Never Broken (12 page)

She stopped in the center of the room. Mayhap there is another choice.

Scrambling to her jewel box, she flung open the wooden cover. Nestled inside the velvet-lined drawers were necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, all made of precious stones. Rubies, emeralds, and diamonds twinkled at her, and she scooped up a particularly heavy strand of pearls. The trinkets meant nothing much to her except for trivial adornment, but now they were the most precious items she owned.

She shut the box, then pulled out the smallest traveling case she owned, anger replacing the numbness. She would not be forced to marry some horrid man. Nor would she spend the rest of her life bowing to William’s whims while her mother did nothing to stop him. Quickly, she packed the small case and slid it underneath her bed.

Later that night, after everyone had retired to their rooms, she crept down the stairs, her valise in hand. She couldn’t manage descending the terrace with it, so she was forced to wind her way through the manor and sneak out the back door in the kitchen. She touched the handle of the door when a single light illuminated the pantry from behind her.

“Och? Who goes there?”

Sara froze, recognizing Brigit’s voice. Nearly paralyzed with fear, she slowly turned around, shielding her eyes from the light by a lift of her hand. “It’s me, Bridget,” she said, forcing her voice to stay steady. “Sara.”

The plump woman bustled to the table and set the oil lamp on it, dimming the light as she did. “M’lady, what are you doin’ in the kitchen at this late hour?” When Brigit saw Sara’s dress and valise, she let out a gasp.

“Please.” Sara set down her bag and took Brigit’s hands into her own. “Don’t alert William or Mother.”

Brigit’s sagging features formed a wan, wrinkled smile. “Yer leavin’, ain’t ye? Can’t say that I blame ye. ‘Tis been difficult for us all since m’lord died.”

Sara nodded. “Yes, it has.”

Brigit cupped her mistress under the chin, her eyes shining with tears. “But where will ye go?”

“Cork, I suppose. To try to find Colm.” Although she had little hope of ever seeing him again.

Brigit nodded. “The lad didn’t deserve what he’d got. We all knew it would be bad to cross Lord William, but we never guessed he’d do somethin’ like this.” She drew Sara into her embrace. “God’s speed, lass. I hope ye find what you’re searchin’ for.”

“Thank you, Brigit.” Sara returned her hug, reluctantly letting go. She knew she had to leave, but that didn’t stem the fear of the unknown. She gave the trusted servant one last look before opening the door and disappearing into the night.

Rory awoke to the sound of
a moan. His eyes opened, and he shifted in his chair, still half asleep, thinking he had imagined the noise. A sharp pain in the side of his neck from sleeping in the awkward position woke him completely. Rubbing the sore spot he looked to Shannon, relieved to see her sleeping peacefully, despite the fire having burned to a few embers.

Again he heard the moan coming from the bed. He stood and went to Ainslee, who was finally stirring.

“Shannon,” Ainslee groaned, her eyes half-lidded.

Rory felt her forehead. Her skin was hotter than it had been yesterday when they’d arrived at the inn. He took a cloth and dipped it in water, sat down on the edge of the bed, and dabbed at her brow.

“Aye… Father… I promise… strong enough… enough faith…” The words came out in a steady stream, not making any sense at all.

He tried to wake her, hoping he could at least get her to drink something. “Lass,” he said, shaking her gently. He held a small tin cup of water to her lips. “Try and drink this.”

To his surprise, she took the water into her parched mouth. It dribbled from the corner of her dried lips, and he wiped it up with the edge of the blanket.

After taking the small sip of liquid, she fell back asleep and out of consciousness. The heat emanating from her body alarmed him. He peeled back the covers and went to wake Shannon.

When he touched Shannon’s shoulder, she woke with a start. “Ainslee?” she asked, looking up at him.

“I need your help,” he said. “We have to get her fever down.”

Shannon scrambled to her feet and rushed to her sister’s side. She looked at Ainslee’s trembling form. “Rory, she’s shiverin’.” She started to cover Ainslee with the blankets, but Rory stopped her.

“Strip her to her chemise,” he said. When Shannon had Ainslee in a halfway sitting position, he took the sheet off the bed and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

He didn’t answer, shut the door behind him, and hurried down the hall.

Shannon began taking off
Ainslee’s clothing until she was clad only in her thin white undergarment. Her shivering increased. Shannon hoped Rory knew what he was doing. Letting her sister freeze in the cold room seemed nonsensical. “Ainslee,” she said, cradling her twin’s face.

But all Ainslee did was moan. Shannon laid her back down, fighting the urge to pile blankets back on top of her.

When Rory returned, the sheet was soaked with water. “Help me wrap her,” he said as he neared the bed. “Lift her shoulders. That’s it, lass.”

When the cold sheet touched Ainslee’s skin, she awakened. Her feverish eyes locked with Shannon’s as Rory continued to swathe her in the wet shroud. “‘Twill be all right, Lee,” Shannon murmured once they had her completely wrapped. “You’ll feel better soon.”

“S-so c-cold,” Ainslee said.

Shannon feathered back her sister’s blonde hair. “‘Twill only last for a little while, until the fever breaks.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Ainslee continued to shiver, not saying anything else.

Shannon looked at Rory, despair overwhelming her. “I can’t lose her,” she whispered. “Tell me I won’t lose her.”

Rory paused. “You won’t,” he said, looking away, focusing on tightening the sheet around Ainslee’s body.

Shannon nodded, clasping her hands together. Tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes.

He was lying through his teeth.

Three days later, Ainslee’s
fever finally broke. Shannon was at her bedside when her sister’s eyes fluttered open, sweat forming on her brow. “Shannon?”

Thank God! Shannon was overjoyed to see a smile on her sister’s face, even if the smile was weak. “I’m here.”

“What happened?” Ainslee tried to sit up but couldn’t. She looked around the room, her blue eyes filled with bewilderment. “Where are we?”

Shannon explained everything that had happened to them. In the middle of speaking, Rory walked in the room. “Rory,” Shannon said, barely containing her excitement. “Look who’s awake!”

He set the parcels he carried on the table and walked to the bed. The smile he gave Ainslee warmed Shannon’s heart. “Mornin’ lass,” he said softly. “How are you feelin’?”

“Tired. Very tired.”

“Not surprisin’, considerin’ how sick you were.” He stepped away. “I’ll make you somethin’ to eat.”

While he prepared the food, Shannon leaned closer to Ainslee. “’Tis amazin’ what he’s done for us, Lee. I don’t know how we’ll ever repay him. I haven’t eaten this well in weeks.”

“Your cheeks are a little plumper,” Ainslee said in a weak, but happy voice. “And methinks there’s a little twinkle in your eye I’ve never seen before.”

Shannon blushed. “You must be daft. Either that or still feverish.”

“Mayhaps.” But as her eyes closed she gave Shannon a small smile.

After Ainslee took some nourishment and had fallen back asleep, Shannon sat in front of the fire with her knees drawn to her chest. She closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer for Ainslee. When she finished, she opened her eyes to see Rory sitting beside her.

“’Tis a great relief to see Ainslee on the mend,” he said in that quiet way of his.

She looked at him, hoping he could see how grateful she was for everything he had done. “Aye, thanks to you.”

He averted his gaze. “I wish you wouldn’t speak of me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m sittin’ on some sort of pedestal with a halo on my head and wings sproutin’ out my back.”

Shannon laughed at the image, but it wasn’t far from how she felt. “I only speak the truth, Rory.”

“And I only did what any man would do.” He continued to stare at the fire.

She gazed at his handsome profile, more emotions bubbling inside her than she understood. Boldly she touched his shoulder, only to swiftly withdraw her hand. “No ordinary man would do what you have done.” She paused. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For keepin’ you from goin’ to America and followin’ your dreams.” She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. “You will be a great physician someday. ‘Tis in your blood and your bones.”

He remained silent for a moment. Shannon ached to know what he was thinking, but she didn’t dare ask.

Finally, he spoke. “What are your dreams, Shannon? What do you long for?”

His question surprised her. “I’m not sure,” she said honestly. “I reckon I don’t have any dreams, other than to have a family, like every other woman in our village wished for. Except Ainslee, of course.”

“Why is she different?”

“Ever since I can remember, she’s wanted to be a nun. ‘Tis not somethin’ many girls in Ballyclough yearn to do, but she always has. It was somethin’ she was born to do.”

“And you? What were you born to do?”

She hesitated before answering. “I think—I think I was born to have a simple life.” She drew her knees closer to her. “Sounds dead borin’, doesn’t it?”

“Nay,” he replied, stretching out his long legs and crossing them at the ankles. He leaned back on his palms. “Sounds quite nice, actually.”

“But I also have some secret wishes.”

Rory’s brow lifted. “Such as?”

“When I was a young girl I would sit by a little creek near our cottage and imagine I lived in a castle. I wore beautiful dresses and ate delicious food and drank all the wine I wanted.”

“You dreamed about dressing up and getting drunk?”

“‘Twasn’t about the wine, the clothes, or the food. ‘Twas about having enough. To not worry about anythin’. To live a perfect life.” She shrugged. “’Tis hard for you to understand, I’m sure.”

He looked down at his lap. “I know what it’s like to go without.”

“Without dessert after dinner, right?” she asked, unable to keep a tiny bit of sarcasm from sneaking into her tone.

“Without food. Without knowing where the next meal is coming from.” He looked at her. “Or whether my father would beat my mother before or after he got drunk.”

Shannon drew in a sharp breath. “Oh, Rory, I’m so sorry. And here I was funnin’ you.”

He shook his head. “No offense taken.” He stared at the fire again. “Because of my uncle’s kindness, my brother and I were able to live well for most of our lives.”

“You have a brother?”

“Aye. Colm’s his name.”

“But he’s not with you.”

“Because he’s a stubborn fool.” He turned and shifted his body until he was facing her. “I don’t want to talk about him or my family. But I will tell you that money doesn’t always make a perfect life either. A secure one, but not a perfect one.”

“Mayhaps. Still, I’d like that security. I hope to have it someday.” She smiled at the thought.

Rory touched her cheek. “You have a bonny smile,” he murmured. “A bonny smile indeed.”

Intense warmth traveled the length of her body, making her toes curl. It was a feeling she’d never experienced. Her father had kept her and Ainslee on a tight rein, warning all the boys of the village that one daughter was destined to become a nun, and the other had to be treated like one. She yearned for something, but she didn’t know what.

Her eyes locked with his, and she was fascinated by the way his had darkened. He lightly ran his thumb across the top of her cheek. Before she realized it, his lips touched hers in a soft caress. When he moved away, he looked at her. “Have you ever kissed a lad, Shannon?”

Heat suffused her cheeks as she looked away. “Nay,” she whispered, embarrassed.

“I haven’t kissed too many lasses.” His lips curved into a half-smile. “Methinks we’re both equally inexperienced.”

She was more than glad to hear it.

He leaned in closer and whispered, “I’ve been wantin’ to kiss you since we first met in my uncle’s garden.”

“When I was a sloppy scullery maid?” she half-teased, incredulous that he had been attracted to her at all.

“Nay, when you were—and still are—beautiful.” He kissed her again.

Her lips followed his lead, parting slightly as her hands instinctively moved to entwine around his neck. As they kissed, her fingertips played with the soft blond hair at his neck. She felt his hands at her waist, drawing her closer to him, then roaming over her back and sliding down the side of her waist to the curve of her hip.

Tingling sensations shot through her body as she dug her fingertips into his shoulders.

Suddenly he released her, moving further away and putting space between them. The distance was small, but it might as well have been as wide as the ocean. He turned and stared at the fire again.

Had she done something wrong?

She watched him as he continued to gaze into the flames. It was only then that she noticed his heaving chest and trembling mouth, and the hurt faded away. She had the same effect on him as he did on her.

Finally he turned to her, longing still clear and bright in his eyes. He reached for her hand and entwined his fingers through them. “I won’t be takin’ advantage of you, Shannon. I want you to know that.”

“Aye,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I do, Rory. I wouldn’t expect that you would.”