Shamrocks and Secrets (14 page)

“
C
hristi, come with me,
”
Nora instructed as we watched Eileen getting upset with the hotel manager.

“…
And the scones were at least a day old. You
’
re bloody bonkers if you think I
’
m paying for them,
”
Eileen hissed at the poor manager.

“
Is there a problem here, Eileen?
”
Nora questioned.

“
Oh, you know, Nora, stupid Americans, what do they know about English staples?
”

Hearing her lashing out, not only at Edgar the hotel manager, but about everything she had seen today, finally got to me. I didn
’
t even really think about what I was going, it just happened.

“
I
’
m so sorry, Edgar. Here, let me take care of everything.
”

I hadn
’
t given Patrick his credit card back from Shannon
’
s party, so I quickly handed it to Edgar, who scurried away with it.

It was after he was out of sight that I caught the final price, eleven thousand dollars
...
great, there went a huge chunk of my savings.

I looked at the two ladies before me, Nora was standing tall, like the mother of a gold medalist. Eileen, however, wore a look of absolute shock and quite frankly, was a bit green around the gills.

“
Yes, well, since that
’
s all settled,
”
Nora
chuckled.

“Shall we have that drink now, Christi?
”

“
Wait! Let me
...
let me give you a check...you...
”
Eileen stuttered as she scrambled trying to open her Gucci purse.

I turned back to look at Eileen. I noticed then how her hands were shaking and fumbling to find her checkbook.

“
Oh, Mrs. Montgomery, never mind the money. Us stupid Americans are more than willing to step up and help,
”
I smiled at her and turned to join Nora in the hotel bar.

Nora waited until we were seated and had our drinks before she finally said anything.

“
You acted like a Malloy today, I
’
m so proud of you. Wait until Patrick hears about this.
”

I lowered my head and let out a sigh.
“
What I did today was stupid
.
I disrespected her by jumping in the middle. My only reason behind that was to save my amicable connection with the staff here.
”
Nora only smiled as she sipped her drink. I chuckled as I continued,
“
That was the most expensive lunch I
’
ve ever bought. It
’
ll take me a while to recoup that money.
”

Nora quietly place her wine glass down on the table.
“
Do you think Patrick will even blink an eye at that credit card bill?
”

I looked at her questioningly,
“
He won
’
t have to
. I
’
ll give him a check tomorrow, along with an apology for using it without his permission.
”

Nora silently laughed as she continued to sip on her wine. I, on the other hand, chugged my martini.

“
Lass, I think its time you were given a little more information on the people around you.
”

The bartender silently removed my empty glass and replaced it with a new martini. The bar was surprisingly quiet for the amount of people that were seated. I didn
’
t notice any of Patrick
’
s men and I did find that odd.

“
Eileen Montgomery is a woman who lives with regret,
”
Nora began to trace imaginary lines on the table with her perfectly manicured fingernail as she spoke.
“
You see, Christi, when she decided to leave Ireland and marry a non-Irish American, she had no idea of what was about to happen back home. She and Sherman had been married about a year and had Caleb
’
s sister, Mia, when her only brother died suddenly.
”

I watched as Nora shifted her eyes from the table to my face.

“
Family law states that in a case like that, the eldest daughter may inherit the family business when the father steps down.
”

My eyes went wide. I knew Eileen had refused to marry the Irish man her father had wanted her to, and because of that, she would have no claim to the family fortune.

“
The same law states that she must follow the same rules and marry accordingly, which she did not. To make matters worse, she had a child by that American man.
”

The bartender placed a new glass of wine on the table and removed the empty one Nora had been toying with.

“
Eileen
’
s sister, Audrey, not only inherited the business when their father passed a few months later, but she married the man Eileen had run from. They now run the business and have six children of their own. Audrey wants for nothing, much as I do. That, however, is not the case for Eileen.
”

This was surprising as Eileen always looked so well put together and drove a Range Rover. Nora caught my shocked look and chuckled.

“
Oh yes, Christi, Sherman Montgomery is nearly bankrupt. He
’
s made one bad deal after another. If my Paige wasn't so completely in love with Caleb, I would
’
ve made Thomas break the marriage contract. Caleb has taken over the company, and with the help of Paige
’
s dowry and Patrick
’
s assistance, we expect to have a strong alliance very soon.
”

I was about to ask why, in this day and age, the exchange of money for a bride was still happening.

“
Eileen thought that if she married Sherman, she would have the status you and I have.
”

“
What status do I have?
”

This wasn
’
t my world and I had no real claim to Patrick or his family. I loved being with him, but that didn
’
t change the fact that he could drop me like a bad habit and move on to the next girl. I had no status.

“
Christi, I believe Allyson told you a little as to why Patrick
’
s men don
’
t look at you in the eye?
”

“
Yes, she said it had to do with honor and respect.
”

“
Yes and no, it actually goes back further than we can really explain. I
’
ve been told it dates back as far as ancient Egypt and the Pharaohs. We give that same distinction to the wife or betrothed of our current king, so to speak.
”

If I was confused before, I was completely lost now. I wasn
’
t betrothed to Patrick; we had barely begun to date.

“
Okay, I get that it
’
s an honor to be the king
’
s wife or intended, but Nora, I
’
m neither. Clearly Patrick and I aren
’
t married, and he hasn
’
t asked me to marry him, so why do these rules apply to me?
”

Nora rolled her eyes as she adjusted in her seat.
“
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
…
God knows I love Allyson, but sometimes she fails to deliver the correct information; the bracelet, Christi.
”
I looked down at my wrist, the diamonds glistening back at me.
“
The bracelet is a complete circle, the diamonds, one of the hardest materials known to man. The platinum they
’
re set in, strong and beautiful. It all means one thing. Patrick placed that bracelet on your wrist as a sign that you
’
re his intended, and only you can break that bond by removing it. That
’
s why he was so concerned that you
’
d removed it when I took you to the farmhouse.
”

I couldn
’
t speak after her confession.

“
Eileen has always wanted to have that level of respect. She
’
s
never wanted to be in a position of having to give it.
”

This was so overwhelming for me. I knew his feelings on getting married, but to be told that he was on that track
.

Before I could ask Nora any more questions, Patrick and his men came charging through the bar entrance.
“
Oh,
thank
God! I
’
ve been tearing this hotel apart looking for you,
”
Patrick said as he crossed the room and lifted me out of my seat, knocking my drink over in the process. He hugged me so tightly I thought he would break a bone.
“
Baby, please don
’
t scare me like that again, I couldn
’
t find you and no one knew where you had gone.
”

My face was crushed to his chest. I could feel his heart beating so fast I thought it was going to fly out of his chest.

“
Patrick, I
’
m fine, I
’
ve been with your Mother the entire time.
”

He pulled me back to look into my eyes; I saw it then, relief.

I watched as Nora and Patrick looked at one another, silently saying something to each other.

The bartender was quick to come with a towel and a new drink for me. Patrick took a seat without a word and a glass of scotch was placed before him. He pulled me close and placed his hand midway up on my thigh, slowly making lazy patterns with his thumb; it was comforting and yet, a little erotic.

Nora began to tell him of the encounter with Eileen and how I had paid the bill. He smiled as he raised his glass with his free hand.

“
I
’
m so sorry, Patrick, I
’
ll have a check to you in the morning. I don
’
t know what came over me,
”
I shook my head as I apologized.

“
No, you won
’
t,
”
his voice was firm.

I looked at him with alarm.
“
But, Patrick, I charged eleven grand to your credit card! You never gave me permission to use the card except for Shannon
’
s party.
”

Patrick smiled as he lifted my wrist that had the bracelet wrapped securely around it.
“
This, love, is all the permission you need.
”

I could only blink as his words began to sink in.

“
Listen, if this is really bothering you, then I can think of a way for you to make it up to me,
”
he said with a low voice and I looked up into his dark, lusty eyes.

“
Oh, I have no doubt that you do,
”
I chuckled as I leaned onto his side.

“
Patrick, love, I
’
m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to tell you something before anyone else did,
”
Nora
’
s gentle voice filled the air.
“
Eileen didn
’
t give your sister a gift
—
nothing.
”

Patrick shifted his entire body toward his Mother. I could feel his muscles tighten and I could see his hand grip the scotch glass firmly.
“
No lace or quilt?
”

Nora could only shake her head.

I remembered hearing from my grandmother that in the old country, the Mother of the groom would make a quilt from the clothes the groom had worn as a child. It would be placed on the marriage bed for the first year as a good luck charm.

“
No, love, not even a card from the corner grocery.
”

I didn
’
t like the look that both Nora and Patrick had in their eyes. I couldn
’
t describe it. It looked almost like one of betrayal.