Shannon's Daughter (24 page)

Chapter
Twenty-one

Peg had
asked Mrs. Leary to serve dinner in the garden.
 
“Why should we stay indoors when it’s such a beautiful night?”
 
The rain had blown out on a cooling wind,
which now settled to a soft breeze.
 
The
air was fresh and the darkening sky clear.
 
Kendall saw immediately that Mrs. Leary had taken this opportunity to
promote what she must consider a budding romance.
 
The table was centered with candles and
flowers and situated near the fountain, far enough from the house to ensure
their privacy.

“Isn’t
this a lot of trouble for Mrs. Leary?
 
Couldn’t
we have eaten at the breakfast table?”
 

“I
think this is lovely.
 
And she did it all
on her own.
 
I didn’t ask her to do
anything but make up plates we could bring out here.”
 
Across the table, Peg’s eyes glistened.
 
“I think she hopes we’ll fall in love.
 
She likes you.”

He
chuckled.
 
“Does she?
 
I’m flattered.”

“You
should be.
 
She’s very hard when it comes
to men.
 
I think she’d have liked it if
I’d chosen to become a nun.”

“Good
heavens, was that ever a possibility?”

With a
little shrug, she said wistfully, “I suppose every Catholic schoolgirl at some
point thinks about it.
 
I mean our
teachers are all nuns, and some of them are really wonderful.
 
I think Prue O’Hallaron may decide to.
 
She’s always said she wanted to go to some
place like Africa and be a missionary teacher.
 
She’d be good at it.
 
She isn’t at
all interested in men.
 
Nothing
like
Connie, anyway.”

“But
you never seriously considered entering a convent, did you?”

“It’s
not practical.
 
I have to help Dad.
 
My mission will be the foundation, I
suppose.”

Kendall
took a moment to study her face, serious and sincere, in the glow of the
candles.
 
“A noble calling, I’m
sure.
 
But when you fall in love you may
have to make adjustments to that vision.”

“I’m
not going to fall in love, remember?
 
My
crush on you is enough romance to last me for a while.
 
Then I’ll just have to find some way to get
us on the same side of the Atlantic again.”

He
started to protest.
 
“Peg. . .”

“Speaking
of that, I should probably warn you about tomorrow night.”

“Warn
me?”
 
He had the sense she’d taken a
sudden turn, leaving him completely in the dark.

“So
you’ll be prepared.
 
You see, Bernie
Silverman will be asked to entertain everyone after dinner, and he’s going to
invite you to play something with him.”

As
surely as if he’d been kicked in the ribs, he gasped for air before rasping, “How
do you know this?”

“Dad
and I have it all worked out.
 
I’ll talk
to Bernie tomorrow, to let him know you’re willing.”

“Who
said I’m willing?” he coughed.

Her
lips pursed into a little pout.
 
“But why
wouldn’t you be?
 
I thought you’d jump at
the chance.”

“To
play a duet with Bernard Silverman,
cold
?
 
My god, girl, that’s unthinkable!
 
You might have mentioned this to me before now!”

“I’m sorry.
 
I just wanted to do it as a surprise for you,
but then I thought you might like a little warning.
 
You really don’t want to?”
 
Crestfallen didn’t begin to describe her
expression.
 
The pout turned downward and
her eyes clouded with what he sincerely hoped were not tears.
 

He took
a deep breath, torn between guilt and terror.
 
“I suppose I could.
 
Depending on
what he wants to play, of course.
 
My
repertoire is limited.
 
And Silverman is
brilliant from everything I’ve heard.”
 
He paused, envisioning the magnitude of disastrous potential in such a
venture.

“Then
you’ll do it?
 
Oh, Kendall, it’ll be
wonderful, I just know it.
 
I’ve heard
you practice.
 
You’re good, really good!
 
And it will just be a little group, only
about fourteen or so.
 
You’ll see.
 
I’ll be so proud of you!”
 
She was fairly bouncing in her chair, her
face now radiant.

He
looked to the heavens, to the faint canopy of emerging stars, and said a
silent, desperate prayer.
 
“Fine.
 
But I reserve
the right to bow out if he wants to play something I’ll only make a mess
of.
 
I wouldn’t want to embarrass you and
your
father, not to mention humiliate
myself.
 
And brat?”

“Yes.”
 
Eyes shimmering, she reached across to touch
his hand.

“If you
ever pull this sort of stunt again, I swear I’ll take you over my knee and
spank you.”

Following
dessert, Peg excused herself, explaining that she wanted to telephone her
father with the “good news,” leaving him in the garden to contemplate the
prospect of making a complete fool of
himself
.
 

“Excuse,
me, sir.
 
I wondered if I might have a
word?
”
 
He would never
get used to people sneaking up on him in this house.
 

“Of
course, Mr. Adamson.
 
In fact, I was going to try to find you after
dinner.
 
What is it?”

“I took
the liberty of inspecting your evening clothes.
 
There seemed to be a stain on your jacket.
 
I’ve sent it to the dry cleaners.
 
It will be returned in the morning.
 
I didn’t want you to wonder where it had
gone, should you go looking for it, sir.”
 

“That
was very thoughtful of you.
 
I’m afraid
the stain may have been Miss Shannon’s makeup.
 
She shed a few tears on my jacket Tuesday night, I remember.”

“Yes,
sir.
 
Mascara.
 
They assured me they could remove it without
a trace.”
 
In the dim light, Kendall was
sure he saw a smile teasing at the man’s lips.
 
“What did you need of me, sir?”

“First
of all, I wish you’d stop calling me that.
 
I’m not at all accustomed to such formality, and it would seem more
appropriate for me to address you as ‘sir.’
 
This is all very strange to me, Mr. Adamson.
 
I’m sure I would have been searching for the
seltzer tomorrow evening, trying to take care of that stain myself.
 
It never occurred to me that you would take
that on.”
 

“I
provide that service to all of the gentlemen who visit here, sir.
 
And of course to Mr.
Shannon.
 
And I know Miss Peg
wishes you to make the best impression on her
guests
tomorrow evening.”

He grimaced.
 
“So I’ve been told.
 
And before she returns, there’s something I
needed to tell you.
 
This afternoon we
were in Columbus Circle, at that little café Peg likes, and when we left, I’m
virtually certain I saw that man again, the one from the theater Tuesday
night.
 
He seemed to have been following
us.”

Adamson
never flinched, although his jaw tightened a fraction.
 
“Thank you, Mr. Gregg.
 
I appreciate your being so observant.”

“Not
at all.
 
Frankly, I wanted to turn around and ask him
what the devil he was up to, but I didn’t want Peg to see him.
 
Just how much trouble
can
this fellow cause, if that’s what he’s trying to do?”

One
brow rose sharply.
 
“Quite a bit, I’m
afraid, sir.
 
And please don’t confront
him, especially not in Miss Peg’s presence.
 
There’s no way to predict what he might say in the heat of the moment.”

“Mrs.
Leary suggested he might ‘remember things from the past.’
 
Can he really do any harm?”

“Quite
possibly.
 
I’ve made some inquiries since this morning,
and I fear he may have blackmail in mind.
 
Simon will attempt to learn more.
 
In the meantime, I’d be grateful if you’d discourage Miss Peg from
roaming too far abroad.
 
When Mr.
Shannon’s health improves sufficiently, I’ll take the matter up with him.
 
For the moment, it would be best to contain
the situation as much as possible.”

A chill
touched the back of Kendall’s neck.
 
The
gravity of Adamson’s tone told him this was not some vague threat.
 
His use of the word blackmail, as though the
idea were not at all foreign to him, set off a shiver of apprehension.
 
“I understand.
 
I wish I
could.
.
.well, I suppose there’s very little I can do, is there?
 
I know I can trust you to take care of
her.”
 
He dropped his head, staring helplessly
down at his hands.
 

“We
will, sir.
 
Perhaps what I said earlier
bears repeating, however.
 
We’ll be sorry
to see you leave.”
 

“Thank
you, but some things can’t be changed, much as we might like them to.
 
Now I should see where she’s gotten off
to.
 
I promised her I’d play my violin
for her.”
 
He pushed his chair back and
stood, meeting Adamson’s gaze, eye to eye.
 
“One last thought.
 
If that man
was following us, it’s likely he picked up our trail at the hospital.
 
You don’t think he’d try to see Mr. Shannon
there, do you?”

“No
sir.
 
The hospital has already been
advised that Mr. Shannon is to see no one other than his daughter and
yourself.
 
Don’t worry, Mr. Gregg.
 
Unfortunately, we’re accustomed to the need
for security.
 
It’s only now, with Miss
Peg starting college and becoming so, if you’ll excuse the expression, blasted independent,
that we’re being forced to become more vigilant.”

Chapter
Twenty-two

He had
lulled her to a dreamy calm with Brahms, dropped a kiss on her cheek and taken
himself upstairs with the faintest ray of hope.
 
While she’d implied she would return tonight, there was a possibility
she’d changed her mind, wasn’t there?
 
He
knew his hope was rooted in the need to feel less like a bounder, particularly
after his talk with Adamson.
 
The man’s
trust in him yanked painfully at his conscience.
 

After dressing
for bed in pajamas and dressing gown as though suiting up for battle, he sought
the safety of the room’s only armchair and opened a copy of the New Yorker he’d
borrowed from the study.
 
Peg had caught
him unawares last night, but now he felt better prepared, more familiar with
her tactics.
 

“Who
are you trying to fool, Gregg?
 
The
moment she walks in, you’re most likely lost,” he growled, finding odd comfort
in the sound of his own voice.
 

For a
time, he struggled to focus, finally finding a short story that held his
attention.
 
He relaxed, his hope beginning
to rise.
 
It was nearing midnight.
 
Surely she’d fallen asleep by now.
 
With a cautious sigh, he eyed the bed
longingly, just as the soft rapping of knuckles sounded.
 

Without
waiting for a response, Peg opened the door and slipped in.
 
“Oh, good!
 
I was afraid you were asleep.
 
I’m sorry, but Connie phoned.
 
She was upset over some silly girl stuff and
I had to listen, at least for a while.”
 
Unceremoniously lifting the magazine from his hands, she laid it aside
and took a seat across his lap.
 
“I would
have hated to wake you, but I couldn’t very well tell her I had to go so I
could come here, could I?”
 

Before
he could answer, her arms wound around his neck and her mouth covered his.
 
Lost indeed, overwhelmed and struck
breathless at the sight of her, he let himself enjoy the kiss long enough to
become thoroughly aroused.
 
When she finally
drew away to rest her head on his shoulder, he could do little more than hold
her and search for his vanishing self-control.

“Where
on earth did you get this?” he exhaled, fingering the shoulder strap of her
nightgown.
 
Black lace cut to stunning
effect, the garment had apparently been designed for a woman desperate to
ignite the passions of the man in her life.
 
It also looked to be the sort of cheap thing peddled in the back pages
of tell-all magazines beneath the caption “Feeling neglected?
 
Capture his attention tonight!”

Peg
laughed softly.
 
“From
Connie.
 
We gave each other gag
gifts for graduation.
 
She said I’d never
dare to wear it.”

“I hope
you don’t plan to report that you did.”

“Oh,
no.
 
Connie can’t be trusted.
 
I’d never tell her a secret like ours.”

He kept
his eyes fixed on the wall opposite, determined to ignore the secrets the gown
so readily divulged.
 
“Peg, you shouldn’t
have come.
 
I think we should put a stop
to this while we can.”

“You
don’t mean that.
 
I can tell, you
know.”
 
She wiggled gently on his
lap.
 
“What’s wrong?”
 
Her fingers slid inside his shirt, gliding
along his collar bone.
 
Eyes wide, but
far from innocent, she waited for an answer.

“You’re
playing with fire, little girl.
 
I just
don’t want to be the man to burn you.
 
Now be good, Peg.
 
Get up and
toddle back to your room.”

“Don’t
try to treat me like a child, Kendall.
 
You and I both know I’m not one.”
 
The hand kept moving, opening first one and then another button,
insinuating itself across his chest.
 
Never, in all his encounters with women, had he been so easily stirred
by a simple caress.
 

“No.
 
You’re not.
 
Which is why you should understand how wrong this is.
”
 

“Tell
me one thing wrong with what we did last night.”
 
Now her lips had joined the assault, pressing
softly against his temple, across his brow and coming to rest on his ear.
 
When her tongue traced down to the lobe, he
groaned and tried to pull away.

“You’re
impossible!
 
Here I’m trying to protect
you, and you’re forcing me
to.
. .to. . .”

Drawing
his face to her chest, she sighed and threw back her head.
 
“To what?
 
To care for me?”

“Yes,
damn it!”
 
The full effect of his
frustration was muffled against stiff lace and soft flesh.
 
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, take this ridiculous
thing off!
 
It doesn’t suit you at
all!”
 

Things
had gone too far.
 
As he held her sighing
at his side, he battled guilt and regret.
 
Never expecting her to reach ecstasy so easily, he had unintentionally
taken her to the point of no return.
 

“Kendall?”
 
Her lips moved softly against his skin.

“Yes,
love?”

“No one
told me it would be like that.”

He
smiled in spite of himself.
 
“I don’t
think it’s quite like that for everyone.
 
Are you all right?”

“Um.
 
I thought I was going to break into a million pieces.
 
And now I feel more completely myself than
I’ve ever felt.
 
Will it always be like
that, or is it just the first time that’s so incredible?”

“I
can’t say, never having been a woman.
 
For a man, it’s always much the same.”

She
raised her head, her eyes glazed as they met his.
 
“It didn’t happen for you, did it?
 
Why not?”

Unwilling
to reveal his current distress, both mental and physical, he said calmly, “The
process is a little different for a man.
 
And I don’t want it to happen, not with you.
 
I promised, remember?”

Dropping
her head, she sighed.
 
“That hardly seems
fair, to you I mean.
 
You’re too good to
me.”

“Quite
the contrary, I’m completely wrong for you.”
 
If she heard, she failed to respond and in another moment her breathing
grew slow and deep.
 
“But God help me, I
love you, Peg Shannon,” he whispered into her hair.
 
Another few minutes, and he eased from the
bed, slinking to the bathroom in search of at least physical relief.