Chapter Seventy-One

"This has gone on long enough. I want an apology." Heath hissed in a low voice. They were standing in the front hall, waiting for Sean and Tara to come down, so they could leave for church. It had been three days since Eamonn had left; for the last five days Heath and Sharon had hardly spoken to one another.

"I did not do anything wrong." She glared at him "you owe me an apology for what you insinuated." Heath noted the anger in her eyes and was annoyed that she thought he was in the wrong. It did not help that she looked so lovely.

Her dress was white and royal blue, with zig zag stripes and lots of frothy lace on the bustled back and underskirt. It had sleeves that stopped before her elbow, which were ornamented with royal blue ribbon. Her hat and gloves were the same shade of blue. The dress fit perfectly and showed off her figure way too well, in his opinion. The sunlight from the fan window over the front door made her hair look like dancing flames.

"You spent all day with the Royal Navy Lord – what else should I think?" Heath was upset that she could not see what the issue was.

"I spent the afternoon with the brother of my good friend; I told you I lived with his family for three years. Good god! You are fixated on the subject." Sharon threw up her hands in frustration. It came to her that no matter what she said or did, he would continue to assume the worst. "I am going to see about the children. We will meet you out front with the surrey."

It was later in the afternoon, after church and Sunday dinner. Heath and Sharon were both sure that they had put up a good front to the family. In truth, Priscilla had seen through their badly acted performance. Once dinner was done Heath had announced that he was going to take the older children out riding. Priscilla noted how Sharon did not even look at her husband, as he made the announcement. She had also seen how sad Sharon's eyes looked, even as she put a good face on.

Jarrod invited Nick to play pool, noting how Heath had made his announcement, walking out of the room as he did so. Victoria went to take a nap, and Priscilla saw her opportunity.

"Sharon, why don't we go for a walk in the garden?" She asked, wanting to offer her some comfort. Her sister-in-law sighed and nodded her head, before she forced a smile on her face, which made Priscilla want to hug her.

They walked around the garden and ended up in the swing that hung from a large oak tree at the back of the garden. The next several minutes were spent swinging, as they talked about the garden.

"By the way I heard the Irish party had left. I am sure that you enjoyed seeing your family friend." Priscilla commented, wanting to see how Sharon would reply to the comment.

"Yes, it was great – so many wonderful memories. Eamonn is good company." Sharon smiled, and Priscilla noticed the sparkle in her companion's eyes. "He came to say goodbye the other day. We are going to write, so we will not lose touch again."

"I am sure he will have lots to write about. He and Granny Elspeth had several good conversations about their time in the far east." Priscilla knew she should feel good for Sharon, to have Eamonn's friendship in her life. If anyone deserved some happiness it was her sister-in-law. Priscilla's concern was if Eamonn was always in the background, Heath and Sharon would never re-kindle their old love.

"You know that you are not only my best friend, but my sister also. I will not pry, but if you need anything, even a hug I am here." Priscilla put her arm around Sharon, who looked at her gratefully.

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Sharon laid her head on Priscilla's shoulder, grateful for the kindness. She would not share anything about Eamonn but was sure that her sister-in-law understood what the situation was.

"What do you think is going on between Heath and Sharon?" Nick asked, after taking his turn at the pool table, and missing. He took a draw of his cigar, followed by some whiskey. In all honesty, he could care less about the pool game, more concerned about his brother. Nick would have been happy to go riding with Heath and the children, but his younger brother had not even given him the chance to offer.

Jarrod made it a point to appear busy with setting up his shot. He had noticed the distance between the couple and was sure he knew the cause. It bothered him that he could not be honest with Nick, because of what he had seen at the Chinese restaurant.

"If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that it probably has to do with how much attention and time Eamonn spent with Sharon." The man had not hidden his friendship with Sharon. Jarrod said as much to Nick, going on "Heath probably saw it differently than Sharon did."

"Yes, I can see that; but he didn't seem bothered about their lunch at the Chart House." Nick replied, as he took a sip of his drink. "Even so, Eamonn has left town." He went on to talk about Eamonn's tour of America before he would be back in London.

"You know what a poker face Heath has" Jarrod reminded Nick. "It is possible that Eamonn has caused mischief between Sharon and Heath." Privately he was sure that that was what had happened.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, a puzzled look on his face. "And what kind of mischief?" In truth he was having a hard time understanding what Jarrod was saying.

"Heath seems way more annoyed, than what a lunch and waltzing close together would do." Jarrod offered, tilting his head. "It is possible that the way Eamonn said goodbye to Sharon was not to Heath's liking." Jarrod had taken Eamonn's measure right away and knew that if the naval officer wanted something - or someone – nothing would stand in his way.

"You don't think that" Nick could not imagine Sharon having an affair. Jarrod saw his brother's expression, and realized that Nick, for all of his experience in other areas, as far as marriage was concerned, his only point of reference was a happy one.

"What I do know is that things are not good between the couple." Jarrod did not want to add that he was sure Sharon had married Heath because of her children. There was also the issue of why Heath had married Sarah, because of Simon. He did not know what Priscilla knew, and what she had shared with Nick.

"Well let's hope with Eamonn out of the picture everything will settle down." Nick tried to sound upbeat, but as he recalled Priscilla's comments about Sharon and Eamonn – along with his misgivings when the engagement had been announced – he sighed.

It was later in the afternoon; Heath and Sharon were getting to leave, waiting for Sean and Tara to come downstairs. They were in the front hall, saying goodbye when there was a knock at the front door. Silas went to answer the door - Jim Maren, one of the telegraph messengers stood at the door.

"I have an urgent telegram for Mrs. Heath Barkley." He was a young man with a receding hairline, known for being very conscientious at his job.

Sharon greeted him, and took the telegram with shaking hands – had something happened to Eamonn? But if so, why would they be notifying her? She looked at the envelope with concern before going to open it.

"Oh no, it is river fever!" Sharon read the document from Uncle Jimmy. "It is sweeping the settlement. Eileen's mother has already passed, and Eileen and her baby are in danger, along with so many others." Victoria was standing closest to Sharon and took the telegram from her daughter-in-law's shaking hands.

"Uncle Jimmy wants me to come down to help." Sharon felt a cold dread grasp her heart, causing her to struggle to catch her breath.

"Sharon, drink this." Jarrod had seen panic attacks, hysteria, and other emotional trauma. He had filled a glass with scotch, and brought it up to her lips, as he put his arm around her. She was heaving, and he said in a firm voice "drink this now." Jarrod felt her collapse against him, even as she took one swallow, and then several more.

"I need to get down there." Sharon almost wailed, after drinking the entire glass. "My family needs me, but there is Sean and Tara. I can't take them down there – I have been exposed and they have not." It came to Jarrod that maybe he should not have put so much scotch in the glass.

"The children can stay here; you can go down on the train tomorrow." Priscilla could see how upset and scared Sharon was. As she made the statement, she hugged Sharon.

"I will take the train down with you." Heath announced, not liking how pale Sharon looked.

"No Heath, you need to stay here with the children." Sharon's voice was firm. "You have not been exposed to the fever either." In truth the last thing she wanted was to deal with Heath and his cold anger, on top of disease and family loss. He would bring no comfort to anyone, especially her.

"Heath, she is right – you need to stay here with Sean and Tara. They are going to miss Sharon, but staying in their house will be best for them." Jarrod had seen how Sharon had stiffened, her mouth tightening, as Heath made his announcement.

In fact, Jarrod was not worried about the children; rather he thought that Sharon and Heath needed some time apart. He knew his brother was stubborn – it was a family trait – and if Heath felt slighted he would be hard pressed to let it go. Whatever Eamonn had done – and Jarrod knew it was something – was driving a wedge between the couple.

"Yes, Jarrod is correct." Victoria reached out to put her hand on Heath's arm "It is so good of you to want to go with Sharon, but the children are going to need you." In fact, Victoria had been aware of the tension between the couple at lunch. Her private opinion was that they needed some space from each other.

She had heard the talk in town about Eamonn Burke and Sharon. Victoria had no problems understanding Sharon wanting to spend time with an old friend. In so many ways Heath was Tom all over again; Victoria had struggled with Tom's tunnel vision, and the fact that she was not always his top priority. Their marriage had been tumultuous a great deal of the time due to that reason.

Heath forced his hands into tight balls, not liking how they were keeping him from going with Sharon. After all of her antics with the Royal Navy Lord, he did not want her out of his sight. He could admit that what his family was saying made sense. As he had that thought the children came down the staircase, and Heath knew he needed to stay.

"Of course, I understand." Heath stated going on "Sharon needs to be there for her family. Once everything has stabilized, I will come down." He escorted his family out to the surrey, to go home with a stiffness to his body and demeanor. In truth he had not cared for how Jarrod and his mother so easily took control of the situation. Further, he had seen Sharon's appreciative response to Jarrod and his mother's efforts.

The following morning Heath and the children took Sharon to the train station. Victoria had come by the house earlier, bringing supplies, while offering a paper chase on horseback later that afternoon. Heath admired the effort Sharon made with the children, to provide cheer. She talked about their new cousin Gavin, and how later in the year they would all go down to Kilkenny Farms.

When they arrived at the train station, Heath helped Tara down, but noted how Sharon waited for Sean. She had not looked at him once during the drive into town. Heath turned away to deal with the luggage, while the children followed Sharon to the platform.

"Sharon, hello" a feminine voice hailed the couple, and they saw Reverend Peterson and his wife. "Are you heading south?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, to Modesto. Then to Kilkenny Farms, the Irish settlement. There is river fever, so I am going down to help out." Sharon stated, hoping that she could get down soon enough before any more deaths.

"Caroline and I are" he went on to talk about some blessing of a new church. We booked a private compartment – would you liked to join us?" The Reverend noted Heath and the children standing in the background. "Sharon will be protected with us."

Heath on one level knew that he should be glad that Sharon would not travel alone. The issue was that if not for his family, he would be going with her. He was still upset with her, about her behavior the last two weeks.

Last night, in the middle of the night, as he was tossing and turning, he wondered if this was all a ruse for Eamonn and Sharon to be together. In the cold light of the morning, Heath recalled Sharon's snide comment about how he was fixated on the issue.

He brought his mind back to the present, as the train came into the station. Heath forced a smile on his face, as he picked up Sharon's valise for the train. Her luggage was already stored in the baggage cart. It came to him that he needed to act like a man who was going to miss his wife, for appearances sake.

It turned out not to be an issue, as Sean and Tara were hugging her tight, so Heath was able to get away with an embrace and a light kiss. However, when their lips brushed, he felt the flickers of flames, which took him aback. Even as he was feeling the heat, he also noted how she was pulling back.

"I think it is for the best that we have some time apart," Sharon took advantage of Sean and Tara being distracted by a peddler's cart. She understood that his kiss had been for the Peterson's – he had made his opinion of her very clear.

"You are someone that I barely know anymore." Sharon said in a low voice, as she raised her chin to look at Heath with disdain. The train started boarding, and she turned from him without a second look. She gave lasts hugs to Sean and Tara, before following the Peterson's on the train.

Heath watched the train pull out of the station, feeling a mix of emotions. He was stung at how Sharon had said goodbye to him. He was annoyed at her because of her behavior, even as he felt sadness at their parting. Heath wished he was on the train with her.

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