Shannon's Daughter (41 page)

“Of
course not.
 
It just seems unfair for you to. . .”
 
She silenced him with a finger to his lips.

“Let me
be the one to say what’s fair for me.
 
Do
you have any idea how terrible I would feel trying to stay away?
 
I know I only met them once, but I feel a
bond with your grandparents.
 
They’re at
least part of the reason you’re the man you are, the man I love.
 
I want to do this for them, as much as for
you.”

He gave
up, dropped his head and let her take him in her arms.
 
“I should learn not to argue with you,
shouldn’t I?”

“Probably.
 
But I doubt you will.
 
Does that
mean you’ll let me stay and do what I can?”

“Promise
to teach me, not carry me?”

“Promise.”

“How
can I refuse?
 
I need you, Peg.
 
In too many ways.
 
That was one of the risks of letting things
go
so far.”

“I
don’t have any regrets.
 
Do you?”

If he
did, he kept them to himself, choosing instead to lift her in his arms and
carry her to the bed, to make gentle, grateful love to her until the room grew
dark and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
 

Chapter
Thirty-nine

Peg
traveled with him as far as London when he finally headed back to work.
 
Her appointment with Reggie had led to an
order for iron injections every two weeks, which she insisted were unnecessary,
but agreed to only to appease him, she said.
 
“You know how I hate needles.
 
I
begged Reggie to just give me pills, or even some sort of foul-tasting tonic,
but he seems to think these will work better.”

He eyed
her sternly across the table in the dining car.
 
“Because he said your hemoglobin is dangerously low.
 
If you’re going to take on all this extra
work, you have to also take better care of yourself.”

“Yes,
sir.
 
I think I did feel a little bit more
energetic after the first one.
 
I suppose
while I’m here, I might as well pack a few things to take back.
 
I’ll have Hammonds drive me and maybe stay a
day or two.
 
I even thought about asking
if I could borrow Alice to help me with the house and sit with your grandmother
part of the time.
 
She offered to go with
me to Lewes once, so I assume she’d be allowed to travel with me.”

“That
sounds like a wonderful idea.
 
And then
you’ll have someone to keep you company, too.
 
I worry about you being all alone there.
 
What about Agnes, maybe she’d be willing to go up for a few days.”

“I
think I’ll call her to see if she can meet me for lunch today.
 
I’ve actually missed our little talks.”
 
Folding her napkin, she seemed to want to change
the subject.
 
“Will your mother object to
my helping you?
 
I mean is that something
she would see as her job?”

He
thought back to Eloise’s comments after the funeral.
 
“I hardly think so.
 
She made it clear that she felt awkward in
the house, after neglecting my grandparents for the past few years.
 
Understandable, I suppose, but once she met
Patrick, she put some distance between herself and everything related to my
father.
 
I think Grandfather understood,
but Gran was hurt by it.
 
Besides, Mother
wouldn’t be much use clearing out the house and certainly no help with Gran.
 
The only time she goes near a hospital is
when she’s a patient herself.”

“I just
don’t want her to dislike me any more than she already seems to.
 
And I don’t want to cause any tension between
the two of you.”

“That’s
very sweet.
 
But don’t worry.
 
Mother and I have been together too long for
a little thing like another woman, even one I adore, to cause a rift between
us.
 
I suspect that deep down, she’s
grateful you’re here just now.
 
Gives her an excuse for stepping aside.”

For
almost two weeks, he forced himself to focus on work.
 
It was a relief to be back in the impersonal
environs of the hotel among people whose lives had not suddenly fallen
apart.
 
He slept soundly and enjoyed long
walks around the grounds between rehearsals and performances.
 
If he felt guilty for letting Peg take on
responsibilities he knew should be his alone, he balanced it with the notion
that his grandmother would approve of another woman sorting through the
treasures of her lifetime and seeing to her care.
 
Gran had liked Peg immediately.
 
In some ways they were kindred spirits, the
kind of females who instinctively took charge in a crisis.
 
Perhaps he’d been drawn to Peg because she reminded
him of the one woman in his life he’d admired most.
 
Strong, stubborn at times and generous in
extreme, both of them had shown him a devotion he’d never believed he deserved.
 
It might be too late to repay his grandmother
for all she’d given him, but he still had hopes of making things right with
Peg, of someday being free to offer her more.
 

On Saturday
morning, the call came early enough to allow him to make arrangements with the
orchestra and catch a train.
 
Peg said
simply that she’d been at the hospital all night; that he needed to come, there
wasn’t much time left.

Reaching
Hertford just after lunch, he was met at the station by Hammonds.
 
At the hospital he found Peg, weary but
rooted firmly to his grandmother’s side, and a hovering nurse who nodded
sympathetically when he indicated he’d like some privacy.
 
He had less than an hour at the bedside to
say his farewells.
 
While she had
remained unconscious since the day of her husband’s death, he sensed a change
in her since his last visit, a comforting tranquility, as though she had
already reached her ultimate destination.
 
Unlike the wrenching loss of his grandfather, this time there was a
sense of justice at the end.
 

“She
looks almost happy, doesn’t she?”
 
Peg
whispered from the other side of the bed as she tenderly tucked a soft gray
curl in place.
 

“I
imagine she is.
 
They were together for
so long neither could have been content alone.”
 
Raising his eyes to meet hers, he was struck by the tears sliding down
Peg’s cheeks.
 
“I envied them, you
know.
 
Love that lasts a lifetime is so
rare, and I knew I’d never have it.”

Rounding
the bed, she draped her arms over his shoulders and pressed her cheek to
his.
 
“We should let her go now.
 
I’ll get the nurse, or do you want another
minute or two?”

He
raised the already cool hand to his lips and tenderly kissed the delicate
fingers.
 
“No.
 
What do we need to do here, before we can go
home?”

“Nothing.
 
It’s all been done.
 
I hope you
don’t mind.
 
I wanted to spare you as
much as possible.”

He
started to argue that he should be the one to call the mortuary and contact the
minister.
 
That wasn’t her
responsibility.
 
But something in her
eyes, as she stared down at the peaceful face on the pillow, silenced him.
 
Peg hadn’t simply taken charge, she’d done
what she believed was right out of love for him and for a dying woman she
barely knew, but nevertheless felt a kinship with.
 
“Thank you.
 
Let me take you home now.
 
You must
be exhausted.”

For the
second time in a month, they made the solemn journey to the little cemetery
tucked beside the Methodist church.
 
This
time, unlike the first, Peg did not hang back with Agnes and Maeve, pretending to
be just another member of the family.
 
Today, she walked beside him, held his hand during the service in the
church, and stood at the grave, tossing a rose onto the lowered casket along
with his.
 
Back at the house, she presided
over the buffet luncheon, giving quiet orders to Alice and Hammonds, who he
learned had been in Hertford since his departure two weeks earlier.
 

“Peg,
you shouldn’t be using your servants to do the work here.
 
Or your money to pay them, either.
 
Where is Mrs. Beatty?”
  
When he looked around for the housekeeper,
Peg pointed to her sitting among the mourners gathered in the dining room.
 

“I
couldn’t ask her to work today, when she’s lost the two people she served for
so many years.
 
She deserves to grieve,
Kendall.
 
She told me she feels as though
she’s lost her entire family.”
 

When
her lower lip trembled and she turned away to fuss with a nearly empty tray of
sandwiches, he noticed for the first time how pale she was against the black of
her dress.
 
A film of perspiration clung
to her forehead and there were deep circles beneath her eyes.
 
“I’m sorry, love.
 
Of course that was the right thing to
do.
 
Here, let me take that.”
 
Picking up the tray, he started toward the
kitchen, glancing back over his shoulder in time to see her steady herself
against the sideboard.
 
“Are you all
right?”

“I’m
fine.
 
Just tired.
 
I should see if Alice needs anything.”
 
Stepping aside to let her pass, he took note
of the determined set of her shoulders with a shake of his head.
 
She’d been on the go since dawn, with very
little sleep for the past several nights.
 
He’d have to make sure, once everyone left, that she took time to relax
tonight.

He was
forced to wait for the door to swing back allowing him to angle through with
the tray.
 
By the time he entered the kitchen,
chaos had broken out.
 
He barely managed
to avoid tripping over Peg, now collapsed in a heap on the floor, while Alice
dropped a silver serving platter with a crash, let out a stifled scream, and
rushed to kneel beside her.
 
“She just
fell down, sir!” she gasped, looking up in horror.

With
greater presence of mind than he would have credited himself, he said softly,
“Alice, please go to the lounge and ask Dr. Houghton to join us in here.
 
Don’t make a fuss.
 
Just tell him discreetly that I asked for
him.”
 
Kneeling beside Peg, he laid a
hand on her forehead and was rewarded with a flutter of her lashes.
 
“Sweetheart, just lie still.
 
Alice is fetching Reggie.
 
You fainted, that’s all.”
 

“I’m so
sorry.
 
I. . .”

“Hush.
 
There’s no need to be sorry.
 
I should have seen how worn out you
are.”
 
Reggie shoved his way in, Alice
close on his heels.
 
“Here, let’s have
the doc take a look and then I’ll get you upstairs.”

After a
cursory exam and a few hushed questions, Reggie drew him aside.
 
“Worst time for all this to be going on.
 
She got her period yesterday.
 
Says it’s unusually heavy.
 
All the stress, no doubt.
 
And she missed her last injection, you know.”
 
He shook his head, watching as Alice brought
a glass of water and helped Peg sit.
 
“She’s a terrible patient, frankly.
 
Thinks she’s invincible.
 
Best get
her upstairs where she can lie down for a bit.
 
And try to talk some sense into her, Kenny.
 
If the two of you ever hope to have a family,
she’s going to have to do better than this.”

He
chose not to comment on any of Reggie’s observations for fear of making matters
worse.
 
Instead, he knelt beside Peg
again, taking her hand.
 

“I
can’t just leave, Kendall.
 
I’ll be
fine.
 
Just let me sit in here for a few
minutes, please.”

“Not an
option, brat.
 
I’ll carry you up the back
stairs.
 
No one will be the wiser.
 
Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t well?”

“I’m
not sick.
 
I certainly didn’t expect to
pass out like that.
 
It’s silly to make
such a fuss.”
 
When she made a move to
get to her feet, he hastily scooped her up, surprised to feel her slump in his
arms rather than offer any resistance.
 

“Alice,
would you open that door for us please?
 
Miss Shannon is going upstairs to rest.
 
I’m sure we can count on you to keep things running smoothly down here.”

“Yes,
sir.
 
Of course, sir.
 
Do feel better, Miss.
 
You scared me half to death, fallin’ out like
that.”

“Thank
you, Alice.
 
Reggie, would you mind
joining us upstairs for few minutes?”
 

“Not
at all.
 
I’ll just tell Maeve what’s what, and I’ll be
right up.”

Peg
lifted her head to protest softly, “Reggie, please don’t tell everybody I
fainted.
 
That sounds so melodramatic.”

“Melodramatic
or not, that’s what you did, Peg.
 
But
don’t worry, I’ll play it down.
 
Just,
for heaven’s sake, start taking my advice from now on, will you?”