Chapter Sixty-Three

The Irish Consular General's Reception, Stockton, 1884

Sharon looked around for Heath, but he was nowhere to be seen. She knew that he was off working on the cause for mining reform, and of course she had to support him. However, that did not help how lonely she felt, especially when Penny and Fred Madden passed by. Penny raised her champagne to Sharon, with a too knowing look in her eyes.

She decided that she needed to get out of the room and go for a stroll along the river. The area from the house was well lit up and no one would think it odd that she wanted some fresh air. Just as she reached the French doors to go outside, her name was called.

"Sharon? Sharon Callahan?" The voice was male, English, and cultured. She was surprised to hear her maiden name and turned to look at the gentleman. Who she saw made her breathless, and speechless.

Eamonn Burke was standing there, dressed in a white uniform with gold braid and medals. Sharon noted that he had slightly filled out; he walked over to her and bowed before he took her hand.

"This is the nicest surprise I have had in a long time." Eamonn kissed her hand, and Sharon was shocked that she was wishing she was not wearing gloves.

"The same for me Eamonn. Oh, it is Sharon Barkley." As she talked, she saw his eyes – those eyes that always twinkled – widen as he recognized the name.

"America has been good to you." He offered, slowly perusing her with admiration.

"The Royal Navy has been good to you." Sharon tilted her head and gave him a cool, appraising glance. She did not add that he was even better looking than the last time she had seen him. It came to her that he was still holding her hand, so she slowly let go. "What are you doing here?" When she had thought about Eamonn Sharon had never pictured him in Stockton.

"I was with my cruiser across the ocean – Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong. We then sailed to Honolulu, where I took a leave of absence. I have been wanting to see America." He explained, going on "when I arrived in San Francisco I checked in at the Consular's office. Their Naval Attaché is on medical leave, and with the visit to Stockton coming William, the Consular General, asked me to fill in."

"All those places – I remember how you talked about wanting to see the world." Sharon looked at him with soft eyes, as she thought about long repressed memories.

"Can we go sit somewhere and catch up, preferably outside? This uniform is eye catching but very warm." Eamonn chuckled, adding "in the far east we wear shorts because of the heat."

"Yes, we should" Sharon paused trying not to picture him in shorts. "I don't want to take you away from your duties." It came to her she should not monopolize his time.

"I am window dressing!" Eamonn exclaimed good naturedly, as he offered his arm to her. They went outside, and Sharon found a bench with a nice view of the river. It was not secluded, but off the path a bit. She knew that it would not look good, as a married woman, to go off for a tete-a-tete in a private place. After settling on the bench, Eamonn being careful of her skirt as he sat down, they proceeded to talk about their lives.

Priscilla Barkley was coming from the ladies retiring room; she had felt her stocking start to slip and needed to make an adjustment. She paused at a window, to admire the view of the terrace and window. Charlotte John gave Victoria and Granny Elspeth a run for the money as far as gardens were concerned.

The couple she saw on the bench against the crepe myrtle made her forget about the gardens. Priscilla recognized her sister-in-law in the dazzling green dress and emeralds. She was sitting with the royal naval officer, who in his dress whites, gold braid and medals had been much speculated on. Priscilla knew that he had not been in the receiving line but was sure that he was with the Consular General.

Priscilla, as she watched the couple, felt her heart grow heavy. Sharon and the naval officer talked as old friends – Priscilla noted how much they laughed. She saw how the naval officer was attentive Sharon, at one point flagging a waiter over to get champagne for both. The issue for Priscilla was never once, in Sharon's interactions with Heath, had the woman ever displayed such happiness.

She found herself feeling sorry for both Sharon and Heath – it came to her that Nick's concern about the couple was more valid than she had understood. Priscilla saw that she had been banking on "happily ever after" based on the couple's previous relationship. She wished her grandfather was still alive so she could talk with him. Instead, she sighed, and knew she needed to turn it over to the Lord.

"Eamonn we should go inside. It has been so much fun to catch up with you." Sharon gave him a knowing grin and saw that Eamonn understood. It was wonderful to talk about Ireland, his life and family, but she also realized how long they had spent outside.

"Excellent idea!" Eamonn agreed, as he stood up before extending his hand to her. As Sharon went to stand, her bustle – a confection of silk and tulle ruffles with a train – caught on the jagged edge of the stone seat. She felt herself stuck and not able to move without tearing her dress. She grasped Eamonn's arm, using him to steady herself.

"I see we have a dress malfunction?" Eamonn observed, trying not to think how nice it was to have Sharon next to him. "Please stand still, and I will deal with the situation, hoping not to ruin your dress. Which by the way is outstanding! Em would swoon over it." He gave her a knowing smile, as she willed herself to stand still. Eamonn carefully worked the tulle ruffles loose, while keeping the train intact.

Sharon was trying to control her racing heart, as she stood close to Eamonn, their bodies slightly touching. She noted how careful and deliberate he was, as his hands disengaged the tulle ruffles, keeping them almost intact. All of a sudden Sharon felt like she was in Ireland, in the folly with him.

"Thank you so much. The bustle and train are very elaborate." Sharon willed herself to smile calmly; she knew what her duty was, and what was expected of her.

Eamonn extended his arm, and they went into the house, heading to the dining room, where the food had been laid out buffet style. Before they arrived at the room a tall, exquisite woman with dark blonde hair, large pale blue eyes in a heart shaped face, and skin like porcelain approached them. He noted the pale blue satin evening gown, with lavish amounts of white lace and gold trim. Her jewelry was a very elaborate set of matched sapphires – they equaled the emeralds that Sharon was wearing.

"Priscilla, hello. You look beautiful." Sharon exclaimed, which he took note of. "Priscilla, this is Lt. Commander Lord Eamonn Burke" she announced. "This is my sister-in-law and best friend Priscilla Barkley."

"It is a pleasure to meet you" Eamonn bowed, as he added "please call me Eamonn. Sharon is an old friend from Ireland, and she and my sister were very close." He was glad to see that the woman smiled at him warmly as she extended her hand.

"I must say, that while I have not met your husbands, clearly good taste runs in the family." He knew how to be amusing, and light all at the same time. It gratified him when he saw the ladies laugh.

"Clearly charm and good manners are apparent in the Royal Navy." Priscilla decided to take control of the situation. Her sister-in-law and Eamonn were old friends, and had no doubt been catching up – hopefully. Right now, she could present a family front, and no one would question Sharon and Eamonn.

"Actually, the charm and manners course happen between how to hoist a sail and celestial navigation." Eamonn teased, which made the ladies laugh again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw tall man, with dark hair in finely tailored evening dress come up and put his arm around Priscilla. He pulled her close and kissed her on her forehead.

"Are we talking sailing?" The man, once he was done greeting his wife, turned to Eamonn "Nick, Nick Barkley. I am guessing Royal Navy?"

"Yes, Eamonn Burke." He replied, even as he noted Sharon looking at the couple. Eamonn almost thought he saw a longing on her face, but it was so quick he was not sure. "Are you hosting the barbecue tomorrow?"

"My mother is hosting, while Priscilla and Sharon are decorating the garden." Nick answered with a laugh. "I am working with McGregor, who does our chuckwagon, on the meat. It will be falling off the bone, and the sauce is amazing."

"Beef I am assuming?" Eamonn inquired, knowing the family owned a cattle estate called a ranch. "What is a chuckwagon?"

"What else?" Nick said in a firm voice, as he went on to explain about the chuckwagon.

"Well in Polynesia they dig a hole, line it with hot rocks, and then put a whole pig in there. It gets covered with more rocks and leaves, and cooks for quite a while." Eamonn noticed the ladies looking at him with wide eyes. "I have no doubt the beef will be excellent." He added, seeing that Nick was a very proud man.

"You will have to talk to my Granny Elspeth. She was raised on an East Indian Merchantman and has amazing stories about her travels." Priscilla saw that Eamonn was interested, and she made a note to introduce them tomorrow at the barbecue.

The group decided to go get some food, and a while later they were sitting at a table that overlooked the garden. Eamonn had to admit that he liked Sharon's sister and brother-in-law. Nick had spent time on a whaler when he was younger, so the men compared stories. The only thing that seemed off to him was the matter of Sharon's husband.

Eamonn was surprised that he had not seen the man all evening. As he thought about how much time he and Sharon had spent together at the party; well, it made him wonder. They finished eating, and then the Irish party, including Eamonn made their farewells. That was the signal for the party to wind down.

At the Big House..

Nick carefully helped Priscilla out of her dress, carefully undoing the stays on her corset. He complemented her on how the blue silk of her chemise and bloomers, trimmed with cream colored ribbon and lace hugged her body. The sapphires – one of his mother's many gifts – had been carefully tucked away in the padded jewel case.

"So can you tell me what has you so bothered?" Nick asked, as he slowly brushed Priscilla's thick dark blonde hair. He had picked up that she was concerned about something but could not figure out what it could be.

"Well, I owe you, not really an apology, but I disregarded what you tried to tell me, when Heath and Sharon announced their engagement" Priscilla sighed, wishing she had not been such an enthusiastic supporter.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, as he carefully brushed Priscilla's hair. He valued her opinion and insights – there had been several occasions that her counsel had saved him a great deal of trouble.

"Earlier in the evening, before supper I saw Sharon and Eamonn sitting on a bench outside – no nothing improper! Priscilla announced, and then went on to talk about how happy the couple looked. "I found out that he is an old family friend, and we had a good time at supper. The thing that bothers me is that she has never looked as happy with Heath as she looked with Eamonn,"

"You just said that Eamonn is an old family friend – no doubt Sharon was close to his sister." He wanted to reassure Priscilla, so he went on "Heath and she have not been married for that long Sissi. It might take a while for the feelings they had once to rekindle."

"I hope so – your brother is so good! Almost too good. He does not deserve to be hurt again." She replied with a sigh. "But I feel for Sharon too – she cares for Heath and values the father he is to her children. However, I think she is very lonely, and sad."

"At the end of the day Sissi we just have to be there to support them." Nick put the brush down, before carefully braiding her hair into a thick plait. He loved how the butter yellow pieces offset the honey-colored ones. "Now I am done talking about my brother, instead" he whispered something in her ear, before sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to their bed.

"I will ravish you to the point that you will also not care." Nick growled as he pushed her against the pillows, letting his manhood settle into her femaleness. Priscilla welcomed him, bending her knees and letting her hips reach up to meet him. By the time they were done, all she could do was snuggle up next to him, without another thought.

Sharon was in her bed, feeling lonely. The drive home with Heath – when he had finally shown up – had left her cold. Heath had been so excited about the board member and getting him to agree to the mining reform. Sharon tried to her best to be excited for him, but privately she was annoyed that Heath never once asked about her evening.

She turned her thoughts away from Heath and thought about the summer in Ireland – and Eamonn. In her mind she saw the estate and thought about the time they had spent together. Sharon had packed away the memories a long time ago, but now they came flooding back. Her last thought before falling asleep was of them in the library on that rainy afternoon.