“But none of that changes anything. I’m still the son of a horse farmer.”
“Sean.” She leaned against him again, her voice as tender as the easing rain. “A very wise person recently told me that the right person enhances your qualities while accepting and balancing your faults. Don’t you understand? Where we come from doesn’t matter. All that matters is where we go from here.”
For the first time without fear, they freely stared into each other’s eyes. Then the pull they both had been so ardently fighting brought them slowly together, savoring every second. Their lips touched. Tenderly, she felt his mouth caress hers. He took her face into his hands, forcibly holding their union. He kissed her tears, kissed her closed eyes, and then her mouth again. He kissed her like he might never have the opportunity to kiss her again. He kissed her until the last drop of rain fell on the tin roof over their heads.
Reality took hold when the rain ceased and brought them back to an understanding of what lay ahead. “Your brother,” Sean said, those two words being enough for them both to understand.
“At the end of the day, Bennet Darcy is his father’s son. What Ben respects in a person is integrity and character.” She finally smiled at him. “Both of which I believe you possess, Mr. Kelly.”
“That’s flattering, Catie, but — ” he hesitated.
“But what?”
“But, he’ll want only the best for you, and I am sure my integrity and character will not be enough, at least not where you are concerned.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?” The certainty in her voice gave no hint to the apprehensive knot beginning to grow in her stomach.
Back on their horses, the two urged their mounts in the direction of their unknown future, a future that now lay in the hands of Bennet Darcy. They didn’t know whether or not he would allow them to embark upon the beginnings of a relationship, but they had to try. Their feelings for each other could no longer be denied or concealed, and the worst outcome now could only be shadowed by continuing to keep those feelings hidden and painfully locked inside.
After they had settled the horses, they gave each other a reassuring smile and started the short walk to the house. Stronger than I have ever felt for any other human being. Sean’s words echoed in Catie’s head. It felt as if nothing could come between them now, nothing except for . . . Aiden Hirst. Catie looked up and came to a dead stop. Aiden was coming towards them with hard, determined strides.
“Aiden!” she said, sounding surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Giving Sean no more regard than a cutting look, Aiden rushed to her with exaggerated concern and grabbed hold of Catie’s hands. “I heard about your housekeeper from my uncle and came to you straight away. I remember you telling me how much she meant to you.”
“Means to me,” she corrected. “Rose is going to be fine, and so am I.” Uncomfortable with Aiden’s intimacy, Catie inwardly cursed herself for ever allowing him to kiss her. Glancing sideways to determine what Sean might be making of Aiden’s familiarity, Catie surprisingly found an unnerving glower that went far beyond jealousy. She curiously looked back at Aiden and asked, “Have you two met?”
“Oh, yes.” Dropping Catie’s hands, Aiden finally gave Sean an acknowledging nod. “Paddy and I met at your garden party. Good times, eh, Paddy?”
Aiden’s words did not ease Sean’s expression. If anything, his eyes piercingly narrowed and he visibly stiffened.
“Sean,” Catie asked. “Do you know Aiden?”
Softening his face just enough to look at her, he answered through a clenched jaw, “I know all of him I care to know.”
All at once, Catie was struck by a revelation. Before Audrey left school that night, she had said, “Sean Kelly interrupted us.” Sean Kelly knew who took Audrey from school. He had seen them together at the garden party. “You!” she turned squarely on Aiden Hirst and shouted accusingly. “You took Audrey from school and then put her out to walk back. She was expelled because of you. How could you, Aiden?”
Aiden looked spitefully at Sean and back at her as a lopsided smirk crept up one side of his face. “Audrey and I had a few laughs, but she was willing. No one forced her from school that afternoon.”
“Save your excuses for her father, Aiden,” Catie said in a threatening tone, seething from his arrogant nerve. “He has wanted nothing more than to know who took Audrey from school, who took advantage of her. I’m sure he will be glad to give you the opportunity to say your peace.”
Gone quickly was the charming boy Catie had met last spring. Aiden’s face suddenly blazed with a violent anger. Seeming to forget Sean, he grabbed her under the arm and jerked her up onto her toes. “You’ll do as your slutty friend did and keep your bloody mouth shut!” His face was less than an inch from Catie’s, and his throaty voice spat in her eyes.
“Take your filthy hands off of her, you bloody bastard.” Sean’s Ulster accent was suddenly deep and gruff.
In the brief fleeting stillness, Catie watched Aiden’s bulging eyes cut sharply over her head at Sean. “Bugger off, Paddy — ” he started, but color drained from his face as his eyes traveled slowly back to Catie’s. The sharp pain in his leg, caused by her riding boot that had just slammed solidly into his shin, made him release her. “You bitch!” He hobbled delicately backwards.
As soon as Aiden was a few safe steps away from Catie, Sean stepped between them. “It’s time someone taught you a little respect for women, mate,” he said as he drew back and crushed the finely chiseled nose with a well-landed fist. Aiden’s eyes went wide with surprise, and he staggered backwards.
Charged with rage, Sean made up the space Aiden had put between them with two quick steps and then dealt another blow into his midsection. Aiden folded in half and then fell to the ground with a dull thud. Gasping, he instinctively curled into a protective ball. Sean stood over the coiled body, casting a lengthy shadow from the late afternoon sun that had reappeared after the rain. “Do not ever touch her again.” Sean’s tone had an eerie casualness to it.
Aiden moaned softly.
“I said.” Sean reached down and pulled Aiden to his feet by the front of his shirt and shook him fiercely. “Don’t ever touch her again!”
“All right,” Aiden croaked weakly. “All right!” Now standing, he coughed and wiped the blood pouring from his nose on the sleeve of his jacket. He ventured a glance at Catie and then turned and limped back up the path.
“Are you okay?” Sean turned to see her rubbing gingerly at her arm. “Did he hurt you?
Catie shook her head. “I’m all right.”
He came over and pulled her under his chin. “Look, if you’re going to be my girl, you must let me fight the men, aye?”
“Aye,” she said back, unable to repress a faint smile. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right. Sorry about the language. Me da taught me never to curse in front of a lady, but I was a wee bit riled.”
“Forgiven,” she said.
“You know, Catie Darcy,” — they had begun walking towards the house again — “you kick with the force of a mule.”
* * *
Standing on the front steps of Pemberley, Ben watched Aiden’s little, red sports car peel out of the drive, sending gravel flying in its wake.
“What the devil is the matter with him?” He looked at Sean and Catie.
“I hit him,” Sean said bluntly.
“You hit him?” Ben looked at Sean disbelievingly.
“Aiden took Audrey from school, Ben,” Catie hastily clarified. “He admitted everything.”
“Aiden Hirst?” Ben repeated skeptically. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Ben, I’m sure. Sean even saw him with Audrey the night of the garden party.”
Ben’s steely eyes turned back to Sean. “Is that why you hit him?”
“No, sir.” Sean shook his head. “I hit him because he hurt Catie.”
“Hurt Catie?” he exclaimed, quickly descending the steps
to examine her. “Catherine, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “He just yanked my arm rather hard, that’s all.”
Wrapping his sister protectively in his arms, Ben looked over at Sean. “Did you hit him hard?”
“Aye, Mr. Darcy.” Sean grinned. “I believe I broke his nose.”
“Good man, Kelly!” Ben said and gazed again in the direction Aiden had sped off. “Aiden Hirst,” he murmured. “Who would have thought? Well, come, Catie, you must get indoors and out of that wet coat. I need to telephone Donald Tillman. I’m confident he will want to make a call on Ardsley Manor this evening, and I think I might just join him.”
“Mr. Darcy,” Sean said, halting Ben. “May I first have a few minutes of your time . . . in private?”
Ben instinctively glanced at his sister. Meeting his gaze, Catie’s expression revealed her comprehension of Sean’s request, and her eyes beseeched him to listen. Ben stepped aside and said, “Come through.”
Ben took Sean into the front parlor. Hearing the heavy door click shut, a shaky sigh left Catie’s lungs. She didn’t like this, but Sean had insisted on speaking to her brother man to man. At least they weren’t in the territorial grounds of Ben’s study.
Preparing for the worst, from a conversation that was probably going to be short and to the point, Catie stationed herself at the bottom of the grand staircase to wait. Not expecting a miracle, her mind began planning her next course of action when Sarah, Mrs. Kelly, and Rose happened upon her on their way to the orangery.
“Catie, what’s the matter? Why are you sitting there like that, dear?” Sarah asked.
Closing her eyes despairingly, Catie dropped her head into her hands. Then she peeked through her fingers, but the three women were still circled around her with puzzled expressions on their faces.
“Catherine Darcy,” Rose said fussily. “What is going on?”
Giving the double parlor doors a wary glance, she said, “Bennet and Sean are talking.”
“Talking? About what?” Sarah asked.
Nervously glancing at Mrs. Kelly, Catie lowered her eyes and said, “Me.”
“Oh,” Sarah uttered. Then comprehending fully she repeated with more emphasis, “Ohhh!”
Quick to understand as well, Rose and Emma gave their own concerned pass over the doors and sat down beside Catie on the wide flare of the staircase.
Almost an hour later there was still no word from the parlor, not a voice had been heard nor a sound been made. Restless, Catie stood and paced the hall.
“Good Lord, what is taking so long? They have been in there nearly an hour.” She looked at Sarah pleadingly. “Maybe you should go in there?”
“No, dear,” Sarah refused, shaking her head definitively. “I’m a progressive woman, Catie, but there are still a few areas where women should not tread. This is between your brother and Sean.”
Sarah was getting concurring nods from Rose and Emma when the parlor doors opened, and the women came rapidly to their feet. Sean came out first, followed by Ben. The two men looked rather astonished seeing the four anxious faces that were fixed upon them.
Sean grinned boyishly as he walked over to the most eager of all. “Catie Darcy, would you like to have dinner with me in the village this evening?”
Eyes glowing brightly with excitement, Catie first glanced to her brother for approval. Standing as tall as he could make himself with his arms in a formidable fold, Ben gave her an ever so slight nod of his head. “I’d love to!” she answered.
“Seven?”
“Seven’s fine.”
“Seven then,” Sean confirmed and started for the door but turned back as if he had forgotten something. “Ma, Auntie, could you fetch some scissors and come down to the cottage?”
“‘My Seany knows better,’ eh?” Rose raised a brow to Emma.
“Oh, hush and get the scissors,” Emma fussed back as they hurried off together.
Catie rushed to the window to watch Sean descend the stairs as Sarah went to her husband. “You’re a good brother, Ben Darcy,” she said, as he unfolded his arms to gather her into his chest.
“Well, she’s ready.” He smiled down at her. “And since I made you a promise, I thought I’d better keep it.”
Sarah smiled back. “Sean is a fine boy. I don’t believe even Bennet Darcy could find a fault with him.”
“His hair is too long,” Ben replied flatly.
Sarah pulled back abruptly. “Is that why he asked for the scissors? Bennet Darcy,” she cried incredulously. “Please tell me you did not tell that boy he had to cut his hair before he could take your sister to dinner.”
“I most certainly did,” Ben said with conviction. “If he wishes to dine with my sister he is going to go about the business respectably.”
Shaking her head, Sarah gave her bulging belly a discreet but reassuring tap.
Afterword
Four Years Later
Standing in front of her full-length mirror, Catie Darcy gazed intently at her mother’s beaded and lace wedding gown. It had just arrived back from the seamstress, and she was quite engrossed by her own image. Taped to her mirror was a photograph of her mother wearing the same dress on her wedding day, and Catie was carefully comparing her likeness to the picture of Margaret Sumner Darcy.
Behind her, the sound of pounding little feet grew increasingly louder. Suddenly a small child with a mop of strawberry blond curls darted through her door and slid quickly out of sight under her bed. A heavy footstep followed close behind.
“Did Eliza Jane come in here, Catie?” Ben asked firmly.
Her brother’s brow told Catie it would be better for Eliza Jane to prolong her father’s search. “What do you think, Brother? Will I make you proud next week?” she asked, successfully diverting him.
Ben beamed at the sight of her. “Very proud, Sis.” He warmly embraced her. “Sarah and I will be as proud as Dad and Mum would have been.” Ben gave Catie a wink and resumed his search for his daughter.
“If you see Eliza Jane, tell her that her father wishes to have a word.” Ben stopped at the door and added, “And he is not happy.”
“Whatever did she do, Bennet?”
“Geoffrey said something she didn’t like so she poured a whole glass of milk over his head.”
Catie bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “I can’t imagine where she gets that temper from.”
Ben stared at his sister blankly and then walked away.
Her father’s fading footsteps stirred the fugitive, and an angelic, full-cheeked face popped out from under the bed. “Thank you, Auntie Catie,” Eliza Jane whispered.
Sarah’s voice calling for her daughter was heard from the hall, and the child quickly vanished.
“Catie.” Sarah appeared at the door. “Have you seen Eliza?”
With a subtle cast of her eyes to the bed Catie revealed the child’s whereabouts, and Sarah nodded understandingly.
“Oh, Catie . . . your dress is back!” Sarah carefully inspected her seamstress’s work with a discerning eye and satisfied, brought her clasped hands to her cheek. “You are going to be the most beautiful bride, Catie, but . . . ” Sarah broke off with a sigh. “I’m afraid we shall have to find you another flower girl. Our little Elizabeth Jane has run away from home, never to return.”
“I have not,” said the bed.
Smiling, Sarah walked over and crouched down beside the bed. “Elizabeth Jane Darcy, come out from under there this instant.” Though the tyke obeyed her mother, she was dutifully hard at work defending her actions by tattling on her milk-laden brother as she did so.
“Yes . . . yes, save it for your father,” Sarah gently advised and, finally having the tiny miscreant in hand, gave Catie one last admiring gaze.
“Auntie Catie.” Eliza Jane tugged on her wedding gown. “When can I get married?”
Catie leaned down and gently tapped Eliza’s nose. “When your prince comes riding in on a horse to take you away with him.”<
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“Is that what happened to you?” The child’s eyes went round with amazement.
Catie laughed. “It is, Eliza Jane.”
“Come, Elizabeth Jane.” Sarah lifted her little daughter into her arms. “You must first square things with your father over the milk incident before asking his permission to marry.”
Alone again, Catie turned back to the mirror, smiled at her reflection and said, “It most certainly is.”
On the morning of Catie Darcy’s wedding, Pemberley’s seventeenth-century chapel never looked more regal. The old stone church was alight with candles and adorned with greenery and bouquets of flowers from the estate’s own gardens. At the altar her future husband waited. He turned to her the moment she entered with a look that teetered somewhere between panic and complete bliss, and she couldn’t suppress the little hiccupping laugh that escaped her at the sight of it. She understood his sentiment. After all, they were practically children when they first fell in love. Indeed, she and Sean had traveled a long and difficult path to get to that moment. But despite the travails of a drawn-out courtship, which often had the cold Irish Sea between them, and families that were rarely in accord, Sean Kelly came riding out of a foggy morning up to Pemberley House to claim Catherine Darcy as his bride. Inspired by Catie’s love of romance novels, he galloped in on a white mount wearing a top hat and morning coat. He wanted the moment to be better than any she would ever read in a book, but most of all he wanted her to accept his proposal.
“Ready, Sis?” Ben stood at her side, and she nodded.
Eliza Jane led her father and aunt to Sean Kelly over a path of pink rose petals, taken from a rose bush planted by Catie’s mother. At the end of the aisle, Ben gently lifted his sister’s veil and kissed her cheek, and then graciously put her hand into her soon-to-be husband’s.
After a traditional ceremony that brought them from man and woman to husband and wife, the newlyweds danced late into the night surrounded by their closest family and friends. At Catie’s request, fireworks lit the sky as the couple prepared to leave the cheering crowd to spend their wedding night in remote rooms of Pemberley, which had been especially prepared for the occasion.
Echoes of Pemberley Page 33