In Name Only (10 page)

“He most
certainly is.”

“Do tell. What
did you and he discuss?”

“Just the normal
polite conversation.”

“Well, I must
say, you looked enamored with him and he seems to be quite taken with you.”

“I hope so.”

“So you have
feelings for him, already, dear Sister?”

Caroline felt
heat rise to her cheeks.  “I know this is early, but yes, I do.”

“That is the most
wonderful news.  I do hope we shall have a wedding this year!”  she exclaimed.

“I suppose we
ought not to be planning any nuptials yet.”

“Miss Caroline,
Miss, ‘Lizabeth, sure an’ there be an invite which has come fer ye,” Patsie
said excitedly.

“An invite?”
Caroline asked, as she and Elizabeth joined Patsie outside on the veranda of
the Martin house.

Elizabeth leaned
close to her cousin’s ear.  “An invitation.”

“Sure, ‘tis to
the O’Donovan House.  Himself just told me to give this to ye, Miss Elizabeth. 
Himself said Mr. Liam and Mr. David be after havin’ a cookout this Saturday in
t’aft’noon, and Himself is gettin’ an invite fer all o’ye.”

At the mention of
Liam’s name, Caroline’s heart fluttered. “Carrie, we’re going to the O’Donovan
house for a cook out!”

“Yes, that is
indeed wonderful news.”  Excitement welled up in her at the notion of seeing
Liam again.  Liam had been her last thought before falling asleep and her first
thought upon waking.  And in less than a week, she would be seeing him again.

That Saturday
afternoon, as they rode up to the O’Donovan residence, Caroline observed that
the O’Donovan mansion’s architecture appeared similar to that of their own
house. The building was built with darker stone and the shutters were brown
instead of green, with the structure being three stories, instead of two.  Ivy
was plastered across the left front of the house and climbing onto the roof.

“Did you know
Liam’s father well, Uncle?”

“I probably knew
him better than most, but he never said much until he had a few glasses of
whiskey,” he laughed.

“Oh my, Carrie,
the dress you’re wearing looks to be almost the exact color of Liam’s coat and
breeches!”

“You’re right.” 
Caroline smoothed out her blue patterned dress and adjusted her hat.  Her heart
began beating more rapidly as she saw Liam on the front veranda welcoming
guests.  For a moment, she stared at him, trying to determine what was
different.

“Carrie, look at
Liam, he’s shaved his beard!  Oh, he looks so much better without that hair on
his face.”

Caroline could
think of little else but how handsome Liam looked. Beside him stood David and
Caroline turned away.

“My mother used
to say that even a homely man looks better clean shaven.”

Caroline laughed. 
“You do say the most amusing things.  And Liam is definitely not a homely man!”

The carriage
pulled up to the front veranda and Liam moved forward to assist first
Elizabeth, then Caroline onto the stepping block next to the carriage.

“I have missed
you,” Liam whispered in her ear.

“Miss Martin, you
are looking more lovely every time I see you,” David said.  He put his hand
forward and waited for her to extend hers.  She gave him her hand
begrudgingly.  “Mr. O’Donovan.”

“Good day, Mr.
Martin,” said Liam.

“Good day, Liam. 
Caroline, would it be acceptable if I left you with Liam?”

“I shall take
good care of her, sir.”

“That would be
fine, Uncle,” Caroline said.

“Come, Elizabeth, I want to talk to Pastor Selkirk.”  The two walked off.

“Caroline, I want
to show you something,” Liam said.

“Will you be
playing violin?  I should like to hear you play.”

“That comes
later.”  He pulled her inside the foyer and stepped back.  “So what do you
think?”  He offered her a wide grin and rubbed his face on both sides.

“You mean shaving
your beard?”

He nodded. 
“Which do you prefer?”

“Well, it doesn’t
matter whether you have a beard or not.”  She paused and studied him for a
moment.  “Although it is rather nice to be able to see your whole face.”

He took hold of
her hand and led her into the house.  Caroline immediately felt at home.  The
design was similar to that of their home, except for the wallpaper and floors. From
the flowered wall coverings and soft pastel colors of the carpeting, Caroline
guessed that Liam’s mother had been the one who had made most of the decorating
decisions.

Caroline surveyed
the front hall area and her eyes grew wide at the white marble staircase. 
“This is lovely,” she said, as she ran her hands over the polished surface of
the banister.

“My father’s
idea.  I cannot begin to guess how much that staircase cost, but it wasn’t
inexpensive. It’s all Italian marble.  I am glad my mother insisted on the
carpeting.  I can just imagine how many times David and I would have injured
ourselves on those stairs without it.” Liam walked her toward a room to the
side, where Uncle’s study would be at their house.  They passed a grandfather
clock which stood against the wall near the entrance.  Caroline’s eyes were
drawn to the painted words above the front doorway, “
Cead
Mille
Failte
, Ma
Achora
.”  As she stared
at the words, Liam said, “It’s Gaelic.  It means ‘A hundred thousand welcomes,
my friend.’  Again, my father’s idea.  He was very proud of his Irish heritage,
but I’m not sure he really meant those words.”

Liam led her to
the study off the foyer. Although the blinds were open, the dark paneling,
walnut desk and bookcases made the room seem dark and foreboding.  Model ships
of every size and variety lined the top of the bookcases. 

“Did your father
build those?”

“A few.  David
actually built most of them when he was 12 or 13.  He has quite a talent for
that sort of activity. ” Caroline shrugged her shoulders.

He stopped before
a painting on the far side of the room near the window.

Caroline looked
up and observed the painting of a beautiful blonde woman, a ruggedly handsome
dark-haired man and two boys, one a smaller golden-haired boy and the other, a
dark curly haired boy.

“Is this your
family?”

He nodded.  “My
mother was beautiful, wasn’t she?”

“Yes.  Now that I
see you without your beard, you resemble her.”

“I know.”

“And David looks
like your father.”

“And acts like
him, I’m afraid.”  He paused.  “I have always liked this picture, although I
remember being annoyed that we had to stand still for so long.”

“How old were you
when this was painted?”

“I think I was
around six and David was eight.”

“You were such a
beautiful little boy.”

He laughed.  “I
hope they burned that silly outfit.”

Liam proceeded to
explain that his mother had given birth to two stillborn boys before David was
born.  “Then I was born too soon and was quite sickly until I was about eight
years old.  Mother always said that God must have had a special plan for me.”

“That’s
beautiful.” She searched the room with her eyes, then said, “I notice that
there are no servant ropes in here.”

“I had them
removed after my father died.  David wanted to keep them all over the house,
but I insisted that we take them down.  Certainly, I can go and find any one of
the servants easily enough without calling them like they’re animals.”

“My sentiment
exactly.  I despise those at Uncle’s house.”

Liam held his arm
out and Caroline took hold of it. They walked around as he showed her various
paintings in the front hallway.  “This one here,” he said, pointing to a
picture of his mother, “was commissioned by my father.  This was six years
ago.” He paused, then stopped in front of a tintype of the same woman.  “This
was taken shortly before she died.”

“She was lovely. 
I wish I could have met her.”

“She was very
special.  She would have had to be to tolerate my father.”  He guided her back
into the study and picked up a small package from his desk. 

“And this,
Caroline, is for you.”

“A present?  For
me?  But it isn’t even my birthday.”

“When is your
birthday?  I should like to know.”

“April 26th.”

“I must remember
that for next year.  Accept this as a belated birthday gift.  I hope you like
it.”

“I am certain I
will,” she responded, then tore off the brown wrapping paper.  She squealed in
delight.  “It’s the book ‘Emma!’  How did you know I don’t own this one?”

“I asked your
uncle.  Do you remember a few weeks ago he asked you which book you would like
to add to your collection?”

Caroline
laughed.  “Yes, I do.  I thought he was going to buy me another book!  Thank
you so much for this, Liam.  I shall treasure it.”

A servant,
perhaps a decade older than Caroline, a pretty woman of mixed race with green
eyes and long light brown hair pulled back under a mobcap, approached them.    “Would
you care for a glass of strawberry punch, Mr. Liam?”

“Yes, Hallie.”

To Caroline, she
said, “Would you like some punch, Miss?” Liam lifted up one of the glasses and
handed it to Caroline.

“Yes, that would
be fine.”

Caroline glanced
up to see David walking toward them.

“Lee, what the. .
.” he looked at Caroline and his eyes narrowed, “What happened to you?  Am I
supposed to host alone while you take Miss Martin on a grand tour?”  Caroline
shuddered at David’s cutting tone.

“You’ve never had
a problem hosting alone before, David.”

David turned
away, muttering something under his breath. He passed a mirror, studied himself
for a moment, brushed a piece of hair in place and walked away.

“I’m sorry,
Liam.  You really ought to be acting as host.  I’ll attempt to find Elizabeth
and Uncle.”

“Very well.  Most
of the guests have arrived and it should only take a few moments.”

Caroline nodded. 
She had just begun looking for her uncle when she nearly bumped into a servant
carrying a tray. “Excuse me,” she said to the young woman, who wore a pleasant
expression and was rather thick around the middle. Her brown hair was pulled
neatly back under a white mobcap.  But what Caroline noticed most about her was
that her eyes displayed unmistakable kindness.

“No, that’s fine,
Miss Caroline.”

“How do you know
my name?”

“Jane, Miss. My
name is Jane.”

“Oh?”  Caroline
knew that she had never met this particular servant before, yet she seemed
familiar all the same.

“Yes. My ma told
me about you, Miss.”

“Your ma?”

“Patsie.”

“Yes, your mother
told me you worked here.  Well, it’s nice to make your acquaintance, Jane.”

“As it is to make
yours, Miss Caroline.  Good day.”

“Good day, Jane.”

There was a tap
on Caroline’s shoulder.  “There you are.”

“Yes, Lizzie. 
I’m just waiting for Liam to finish greeting guests.  He said there’s going to
be a performance.  I do hope he will play the violin.  He’s quite good.”

“It looks like
there is a group of musicians setting up in the reception room over there.” Elizabeth pointed to the larger room to the left of the staircase.

At that moment,
Liam was coming down the stairs with his violin in his hand.  “Miss Martin, how
are you today?” Liam asked Elizabeth.  Her response was to giggle and say,
“Very well, Mr. O’Donovan.”

“Caroline, if you
would be so kind as to accompany me into the parlor, a few of the men are going
to play some songs.  I’ve just learned a new amusing song called “Grandfather’s
Clock.”

Elizabeth and
Caroline followed Liam to the reception room where four rows of seats were
arranged. 

“Carrie, let’s
sit up front.”

“Yes, Caroline, I
prefer you to be closer to the front,” Liam said.

“Of course.”

Within minutes,
an announcement was made and soon, most of the chairs were occupied.  Caroline
made a quick visual search but could not see Uncle. “Where is your father?”

“He is most
probably still speaking with Pastor Selkirk.  When I left them, they were
talking about the new fishing laws.  It was enough to put me to sleep.”

The man at the
piano began playing a lively tune.  After the short introduction, Liam put the
violin to his chin and started playing.  Although it was an amusing song, Liam
played as if it were the most important melody in the world.  People began
clapping and singing along.  Caroline couldn’t take her eyes off Liam.