Destiny's Path (32 page)

She looked up the stairs. ‘Is Pandora all right? Or is she out? I’d expected her to come rushing down.’

‘She’ll be feeding little Hebe, I expect.’

‘She’s had the baby? It’s a girl? And you called her by a Greek name?’

‘Yes. We thought your father would like that.’

‘Oh, he would, he would!’

The two lads came down the stairs again and she fumbled in her pocket for her purse, taking out some coins. When they’d gone, she said, ‘I can’t wait to see my new niece and my sister.’

Pandora was indeed feeding little Hebe. Zachary stood in the doorway of the bedroom, smiling fondly as his wife shrieked in surprise, startling the rosy-cheeked infant into letting go for a moment and wailing in protest.

As Hebe settled back to the important business of life and her sister held out one hand, Xanthe went across to kiss her.

‘What a beautiful baby!’

‘She is, isn’t she. Looks like our side of the family, I think.’

‘Thank goodness,’ Zachary said. ‘My side isn’t noted for its good looks.’

‘Sit on the bed, Xanthe, and don’t you dare leave till I’ve finished this!’ Pandora ordered. ‘Go away, Zachary. I shall cheer up now I’ve got my sister to talk to.’

When he’d gone, Xanthe looked at her in surprise. ‘Why do you need cheering up?’

Pandora pulled a face. ‘Because feeding a baby is very boring and not the most comfortable thing in the world. I know it has to be done and I love her dearly, but honestly, Xanthe, it’s driving me mad. I must be a bad mother. Other women seem to get all the happiness they need from being wives and mothers, but I need to feed my mind as well.’

‘Are you sorry you got married?’

‘Never. Zachary is a wonderful man. It’s just – Father brought us up to use our brains and no one wants a woman to do that, especially a married woman. A married woman’s life can be very tedious! I’m warning you: don’t get married unless you love a man quite desperately.’

Xanthe bit her lip, blinking as tears came into her eyes.

Pandora’s eyes narrowed. ‘Something’s wrong. And you’ve been crying. I don’t think Zachary noticed because you’re so bedraggled, but I know you better.’

So it all came tumbling out, what had happened, how she had fallen in love with Ronan, how it could lead nowhere. Once little Hebe had been laid in her cot and left to the young nursemaid whose main responsibility she was, they moved to the parlour and continued to exchange news.

‘I can see how you’d find Ronan attractive,’ Pandora said. ‘And he seemed a nice man, as well. I never thought, though, that you’d fall in love so foolishly. You’ve always been so practical.’

‘No one can be practical about love.’

Pandora smiled. ‘No. You’re right. And you say Maia is in love with Conn? That’s terrible. Do you think she’ll really let him love her – out of wedlock?’

Xanthe nodded. ‘One day it’s bound to happen. Every time they’re together you can see how much they love one another. And his wife is a dreadful woman, really strange and slow-witted, but vicious with it.’

‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. Maia can be stubborn for all her gentleness. Are you quite sure Ronan loves you?’

‘Yes. But he can’t marry someone like me.’

‘I don’t see why not. He won’t marry someone else if he loves you, surely? It wouldn’t be fair.’

‘That’s the way things are for the gentry. They don’t marry for love, but for breeding and property. He said he was thinking of me, how hard it would be for me not to be accepted, to be criticised . . . What do I know about such things? He may be right. Anyway, I can hardly force him to marry me, can I? Oh, let’s not talk about it any more. We’ll just see how things go.’

Zachary joined them for tea, then went back into the shop, which didn’t close until nine o’clock at night.

In spite of her sadness, Xanthe was enjoying Pandora’s company. Her sister looked a different person from the unhappy woman who’d left Australia because she was ill from homesickness. Even though she complained about the tedium of caring for a child and overseeing the house, she looked to be in excellent health, her cheeks rosy and her eyes sparkling with life. And for all her complaints about motherhood, she clearly adored little Hebe.

As Xanthe lay in bed, her last thoughts as she drifted towards sleep were of Ronan. Had he arrived home yet? Was he thinking of her?

Would she ever see him again?

18

T
he following morning Ronan found his land agent in the small room off the stable block which they called by the grand title of the estate office. John Devlin came hobbling towards him with a stick, breathing laboriously.

‘Are you all right?’

‘I can’t seem to shake this chestiness, sir. Sorry about that. Please take a seat. How can I help you?’

‘I wanted to talk to you about the estate, the cottages in the village, repairs, everything really. The place is looking – well, very run down.’ He waited.

John sighed. ‘I’m sorry about that, Mr Ronan,’ he said. ‘I mean, Mr Maguire. I tried to get things done, really I did, but Mr Hubert would never spend money if he could help it, even on important repairs. I’ve done what I could, managed to stop the cottages falling down, but that was all.’

‘I’m not blaming you. I know my father was a bad landlord and it seems Hubert followed suit. But I mean to do better. I think there’s too much work for a man of your age, so would you mind if I took on a deputy land agent? He and I could both come to you for help, but you could take things more easily. Then, once you’re ready to retire – and you don’t need to do that till you want – I’ll continue paying you your wages and—’

‘I couldn’t take money I’d not earned, sir. It wouldn’t be right. Though I would be grateful if you could pay me the wages owing.’

‘You haven’t been paid?’

‘No, sir. Quite a few people haven’t.’

‘What did Hubert do with the money?’ He bit off further words out of loyalty to his brother. ‘You’ve given your life to this estate, John Devlin, so I’ll pay you as soon as I can, and make sure you’re comfortable when you retire.’

The older man gave a weary sigh. ‘I doubt I’ll make old bones, sir, so I’ll not be a burden on you for long. It’s my wife I’m worried about, after I’m gone.’

‘I’ll see that she’s all right, too. But don’t talk about dying. Talk about getting better. I can’t do without you. No one knows the estate like you do. I’m bound to need your advice about all sorts of things. I’m very ignorant because I never took an interest.’ He saw John’s face brighten and was pleased by that. ‘Now, do you have any idea who could act as your deputy?’

‘Well . . . yes, I do. Brian Cahill, Peter’s youngest. He’s a sensible fellow. Not fancy spoken or anything, but he knows the estate and he’s been helping me out a bit.’

‘I’ll send for him at once, then. Or perhaps you’d like to speak to him at first?’ He smiled at John and said coaxingly, ‘See if you don’t get well again now I’m back. I’m going to insist on it.’

His land agent laughed. ‘You could always cajole people into doing what you wanted, even as a lad.’

Could he? Ronan wondered as he walked away. He wasn’t sure about that. Xanthe had a mind of her own, and the local ladies here had their own ways and standards too. He knew they wouldn’t approve of his marriage plans. Could he cajole them into accepting her?

There was going to be a lot to sort out during the next few days, what with inspections, discussions and long talks to both John and Brian, but first he had to see the lawyer about his inheritance, find out how much money there was and where it was kept. He needed to make a start on repairs before the worst of the winter weather.

The day after her arrival in Outham Xanthe woke to almost-clear skies and a freshly washed world that made her itch to go outside. It wasn’t warm, not at this time of year, and full winter would soon be upon them, but it was bright and clear. After an early breakfast with her sister and brother-in-law she went for a long walk round the town, meeting people she’d known in the old days.

At a more acceptable hour, she went to call on the Minister’s wife. Phoebe Rainey had helped her and her sisters in many ways in the old days, and was the first on her list for visiting.

Xanthe enjoyed a pleasant hour with her old friend and found herself elevated now to calling the Minister’s wife Phoebe. She shared all the news from Australia and only when it came to her own plans was she more reticent.

As the hours passed, she kept wondering what Ronan was doing today. Had he found his inheritance in good condition? Did he still care about her? Were matchmaking mothers already descending on him?

To Xanthe’s surprise and then amusement, she found herself the target of matchmaking. After the first Sunday service she was hemmed in by people wanting to talk to her. The sisters or mothers of young men she had grown up with or met at chapel, her former neighbours, so many people were waiting to speak to her. She was invited to visit them, they spoke casually of ‘our Henry’ or ‘our Robert’ and she didn’t dare say she already had a ‘fellow’ – because she didn’t know for certain that she did have Ronan.

Pandora was also amused by this but she saw it as a test. ‘Go and visit them,’ she whispered. ‘Meet their brothers and sons. See if you’re attracted to any of them, or whether your feelings for Ronan hold strong.’

‘I won’t be attracted and my feelings won’t change.’

‘How do you know?’

‘How did you know you loved Zachary? From what you told me, it didn’t take you long.’

‘That’s different. We were thrown together on the journey so we got to know one another more quickly than usual.’

‘And you think Ronan and I weren’t thrown together on the journey?’

‘You didn’t – do anything wrong!’

‘If you mean what I think, no, I didn’t give myself to him.’ She almost wished she had, then he’d feel compelled to marry her straight away instead of delaying and worrying about how happy she’d be in his milieu. She pushed those thoughts away again. ‘Anyway, I shall be bored to tears if I go and take tea with everyone who’s invited me.’

‘Do it for me, then. I don’t really like the thought of you marrying so far above you. It won’t work out, I know it won’t. I want you to be as happy as I am with Zachary.’

Why was everyone so certain that Ronan wasn’t the right man for her? Xanthe wondered. Surely when two people loved one another, they could overcome their differences. It wasn’t as if he lacked money to support her or she was badly educated, and didn’t know how to use a knife and fork. Thanks to Mrs Largan her table manners were impeccable and her former mistress’s reminiscences had given her a fair idea of how to conduct herself in society.

She found things to fill her days, but whatever she did, she missed Ronan dreadfully! He was in her thoughts so often, she’d not have been surprised to see him walking beside her.

When he went into the family lawyer’s office in Enniskillen, Ronan was greeted by an unsmiling Mr Hatton, who exchanged brief greetings with his client, gestured to a seat and pulled a pile of papers towards him with a sigh.

‘I’ve had copies made of all the main documents and accounts, which I’ll give you before you leave, but if I may sum up the situation?’

At Ronan’s nod, he continued, ‘I’m sorry to tell you that your father didn’t leave the estate in a sound position financially. As you know, he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and . . . well, he gambled at times, not hugely, but enough to make serious inroads into the family’s reserves of money. In short, he acted as if he was a very wealthy man to whom money didn’t matter, but although he was comfortably circumstanced when he inherited, he was by no means wealthy – and grew poorer over the years.

‘Your brother found matters in confusion when he inherited because I had not been consulted by your father about certain business arrangements. Hubert was determined to rebuild the family fortunes, but he too made several unwise investments, one in a bank which failed, and another more recently in a ship which was lost at sea. He – um – remained overly optimistic about recouping the family fortunes and took risks that I did advise against, believe me.’

His shudder as he revealed this convinced Ronan more than words could ever have done.

Squaring his shoulders, the lawyer took a deep breath and added, ‘What’s more, I’m sorry to say this but if you too are inclined to gamble, I shall have to ask you to find another lawyer because I don’t wish to be involved in your losing the family estate.’ He folded his arms across his narrow chest and waited, his expression grave.

Ronan was lost for words and for a few seconds could only stare at him and try to take in what he’d been told. After a few moments, he managed to say, ‘I’m not a gambler, Mr Hatton, and I’m not reckless with money. My own inheritance is not only intact but has, I believe, grown over the years. I can give you the name of the lawyer who handled my great-aunt’s estate if you wish to check that. I’d be grateful if you’d remain our family lawyer, and believe me, I shall be grateful for your advice and I promise to heed it most carefully.’

After studying him for a moment or two Mr Hatton inclined his head. ‘Then perhaps we may save the estate – in time, given stringently careful management.’