Shannon's Daughter (23 page)

“Is
there any real harm in him?”

She
folded her lips, and he knew his question would go unanswered.
 
“I’ll tell Mr. Adamson about this, Mr.
Gregg.
 
And I thank you for keeping a
watch on Peg.
 
She’d like to think she
can go and do as she pleases but I’m afraid that’s not to be.”
 

He’d
made it to the ballroom, opened his violin case and dragged a chair near the
French doors before Adamson appeared.
 
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Gregg, but. . .”

“That’s
quite all right.
 
I was expecting you.”

“Mrs.
Leary tells me someone approached Miss Shannon at the theater Tuesday evening?”

He
repeated the story just as he had told it
earlier,
adding that Peg had commented on the number of strangers who’d recognized her
from newspaper photographs recently.
 
“She seems to deal with it quite easily, but this fellow obviously made
her uncomfortable.
 
And he did me, as
well.
 
Hairs raised on the back of the neck
sort of thing, if you know what I mean.”

“I’m
afraid I do, sir.
 
I agree with Mrs.
Leary.
 
This chap is not dangerous in a
physical sense, but he could well prove to be a nuisance if given the
opportunity.
 
Thank you for bringing it
to our attention.
 
I’ll put Simon on
alert as well.”
 
He turned as though to
leave, then appeared to have another thought.
 
“If I may, Mr. Gregg, we all agree, that is Mrs. Leary, Simon and
myself, that you are a most suitable escort for Miss Shannon.”
 
Momentarily dropping his imposing façade, he
went on, “We’ll be sorry to see you go, frankly.
 
It’s a relief to know she’s in such good
hands.
 
I heard about the incident at the
O’Hallaron’s party last week, and I must say you were praised as quite the
hero.”
 

Kendall’s
jaw dropped.
 
“You
heard.
. .but how?”

“Word
passes between households.
 
This
particular report came directly from the O’Hallaron’s butler during our
Saturday evening bridge game.
 
He said you
took young Canaday instantly to task without causing the least stir.
 
Miss Peg would do well to have someone like
yourself
available.
. .on a more permanent basis, if
you know what I mean, sir.”
 
He was
stunned to see the man blushing.

“Thank
you, Mr. Adamson.
 
I take that as a real
compliment.
 
I feel sure she’ll find
someone far better suited given a little time.
 
But while I’m here, I promise you, she won’t come to any harm if it’s
within my power to prevent it.”
 

He
watched the butler leave, feeling like a total fraud.
 
The people who loved her most trusted him
with Peg, and so far he was the one who presented the gravest danger to
her.
 
Without their knowing, he had
violated their trust in the worst sort of way.
 
No matter his feelings for her, he had no right to what she’d offered
last night, and less right to allow her to offer it again.
 
Worst of all, he knew without a doubt he
would do just that.
 

“I wish
it weren’t raining.
 
I really wanted to
take a ride through the park today.
 
But
I guess that will have to wait.”
 
Peg
stared out the car’s window at the steady drizzle.
 
“I suppose we could take in another
museum.
 
What would you like to do?”

He laid
his hand over hers on the seat between them.
 
“See you smile for starters.”

She
turned to him with the tense, hollow-eyed expression he’d seen earlier.
 
“I’m just being silly.
 
I so wanted Dad to come home today, and I
don’t really understand why he couldn’t.
 
He looks better than he has in weeks.”

“The
nurse said they just want him to pass another good night, and he’ll be
discharged first thing in the morning.
 
Surely
a few more hours can’t matter so much.”
 
Looking around, he thought he recognized a landmark or two.
 
“Aren’t we somewhere near the Opera
Café?”
 

“Yes.
 
Columbus Circle is just up ahead.
 
Why?”

“What
say we stop in for one of those fabulous milkshakes?
 
Would that cheer you up, do you think?”

She actually
smiled.
 
“Sure, why not?”
 
Leaning forward, she tapped Simon on the
shoulder.
 
“Could you drop us at the
Opera, please?
 
We’ll take a cab home
when we’re done.”

The
chauffer’s eyes instantly sought Kendall’s in the mirror.
 
Obviously, Adamson had already spoken with
him.
 
“I’ll see she gets home safely,
Simon.
 
I just want to load her up with
ice cream and chocolate first.”
 
He hoped
he’d conveyed the proper signal.
 
He was
hardly experienced at this sort of security detail.
 

Simon
wheeled the car across lanes of traffic and pulled to the curb in front of the
café.
 
“I’d be happy to wait, miss.”

“Don’t
be silly.
 
Go home, Simon.
 
If the rain stops, we may take a little
stroll.”
 
She waved him away and turned
to Kendall with a pout.
 
“I thought he
was bad when I was a little girl, but he’s getting worse all the time.
 
Come
on,
let’s see
if Figaro is here.”
 
Taking his arm, she
ducked beneath the awning.
 
“It looks
like the clouds are moving out.
 
Maybe
the day isn’t lost, after all.”
 
At the
door, she paused to look up at him.
 
“Thank you.”

“For
what?”

“Caring.”

“Always.”
 

“That
seemed to lighten your step, but I must say it slowed mine.
 
Following you around is hard on my
waistline.”
 
Back on the street, they
fell in stride with the other pedestrians crowding the sidewalk.
 
The rain had stopped and the clouds parted to
allow for an afternoon sun that quickly raised the temperature.
 

“Your
waistline is just lovely.
 
Perfect in fact.
 
And
I like that little strip of hair that disappears into your trousers.”
 
She shot him an impudent grin.

“Have
you no shame, brat?
 
What if someone
overheard?”

“Who’s
going to care?
 
For all they know, we’re
just two people in love.”

He
flinched at her use of the word.
 
“I seem
to recall you promised you wouldn’t fall in love with me.”

“I
did.
 
And I haven’t.
 
But my crush has definitely gotten
bigger.
 
Right now, you are
my everything
, friend, lover and hero.
 
The stuff every girl dreams of.
 
Let me have a little fun while I can, will
you?
 
Before too much longer you’ll run
back to London and leave me all alone again.”
 

They
walked on in silence.
 
Peg tucked her
hand securely in his, from all appearances much happier than earlier in the
afternoon.
 
Her moods, he’d learned,
swung easily from high to low, most often influenced by anything to do with her
father.
 
Right now, she seemed to have
thrown off her worries, but he knew this was only temporary.
 

“So are
we going somewhere in particular?
 
It’s
getting pretty warm for strolling.”

“I
suppose we could head for the park.
 
Or
we could just get a cab and go home.
 
I
guess it’s too early to go to bed, isn’t it?”

“Peg!
 
It’s four-thirty in the afternoon.
 
Why on earth would you want to go to
bed?”
 
Two could play at this game, and
the gleam in her eyes was his reward.
 

“Now
who’s a brat?
 
I guess I’m feeling a
little aimless.
 
Let’s do go to the
park.
 
The carriages should be running
again now that the rain’s stopped.
 
And
it’ll be cooler there.”
 
She stepped to the
curb at the intersection.
 
It was when he
turned to join her that his eye was drawn to a man just crossing a block
behind.
 
He instinctively grabbed her arm
firmly enough to prompt her protest.
 
“Kendall, what are you doing?”

He’d
been seen as well, judging by the fact that the man abruptly halted in front of
a shop window, feigning an interest in whatever was on display.
 
He tried to get a better look in the
daylight.
 
Same build, same shabby haircut.
 
The man from the theater had apparently been
following them since they left the café.

“Sorry.
 
Don’t want you to lose your footing.”
 
Linking her arm more gently through his as
the crossing light turned green, he cast a cautious glance down the
street.
 
O’Hara, if that was indeed his
name, had started walking again, taking long strides in their direction.
 
Kendall was torn between rushing toward him
to demand an explanation, and getting Peg into the park before she saw him, too.
 
His responsibility was to Peg, he
decided.
 
Best leave it to Adamson and
the others to deal with this man.
 
Still,
the thought of lifting him by his scruffy lapels and seeing fear in his eyes
held undeniable appeal.
 

They
found an available carriage just inside the park entrance and once settled on
the seat behind the slow-moving horse, Kendall felt more secure.
 
With Peg tucked beside him, and one last
glance to be certain O’Hara hadn’t followed them further, he looked down at her
with a smile.
 
“This is dangerously
romantic.”

“I
know.
 
I’ve always wanted to do this,
with a man, I mean.
 
But you’re the only
man I’d be interested in doing it with.
 
Kendall, will you kiss me, please?”

“What?
 
Right here in broad daylight?
 
And behind a horse, no
less?
 
Really brat, your demands
are becoming more and more outrageous.”
 
Before she could answer, he dropped his head to take her open lips,
eliciting a moan in response.
 
“There,
now why don’t we just enjoy the scenery?”
 

She
leaned her head back with a sigh.
 
“You
will have to go back, won’t you?”

“What,
to London?
 
Yes, I will.”

“Will
you be sorry to leave?”

“Hmm.
 
I sense a trap in that question, but I suppose you expect me to be
honest, don’t you?”
 
When she nodded
without meeting his eyes, he went on.
 
“I
will have regrets, I’m sure.
 
But we both
knew from the start this was only a brief interlude.”

After a
moment, she sighed again.
 
“I know.
 
I can’t help wondering what it would be like
to have all the time in the world, to have you here in New York.
 
You don’t think about what might happen if
things were different?”

“No.
 
I can’t afford to.
 
That’s the danger of what we’ve done,
love.
 
And it isn’t too late to put a
stop to it, you know.
 
To pretend last
night never happened.”

She
lifted her head to meet his eyes with a gaze so intense it took his breath.
 
“I don’t want to pretend it never
happened.
 
I loved being with you like
that.
 
For a few hours, I was just an
ordinary girl in the arms of a man who wanted her.
 
You gave me that, Kendall.
 
Don’t take it back, please.”
 

He had
no answer, other than to cup her cheek in his palm and kiss her.
 
If he had sensed himself in danger earlier,
now he knew he was doomed.