Page 58 of Ordered Home for the Holidays
Deirdre and Seamus watched as he dropped her hand and turned on his heel. He strode down the whole length of the row, whistling, before he came to the end and exited through the far door.
“I don’t trust him or his intentions, Dee.”
Seamus’s gruff protectiveness was the response she expected and Deirdre sighed. “Seamus, I’m going to repeat that I can take care of myself and my children.”
Her brother huffed in frustration. “And what if he finds out James is his? What then, Dee? He’s within his rights to take him from you. And I’ve had enough of his family and their lot takin’ things from us.”
“He’s not going to take anything from me besides the food I set on the table. And I’m going to take his coin.”
“I was only thirteen when he left, but I remember how much you wept. I meant what I said about the tunnel. If he crosses the line, I’ll toss him down one of the tunnels.”
Deirdre laughed ruefully. “If I let him cross the line, I’ll ask you to do it myself.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” her brother said with a curt nod.
“So Mam knows he’s back?”
“How could she not? She told us after Mass last Saturday. Said Liam and I were to keep an eye on you and make sure that scoundrel wasn’t sniffing around your skirts again.”
“He’s not. He has his own demons to fight.”
“I’ll warrant Mam knows all about that. She said you’re to come to dinner on Sunday with Jamie and Katie.”
“So she can warn me away in person?”
Sunday was the only day of the week Deirdre didn’t provide supper for her tenants. The only day she could rest her feet and read if her children gave her a moment’s peace. She hated giving it up so her mother could blister her ears.
“She’s just worried, Dee. We all are.”
“Fine,” Deirdre said as she scowled at the door. “I’ll be there.”
Seamus wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hauled her to his side so he could rub his knuckles over the crown of her head. “Good. It will please her. And your attendance will distract her from houndin’ Liam and I about settling down.”
Deirdre frowned. “It’s one of the rare occasions I agree with her, Seamus. If you were settled down, you wouldn’t be risking your life for this,” she said as she gestured toward the front of the room.
“You of all people should know why I do it, Dee. If the mine owners didn’t think of us as disposable, Paddy’d still be alive.”
Her brother’s admonishment infuriated her. “I know what I’ve lost, Seamus, and I have no need of your reminder.I support the movement too, but I think violence will lead us nowhere.”
“It's a protest, not an incitement to violence, sister. We’re refusing to work so they’ll listen to us. The only way to get through to these bastards is through their pockets.”
“I don’t agree with you, and I hope there’s some sort of resolution before Monday.”
***
“Lass,” her mother enfolded her into a hug. “‘Tis good to see you and the children.”
Deirdre wrapped her arms around her mother’s diminutive shoulders. “Thank you for having us. The children always squawk in outrage at their meal of bread and cheese on Sundays.”
When her mother patted her back and stepped away, Liam stooped to give her a hug. It wasn’t as solid as their mothers because she suspected her older brother was wary of his own strength. Although his time at the forge had honed his muscles into something fearsome, Deirdre knew he was nothing but a gentle giant.
“I have some counsel to offer,” her brother whispered into her ear.
She moved away with a frown. “If your counsel is about Cassius Trenton, you may keep it to yourself.”
He shook his head mutinously and crossed his arms. “I’ll not keep it to myself. Now that Paddy’s gone it’s me responsibility to watch over you and Jamie and Katie.”
Deirdre glared at him. “We’re not your responsibility, brother and I resent your interference in the matter.”
