Shannon's Daughter (36 page)

“See, Alice
doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with your being here.
 
Where did you run off to, by the way?”
 
She took her place at the table, nodding for
him to do the same.

“Home.
 
I couldn’t lounge around all day in that morning coat.
 
Besides, I have things to do.
 
I’m going out to Hertford for a little
while.
 
I won’t stay too late, but I want
to talk to Grandfather about our relationship.
 
I want him to understand and I suppose I hope he’ll give me his
blessing.
 
Does that make sense?”

“Of
course it does.
 
But please don’t let him
think your grandmother told me.
 
She
didn’t realize what she was saying, I’m sure.”

He took
her hand across the table.
 
“I’m not
sorry, you know.
 
Oh, I’m sorry she
shocked you, but if she hadn’t told you, I’m not sure when I would have found
the courage to.
 
All things considered,
it’s better this way.”
 

“I’ll
miss you.
 
But Dad’s coming by before he
leaves for Ireland.
 
He’s going to Carlow
for a few days and then he’s off to Edinburgh before he goes home.”

“You
know he spoke to me last night, about you?”

“I
expected he would after I asked him to have Hammonds back off.
 
He wanted you to keep an eye on me, right?”

“Something
like
that.”

“Then
we can just assume we have his blessing, too.”
 
She tucked into her breakfast with a nonchalant shrug.

“Peg, I
hardly think. . .”

“Kendall,
if it comes down to it, I’ll explain things to Dad.
 
I’ll just tell him that I’m the one who
prefers this sort of arrangement and I have no doubt he’ll see things my
way.
 
As long as I don’t do anything to
bring shame on the Shannon name, like getting pregnant or losing all our money,
Dad will be fine with it.”
 

He
raised his hands in surrender.
 
“I’m
hardly in a position to argue.
 
And I
don’t intend to have this discussion every time we’re together.”
 
Reaching for piece of toast, he nibbled a
corner.
 
“
Are
you feeling better?
 
You
certainly slept soundly.”

“I’m
fine.
 
I do think I’ll stay in today,
though.
 
Will you have supper with me
when you get back from Hertford?”

“I will
if you’ll allow me to order for you.”

She
raised a quizzical brow.
 
“Why?”

“Because
I don’t think you’re eating properly.
 
I
intend to ask Reggie once he’s back, but my guess is you’re anemic and that’s
why you almost fainted yesterday.
 
If
we’re going to be sharing meals while you’re here, I’d like to teach you a few
things about nutrition.”

Behind
her napkin, Peg’s eyes filled with tears.
 
He detected a suspicious quaking of her shoulders, as well.
 

“Are
you laughing?”

Tossing
down the napkin, she clasped her hands over her heart and laughed out
loud.
 
“Oh, Kendall, that’s
priceless!
 
No one’s ever tried to teach
me how to eat, at least not since etiquette class, when they tried to teach us to
wrap spaghetti around a fork.”

“I
don’t want to teach you
how
to eat,
brat.
 
I want to teach you
what
to eat.
 
There’s a difference, you know.”
 
Crossing his arms over his chest, he sat back
and scowled at her.
 

“That’s
very sweet.”
 
When she rounded the table
and tried to sit on his lap, he pretended to resist.
 
“Oh, don’t be mad!
 
It just struck me as funny that you were
thinking of teaching me something practical while I was thinking of something
entirely different.”

Giving
in, he opened his arms and pulled her down across his knees.
 
“And what was that?”

“I
thought after supper we might have a little refresher course.
 
A few kisses, maybe some snuggling on the
couch.
 
Getting reacquainted, the way you
said we should.”
 
Arms draped around his
neck, she laid her head on his shoulder and settled against him.
 
“That’s what I’d really like to do tonight,
if you don’t mind.
 
Before we go to bed,
I mean.”
 

Trying
to forget that in the next room, Alice was busily changing the sheets on that
bed, he nuzzled her hair and chuckled.
 
“On
one condition, that you eat
all your
broccoli first.”

Chapter
Thirty-five

There
seemed to have been a change in the atmosphere at Brown’s.
 
On his return, the doorman greeted him by
name and the desk clerk turned to smile and nod as he crossed the lobby.
 
Even the elevator boy, when he passed on his
way to the stairs, shot him a grin.
 
If
he hadn’t known better, he’d have wondered whether everyone there knew
something they oughtn’t.

When
Peg opened the door, dressed in blue jeans and a soft beige sweater which
suggested little or nothing underneath, she nodded toward the telephone on the
desk and put a finger to her lips.
 
Never
taking her gaze from his, she smiled as she went back to her conversation.
 
“Yes, Uncle Patrick, I’d love that.
 
Friday afternoon then.
 
No, I don’t have anything else planned.
 
Yes, I’m sure it will be.
 
Thank you for calling.
 
I’ll see you then.”
 
Ringing off, she clapped her hands softly.
 
“I’m coming to Glyndebourne on Friday to hear
you play.”
 

“With
Patrick and Mother?”
 
Intent on something more than conversation,
he pulled her close.
 
“It’s hardly a solo
performance, love.
 
I’ll be down in the
pit while lots of singers on stage bellow at one another in Italian.
 
Don Giovanni, or didn’t he tell you?”
 
Without giving her an opportunity to respond,
he dove in for a kiss, sliding his hands beneath the back of her sweater to
confirm his suspicions.
 
“You forgot
something, didn’t you?”

“No, I
thought of something, actually.”
 
She
delicately nibbled his lower lip, while her hands made their own exploration
inside his blazer.

“You’re
naughty, you know that?”
 
He nibbled
back, tasting something sour on her lips.

“I
didn’t think you’d mind.
 
How was your
trip, by the way?”
 

“Good.
 
What have you been eating, lemons?”

“Yes.
 
I had tea up here.
 
I love lemons.”
 
Drawing his hand from her back, she towed him
toward the couch.
 
“Tell me about your
visit.
 
Are they well?”

“Fine.
 
Of course, Granny didn’t remember your name, but she remembered the
pretty American girl I brought to tea.”

“And
did you have a talk with your grandfather?”
 

“I did.
 
While he advised us to be discreet for your
sake, he seemed pleased.
 
Turns out he’d
spoken with Jenny’s father this week.
 
He
was feeling a bit down about things.”

“Why?”

He took
a deep breath, questioning the wisdom of telling her too much.
 
“Jenny’s been undergoing ECT again.
 
Electroconvulsive therapy.
 
It seemed to help in the past so when her
condition appeared to be worsening, they tried it again.
 
The results were disappointing.
 
She’s refusing to eat.
 
There’s a surgical procedure, a feeding tube,
they’re asking her father to consider.”

“That’s
so sad.
 
How old is she now?”

“Thirty-four.”
 
He paused, recalling the last time he’d seen her.
 
“Her hair is white now, but otherwise, she
doesn’t look much older than when we first met.
 
It’s as if her face is frozen in time.”
 
When Peg laid a gentle hand on his cheek, he leaned into it for a moment
before shaking free of the memory.
 
“Anyway, whenever there’s a change in her treatment, her father tells
Grandfather so that he can pass it on to me.
 
We don’t speak directly, but he’s been very kind about keeping me
informed.”

“What’s
he going to do?”

“Agree
to the feeding tube, I’m sure.
 
He still
has hope.
 
How, I can’t imagine, but I
don’t think he’ll ever give up on her.”

Curling
against him, Peg rested her head on his shoulder.
 
“But you have?”

“I
suppose I gave up at the beginning.
 
After that night, there was no hope of our ever going back, no matter
what happened.”
 
Idly taking her hand, he
touched it to his lips.
 
“We’re not going
to talk about this anymore, all right?
 
I
want to spend this night with you.
 
No
past, no future, just the present.”
 

When
she turned his face to hers, he was struck with the depth of her gaze, as
though she were examining his soul.
 
“Just the present.”
 

Hands
in his hair, she kissed him with such tenderness his chest constricted with the
threat of tears.
 
“No one’s ever moved me
the way you do, Peg.
 
I can’t explain
it.
 
You seem to strip away all
pretense
and force your way to the heart of me.
 
And I love you for it.”

They
sat together in silence until the room began to dim in the twilight.
 
“Dad was here earlier.”

“Yes?”

“I told
him we’re planning to spend a lot of time together this summer.
 
He said he’d have a word with the hotel
manager about giving you a key, so you could check on me in case something was
wrong.
 
I guess he thinks I’ll slip in
the bathtub or contract a deadly virus or some such nonsense.
 
He said to tell you he’s counting on you to
take good care of me.”
 
One fingertip
traced circles across his chest with increasingly noticeable results.
 
When it dipped to his belt, he laid her flat
against the cushion and grabbed the offending hand.

“
Which is precisely what I mean to do.
”

“Are
you hungry?”
 
Blinking up at him, she
grinned suggestively.

“Ravenous.”
 

“Then
you should probably call room service.”

“Have I
ever told you what a tease you are?”

“No,
but I already knew.
 
Now get off me.
 
I have to call Agnes.
 
I promised I would when you got back into
town.”

“Agnes?
 
Don’t tell me we’re a threesome tonight?”

“No,
silly.
 
She said she’d come over to keep me company,
if
you didn’t come back.
 
I didn’t exactly tell her what we were
planning.”
 

“What
exactly
did
you tell her?’
 
He sat up, lifting her with him.

“That
we talked last night and agreed to spend more time together.
 
I thought that was enough.
 
I trust Agnes, but for now I only want the
two of us to know the details of our little arrangement.”

“The
two of us and Alice, you mean?”

“Well,
yes.
 
Alice might die of fright if she
came in one morning to find a man in my bed.”
 
She twisted her fingers through his hair, studying his face from very
close range.
 
“Or she might be tempted to
jump in with you.
 
Alice likes you, I
could tell.”

His
lips hovering over hers, he muttered, “What about you, do you like me?”

“Feed
me and I’ll show you how much.”
 

Unceremoniously,
he set her aside and leapt to his feet.
 
“Supper for two coming right up!
 
I trust budget is not an issue?”
 
With a quick scan of the menu next to the
phone, he dialed room service.

“Of
course not.”

Grinning,
he mouthed, “Good!” and then went on to the party at the other end, “Supper for
Miss Shannon’s room.
 
That’s right.
 
Let’s see, cream of asparagus soup followed
by filet mignon, medium rare, roasted red potatoes, buttered carrots, broccoli,
steamed, not boiled, please.
 
And for
dessert, pot au crème with fresh raspberries on the side.
 
And please make that for two.”
 
Without bothering to cover the mouthpiece, he
asked, “Peg, sweetheart, what would you like to drink?”

Stifling
a giggle, she answered loudly enough to be heard over the phone, “Whatever you
want,
darling
.”

“Bring
us a pot of strong coffee and a chilled ginger ale, please.
 
Oh, and would it be too much to ask for some
fresh flowers and candles as well?
 
This
is something of a special occasion.”

He
found soft music on the radio, switched off all but one lamp and hung his
blazer and tie over a chair.
 
From the
bedroom, he could hear Peg doing he wasn’t sure what.
 
“Do you mind if I open the window?”

“No,
not at all.
 
Make yourself at home.”
 
She appeared in the doorway, still dressed in
jeans and sweater, but with her hair now loose around her shoulders.
 
“That’s nice, the music, I mean.”
 
Holding out a hand, she waited for him to
meet her in the middle of the floor.
 
“Dance with me?”

“My
pleasure.”
 
Swaying with Peg in his arms, savoring her
softness arched against him, he let out a long, cleansing sigh.
 
“Is this what you had in mind for our
refresher course?”

“It’ll
do for starters.
 
I’m sorry we
can’t.
. .well, you know, because. . .”

“It
doesn’t matter.
 
Just being able to hold
you this way is enough.”
 
He lifted his
head and smiled down at her.
 
“Of course,
if you wanted to kiss me, I wouldn’t object.”

“No?
 
I’ll think about it.
 
And what if I wanted to touch you, would that
be okay?”

“Hmm.
 
I’ll think about it.”
 

Laughing
softly, she settled her head on his chest.
 
“Kendall?”

“Yes,
love?”

“I want
you to teach me how to please you.”

“What
do you mean?”
 
Lifting her hand, he
curled her fingers against his cheek.

“When
we made love in New York, you did everything for me, but I didn’t know what to
do for you.
 
I want you to teach me now.”

“Ah.
 
Well, for starters, you already please me.
 
You have a gift for arousing me with the
simplest touch of these beautiful fingers.”
 

“But
there has to be more.
 
Will
you teach me?”

“In
good time, love.
 
We’re taking things slowly, remember?”

“Not
too slowly, I hope.
 
I want to see you
naked before the
night’s
over.”

He
threw back his head and laughed.
 
“Oh, really?”

“Really.
 
It’s been too long.”

“You
never were one to be patient, were you?
 
Well, I’ll tell you what.
 
You can
take my clothes off if I can take some of yours off too.
 
Fair enough?”

“Fair
enough.”

“Now
why don’t you start by kissing me?
 
Then,
if we seem to have that mastered, we can move on to the next step.
 
There’s no need to rush.
 
We have all night.
 
And tomorrow night.
 
And the next night.”