Twisted Love and Money (41 page)

Dwyer
grunted.

“Ann-Marie,”
Sheila suggested, a devil in her voice, but also trying to think of
a way to get Ann-Marie out from under their feet.

“Why don’t you
have a laugh and turn down the beds. It will save time and you
might meet the young man?”

“Ha!” Ann-Marie
laughed, eyes flashing. She liked the idea.

“Do you have a
spare uniform?”

“In the
closet.”

To Cooks
embarrassment and Sheila’s amusement, Ann-Marie got the uniform out
of the closet. She threw off her jeans and jumper and put it on.
Dwyer seemed to be lost in peeling his potatoes.

“Don’t forget
the cap for your hair,” Sheila threw in, enjoying the sport.

“Where is he?
He’d better be dishy.”

“East
wing.”

Ann-Marie
flounced out leaving them giggling.

The first guest
room was Jeremy. Carefully Ann-Marie turned down his bed. Jeremy
was busy at the writing desk and hardly glanced up, other than to
say thanks as she departed.

Ann-Marie was
highly amused he had not recognized her in the maid’s uniform. She
hoped he would make Dorothy a good husband.

She tried the
next door.

David’s room.
He was gracious and chatty.

Dishy,
Ann-Marie decided, but old and dishy. He can’t be the young man
Sheila referred to.

No answer to
her discreet knock on the next door, so she went in to turn down
the bed.

As she turned
back the bedcovers Seamus came out of the bathroom, drying himself
from the shower. Shocked he stood, the towel frozen where he held
it against his hair. Ann-Marie turned.

“Oh sorry,” he
said, flustered, lowering the towel to where her eyes had settled
with a startled stare.

“Ann-Marie!” he
was amazed.

“Seamus?” she
said, looking at his face in surprise.

“Ann-Marie, I
wanted to talk to you. You said you were a maid not the
chamber-maid?”

Ann-Marie
smiled, “What do you think?”

“What do I
care,” Seamus said and gave a laugh as he threw his towel at
her.

Ann-Marie
giggled, “Seamus behave.”

Slowly he
approached her, excited but careful not to scare her. She stared
wide-eyed, half kneeling, half sitting on the bed.

“Seamus!” she
appealed, shocked and now blushing at his nakedness. And now
scared, scared because he attracted her so much she thought she
would die.

“Never mind
Ann-Marie,” he said gently, “you have led me a merry dance and now
you are on my bed.”

“Seamus, we
must not.”

Seamus ran his
finger gently down her cheek and kissed her. Her hands flapped, not
knowing where to put them, but as his kiss intensified she put her
arms around his neck.

“Seamus,” she
pleaded, still with her arms around his neck, hiding her face
against his chest, while keeping his naked body away.

“You said I was
to get a bed,” he said, amused.

“And a condom,”
he added.

“No!” Ann-Marie
said suddenly, pushing him away.

Seamus sat back
against the dressing table and then suddenly embarrassed at the
state of his nakedness, he covered as much as he could of himself
with his hands.

Then she
smiled.

Then he
smiled.

Then he came to
her again.

With a giggle
Ann-Marie let him undress her.

Slowly he
kissed every inch as he trembled with excitement.

Ann-Marie
sighed, “Seamus, I pretended I was experienced. I’ve never gone all
the way. Please…”

“So you don’t
know how?” Seamus asked between the kisses.

“Of course I
do,” she protested.

Then he pulled
the covers over them both.

Wide-eyed
Ann-Marie let him come over on top of her.

“You will have
to marry me,” Seamus insisted afterwards.

They were both
still fiercely clenched to each other and Seamus was starting
again.

“You have no
condom, once is enough,” Ann-Marie protested half-heartedly.

“Marry me?”

“Yes
please...Oh Seamus!!!”

They did not
notice the passage of time and they both jumped when they heard a
hesitant knock on the door. Seamus grabbed the towel and opened the
door.

His Grandfather
stuck his head around the door before Seamus could stop him
although he blocked further progress into the room.

“Yes
Granddad?”

“Discussions
young man, I told Kenny I would like you to sit in at the
negotiations. You just say nothing, listen and learn.”

What’s going
on?” he then asked as he spotted another body under the bed
covers.

“Granddad,
she’s here.”

“Who?”

“The girl I
love. We’re getting married. Ann-Marie.”

“Introduce
me.”

Seamus
blushed.

All they could
see of Ann-Marie was her head as she peered over the bed covers.
“Ann-Marie O’Byrne” she said as bravely as she could.

“O’Byrne!”
Seamus said the penny dropping.

“I have asked
her to marry me,” he added.

“And had has
she accepted?”

“Yes,”
Ann-Marie said defiantly.

Granddad
smiled. “I’ll tell them you are indisposed Seamus, and you will be
down for dinner later, don’t be too long,”

Colm made his
way slowly down the stairs, leaving Seamus to seek further
explanations from Ann-Marie. With a whoop he dived back into the
bed. Best place to get explanations, he decided.

Colm chuckled
to himself. Now that is a white horse of a different colour, he
thought to himself. If Seamus was allied to the O’Byrne’s by
marriage it could give things a different complexion. People
married very young these days.

Cheerfully he
went to the talks.

Michael was
agitated that Ann-Marie had disappeared. He liked the full family
to line out. The assumption was that she had slipped out to her
Nana’s in the gatehouse. He would send a maid to fetch her later if
she did not return.

When Colm said
his grandson would be down later Michael was relieved, one less to
worry about.

Crawford
arrived and after a few moments of pleasantries, they took their
drinks with them into the library where they sat and they began the
negotiations.

Chapter
forty-four

The rain began
to break and the light was fading as Ann O’Byrne sat with Michael.
The Party lights had come on to illuminate the driveway. Soon
laughing groups would come up the driveway and into the house for
their party.

“I’ve never
seen Dorothy so happy,” Michael remarked.

A silence
descended.

Michael
wondered how he was to sustain conversation with Ann over the
weekend. He fidgeted with his glass.

“I settled for
sixty one million. I pushed and surprisingly AF hit a ceiling, but
Old Man O’Donoghue kept up the pressure. Kenny came in with the
consortium final offer and we signed ‘Heads of Agreement’ subject
to due diligence testing.”
“What happens next?” Ann asked.

“Kenny is the
new Chairman of O’Byrne’s and he will announce a new Managing
director on Monday. I resign forthwith, effective Monday. Crawford
was very gracious in defeat and hoped the new entity would be able
to build fences with AF in time. All in all a good days work by
myself Dorothy and Peter.”

“Are you
happy?” Ann asked looking concernedly at him.

“Yes Ann, I
think O’Byrne’s had become an obsession for me. I need to rebalance
my life. This is a very comfortable let out.”
“You’ll need something to do. You don’t even speak French.”

“And you Ann,
how do you feel?”

“The doctor
tells me I need to go into a clinic. I don’t want you to go off and
leave me Michael.”

“Tax pressures.
I have to go, this deal makes it an imperative. It will be better
for the children, for their inheritance.”

“Don’t leave me
in a clinic.”

“They have
clinics on the Continent. How about Switzerland? We can afford the
best outside Ireland.”

“If you stay
near me?”

“Of course Ann.
We have to build a new life together,” Michael said and kissed
her.

Ann smiled
happily. “We better go and see to our guests.”

In the middle
of the party Peter and Janet announced their engagement. Not to be
upstaged Dorothy and Jeremy re-announced their engagement, flashing
a new engagement ring.

Champagne
flowed.

Michael stayed
close to Ann, keeping an eye on her and they circulated the room
together talking to their friends and telling them of plans to move
to Switzerland and then to France.

“What do you
think of two weddings in the family?” Michael asked Colm
conversationally after they cross paths while Michael worked the
room.

“Three I
think,” Colm said, a twinkle in his eye.

“Three?”
Michael frowned, puzzled.

“My grandson
Seamus. He has been dating your daughter. Met her at the Saint
Patrick’s Day parade.”

“Not the young
man on the motor bike?” Ann asked, surprise all over her face.

“So I believe.
They are somewhere in the house getting engaged.”

“Engaged!”
Michael thundered. “She is only a child.”

“It would be a
good alliance,” Colm suggested.

Something
passed in the glances between Colm and Michael. Michael felt a
weight lifting off his shoulders.

“I don’t really
think it’s on, she is only a schoolgirl?” he said without
conviction.

Just then,
Seamus and Ann-Marie arrived. There was instant silence and they
both blushed.

“We got
engaged, with your permission sir,” Seamus blurted out.

Michael stared
for a moment and then he laughed.

“We can talk
about this tomorrow young man.”

They all
laughed and the atmosphere was cordial and warm.

end