Shannon's Daughter

by Karen Welch

  Something in her eyes reminded him of his constant fear all those years ago that his father would die without him there, without saying goodbye. “Yes. I understand.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  At two in the morning Simon dropped them in front of the brownstone. The trip to the hospital had served to calm Peg’s fears, but the long wait for a few words with the doctor and the five-minute visit to her father’s bedside had clearly taken their toll. She was exhausted, more emotionally than physically. She’d clung to him in the car, resting her head on his shoulder in spite of Simon’s watchful eyes in the rearview mirror. Now, as they mounted the steps, she held tightly to his arm.

  As expected, Adamson was waiting at the door. Kendall wondered if the man ever wore anything other than a suit and tie, or ever slept for that matter. Whatever the hour, if Peg was out, Adamson was on hand for her return.

  “The doctor said they’ll do more tests tomorrow, but he doesn’t think it’s anything too serious. Cardiac dysrhythmia, he called it. Anyway, Dad is resting. I didn’t want to wake him, but we did get to check on him for a minute.”

  “You should get some rest, Miss. I’m sure he’s in good hands.”

  “He’s right. You’re dead on your feet, old girl.” She continued to hang on his arm, and he took advantage of that to lead her toward the stairs. “Come on. Let’s go up and let poor Adamson here get to bed. Morning will be here before we know it.” Over her head, he caught the nod of approval from the butler. Entrusted with getting her upstairs, he freed his arm and wrapped it firmly around her shoulders. “The doctor said there was no need for you to rush back in the morning. Your father will be busy with those tests. You should try to sleep in.”

  Shaking her head slowly, she protested. “No. I need to be there. He shouldn’t be alone.” Her voice was so low he had to strain to hear. She appeared to be falling asleep on her feet, barely managing to mount the stairs.

  Down below, the lights had gone out. “You’ll see. Things will look better after you’ve had some rest.” He wondered if it might be more expeditious to carry her, rather than dragging her along this way. “Come on, love. Just a few more steps and you can fall into bed. Poor darling, it’s been a long night, hasn’t it?”

  “Uh-huh. But I don’t want to go to bed.” One gasping sob and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his jacket. “Oh, Kendall, I was so scared! Can’t you stay with me for a just a little while?”

  He stood on the landing holding her for several minutes, stroking her hair and considering the options. Maybe after a bout of tears, she would see the impracticality of such a request. Where was he supposed to stay with her? Her bedroom was out of the question, his even more so. There was a little settee on the landing, but it hardly looked sturdy enough for the two of them. In the meantime, Peg seemed to be melting against him, so much so that he felt sure she’d sink to the floor if he let her go. “See here. You have to get to bed, sweetheart. I’ll walk you to your room, how’s that?”

  “All right, but I don’t want to be alone yet. Please, just a few minutes?” She sniffed pathetically into his shirt and he gave in to his initial urge. Bending to put an arm beneath her knees, he scooped her up and headed for her door. Snaking her arms around his neck, she settled her head on his shoulder and sniffed again. “Thank you.”

  He was relieved to find the door ajar and a single lamp burning inside. The covers on the tall four-poster—a girlish, pink flowered throne complete with ruffled canopy—had been turned back, her nightclothes carefully laid out in the pillow. Setting her on her feet, he tried to disengage her arms from around his neck. “Peg, love, I really should go now.”

  Her answer was another soft sob. “I know. I’m sorry to be such a baby.” At last, she dropped her arms, only to cover her face with her hands. “I’ll be fine.” Shoulders heaving, head bowed, she backed away.

  His heart in his throat, he reached for her. This version of Peg was one he had not anticipated. Her palpable need tore straight through his caution. “Here now! Please don’t cry like that.” He lifted her chin, looking down into her eyes, deep blue and swimming with tears. “Listen to me. You’re just overtired. Sweetheart, please. . .”

  The kiss was inevitable, he supposed. He couldn’t be sure who moved first, but when her trembling, swollen lips touched his, he was completely lost. Initially fueling the kiss was her demand for consolation and his desire to console, but very quickly less complex desires came into play. He gathered her close, tasted her tears and forgot who he was, who she was and where they were. Nothing registered beyond the sweet, clinging curve of her body against his, the smooth flesh beneath his hands and the insistent caress of her fingers in his hair. Without being aware of how, he unbuttoned the lace jacket and swept it forward to take full advantage of her bared shoulders. Turning slowly together, they staggered toward the bed until he felt the edge of the mattress behind him and drew her between his knees. He was vaguely aware when she kicked off her shoes and slid her arms out of the sleeves, casting the jacket aside. When she worked his dinner jacket from his shoulders, he released her long enough to shed it and send it to the floor. One tug at the bow of his tie and it followed. Her fingers traveled deftly along his shirtfront releasing the studs, allowing it to open easily to her inquisitive hands.

  He broke from the kiss, trailing his mouth along her throat, across her shoulder, back to the hollow of her collarbone and finally to the soft fullness straining above her neckline. When she moaned and threw back her head, he pulled up sharply. “You’re so beautiful, Peg. You make me want to do things I’ll only have to apologize for tomorrow!”

  “No. No apologies. I want you to. Please, Kendall, I want you to.” Soft, slurred and drowsy, her voice brought him reeling back to reality. Unwilling to let her go, he pressed her head to his shoulder. “Please, don’t stop,” she sighed into his neck.

  “I have to stop. You don’t realize what we’re doing, darling.”

  She was breathing hard, clinging to him until her nails cut into his skin. “But I do. Don’t you understand? I need you.”

  “I understand that you’re exhausted and overwrought, and tomorrow all this will look very different to you.” He settled her across his lap. “Peg, listen to me. We’re both very tired. My desire to comfort you got badly out of hand, I’m afraid.”

  She was silent for a time, finally relaxing in his arms. “That’s all it was?”

  “The honest answer is no. I meant what I said. You’re so incredibly beautiful. You make me forget I’m supposed to be a gentleman, at least where you’re concerned.”

  Her fingers traced tenderly across his chest. “You’re beautiful, too.”

  Aware that she was in danger of falling asleep, he nudged her face up to his. “You’re a silly, tired little girl, my love. And now I’m going to leave you here to get some sleep.” He lifted her gently, turning to lay her on the bed. “Tomorrow, we’ll pretend this never happened. All right?”

  She watched from beneath half-closed lids as he buttoned his shirt and retrieved his coat from the floor. “I’m not sorry. And don’t you be, please. I’m glad it happened.” With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

  He bent to press a kiss on her forehead, spreading the sheet over her and tucking it lightly around her shoulders. “Good night, princess. Sweet dreams.”

  He didn’t sleep until almost dawn and then his dreams were a disturbing collage of images—Peg in his arms, the taste and scent of her overlaid with the odor of hospitals and fear. Never in his life had he been so close to losing control. The knowledge that in another minute he would have undressed her, would have made love to her there beneath the ruffled canopy of her childhood bed, left him queasy with self-loathing. That Peg would have let him, that she had responded with such breathtaking willingness, was cause for further concern. While he still wasn’t convinced she understood the consequences, it was clear she had few qualms about losing her virginity in a moment of unconsidered passion.


  He was in trouble, in real danger, here. Losing his heart was one thing. Perhaps, he acknowledged, that had happened years ago. But allowing himself to act on his feelings for Peg without hope of a relationship beyond these few days could condemn him to a lifetime of regret. On the surface, Peg might appear to be the more vulnerable, but he suspected the truth was just the opposite. Thus far, with one painful exception, he had managed to contain his natural proclivity for falling in love, substituting consensual sex and engaging companionship for anything remotely genuine.

  Ironically, a girl who could never be his had broken through to win his possibly undying love without even trying. When he looked at Peg, he saw everything he desired in a woman, wit, intellect and a passion for living, embodied in exceptional beauty and possessing an overwhelming sensuality. Sadly, he also saw Michael Shannon’s only daughter. Peg was not a woman to be taken lightly, but rather one to be taken for better or worse, to be honored and cherished for a lifetime. Not something he was at liberty to offer.

  Chapter Nineteen

  He found Peg in the study. Seated at her father’s desk, she was on the telephone, apparently with the hospital. From the doorway, while he waited for her to ring off, he tried to determine her mood. She certainly looked rested, prim and fresh in a crisp shirtwaist dress in a becoming shade of golden beige. She seemed calm, even poised, asking questions and listening with a faint smile on her lips.

  “Thank you. I think I will. Please tell him I’ll see him at two.” Replacing the receiver, she finally looked his way. “Good morning.” With nothing to read in her greeting, he crossed cautiously to the desk. He wouldn’t blame her if she were angry after last night’s misstep, yet the thought made his gut clench unpleasantly.

  “Good morning. How’s your father?”

  “Doing very well according to the nurse.” She glanced toward the phone. “The tests show nothing new and if he has another good night, he may be released tomorrow. Visiting hours start at two, and he’s resting now, so I’ll wait until then.” Looking up, her eyes glinted with mischief. “Did you rest well?”

  “Well enough. I had a lot on my mind, frankly.” He returned the glint, feeling his apprehension evaporate. When Peg stood and rounded the desk, he waited, still uncertain what to expect.

  “I slept like a log. And I had the most remarkable dreams.” Sliding her hands up his chest, she raised her face until their eyes were mere inches apart. “Thank you for last night, for everything.” Her lips brushed across his, a butterfly touch that set his heart thumping. “Don’t you want some breakfast? I ate hours ago, but there are still croissants and coffee in the kitchen. Mrs. Leary’s gone to meet with the caterer about Friday night’s dinner.”

  “Is that still on?” He allowed his hands to rest on her waist, resisting the urge to return the kiss.

  “Unless something else happens, yes, even if Dad isn’t up to joining us. It won’t be the first dinner party I’ve hostessed on my own, you know. Besides, this one is for you. As long as you’re here, that’s all that matters.” Another tentative kiss and her eyes locked his. “You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you?”

  He flinched. “I owe you an apology, Peg. I should never have allowed things to go so far.”

  “Did they go that far? I thought they stopped somewhere just short of perfect.” Dropping her head on his chest, she sighed. “I’m not a child anymore, Kendall. I’m quite capable of saying no if I don’t want something.”

  “Are you?”

  She pushed away, frowning up at him. “Yes. Nothing you did made me uncomfortable. I don’t see why it should you. Last night, I felt like you were taking care of me, that’s all.”

  He couldn’t hold back a grin. “From now on, I’m determined not to take quite that sort of care of you. But I’m relieved you’re not angry. If you wanted to slap my face, I was prepared to take my punishment like a man.”

  “Oh, no. But I am going to insist you eat something. I have a lot to do today, and I expect you to be with me every minute.” Taking his hand, she towed him toward the door. “Come on. Food first. Before we go to the hospital, I have some errands to run. Then tonight, I thought we might take in a movie. I’ve been dying to see Ivanhoe. That’s assuming Dad’s doing all right, of course.”

  “Hold up a minute. There is something I need to say.” Pulling her around to face him again, he forced her to meet his gaze. “I meant what I said last night. You’re very beautiful, and I was swept away by more than the need to care for you, as you call it. I promise, it will not happen again, but you have to promise me something, too.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tempt me. I’ve never been able to say no to you.”

  She stared up at him, eyes suddenly blazing with an indefinable fire. “Good. I don’t like being told no. And I can’t promise not to do something I’m not aware of doing. You’ll just have to decide whether or not to give in to temptation, won’t you?”

  He took a deep breath, thinking that a stronger man would turn her over his knee about now. “You really are outrageous, aren’t you?”

  “So you said once before. If you remember, I took it as a compliment then, and I still do. You wouldn’t like me nearly as much if I was just some ordinary girl, would you?” She slid her arms around his neck, tilting her head back to hold his gaze. “And you really do like me, I can tell.”

  Sighing “Brat!” as he clasped her face between his hands, he dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. When in response she clutched at his shirt and raised herself on tiptoe, seizing his mouth with a muffled giggle, he groaned his submission. If Adamson walked in now, it should be clear to even his critical eye that in this instance, Kendall was the one in need of protection.

  The day was filled with coming and going from various offices, two stops at the hospital and finally a visit to Bergdorf’s where Peg swept through the appropriate departments selecting her ensemble for Friday’s dinner party. “See, I told you I wear mostly off-the-rack,” she declared proudly as the sales clerk packed her dress in a garment bag.

  “Right. I might point out, Miss Thrifty, that off-the-rack for you exceeds the annual wardrobe allowance for the majority of girls your age, and that’s just for one evening. But I admit, what you chose is worth every penny. You’ll be the focus of every man’s attention tomorrow night.”

  She shot him a teasing little smile. “Even yours?”

  He weighed the wisdom of honesty against the danger of revealing his vulnerability. The dress, which she had modeled barefoot for his approval, was a deep blue affair embroidered with ivory flowers and topped by a chiffon scarf that wrapped her bare shoulders and draped down one side of the front. Beyond the fine fabrics or workmanship, the dress had displayed her figure to stunning effect before flaring softly at the hemline. His mind had perversely gone straight to a moment when he might relieve her of the dress, including the reverent laying aside of the garment before enjoying the glories beneath. With a slightly ragged sigh, he replied, “Most of all mine.”

  “That’s all I’m interested in. Now let’s go home. I want to take a bath before dinner.”

  Carrying her parcels, he fell in step beside her, aware that as was the case everywhere she went, people seemed to recognize her. Everyone from the elevator attendant, the sales clerks behind the counters and the doorman nodded and smiled. Not one of them failed to give him a thorough appraisal as well. As he returned their nods he had the oddly satisfying sense that at least some of them thought him to be Peg’s ‘young man’.

  “Don’t you ever go anywhere without causing a stir?”

  “What do you mean?” She paused on the curb to signal to Simon, who was parked down the block.

  “I mean do you ever just wander into someplace unnoticed? I bet you can’t even go to the public library without being recognized.”

  “Probably not. I’ve never tried it alone. But I’ll have you know when I was in school, I could go with the other girls all over the place and no one made a fuss. It’
s only since my silly debut that things have gotten this bad. Too many pictures in the papers, I guess. I just try to politely ignore it.”

  He passed the parcels to Simon and followed her into the car. “I can’t imagine having to smile and bow all the time like that. Why, I bet Princess Margaret gets through Harrod’s with less bother.”

  She turned to him with a quizzical frown. “Why do you insist on comparing me to a princess? I’m not at all aristocratic. You’re the one who could pass for at least a baronet or maybe the second son of an earl. Where did you learn such elegant manners, anyway? Not from your mother, I’ll bet.”

  “Now see here, don’t go insulting my mother. But you’re right. I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandparents and my grandfather is the fourth son of a baron, not the same as a baronet, by the way. Not a thing I tell everyone, you know. My grandfather was a hard working barrister with, of course, no hope of a title. But both he and my grandmother are sticklers for tradition. Is there anything wrong with my manners, other than being a bit old school by American standards?”

  Without a word, and with no regard for Simon, she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Nothing at all. I love your manners. And I love it when you take me so seriously. I was just teasing about the second son of an earl, but I’m very impressed with your connections. I think I’ll tell everyone you’re the grandson of a peer the next time I get the chance. That should make Connie go green with envy.”

  “And I shall go back to London boasting of how I followed a real American heiress all over Manhattan. I’m sure that will have the lads at the club going green, as you say.”

  “The club? You mean like White’s or Boodles?”

  “Good heavens no. I stop in at a little gymnasium periodically, you know sweaty men in shorts hefting barbells and playing racket ball. Work off a little steam and try to keep reasonably fit. When I tell them I’ve become a kept man, at least for a few days, I’m sure they’ll be very impressed.”