Her mother remained speechless, which was most unusual for Paulette, while her father stared mutely at Foster, as if debating whether to hit him or not.
“Papa, please, don’t be upset,” Mara said hurriedly. “Please be calm. I can explain everything.”
“Good God! You’ve been hurt!” he cried, brushing past Foster and hurrying to her bedside. “What happened, Mara? When I heard there was a fire, I thought I’d lose my mind with worry. Are you all right, darlin’?”
Paulette too came rushing to the other side of her bed. “Oh, my God! Look at her!”
“I’ m fine, Papa.” Mara glanced between the two of them and attempted a smile. “Truly. Please don’t worry.”
“I’m not to worry that my only daughter fled to Ireland without my knowledge? When your mother and I arrived in London to surprise you, you weren’t there! But then your cousin reluctantly informed us that you’ve been involved with a married man”—he gave a scathing glance to Foster—“who followed you to Ireland. Just as we were about to return to Cashelmore we received a telegram from you, saying you would be returning to London. So we waited for you to come home. Then we received another telegram from a gentleman we’ve never met, telling us that there had been a fire and that you’d been delayed. Can you imagine how sick with worry we have been?”
“We raced here as soon as we received Lord Sterling’s message, Mara. We were frantic.” Paulette’s expression was anxious as she took a seat on the side of the bed and touched a gentle hand to Mara’s face. “We didn’t know what to expect.”
“I’m very sorry,” Mara cried, looking at the concerned faces of her loving parents. “And I want to explain everything to you, truly I do. Papa, please, sit and listen to me.”
Wordlessly, Foster moved two chairs over to Mara’s father. They each took one, although her father eyed Foster skeptically. Paulette remained seated beside her on the bed and Mara was grateful for her mother’s quiet support.
“First of all, why did you not tell us you were coming to Ireland?” Her father looked at her sternly.
“When I made up my mind to come home, there wasn’t time to tell you and I thought it would be fun to surprise you all. Obviously, I didn’t know you were returning to London to surprise me at the same time.” Mara attempted a weak smile.
“Well, we did want to surprise you,” Paulette said. “But we really returned early because Jeffrey said he was worried about you.”
“Uncle Jeffrey?” Mara recalled their conversation in the schoolroom. He must have written to her parents about it. “What did he say?”
“His letter was more cryptic, but I’ve since spoken with him. He was concerned about an episode you had with him,” Paulette said softly, giving Mara an understanding look.
Mara paused. “Yes, I did have an episode while I was talking with Jeffrey. I also had one with Foster”—she indicated the man she loved—“and I’ve always had these visions. They were the reason I came back to Ireland. To learn more about them. And myself.” Mara looked to her father. “I went to visit Aunt Deirdre.”
“Deirdre?” Her father appeared stunned. “Why?”
“I needed to learned more about my mother,” she said softly.
Paulette and her father exchanged glances. Then he said, “You could have asked me anything about her, darlin,’ you know that.”
“I know that, Papa,” Mara answered. “But you’ve always seemed reticent to talk about her. And I thought talking to her older sister might give me more insight about her in ways that you couldn’t, Papa. You see . . . over the years . . . I was somehow under the impression that my mother was mad.”
“I don’t understand.” Declan ran his hand over his face. “I don’t know how such a thing could have happened. Your mother wasn’t mad. Perhaps you’d overheard things you shouldn’t have. And I shouldn’t have avoided talking about your mother with you, Mara. I was afraid to upset you, so I never brought her up.” He looked truly remorseful.
Mara looked at his loving face and thought of all the care and affection he had lavished upon her over the years. “Don’t blame yourself, Papa. I suppose it’s something I did to myself. You couldn’t have known what I was thinking. Because I love you so much, I was always afraid of worrying you and Mother, which is why I didn’t tell either of you of my visions. I didn’t tell anyone because I thought I was going mad, like Mama.”
Her father was distraught. “Oh, God, Mara . . .”
“Oh, sweetheart, you could have told us.” Paulette took Mara’s hand and squeezed it.
“I should have, yes. I see that now,” Mara said. “But I was afraid.”
“And the premonitions?” Declan asked.
“I only told Uncle Jeffrey because I had a premonition when I was with him. The premonitions make me dizzy, so they can be difficult to hide. He was very understanding. And I told Foster, again only because I experienced one while I was with him. This one premonition in particular was worrying me. So I went to see Aunt Deirdre . . .”
“And what did Deirdre have to say?” her father asked, with a look of disbelief on his face. Declan and Deirdre never did get along well.
“She was quite kind, actually. She made me understand that Mama wasn’t mad at all, that I was mistaken in thinking so. And she let me know that I have a special gift. Apparently the sight runs in Mama’s family.”
“It does?” Declan was flabbergasted. “I never knew anything about that!”
“Well, I didn’t either, but now knowing that my great-grandmother had visions also makes me feel less frightened by it all.”
“I wish you’d told me, Mara,” Declan said, his voice full of regret.
“I wish I had too.” Mara could have saved herself years of agony if she had.
“But that’s neither here nor there,” her father said. “I still don’t know what’s going on with this fellow.” He pointed an accusatory finger toward Foster.
“That”—Mara couldn’t help but smile—“is the man I’m going to marry, Papa.”
“But isn’t he already married, my dear?” Paulette asked, her brows drawn in concern. All eyes turned to Lord Sterling.
“Yes.” Foster spoke up. “Yes, I was married.”
Declan’s eyes widened. “Was?”
“My wife died in a fire two days ago,” Foster announced solemnly.
Declan buried his face in his hands.
“What happened?” Paulette cried in dismay. “I don’t understand any of this. Why are you involved with a married man or why he is in Ireland with you . . .”
“Well,” Mara began, “I had a vision about Foster and the fire before we were to leave for Ireland. I had just met him at Uncle Jeffrey’s birthday party. I couldn’t leave London until I knew what it meant.”
“That’s why you wanted to stay in London?” Declan asked in a tone that bordered on disgust. “For him?”
“Yes, for him.” Mara confirmed her words with a nod. “I knew in my heart that Foster was the man I was meant to be with, and I didn’t care that he was married.”
“Oh, Mara,” Paulette whispered, looking aghast, but she still held Mara’s hand.
“I love your daughter, Lord Cashelmore.” Foster lifted his head. “So much so that I was planning to annul my façade of a marriage, which was arranged for me ten years ago. It was a marriage in name only. She and I lived apart the entire time and we had no children.”
“Then why now?” Declan demanded, his expression grim. “If your marriage was not a true marriage and you were both so unhappy, why have you waited ten years to end it? Why didn’t you annul it years ago and get on with your life?”
Foster looked directly at Declan, hiding nothing. “I’ve asked myself that very question many times over the years. To be honest, I never believed I deserved any better than what I had. I suppose I didn’t care enough to change things and I reconciled myself to an empty life. But everything changed the night I met your daughter, Lord Cashelmore. I fell in love with her and she
gave me hope that I could change my life . . . that we could have a life together. I wanted a true marriage with her.”
Declan grew quiet at Foster’s words. Paulette glanced nervously between the two men.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Mara added, “Papa, I know Foster and I were wrong to . . . to begin an affair, but—”
“Stop!” Declan cried out hoarsely. “Please, I can’t hear this. Spare me those details. I haven’t the strength.”
Foster rose to his feet. He cleared his throat and gave Mara’s father a steady look. “Lord Cashelmore, I have wanted to marry your daughter from the very first moment I met her. I love her and she loves me. It’s true that we were wrong to do what we did, and I take full responsibility for it. But it’s happened and we can’t change it. However, due to the recent circumstances, I am free to marry her now. As soon as the doctor says that Mara is well enough to travel, we will wed. And we would like your blessings.”
Mara’s heart swelled with pride and love as Foster spoke. “It’s the truth, Papa. We were sitting here discussing how soon we could marry when you arrived.”
The room grew quiet. Mara watched her parents exchange another one of those wordless glances that spoke volumes. It pleased her that she and Foster were able to communicate that way now. They knew what the other was thinking. Mara had always wanted a relationship like her parents, and now she had one.
“If it makes you feel any better, Papa, Foster saved my life. He rescued me from the fire at the hotel. I’d have died if he hadn’t come for me.”
Declan stared at Foster with a look of appreciation. “The same fire in which your wife died?”
“Yes, and it seems my wife was the one who set the fire,” Foster confessed.
“Oh, my God.” Paulette covered her mouth with her hand.
Mara began to explain what happened the night of the fire. She told how Rose Sheridan had followed her to Ireland, how they discovered she was dying and probably set the fire, and how Foster had returned to the burning hotel to rescue her. Her parents listened with stunned expressions.
“Heavens, Mara, you could have been killed,” Paulette murmured softly. “We could have lost you.”
Her father’s eyes filled with worry. “You were in another fire, Mara.”
“Yes, it was my premonition coming to pass. They always do.”
She held out her hand to her father. He took it, holding on tight. Her mother held one hand, her father the other. She loved the two of them so much. Her relief at finally sharing with them all that had happened to her buoyed her spirits. She felt lighter and happier than she could ever recall feeling.
“And I’m fine, so please don’t worry. Either of you.” Mara looked pointedly at her father. “But I am no longer a little girl, Papa. I’m not going to lose my voice again. I’m a grown woman and I know what I want. I know my own heart. I want to be Foster’s wife because I love him.”
An expectant silence ensued as her parents exchanged those wordless glances once more. Mara gazed at Foster, whose face was alight with hope.
“Well, I suppose I can’t deny you anything, Mara,” Declan said at last, suddenly looking resigned to the state of affairs. “Although I’m not at all comfortable with these circumstances, I can’t deny that I would have done the same in his position. Your mother and I love you and only want your happiness. We give you our blessing to marry this man.”
“Oh, Papa! Mother! Thank you both!” Mara cried. “You’ve made me so happy!”
Paulette hugged her and whispered so only Mara could hear, “One day I shall tell you all about how your father and I met. I understand more than you know.” She placed a kiss on Mara’s cheek.
Mara stared at her stepmother in surprise. She loved how Paulette always understood her.
Reluctantly, Declan rose from his place near the bed and turned to shake Foster’s hand. “You promise you will take good care of my daughter?”
“Thank you, sir. I will spend my life doing so, I promise,” Foster said as they shook hands. “She is all I ever wanted.”
“Then I suppose we need to get you two married,” Declan responded.
Foster looked to Mara. “Nothing would make me happier.”
Mara raised her eyes to the man she loved and smiled.
26
Conclusions
“Itold you Mara stayed in London because of a man,”
Yvette Hamilton Eddington remarked a bit smugly.
Holding a flute of champagne in her hand, Colette Hamilton Sinclair laughed lightly. “Well, yes, I suppose you were right about that after all.”
“What’s this?” asked Juliette Hamilton Fleming, as she joined three of her sisters in the grand drawing room of Devon House.
“Yvette was just reminding us that she was right about something,” Colette explained.
“When isn’t Yvette right?” Juliette laughed. She and her husband, Captain Harrison Fleming, had just arrived from New York the evening before, along with their daughter and son-in-law.
“I suspected from the start there was a romance brewing,” Yvette added. “Mara is a girl after my own heart, and a bit of a dark horse, if you ask me.”
“I must say it was quite a shock to return and discover that Mara had married.”
“It was quite a shock to all of us, and we were here,” Lisette Hamilton Roxbury said.
“It wasn’t a shock to me at all.” Yvette grinned in satisfaction.
“Has there been much talk or gossip about them?” Juliette asked, sipping her champagne.
“There has been some,” Colette answered pragmatically. “It’s unavoidable with him remarrying so soon after his wife’s death, but the first Lady Sterling was not well-known in town, so I suppose it will fade away rather quickly.”
“So what do we think of him?” Juliette asked, indicating Foster Sheridan with a slight nod of her head.
“He seems quite nice, judging from what little time I’ve spent with him,” Lisette responded happily. “And he’s absolutely besotted with her. Look at the two of them together.”
The sisters glanced fondly at Mara and Foster, who were chatting with Sara and her husband. Foster indeed had a look of adoration upon his face as he gazed at Mara.
The entire Hamilton family was gathered at Devon House to celebrate the marriage of Lady Mara Reeves and the Earl of Sterling. The pair had married in Ireland at Cashelmore Manor with Mara’s parents’ blessing before they returned to London. The sudden wedding had surprised the family, but they had immediately rallied around the newlyweds.
Paulette Hamilton Reeves walked over to where her four sisters had gathered in a corner of the large drawing room. “So I now have a son-in-law.”
“Welcome to the club.” Juliette smiled and hugged her sister.
“Thank you,” Paulette said. “I’m so happy you have arrived, Juliette. It was a wonderful surprise to return from Ireland to find you and Harrison here. And of course, Mara was thrilled to have Sara back.” She gave her sisters a knowing look and lowered her voice. “And when things have calmed down a bit, I’ll fill you in on all that happened while we were in Ireland. It’s quite a story. But for now, I’m simply grateful that Mara is so happy.”
Colette agreed. “It’s true. I’ve never seen Mara like this. She’s positively radiating happiness.”
“She is . . . I just wish we could have given her a grand wedding,” Paulette explained with a note of sadness in her voice. “Declan desperately wanted to make a fuss over her, but Mara and Foster didn’t want to wait. They thought a small and private ceremony would be wiser after his wife’s death.”
“It was probably for the best, but I would have loved to have seen Mara dressed as a bride,” Colette added with a sigh. “She would look like an angel.”
“I suppose one of your boys will be the next to marry,” Yvette said to Colette with a hopeful smile.
“Yes, they should be,” Colette said with a little sigh. “But Phillip doesn’t seem to be in any hurr
y to settle down just yet. Neither does Simon.”
Lisette remarked, “The time will come soon enough, I’ve no doubt. In the meantime, let’s toast to Mara’s happiness and how lucky we are to have the whole family together again.”
The five Hamilton sisters raised their champagne glasses and smiled.
* * *
“Honestly, Mara, how could you have possibly gotten married without telling me anything at all about it?” Sara Fleming Townsend, the Countess of Bridgeton, demanded in a teasing tone.
Christopher Townsend, the Earl of Bridgeton, nodded in agreement with his new bride. “She’s been quite crushed at missing your wedding, Mara.”
“May I remind you both that you were away on your honeymoon? But I did wish many times that you had been there with me.” Mara then glanced lovingly at her new husband. “Besides, it all happened far too quickly to tell anyone about it.”
“You could have sent me a telegram.” Sara gave a bit of a pout, but her blue eyes flashed with merriment as she teased her cousin. “But honestly, Christopher and I are thrilled that you’re settled, Mara. It was a lovely surprise to come home and see you married and looking so happy.”
“Thank you.” Mara couldn’t help but grin. She was fairly bursting with joy. “We are quite happy.”
With a sharp eye, Sara looked Foster Sheridan up and down. “How do I know if you’re good enough for my dearest and most treasured cousin, Lord Sterling?”
“Please, call me Foster, and I assure you, Lady Bridgeton, that no one is good enough for Mara, but I shall try my best to deserve her,” he responded with a good-natured smile.
Sara’s face lit up with approval at his words. “Well, I like you already, Foster. And you must call me Sara and call my husband Christopher. Now that you’re in the family, we are all cousins.”
“Are you talking about me again?” asked Phillip Sinclair, as he joined the group. He flashed them a charming smile.
“Yes,” Sara said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “We were just saying that you must be next.”
“Next?” He looked confused. “Next for what?”
The Irish Heiress Page 27