glances with Lord Thomas again, then both watched until the boy disappeared behind the ruins of an old church. In the silence Evleen became aware that except for an old caretaker in the distance, she and Lord Thomas were alone. An awkwardness came over her, she could not imagine why, for she was usually at ease with people. Not this man, though.
“Shall we stroll?” he asked with great politeness.
“I don’t see why not,” she cautiously replied. They made their way down a gentle slope and for a while strolled upon the emerald green grass in comfortable silence amidst the stone crosses and clusters of ruined churches.
In the distance, Patrick reappeared. “I’m going to climb inside the tower now,” he called and disappeared again.
“What a fine lad,” remarked Lord Thomas.
She asked, “Is he not driving you daft with his questions?”
“On the contrary. I greatly admire an inquiring mind. He’ll do well in England, mark my words.”
“Will he?” A flood of doubts coursed through her. Mama’s decision and their departure all happened so fast that until this very moment she had hardly given a thought to exactly what the future held. “What kind of a family will we be living with?”
“You will find Lord Trevlyn most amiable and kind.”
“And the rest? You said there was a brother and his wife?”
“Yes, Lord Trevlyn’s brother, Walter Trevlyn, his wife, and their three daughters.” They came to the arched entryway of an old stone church. “Shall we go inside?”
Evleen started through the entrance, stopped in her tracks, jolted by a startling realization and quickly turned to face him. “They were not aware of Patrick’s existence, were they?”
“No, they were not.”
“So the brother presumed he was the heir?”
Thomas stopped, too, and turned to face her, nodding reluctantly. “‘Presumed’ is correct. Up to now he’s been the heir presumptive, not the heir apparent.”
Suddenly she understood. “Be that as it may, can you honestly say that Patrick will be welcomed with open arms by the brother and his family?”
Thomas exhaled, shut his eyes the fraction of a moment before he replied, “I don’t suppose he will. Naturally, Walter and his family will not be particularly pleased when they find out about Patrick.”
She was horrified. “You mean they still don’t know?”
“If they don’t, they soon will.”
This was getting worse and worse, thought Evleen, her spirits plunging. Bad enough Patrick had been wrested from the only home he had ever known, but worse, he was bound to meet with hostility at this utterly foreign place where he was going to live. And what of me? How would the women of the family deal with a strange young woman from one of the poorest counties in all Ireland? “Tell me about the family.”
Although Lord Thomas was obviously striving to appear unconcerned, she perceived the gleam of solicitude that flashed in his eyes. “The daughters are of a marriageable age,” he began, and went on to describe how Mrs. Trevyln was a “forceful individual albeit truly a grand lady,” how Charlotte, the eldest daughter, was “indeed a great beauty, both refined and delicate,” how Bettina, the middle daughter, excelled in embroidery, and how Amanda, the youngest, was “rather on the shy side but extremely well-mannered.” Having said all that, he added, “I shall be blunt. Neither you nor Patrick are likely to be welcomed with open arms.” He looked down at her, his dark eyes keenly assessing, yet admiring, too. “But doesn't the blood of Irish kings runs through your veins, Miss O’Fallon? If there’s anyone who can handle them it’s you.”
Although she had mixed feelings, her spirits lifted at his reassuring words. She was beginning to realize he was not just another dissolute Englishman. In fact...
As they stood close in the archway of the ancient stone church, the midday sun shining down upon them, a bird swooping low overhead, she found herself intensely conscious of how drawn she felt toward Thomas Linberry, and how keenly she was aware that this was a man to be reckoned with, who, if she judged correctly, possessed a fierce virility but thinly veiled. Lord Thomas most certainly had no place in her future plans, though. She would be a fool if she allowed herself to be attracted to him. He thought of her as strong? Well, strong she would be. She tilted her chin. “How right you are about my Irish blood. No matter what, I’ll not let them plague me.”
He smiled and was about to speak when the wizened old caretaker they had seen