Chapter Fifteen
He paused at the doorway and just watched her. Elizabeth sat in her room staring out the window. Sean's heart twisted at the naked pain on her face. The last week had been very hard for her. Her family, her life had completely changed. Her mother died and she moved into her employer's castle. She had pleaded with Sheamus to move in with her, but his stubborn pride wouldn't let him take charity. And so they had been separated. Despite Sean's and Rhianna's attempts to make her feel at home, she felt very much lost and alone.
Elizabeth suddenly became aware of a presence in her room. She turned to see Sean gazing at her.
He cleared his throat. "I.uh.came to see if ye needed anything."
Elizabeth quickly wiped her wet eyes and forced a bright smile to her face. "No, thank ye. I'm fine. This is such a lovely room you've given me. I can't thank ye enough for all your generosity."
"Ye don't have to do this," he said as he walked toward her. Her pain was so evident in her eyes and all he wanted was to ease it.
"It's okay to be sad, Elizabeth," he told her as he reached out for her. "It's okay to cry," he said softly, his arms wrapping around her stiff body. At his soothing words and warm embrace, Elizabeth felt herself relaxing. Her body melted against his and her stoic control crumbled. Tears slipped from her eyes and she shook in his arms.
Sean hugged the crying girl tighter to him. He loved the way she felt in his arms; so natural, like this was where she belonged. He couldn't imagine feeling about anyone else the way he felt in that moment. That's when he knew.
{I'm falling for her.} Sadness filled him with the realization. They could never be together. She was his servant, and more importantly, he was going to marry someone else. He continued to hold the sobbing girl and sighed. {What am I going to do?}
He shut the door behind him and tossed the newspaper onto the already cluttered kitchen table. He looked around at the stacks of half-opened boxes that stood about the cabin's living room. What few items of furniture there were were hidden beneath piles of strewn clothing. Sheamus rubbed his scruffy chin and absorbed the sight before him.
"I really should finish unpacking", he murmured aloud. "One of these days."
He gazed at the spacious room, feeling another wave of awe. {And they call this small. It's almost the size of our old house.} The cabin was composed of a large living area with a small kitchen off to one side and a separate bedroom. While in decent shape, the cabin was beginning to show its age and needed a few repairs.
"Another thing to add to my growing list of things to do." He had already had a busy morning despite the early hour. He had checked in with the Ladies and dropped off some food and supplies (and performed a minor repair or two.) Afterwards, he had walked into town to buy a paper.
He checked his pocket watch and grimaced. "How did it get so late? Too much time chattin' with the Ladies." His quick errand there had turned into a lengthy visit as he went around their cottage fixing a leak here and a hole there.
{It wasn't a complete waste}, he mused. He had gained some valuable information about the late Lord Cassidy, and Rhianna's betrothal to Dimera. He replayed their earlier conversation in his mind. The Ladies had been thanking him for his help.
"Don't mention, it", he had replied with a smile. "Just doing my job."
"And thank Lord Sean for us when ye see him." Mrs. Plunkett added. Her lined face grew sad then, wistful. "Such a shame about the late Lord Cassidy." She said as she shook her head.
"Aye," he replied with false sincerity. "His death was so.sad. Unexpected."
"Oh, not his death dearie, although that was unexpected - very sudden. No, his death was a mercy. He's at rest now, in peace. The real shame happened years ago, when the twins were just wee ones."
"I can still remember the magic of those times," Mrs. Ceannt spoke up. "There was such.life here in the castle. Joy and happiness just radiated from everything and everyone."
Sheamus remembered Rhianna's description of her happy childhood. "So what happened?"
"Lady Clionna was struck suddenly by a severe illness. She died. And the wonderful, strong, kind man that had been Lord Cassidy died with her. Emotionally, anyway. Lady Clionna had been his life, and suddenly she was gone. And then there were the twins, the children who were living reminders of his loss. Rhianna, who looks so much like Lady Clionna, and Sean, who inherited her gentle spirit. Lord Cassidy retreated from them and his pain, and buried himself in business and ale. He continued living, but he was a mere shell of his former self. His grief had made him weak, vulnerable."
"Vulnerable to what?"
Mrs. Plunkett gifted him with a keen eye. "To Dimera," she replied softly. "We may be confined to this cottage but we still know a bit of what goes on in town. Mr. Dimera first showed up about three years ago with a proposal to marry Miss Rhianna. She was only thirteen then, but it isn't unusual for young ladies to marry at that age. But Lord Cassidy in one of his stronger moments refused. Dimera was too old and secretly Lord Cassidy didn't trust him. But then, almost immediately, the business began to fail. You've worked there - surely ye noticed the change."
Sheamus frowned in thought. He'd never really noticed it before but now the suspicions were too strong to ignore.
"Accidents, worker injuries, money disappearing; and everyone was looking at Lord Cassidy as the cause. Finally a year ago Dimera came back to the castle and repeated his offer. Lord Cassidy had no choice but to accept."
Sheamus was still going over what the Ladies had told him later that morning as he looked over the paper. He was amazed at how much they knew. They seemed to be aware of everything.
"So that's how Rhianna became to engaged to Dimera." Sheamus was more determined than ever to break their union. He was positive that he was somehow behind the "accidents" at the factory. According to the Ladies, if Cassidy's should fail then Rhianna would have no choice but to marry Dimera immediately. {That's why the business is so important to her; it's a way to delay her wedding. And it's why he must make sure she doesn't succeed. I just have to prove it. But how to get her to listen to me?} He inhaled deeply and looked at the paper. "But first I have to find a job. Mum's meager savings won't last forever."
He was scanning over the job notices for the third time when there was a soft knock at his door. To his mild surprise Rhianna stood on his doorstep.
"Um.Lady Cassidy. Come in", he said somewhat stiffly. He groaned inwardly at the chaotic state of the cabin. "Sorry about the mess."
Rhianna chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it. It suits ye." She replied with a small smirk.
"Thanks." A moment of awkward silence passed and Sheamus was acutely aware of Rhianna's presence. Her sweet fragrance wrapped around him and wafted in his nose, drugging him, making his head spin. His heart seemed to pound loudly in his ears and, was that sweat glistening on his palms? He inhaled a deep calming breath and tried to ignore the effect she had on him. He deliberately turned his eyes away from her luscious figure and racked his mind for something to say.
"Um, was there something ye needed?"
"I just came to see if ye have gotten settled in all right." She croaked through her dry throat.
"I'm fine, thanks." Another silent moment dawdled by. "Was there something else ye needed?"
Rhianna shook herself out of her wicked thoughts. It had been several days since she had last seen him at his mother's funeral and she had almost forgotten how devilishly handsome he was. She forcefully brought to mind the reason for her visit.
"Actually, yes. How's the job search going?"
"It's going. Why?"
"Well, I haven't yet filled your old position. Finding someone to operate the machine is easy enough. I'm just having a hard time filling the sales position."
"What about the foreman?"
"Brian has other worries; he's busy overseeing operations. Besides he doesn't have your way with people. Look, this is a crucial time for the company. We're beginning to turn around, making improvements in manufacturing. Now is the time to focus on our sales. I need someone who can bring in the orders."
"And ye want that person to be me? Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need your charity." He said harshly, feeling his stomach twist with revile at the thought of being pitied.
"Good. Cause I'm not in the habit of giving it." Rhianna's voice had risen sharply. Once again she found herself wanting to fight with Sheamus. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed their verbal battles. She inhaled deeply and tried to calm her racing heart.
"Look, as much as it kills me to say this, I need you. Our customers are used to dealing with ye, and for some strange reason they like ye. I need a salesman and ye need a job. It's your choice."
Sheamus stood there, his eyes glued to the floor. As much as he wanted his old job back, he couldn't - wouldn't come back to the factory. Not like this, as an act of pity.
Rhianna looked at the silent man and resisted the urge to strangle him. Why wasn't he saying anything? "I'll even pay ye for the time ye missed."
But he still refused to answer. Rhianna sighed in exasperation. "What else do ye want from me?"
Sheamus stared at her then, his cobalt eyes boring mercilessly into her emerald ones. "Ye say this isn't pity, that ye really need me at the factory, but ye have yet to mention the reasons I was let go in the first place. Ye fired me because ye believed I was sabotaging the business, that I was playing some kind of game with you in order to move ahead. Has that changed? Do ye really want me back at the factory? Or are ye just here because my mother died and ye feel sorry for your dead housekeeper's orphaned son?" He questioned softly, his face a stoic mask.
Rhianna faltered as she searched her chaotic mind for an answer. Two weeks had passed since she fired him and she still had her questions. She didn't really believe that he was guilty - but if not him then who?
She shook her head. She should have known it wouldn't be this easy. All she had wanted to do was help Sheamus and Elizabeth. She had loved their mother dearly and she still hated the thought of them suffering anymore than they already had. But she also should've known that Sheamus's pride wouldn't allow him to accept her charity.
She sighed. "What do ye want from me?"
Sheamus gripped her shoulders, ignoring the tingling sensation in his fingertips. He stared unblinking into her eyes. "I want ye to rehire me because ye really need me, because I'm a smart, hard worker. Because ye depend on me. I want to know that I won't have you or anyone else looking over my shoulder waiting to blame something else on me. I want ye to trust me."
"Then give me a reason to."
He inhaled deeply and ran a hand through his strawberry blond locks. He stared sheepishly at the floor. "Look, I won't deny having a passing interest in you. I'm a man, and you're a very beautiful woman." His eyes traveled leisurely over her body. "But in this case I'm no different than all the men in town. But marriage? To you? No offense, your Ladyship, but I'd sooner hang myself." He replied with a touch of his old manner.
"Aye, and I'd help ye with the rope." She shot back.
Sheamus continued then, his face serious this time. "I don't know how the parts came off my machine. I do know it's not impossible for someone to have come in the night and run my machine. Or more likely, damage parts I had already made. I have worked at Cassidy's for a long time - since I was twelve. And my father worked there before me. I have an excellent work history there, ask anyone."
"If your history is so great, then why does Brian seem to think otherwise?"
"I don't know. He's the foreman; it's his job to think of things that no one else wants to. But he is right about one thing. There is a saboteur at Cassidy's. In my years working there, I've seen a lot of 'mysterious' things that have no explanation. Perfectly operating machines suddenly go haywire causing damage and injury. Vital supplies sometimes 'vanish'. I've even heard rumors of financial errors - money simply disappearing."
Rhianna thought then about the company's books, the ones she had been trying unsuccessfully to reconcile for weeks. {That's why they're out of balance. There's money missing.}
Sheamus continued. "And now the damaged shipment. Someone is going to a lot of effort to set me up."
Rhianna looked at him. "Why?"
He stared into her eyes and took a step toward her. "Maybe someone thinks we're getting too close, that I'm a rival - an obstacle."
{A rival? As in, romantically?} Rhianna's mind whirled with the possibility. {That's ridiculous.} "Who would think that?" She laughed uneasily.
"I don't know who the saboteur is, but I think I know who he's working for. Think of the one person who has the most to gain if Cassidy's fails."
"Dimera." Rhianna replied automatically, her voice a hoarse whisper.
Sheamus nodded. "Cassidy Industries is the only thing standing between ye and wedded bliss. And he knows it."
"So if someone really is trying to get rid of you, then we should make sure they don't succeed." Rhianna suggested.
"So we're in agreement then?"
Rhianna nodded. Sheamus smiled and stuck out his hand.
"Truce?"
"Truce."
He paused at the doorway and just watched her. Elizabeth sat in her room staring out the window. Sean's heart twisted at the naked pain on her face. The last week had been very hard for her. Her family, her life had completely changed. Her mother died and she moved into her employer's castle. She had pleaded with Sheamus to move in with her, but his stubborn pride wouldn't let him take charity. And so they had been separated. Despite Sean's and Rhianna's attempts to make her feel at home, she felt very much lost and alone.
Elizabeth suddenly became aware of a presence in her room. She turned to see Sean gazing at her.
He cleared his throat. "I.uh.came to see if ye needed anything."
Elizabeth quickly wiped her wet eyes and forced a bright smile to her face. "No, thank ye. I'm fine. This is such a lovely room you've given me. I can't thank ye enough for all your generosity."
"Ye don't have to do this," he said as he walked toward her. Her pain was so evident in her eyes and all he wanted was to ease it.
"It's okay to be sad, Elizabeth," he told her as he reached out for her. "It's okay to cry," he said softly, his arms wrapping around her stiff body. At his soothing words and warm embrace, Elizabeth felt herself relaxing. Her body melted against his and her stoic control crumbled. Tears slipped from her eyes and she shook in his arms.
Sean hugged the crying girl tighter to him. He loved the way she felt in his arms; so natural, like this was where she belonged. He couldn't imagine feeling about anyone else the way he felt in that moment. That's when he knew.
{I'm falling for her.} Sadness filled him with the realization. They could never be together. She was his servant, and more importantly, he was going to marry someone else. He continued to hold the sobbing girl and sighed. {What am I going to do?}
He shut the door behind him and tossed the newspaper onto the already cluttered kitchen table. He looked around at the stacks of half-opened boxes that stood about the cabin's living room. What few items of furniture there were were hidden beneath piles of strewn clothing. Sheamus rubbed his scruffy chin and absorbed the sight before him.
"I really should finish unpacking", he murmured aloud. "One of these days."
He gazed at the spacious room, feeling another wave of awe. {And they call this small. It's almost the size of our old house.} The cabin was composed of a large living area with a small kitchen off to one side and a separate bedroom. While in decent shape, the cabin was beginning to show its age and needed a few repairs.
"Another thing to add to my growing list of things to do." He had already had a busy morning despite the early hour. He had checked in with the Ladies and dropped off some food and supplies (and performed a minor repair or two.) Afterwards, he had walked into town to buy a paper.
He checked his pocket watch and grimaced. "How did it get so late? Too much time chattin' with the Ladies." His quick errand there had turned into a lengthy visit as he went around their cottage fixing a leak here and a hole there.
{It wasn't a complete waste}, he mused. He had gained some valuable information about the late Lord Cassidy, and Rhianna's betrothal to Dimera. He replayed their earlier conversation in his mind. The Ladies had been thanking him for his help.
"Don't mention, it", he had replied with a smile. "Just doing my job."
"And thank Lord Sean for us when ye see him." Mrs. Plunkett added. Her lined face grew sad then, wistful. "Such a shame about the late Lord Cassidy." She said as she shook her head.
"Aye," he replied with false sincerity. "His death was so.sad. Unexpected."
"Oh, not his death dearie, although that was unexpected - very sudden. No, his death was a mercy. He's at rest now, in peace. The real shame happened years ago, when the twins were just wee ones."
"I can still remember the magic of those times," Mrs. Ceannt spoke up. "There was such.life here in the castle. Joy and happiness just radiated from everything and everyone."
Sheamus remembered Rhianna's description of her happy childhood. "So what happened?"
"Lady Clionna was struck suddenly by a severe illness. She died. And the wonderful, strong, kind man that had been Lord Cassidy died with her. Emotionally, anyway. Lady Clionna had been his life, and suddenly she was gone. And then there were the twins, the children who were living reminders of his loss. Rhianna, who looks so much like Lady Clionna, and Sean, who inherited her gentle spirit. Lord Cassidy retreated from them and his pain, and buried himself in business and ale. He continued living, but he was a mere shell of his former self. His grief had made him weak, vulnerable."
"Vulnerable to what?"
Mrs. Plunkett gifted him with a keen eye. "To Dimera," she replied softly. "We may be confined to this cottage but we still know a bit of what goes on in town. Mr. Dimera first showed up about three years ago with a proposal to marry Miss Rhianna. She was only thirteen then, but it isn't unusual for young ladies to marry at that age. But Lord Cassidy in one of his stronger moments refused. Dimera was too old and secretly Lord Cassidy didn't trust him. But then, almost immediately, the business began to fail. You've worked there - surely ye noticed the change."
Sheamus frowned in thought. He'd never really noticed it before but now the suspicions were too strong to ignore.
"Accidents, worker injuries, money disappearing; and everyone was looking at Lord Cassidy as the cause. Finally a year ago Dimera came back to the castle and repeated his offer. Lord Cassidy had no choice but to accept."
Sheamus was still going over what the Ladies had told him later that morning as he looked over the paper. He was amazed at how much they knew. They seemed to be aware of everything.
"So that's how Rhianna became to engaged to Dimera." Sheamus was more determined than ever to break their union. He was positive that he was somehow behind the "accidents" at the factory. According to the Ladies, if Cassidy's should fail then Rhianna would have no choice but to marry Dimera immediately. {That's why the business is so important to her; it's a way to delay her wedding. And it's why he must make sure she doesn't succeed. I just have to prove it. But how to get her to listen to me?} He inhaled deeply and looked at the paper. "But first I have to find a job. Mum's meager savings won't last forever."
He was scanning over the job notices for the third time when there was a soft knock at his door. To his mild surprise Rhianna stood on his doorstep.
"Um.Lady Cassidy. Come in", he said somewhat stiffly. He groaned inwardly at the chaotic state of the cabin. "Sorry about the mess."
Rhianna chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it. It suits ye." She replied with a small smirk.
"Thanks." A moment of awkward silence passed and Sheamus was acutely aware of Rhianna's presence. Her sweet fragrance wrapped around him and wafted in his nose, drugging him, making his head spin. His heart seemed to pound loudly in his ears and, was that sweat glistening on his palms? He inhaled a deep calming breath and tried to ignore the effect she had on him. He deliberately turned his eyes away from her luscious figure and racked his mind for something to say.
"Um, was there something ye needed?"
"I just came to see if ye have gotten settled in all right." She croaked through her dry throat.
"I'm fine, thanks." Another silent moment dawdled by. "Was there something else ye needed?"
Rhianna shook herself out of her wicked thoughts. It had been several days since she had last seen him at his mother's funeral and she had almost forgotten how devilishly handsome he was. She forcefully brought to mind the reason for her visit.
"Actually, yes. How's the job search going?"
"It's going. Why?"
"Well, I haven't yet filled your old position. Finding someone to operate the machine is easy enough. I'm just having a hard time filling the sales position."
"What about the foreman?"
"Brian has other worries; he's busy overseeing operations. Besides he doesn't have your way with people. Look, this is a crucial time for the company. We're beginning to turn around, making improvements in manufacturing. Now is the time to focus on our sales. I need someone who can bring in the orders."
"And ye want that person to be me? Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need your charity." He said harshly, feeling his stomach twist with revile at the thought of being pitied.
"Good. Cause I'm not in the habit of giving it." Rhianna's voice had risen sharply. Once again she found herself wanting to fight with Sheamus. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed their verbal battles. She inhaled deeply and tried to calm her racing heart.
"Look, as much as it kills me to say this, I need you. Our customers are used to dealing with ye, and for some strange reason they like ye. I need a salesman and ye need a job. It's your choice."
Sheamus stood there, his eyes glued to the floor. As much as he wanted his old job back, he couldn't - wouldn't come back to the factory. Not like this, as an act of pity.
Rhianna looked at the silent man and resisted the urge to strangle him. Why wasn't he saying anything? "I'll even pay ye for the time ye missed."
But he still refused to answer. Rhianna sighed in exasperation. "What else do ye want from me?"
Sheamus stared at her then, his cobalt eyes boring mercilessly into her emerald ones. "Ye say this isn't pity, that ye really need me at the factory, but ye have yet to mention the reasons I was let go in the first place. Ye fired me because ye believed I was sabotaging the business, that I was playing some kind of game with you in order to move ahead. Has that changed? Do ye really want me back at the factory? Or are ye just here because my mother died and ye feel sorry for your dead housekeeper's orphaned son?" He questioned softly, his face a stoic mask.
Rhianna faltered as she searched her chaotic mind for an answer. Two weeks had passed since she fired him and she still had her questions. She didn't really believe that he was guilty - but if not him then who?
She shook her head. She should have known it wouldn't be this easy. All she had wanted to do was help Sheamus and Elizabeth. She had loved their mother dearly and she still hated the thought of them suffering anymore than they already had. But she also should've known that Sheamus's pride wouldn't allow him to accept her charity.
She sighed. "What do ye want from me?"
Sheamus gripped her shoulders, ignoring the tingling sensation in his fingertips. He stared unblinking into her eyes. "I want ye to rehire me because ye really need me, because I'm a smart, hard worker. Because ye depend on me. I want to know that I won't have you or anyone else looking over my shoulder waiting to blame something else on me. I want ye to trust me."
"Then give me a reason to."
He inhaled deeply and ran a hand through his strawberry blond locks. He stared sheepishly at the floor. "Look, I won't deny having a passing interest in you. I'm a man, and you're a very beautiful woman." His eyes traveled leisurely over her body. "But in this case I'm no different than all the men in town. But marriage? To you? No offense, your Ladyship, but I'd sooner hang myself." He replied with a touch of his old manner.
"Aye, and I'd help ye with the rope." She shot back.
Sheamus continued then, his face serious this time. "I don't know how the parts came off my machine. I do know it's not impossible for someone to have come in the night and run my machine. Or more likely, damage parts I had already made. I have worked at Cassidy's for a long time - since I was twelve. And my father worked there before me. I have an excellent work history there, ask anyone."
"If your history is so great, then why does Brian seem to think otherwise?"
"I don't know. He's the foreman; it's his job to think of things that no one else wants to. But he is right about one thing. There is a saboteur at Cassidy's. In my years working there, I've seen a lot of 'mysterious' things that have no explanation. Perfectly operating machines suddenly go haywire causing damage and injury. Vital supplies sometimes 'vanish'. I've even heard rumors of financial errors - money simply disappearing."
Rhianna thought then about the company's books, the ones she had been trying unsuccessfully to reconcile for weeks. {That's why they're out of balance. There's money missing.}
Sheamus continued. "And now the damaged shipment. Someone is going to a lot of effort to set me up."
Rhianna looked at him. "Why?"
He stared into her eyes and took a step toward her. "Maybe someone thinks we're getting too close, that I'm a rival - an obstacle."
{A rival? As in, romantically?} Rhianna's mind whirled with the possibility. {That's ridiculous.} "Who would think that?" She laughed uneasily.
"I don't know who the saboteur is, but I think I know who he's working for. Think of the one person who has the most to gain if Cassidy's fails."
"Dimera." Rhianna replied automatically, her voice a hoarse whisper.
Sheamus nodded. "Cassidy Industries is the only thing standing between ye and wedded bliss. And he knows it."
"So if someone really is trying to get rid of you, then we should make sure they don't succeed." Rhianna suggested.
"So we're in agreement then?"
Rhianna nodded. Sheamus smiled and stuck out his hand.
"Truce?"
"Truce."
