Page 26 of An Angel's Share
“My brother doesn’t like him. But he thinks Aoife is happy with it, with Liam. Intends to marry.”
I snort at that. “She has no intention of marrying him. She intended to sort out the business, have the baby, and dump him as fast as she could. Definitely no marriage involved, and all before the tenth of December.”
“She’s always been headstrong. Seamus loves that about her. Got a mind of her own,” he muses and smiles, clearly thinking about the beautiful, wilful O’Clery women. “What, if anything, have you done or agreed to with her? Don’t be pressuring her Jonno. The baby?—”
“For god’s sake, Marshall, what do you think I am? It’s not like she’s the first pregnant woman I’ve had to deal with.” I push my eyes wide, as I grin at him.
He laughs. He knows how involved I’ve been with Evie and the kids. How manic that was at times. My sister going loco on a couple of occasions, both whilst pregnant.
“I want to be involved, and I want the baby. I’ve told her I do.” I take a deep breath in. Dare I speak the words out loud? My heart rate has ratcheted up to hyper speed as I blurt out, “I want her regardless of anything. I haven’t fully told her that yet. But that is what I want. Her.”
He can’t speak. He’s shell shocked, staring at me as if I’m an alien. He knows how I live, he knows how I conduct my ‘relationships.’ It’s such a departure for me, a huge U-turn on my current lifestyle.
Right there with you, Marshall. I wonder what is happening to me.
His face is deadly serious now. His grey-blue steely gaze burning into my steadfast one. “Are you sure? You know the level of commitment needed, you see it every day at home. Do you really want to be involved? She lives here, Jonno. You live in England.”
“I’ll live wherever they are. If I need to move, I will.” He gasps at my statement. “I’ve never been more serious about anything, Marshall. I’ve never felt like this before. I know you’ll think it’s quick, I’m aware of the timescales myself. The craziness of it, even for me. But I know it’s the right thing.”
I smile at him. It’s true, and it inundates me with so many new feelings. Today in the buggy, awash in totally new sensations, including pouring myself into a woman, no barriers between us. Everything feels brighter, lighter, my world constantly opening up. She’s a flame-haired siren, and I love dancing close to the fire. Dicing with danger. And she certainly is that.
Seamus steams into the room,his face red with anger. “I will not have it, I’m going to have to put a stop to it. I see her face, how she reacts to him. How upset she is all the time. I’ve not seen any happiness in her for weeks. How dare he talk to her like that.”
I can feel Marshall's eyes burning into me. He wants me to tell his brother. But I can't, because she needs to tell him. We need to tell him—them—together. I’ve got to give her the chance to do it.
Mae piles into the room, grasping hold of Seamus andpointing her finger at me. “How could you? You’ve upset our entire family. You need to leave, Mr Greystone. We will not have that sort of behaviour here. It might be acceptable on your farm, but not here.”
My face remains blank, but Marshall’s doesn’t. He opens his mouth to quash Mae, but Seamus interjects.
“Mae, it’s not Jonno’s fault, it’s Liam. And he will not speak to Aoife like that. And you need to stop with the food comments. All her life you’ve picked at her. Leave her alone, for god’s sake. She’s carrying your grandchild. You’ll push too hard and she’ll go. We’ve only just got her home, after too many years away. She’ll go again, and take this baby with her.”
Mae looks shocked. It clearly never occurred to her that Aoife may leave. She thinks her being at Killclery forever is a done deal.
“Seamus, I’ve never picked at her. I only want what’s best. Liam wants what’s best for her.”
Seamus snorts his derision at that. “He wants what he thinks will be the most popular with you. It took Jonno clocking him in the face to shut him up. He would have carried on getting at her. I won’t tolerate it any longer.”
Mae dissolves into tears. “You can’t call it off, Shay. What will we look like?” She’s started to wail. “I will be a laughing stock. Aoife will be?—“
She stops when she looks at her husband’s face. When she takes in Marshall, the expression on his face. She finally clamps her mouth shut, knowing it’s falling on deaf ears.
“I’m going to speak to her over the next few days. I will not have my daughter unhappy. Not while I have breath in my body.” Seamus storms from the room. Mae, aghast at the implications, collapses onto a large chair, tears shining in her eyes.
My brain is whirring. Maybe I won’t have to pull the eject handle. Liam may do it all by himself.
“Marshall, speak to him please. He can’t do this. Aoife just doesn’t care, but she will. If she lives here, she won’t have anyone to go out with, lunch with. Please Marshall, don’t let him talk her out of it.” The woman can’t see past the end of her nose.
“I’m sorry, Mae,” he only gets out before she starts to really sob. She actually believes her daughter will be happy with that idiot. “But I won’t interfere,” he soldiers on. “It’s between Seamus, Aoife, and yourself. But if I can offer any advice, it would be to listen to what Aoife wants. Only that, nothing more.”
Mae is not listening. She only focuses on what she wants. What she thinks is best for her daughter. This is going to be catastrophic for Mammy.
It’sevident when Aoife comes down for dinner she’s been crying. My blood is still simmering from earlier. One word from anyone and I’ll blow a gasket.
Marshall keeps throwing me concerned looks. He can tell I’m ready to unleash hell on this shower of idiotic thieves and fraudsters. Not a decent human amongst them.
Liam is bowing and scraping at Seamus’s feet all night. His insipid behaviour extends to Mae. Interestingly, he doesn’t do the same to Aoife.
Aoife’s lip curls at his obsequious behaviour. It’s as if by sucking up to Daddy and Mammy, that should be enough. As if she’s not important, the deal sealed with no turning back. Or it’s probably more basic than that. He thinks Daddy is holding the purse strings.
