Legacy of Secrets (64 page)

Now, Ciel, my own darling mammie, was by her own account a passionate woman. She loved life and she loved men and she loved love. But she had never been in love the way she was with Finn, and she confessed to me when she told me this story that she never was again. Not even with Jack Allerdyce, the man she finally married, and who became my father.

Oh, she loved him all right; he made her laugh and they were great companions and they liked all the same things, horses and country living and foreign travel, and fast motor cars and parties. But she never felt for anyone again that heart-stopping excitement she felt for treacherous Finn.

She kept his ring, of course, as a souvenir. “To remind me of what a blitherin’ fool I almost made of myself,” she said.

I waved my hand under the lamplight and Finn’s emerald glowed and the diamonds sparkled, and Shannon and Eddie oohed and aahed over it.

“It’s a little part of history,” Shannon said breathlessly.

But clever Eddie said, “Did he really set her up just to get back at Lily? Or did he really love her?”

“Ah,” I said mysteriously. “Unfortunately, my dear boy, that is something we shall never know. Mammie said that when she analyzed it years afterward—
‘when she was sane again,’
was how she put it—she thought maybe he had loved her after all. But of course there was no turning back the clock, and anyway maybe it was all for the better, because
it was all getting a bit like a Greek drama, with all those tangled family relationships.

“So we shall never know if Finn loved Ciel. I’ve always thought that he did, but you must make up your own minds what you choose to believe.”

D
AN
O’K
EEFFE THOUGHT IT VERY ODD
that his sister-in-law had left so suddenly, even though Lily tried nervously to play it down, saying she just suddenly got homesick. “I suspect it’s London’s bright lights and a certain young man she was yearning for,” she told him.

“London? With all of New York her playground?” Dan said, astonished. “And Finn to keep her amused and introduce her to a dozen handsome eligible young fellas. Though now I think of it, I’m not so sure Finn wanted to do that.” Dan remembered the way Finn had sought out Ciel’s company and the way Ciel had looked at him, all starry-eyed, the way he always wished Lily would look at him. He thought maybe his brother had wanted to keep Ciel all to himself.

“Finn’s at the bottom of this,” he said positively. “Any fool could see she was falling for him and his blarney. Do you think maybe they’ve had a fight? By God, if he has treated her badly, I’ll beat the livin’ daylights out of him.”

“I’m sure it had nothing to do with Finn,” Lily protested too quickly.

“Well, I am not.” Dan marched over to the sideboard and poured himself a generous tumbler of whiskey. “God-damm it,” he roared, knocking the drink back in a single gulp. “I’m tellin’ you, Lily, if it’s Finn has caused her to leave, he’s in trouble all right. All these years you’ve waited to see her again, and now the young bastard sends her
fleeing home. He just can’t keep his hands off any woman, that’s Finn’s fault. He has a string of ’em in New York. ‘Tillies,’ he calls them. And I guess he thought it would be a feather in his cap to add Ciel to his ‘stable.’”

“He’s always been jealous of you, Dan,” Lily said, suddenly egging him on. If she couldn’t do it herself, then she wanted Dan to beat Finn up. She wanted to see Finn’s nose bloodied, maybe a tooth or two knocked out to wipe that self-satisfied grin from his handsome, lying face.

“Jealous?” Dan poured another tumbler of whiskey, staring at her, surprised.

“For marrying me. The daughter of the Big House. You know he always thought I liked him. Well, I chose you, so he made a play for my sister instead. He’s jealous of you, Dan, don’t you see it? With all your success—and marrying me as well? He wanted to marry Ciel so he could be like you….”

“And didn’t I think it was a grand idea myself!” He clapped his hand to his forehead in an agony of remorse as he downed another whiskey. “Wait!” He suddenly thought of something. “Are you telling me he made a play for you as well, Lily?”

He stared at her, his face red and his big fists clenched. “No. Oh, no, he never did that,” she said hastily. “He always knew I preferred you, Dan.”

“I didn’t know you had seen him before you met me,” he said, suddenly suspicious.

“Well, I … only once or twice,” she admitted reluctantly. “He came to speak to John about the rare books he had inherited from Cornelius James.”

“You never told me about that,” he said, staring hard at her.

Lily knew she was getting into deeper water than she had intended, and in the impatient, haughty tone she always seemed to use with him these days, she said, “It was nothing. It just wasn’t important, that’s all.”

His eyes followed her as she walked briskly to the door. She said, “None of it is important. Ciel will be back soon.
She just needed to go home to Ardnavarna for a while. Pa’s death affected her more than she showed.”

“Where are you going?” he demanded, stalking after her to the door.

“I’m going to change for dinner. Jayzus, Dan, you’re acting as if the world just fell apart because Ciel suddenly went home. I’ve told you, nothing’s wrong.”

She flounced from the room, skirts rustling, and he stared thoughtfully after her. Then he went back to the sideboard and poured himself another drink. He glanced at his watch. Seven-thirty. Finn would be here at eight.
He couldn’t wait to see him.

At eight on the dot Finn bounded eagerly up the front steps and rang the bell. He smiled, surprised when his brother opened the door to him instead of the parlormaid. “Staff problems, Dan?” he asked, striding past him into the hall. “Surely not in this house. Isn’t everyone paid more than any other establishment in Boston? And with better hours and working conditions?” He laughed, tossing his coat over a chair and flinging a friendly arm around his brother.

“You look as though you’ve beaten me to a drink,” Finn said, walking into the dining room, and then glancing closer at him. “And by quite a few, I’d say.”

“Not that many I don’t know what I’m saying,” Dan said stonily.

Finn looked surprised. “I’m glad to hear that, old son; I’m here for an evening of civilized conversation, not the ramblings of a drunken Irish politician.”

“What the hell d’ya mean by that?”

Dan stepped menacingly toward him and Finn said, hastily, “It was just a joke, Dan, that’s all.”

Dan poured himself another drink without offering Finn one and Finn watched him warily. Tension crackled between them and his scalp prickled warningly. Something was up and he hoped it wasn’t what he thought it was.

“Where is Ciel?” he asked, glancing at his watch, trying to defuse the situation. “She’s usually waiting for me.”

“Not anymore, ‘ould son.’ Ciel packed her bags and left this afternoon. Gone home to Ardnavarna. Or more likely, she’s run away from you.”

“You can’t mean that,” Finn said quietly. Puzzled, Dan thought he looked like a man who had just been dealt a body blow.

“Sure I do. Ask Lily. And maybe she’ll tell you the real reason she’s gone, though she’s not telling me.”

“We were engaged to be married,” Finn said. “I had bought her a ring—”

“She never said anything about that to me. Nor as far as I know to her sister. But then, I’m suddenly finding out there’s a lot I don’t know about Lily.”

Lily appeared on cue in the doorway. She was perfectly turned-out in blue silk and pearls, with her hair swept back in an immaculate chignon. Their eyes were fixed on her as she walked nonchalantly across the room and sank into a chair by the window. “It’s so warm tonight, for spring,” she said, fanning herself.

“Lily, what have you been up to?” Finn demanded.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She flinched as he stalked nearer, seeing the bitter anger in his eyes. She said quickly, “Ciel said she was sorry not to say good-bye. She just had a longing to go home again. It’s perfectly understandable, so soon after Pa’s death.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” he yelled angrily. “Ciel loved me. We were engaged to be married. She would never have left without speaking to me first.” She looked up at him with frightened blue eyes. “Unless you had a hand in things, Lily. Stirring them up as usual.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she repeated. “Only
you
know what happened between Ciel and yourself. Dan said you have a string of ‘fillies’ in New York, and Ciel knew about it and she just didn’t want to be counted among your ‘trophies.’”

“Did you tell her that?” he demanded, standing threateningly over her.

“Dammit, no, I did not. I don’t know how she found out.
But how do you expect a lady,
a Molynexu,
to behave over something like that? Do you expect her to just sit there and smile like a good little peasant wife and say it doesn’t matter?”

“You are lying, Lily,” Dan roared. He was standing with his feet apart and his arms folded, staring angrily at them. “Ciel did not know about Finn’s women, and neither did you, until I told you just now. So exactly what did happen between you and Ciel? Come on, Lily, why don’t you tell us? Put us both out of our misery, because there’s something going on here and I’m determined to know what!” He banged his fist into the table, sending a pretty meissen dish flying to the floor, where it shattered into a hundred pieces.

“You’ve done it again, Lily, haven’t you?” Finn said bitterly to Lily. “You thought the game was still going on and now it was your turn to win. Well, let me tell you, my dear Lily, you will never win. You will always be the loser. I thought Ciel was the one person you really loved. But I was wrong. Even precious little Ciel could not stand in your way.”

He turned and strode to the door, but Dan blocked his way. “What was that all about?” he demanded angrily.

“Ask your wife,” Finn said, shouldering him aside. He strode into the hall and across to the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Dan yelled after him.

“Ask your wife,” Finn repeated, heading up the stairs.

Lily ran after him. She saw him on the landing and she knew where he was heading. “No,” she screamed, running after him. “No, Finn.”

“Where is he going?” Dan asked, bewildered. “What’s going on?”

“Stop him, Dan, stop him,” Lily cried. “He’s going to get the baby.”

Dan leapt up the stairs after them. He grabbed Lily by the shoulders. “Why does he want Liam?” he demanded, but he had no need of an answer, he read it in her eyes.

He flung her away from him and ran down the upstairs
hallway after his brother. Finn was standing by Liam’s bed, gazing at the sleeping boy. His shoulders drooped and he looked like a man who has just lost everything he ever cared about.

“Get away from that boy,” Dan whispered through gritted teeth. “Get out of the nursery, you bastard.”

Finn shrugged wearily. So now Dan knew. He had his revenge and it was not sweet. He walked past him out the door and along the hall. With a great roar, Dan ran after him. “By God, I’ll kill you,” he yelled. “I said I’d do it for Ciel, but now it’s for Lily.”

“Why not do us both a favor, brother, and kill Lily instead,” Finn called, standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for him. “She’s the one who should pay for this mess. Not you or me.”

Dan stripped off his jacket and put up his fists, circling him angrily. Finn flung off his coat. “Come on, you drunken old sod,” he called. Dan charged at him like an enraged bull, his great fists were knotted and his face was purple with rage.

Blood spurted from Finn’s broken nose and a cut over his eye. He knew he couldn’t win; Dan was drunk enough and wild enough to kill him. “All right, Dan, all right,” he said, mopping the blood and walking backward down the stairs, afraid to take his eyes off him. “You win. The honors, such as they are, are yours. And so is Lily. But one day I shall be back for my son.”

Dan let out a howl of pain. He launched himself at his brother and Finn heard Lily scream as he flung himself quickly out of his way, watching, horrified, as Dan hurtled past him, arms outstretched, falling over and over, down the beautiful staircase, until he landed with a thud at the bottom and lay still.

Finn walked down the stairs and looked at his brother. Then he looked at Lily standing silently on the first floor landing, a hand clutched anxiously to her breast. He picked up the phone and called the doctor, saying there had been an accident and it was urgent. He looked sadly down at his
unconscious brother and then he strode to the door. “Good-bye, Lily,” he said coldly. “And don’t forget,” he added, “one day I shall be back for my son.”

Lily watched him go. She knew he had meant it when he said good-bye this time. It was all over between them, but now the war over the boy was about to begin. She looked at her husband lying at the bottom of the stairs, and she suddenly realized that he had not moved.

“Dan,” she screamed, hurling herself to her knees beside him. His eyes were rolled up in his head, he was very pale, and he was breathing rapidly. Filled with foreboding, she knelt beside him and took his cold hand in hers, waiting.