Page 14 of The Road to Cavan Town
What in heaven’s name?She examined the little cloth-wrapped bundle. “What is it?”
“’Tis a present, it is. A Christmas gift.”
“For me?” She’d not been expecting that.
“It’s certainly not for Miss Kilchrest.”
Alice shot him a look of warning at that. If the man truly wanted to get back in her good graces he’d do well to leave a certain woman’s name out of things.
Isaac looked immediately contrite, but with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Here was the banter she’d missedbetween them. Here was his silent, lighthearted laughter. She’d needed it these past weeks.
She untied the fabric and unwound the gift. After unlooping for a moment, she reached the center. ’Twas the most beautiful bit of jewelry she’d ever seen. Clearly it was a pin, but with a peg on the side. Alice pushed the peg in and the round blue and gold case opened.
“A watch.” She’d always wanted a timepiece of her own. But never had she imagined one so beautiful.
“Ya need one, ya know,” Isaac said. “Always pestering me to know the hour.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “A man can only take so much aggravation.”
“I don’t know how to read it,” she warned him.
His smiled was kind and tender. “We’ve a long walk ahead of us. I’d be happy to show ya how.”
Alice ran her finger over the delicate flowers on the deep blue watch case, inlaid in gold.Beautiful.
“This must have come very dear.” She knew he was not a wealthy man. He was not destitute but hardly had endless coffers at his disposal.
“It matches yer eyes, Alice. Matches quite perfectly. I couldn’t pass it by.”
Matches yer eyes.That he even knew the color of her eyes came as both a surprise and a comfort. Perhaps she’d not been so overlooked all those months. “Ya had to have purchased this before the party last night.” Before Miss Kilchrest made her nature quite clear.
Isaac nodded. “I knew, in my heart, I didn't belong in the world of Miss Kilchrest. The evening only confirmed it.”
Alice pinned the watch to the front of her coat, careful to clasp it securely. “Will it do, do ya think?”
“Lovely.” But he wasn’t looking at the watch. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.”
“Blinded by ambition, ya were.”
He nodded solemnly. “And by my own stupidity.”
“Aye. That, as well.” She set a hand on his chest for balance as she stretched on her toes and placed a single, brief kiss on his cheek. “I thank ya for the fine Christmas present. I’ll cherish it always.”
“Will ya let me cherishyou,Alice?” One of his arms wrapped around her, keeping her nearby. “Will ya at least let me prove to ya that I can, that Iwill? All these months, I’ve grown to care more for you than any person I know. I tell ya my thoughts and worries. I trust ya with my concerns. I miss ya when ye’re away and worry over ya when ye’re not close by. All these months and I never realized—”
“Ya talk too much, Isaac Dancy.” She took hold of the scarf about his neck and pulled him within an inch of herself. “’Tisn't words I’m needing just now.”
His smile tipped a bit roguishly. “I’m most happy to oblige.”
And he was. And did. His lips met hers in a caress so gentle at first, she hardly knew he’d begun kissing her. But his efforts quickly grew more urgent. Alice slid her arms around his neck and held fast to him.
Here was the affection she’d longed for from him, the reassurance that he cared for her just as she cared for him. Twas home.
Flakes of snow drifted softly and slowly down around them as they sealed quite a few unspoken promises with a fine bit of kissing on a peaceful Christmas morning on the road to Cavan Town.
Epilogue
Winter could sometimes be a dreary time of year. The sky was leaden. The air was frigid. A great deal of work was done to prepare the fields for planting when spring arrived. But, holding the hand of his new wife as they approached the farm on which he'd worked so hard for so long, Isaac decided might just be the most wonderful season of all.
He had wed his darling Alice that morning in the humble chapel in Killeshandra. Her grandparents had been there. Billy Kettle had as well. And Isaac's neighbors had attended despite his having been a rather neglectful neighbor to them the past few months. He'd been blinded by his ill-focused ambitions, thinking his future and his happiness could be found in Cavan Town.
