Chapter Nine

"So, what have ye got for us tonight?" Sean's eyes twinkled as he placed the linen napkin in his lap.

Elizabeth laughed as she removed the lid of the silver platter to reveal a steaming plate of mouthwatering food. "Tonight, we're having roast beef and mashed potatoes, with carrots and corn."

Sean's mouth fell open at the spread that laid before him. "Wow."

"And we have pie."

"Pie?"

"Pie."

Sean smiled as Elizabeth sat down beside him. This was quickly becoming his favorite part of the day. He found himself looking forward to their dinners together, and not just for the amazing meals. He simply delighted in her company and it was the one time of day when they could talk.

Elizabeth watched in anticipation as Sean took his first bite. She wanted the look of joy that crossed his features when he was eating good food. She lived for this moment and found herself taking extra time and care in preparing dinner. Where at first she might have done so out of a nervous desire to please her employer, she now did so simply to see the look on his face.

A delirious smile formed on Sean's lips. "Och Elizabeth, this is heaven."

Elizabeth laughed with delight. "Ye said that yesterday!"

"Aye, well it's hard to improve upon heaven. Okay, this is better than heaven."

"That's better."

"So how was your day?"

"Good," Elizabeth answered, swallowing a large bite of potatoes. "I went to the market this morning to sell the surplus vegetables and I know we've always done business with Mr. Fitzpatrick, but Mr. O'Shea will give us an extra five cents a bushel. And ye usually get your linens from Kennedy's but I can get it for much less than you're paying now."

Sean smiled, his brown eyes twinkling.

Elizabeth paused, noticing his tender expression. "What?"

"You're so much like your mum. Ye would be great at managing a house like this."

The young girl blushed. "I had a good teacher, I guess. Besides, I am the shopping queen. Even Mum's impressed with my ability to find a bargain. Now about the furniture in storage. They should be put out in the living areas. They're such beautiful pieces and in good shape."

"Aye, but the fabric is dingy and torn in many places."

"Well, I could reupholster them. I found this beautiful bolt of silk, high quality at an amazing price. Unfortunately, today was the last day he'd be at the market.so I went ahead and bought it. I know I should have checked with ye first but if ye don't like it, that's okay, I can keep it for myself."

Sean chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you're very beautiful."

Elizabeth stared at Sean. What did he just say?"

"IT's very beautiful," he corrected. "I'm sure the fabric is very beautiful."

Elizabeth smiled. She noticed Sean's nervous gestures and the slight blush coloring his tan cheeks. She wondered what it could mean.

Sean recovered from his verbal slip and they continued talking about business and other things as time ticked by.

The blood drained from Rhianna's naturally pale face making her skin appear deathly white. Her suddenly dry mouth dropped open and she simply stared at Sheamus incredulously.

"What?" She managed to croak.

"There is something wrong with the shipment." He repeated a little slower at an attempt to calm himself. There was no point in upsetting Rhianna. He went on to explain, as calmly as his racing heart would allow.

"Some of the parts are defective, dangerously so. If our customers were to use them, they'd very likely destroy their machines." He watched her closely as he explained, waiting to see what her reaction would be.

But she just sat there motionless, overcome with shock. Something wrong with the shipment? How could this be? Now? After all their hard work. In her mind's eye she saw her customers flying away like autumn leaves in the wind. And she saw herself chained to an altar, forced to marry a man she didn't love. No. It wasn't going to end like this. Not while they still had a fighting chance.

She inhaled deeply and looked at Sheamus. "How many parts are we talking about?" she asked, her voice ringing with steel.

"If the shipment goes out as is, then every customer will receive at least one case of faulty parts. All told, maybe 100 pieces, maybe more." he replied with a heavy sigh, bitter disappointment flowing over him. They had worked so hard to keep the business from failing - only to have this setback now, of all times.

"Can they be repaired?" Rhianna asked matter of factly.

Sheamus was slightly surprised by her question. He noted with amazement the fiery blaze in her emerald eyes, the firm set to her jaw and her stiff posture. "The defects are too severe. The parts will have to be rebuilt from scratch." He replied with a defeated slump of his broad shoulders.

"Then that's just what we're going to have to do." She replied firmly, standing to her feet and exiting the office. She was halfway down the stairs leading to the machines below when Sheamus caught up to her.

"Ye can't be serious!" his cries echoed loudly in the large empty space of the factory.

"Oh, I'm quite serious, Mr. Brady." Rhianna replied, never once letting up her furious pace toward the machinery.

"We're talking about 100 pieces - two days work for one man. The train will be here in ten hours. There's no way I can replace all these parts by myself." He insisted vehemently.

They had reached the machines for the particular parts that needed replacing. "So who says you're going to do it by yourself?" she asked while grabbing a work smock off a hook on the wall.

Sheamus's blue eyes grew wide as he realized the implications of what she was saying. "Oh no. Ye can NOT be serious!" he cried again, louder this time. Little Rhianna trying to operate one of these huge machines? It was suicide!

Rhianna whirled on Sheamus, her eyes sparking with green fire. "Well, we can't let the pieces go out as they are - our few remaining customers would leave us in a heartbeat. So unless ye have any other suggestions."

"Actually, I do. Delay the shipment. It would only take a few hours to build 100 pieces with our entire crew working. The shipment can go out the next day. What's one day's delay?" Sheamus argued. Sure a delay wouldn't be the best way to impress their customers, but it was hardly the catastrophe that Rhianna made it out to be.

"Aye, except tomorrow's Saturday and all the workers are off." She shot back hotly. "Even if we could get everyone in here to work, ye know the trains run on a fixed schedule and only come by twice a week. The earliest the parts could go out is Wednesday, a delay of four days! Not even our most forgiving customer would stay with us after that. The parts either go out tomorrow morning, or not at all." Rhianna stated with a firm finality as she tied her long red hair back with a green silk ribbon.

Sheamus racked his brain for a solid argument. "Well, we wouldn't have to delay all the shipments. Look, we replace the bad parts with good ones from the smaller shipments. This way we fill the orders for our larger, more important customers and delay the orders for our smaller clients. Not a perfect solution, certainly, but it's the only one we've got." He responded earnestly while gripping Rhianna's tense shoulders. She looked up then, their eyes locking, blue and green. Sheamus could see the fierce determination in her eyes, determination and desperation.

"We can't afford to lose even one customer." She stated softly, blinking back sudden tears. "I can't lose this business. My da gave it to me and it's all I have left of him. I can't lose it. I won't." She said firmly, wiping away the hot tears that had fallen down her cheeks. She quickly looked away from his piercing gaze; unnerved by the emotions the simple contact had stirred in her. Now was not the time for romantic self- contemplation. They had work to do.

She brusquely walked over to the nearest machine, and after studying it for a moment, turned it on. The mechanical monster immediately roared to life, startling her. But she didn't let its intimidating size deter her from her task. She set her shoulders and rolled up her sleeves.

Suddenly, though, she was whirled around by a rough pull on her arm. She looked down in surprise at where Sheamus firmly gripped her forearm - electric tingles shooting through her body at his touch. If he was similarly affected by their close contact, then he didn't show it. Sheamus stood in front of her, his face a mixture of anger, respect and fear. "I won't let ye do this." He gritted out through clenched teeth, his blue eyes blazing.

Rhianna stared at him dumbfounded. She wrenched her arm free from his grasp, but didn't step away from him. She then drew herself up to her full height and replied with a regal air that only comes from being born of nobility. "Excuse me?" she asked haughtily with a raised eyebrow. "Ye won't let ME?"

"Dammit!" he bellowed at her, while taking a step closer to her. Their bodies were separated by a mere inch. "This isn't some game you're playing at, little girl. People die on these machines! I am not about to let a little slip of a girl like yourself operate a man's machine."

Rhianna tossed her long red hair and laughed, unfazed by his loud blustering. "Och, so tis a man's job now is it?" She challenged, crossing her arms over her heaving chest.

They stood for a moment, eyes locked in a death grip of anger, fire and passion, faces flushed from the fire that raged through them.

Sheamus rolled his eyes as he tried to calm his racing heart. This was getting them nowhere. "Look, even if ye were to help me build the parts, there's still the job of finishing them. The two of us are never going to replace all these parts in time."

Rhianna smiled suddenly as an idea took root in her head. She sprinted out the factory calling out behind her, "Just get started! I'll be right back!"

Rhianna spurred the beautiful chestnut brown horse into a gallop. "Come on, Bright Eyes, faster!" She flew through the rolling fields on the way to the castle. She had borrowed the horse from a good friend and neighbor, so she could get to the castle quickly. Minutes later, she was there, dismounting before the horse could come to a stop.

"Sean!" she called loudly as she raced into the castle. She found her brother eating dinner with Elizabeth in the dining room.

"Sean, I need ye and Elizabeth to take the carriage and come quick to the factory. I don't have time to explain, I'm leaving now. Just follow after me!" and as quickly as she had come, she was gone.

Very shortly, Sean, Elizabeth, and Rhianna were all in the factory helping Sheamus. He had quickly shown Sean how to operate the machine and then gone back to his own work. He was pleasantly surprised at how quickly Sean caught on. The girls helped with the grueling task of finishing the pieces and preparing them for shipment. It was rough, strenuous labor, but Rhianna impressed him with her strength and willingness to get dirty. Sheamus watched as Rhianna tucked back a stray strand of limp hair with a grimy hand and felt respect and admiration for the young girl. He chuckled softly and shook his head, bringing his attention back on his job.

Many long, painful hours later the four stopped and admired their handiwork. They looked at the neatly stacked crates and smiled with pride. They had done it. Somehow, they had done it. And with little time to spare.

They waited tiredly for the train, each of them wanting to be sure that the parts were safely loaded and on their way before giving in to their bodies' demand for rest. Finally all the parts were loaded and the train gone. Rhianna felt such a rush of relief and joy wash over her. It worked! Their first shipment was on its way to their customers. She was overcome with such pride and happiness that she fairly leaped into Sheamus's strong arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him exuberantly on his stunned lips. She then leaped down and went to joyously hug her brother.

Sheamus watched as she celebrated her joy with her brother and Elizabeth. He felt overcome by nameless emotions that he had never felt before. He reached up and traced his lips with his fingers, still feeling the tingling burn from her searing kiss. He watched her face light up with her beautiful smile and felt his heart wrench with unknown emotion. {Come on, Sheamus. Ye're losin it. Don't fall for her. You're playing a dangerous game to win her heart and her factory. Ye can't afford to fall in love.} He chastised himself severely for even allowing himself to feel anything toward Rhianna. He then quickly shuttered himself and his emotions, once again locking them up tight.

He turned to where Rhianna stood embracing her brother. He looked at her, careful to keep his expression and his voice neutral. "If we're done here, I'm going home. See you Monday." And he turned to leave.

"Wait!" she called after him.

He turned around casually. "Yes?"

"Will you come to dinner tonight? To celebrate the success of our first shipment? And of course Elizabeth's invited to." She asked him, her large green eyes almost pleading with him to accept.

He smiled internally. {Perfect.}

"What time?"