bed for you," Mike insisted as soon as they were gone. "It's been a long day. I'll bet word will come tomorrow one way or the other. We'd better be prepared."

  Sinead nodded, and fell into bed without even bothering to get undressed. She wept into the pillow until she thought her sobs would tear her to pieces. Luke was dead, but it was Austin who continued to haunt her far into the night.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  As Mike predicted, Sinead was summoned to the court early the next morning. The judge, Mr. Rivers, first told her and Margaret's solicitor that all of her documents had been proven false and legal proceedings would be initiated against her for fraud as soon as the appropriate proofs were in the hands of the court.

  Mike hugged Sinead briefly, but they knew it wasn't over yet. Judge Rivers then pronounced, "Under these circumstances, the Stephens family informed me yesterday that they wished to drop all proceedings against Ms. Thomas, er, Mrs. Sinead Stephens. She is now legally and freely entitled to all the property of the deceased, Luke Stephens."

  Mike hugged her again as the tears flowed onto her lap. The hearing was declared to be at an end, but Sinead struggled to her feet, and declared, "My lord, I wish to instigate legal proceedings of my own."

  Everyone looked puzzled but waited patiently for her to speak.

  Sinead forced herself to go on. "I wish to set up for Miss Knight a lump sum of one hundred thousand Euros invested appropriately to generate her an income upon the understanding that she never harasses me or mine or the Stephenses ever again. Upon her death that lump sum shall revert to my niece or nephew."

  Mike began to protest, but the judge nodded and said, "Go on."

  "I wish a similar arrangement for myself and my sister Maeve, and a further two hundred thousand immediately."

  Simon Stephens shifted uncomfortably as she turned to him. "You can have all Luke's personal property. I need no reminders. Now, you and I must decide what to do with the rest of the estate. It's half of the shares of Stephens Pharmaceuticals, is it not? And there is a further two and a half million in assets after you deduct the half million I've already accounted for?"

  "Yes, and if you insist on getting involved with running the business, we shall be pleased to welcome you into the family," Simon Stephens said, trying to sound entirely sincere.

  "I'm going to sell them all," Sinead said.

  Simon's mouth dropped open in horror. "B-b-but," he stammered.

  Sinead shook her head.

  "You'll buy them. With the rest of the money and the fair price we shall agree upon for a gradual buy out, we will set up the Stephens Memorial Annexe at Castlemaine General Hospital, over the next five years, to incorporate neurological, pediatric and burns units which will be the envy of the entire country."

  Simon sat down in a daze of both relief and shock. Others in the court sat staring at her in silent awe.

  "I can't think of anything better to do with a pharmaceutical fortune, can you?"

  "Er, no," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

  Sinead looked at his lawyer. "Draw up the papers please, Mr. Trimble, with the Stephens family, as soon as possible. Thank you for your time, gentlemen. I'm going back to Castlemaine if you need to consult me further. Goodbye."

  Mike stood and offered his arm to Sinead as she turned and marched out of the court without a backward glance.

  "Are you sure that's what you want, Sinead?" Mike asked once they were safely on the road home in the Mini. His kind face was etched with concern.

  "Of course. I don't think we fancy being that rich. Just look how miserable all the Stephenses have turned out to be. We will all have financial security, and I want us to take some time off work for a holiday. Once I tell Dr. Jameson about the Stephens Annexe, he'll let us go without a quibble."

  "I'll say! But why did you do it? They've benefited after all, Austin and Margaret, when they didn't deserve to."

  "If only to prove I'm better than them, it will be worth it. But think how much good can be done with the new facilities. After all, how much richer could the Stephenses be? If there's one thing they've learnt, it's that you can't take it with you. Austin will get his heart's desire, and see his designs come into being, and Castlemaine will get the best hospital in the country."

  "You love Austin in spite of everything?"

  Sinead shrugged and sighed. "I suppose I do, but there's no point in thinking about it."

  "Perhaps we've judged him wrongly," Mike said in a feeble attempt to soothe her. "Maybe he wasn't part of the plot after all. Perhaps she just dangled the money in front of him, trying to lure him in like an angler fish. He would have been delighted at the prospect of building on such fabulous additions, and never even wondered where a woman like her could get such money."

  "I sure hope you're right. But there's only one way to tell. We'll certainly find out if Austin is innocent or guilty once we get back to Castlemaine, won't we?"

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Sinead spent a restful few days quietly at home in bed recovering from her long ordeal of the court case. Dr. Jameson was elated at the news about the annexe, and it was with great difficulty that Sinead persuaded him not to shout her involvement from the rooftops. She swore him to secrecy, but it did not stop him from ringing her every day to give her news about the Stephenses progress with the buy out, and to talk over the plans for the additions, new staff, and so on.

  It would almost have been fun to feel like a wealthy benefactor and fairy princess, but she was bony-weary and emotionally ragged from the ups and downs of the past few weeks, ever since she had found Austin passed out at the traffic lights.

  There wasn't a word from Austin, though he could have got in touch easily. Dr. Jameson never mentioned him once either, an odd fact considering he had been the architect who had come up with the annexe plans in the first place.

  For a time she wondered if he and Margaret had fled. After all, she'd be facing a prison sentence shortly and perhaps he and she had holed up in Killyfassy Forest.

  But no, he was at the hospital laboring over the plans, according to Dr. Jameson, when she finally brought herself to ask outright. Margaret obviously had not been charged yet, for according to Mike, she was working in ICU as though completely innocent, though there were many complaints about her brusque attitude. Rumors about carelessness and missing drugs also filtered through to her from Mike.

  After a week Sinead felt restless enough to want to return to work. She'd been away for over a month, and with Christmas coming, it was their busiest time
at the hospital. People were most ill in winter, but staff wanted time off to shop, rest and be with their families, which meant a chronic staff shortage. She knew she certainly didn't have any special plans this year, though she had harbored hopes of a romantic Christmas with Austin only a short couple of weeks before. So she organised the night shifts for herself, and put herself on the holiday rota too so that others could spend time with their families and she would not have to come into any contact with Margaret or Austin, or have time to brood.

  Once she was back in the ICU, she found the familiar routines soothing. In the few lulls between crises, she started to formulate future plans in her mind. She'd work until after Maeve's baby was born, then they would go away and she would try to forget. As if she ever could forget those piercing steel gray eyes, those kisses...