Deception at Sable Hill (21 page)

One she was comfortable with. The other? He was the last thing she thought about when she went to sleep at night and the first thing she thought about when she woke up in the morning.

One man was safe; the other was not. But she realized, too, that she’d only run to one of them when she was afraid.

She was very sure Sean Ryan was still standing motionless. Glaring at her. And making her wish she’d never, ever considered being alone with him.

Hopefully she wouldn’t make that same mistake again.

CHAPTER 17

Y
ou are certainly in a mood,” Maeve declared as she bustled around his kitchen, making him a fresh pot of tea.

“Can’t always be walking around with a grin plastered on my face,” Sean replied, not even attempting to curb his sarcasm.

She was making tea and bread-and-butter sandwiches. Sitting on another chair, but looking far more thoughtful, was Katie. As he gazed at his youngest sibling, Sean again couldn’t help but feel proud of her. Katie was the beauty of the Ryan family, and also had a more polished air about her than any of them. It was likely because by the time she was born his family had moved away from the rickety apartment and into a small house in a far nicer neighborhood. She’d also gotten the opportunity to get some schooling, so she had been reading at a young age. He hadn’t learned until he was twelve or thirteen. Maeve still was basically illiterate.

But Katie? She was their light. Smart and lovely. His parents
expected great things for her. As far as he could tell, however, she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

Night and day from the way their Maeve looked at the world. Long ago she had made it her duty to tell everyone what she wanted, what she thought. At the moment he was in her sights. She stilled as she was slathering a thick piece of bread with butter. “Was work really as bad as all that?”

It really had been. His whole day had been filled with a million moments of regret for the callous way he’d behaved toward Eloisa. Coupled with everyone in the precinct’s interest in Eloisa’s appearance in their midst, their meeting behind closed doors, followed by Owen Howard’s careful escort out of the building, Sean had gotten next to no momentary break from all things Eloisa.

To make matters worse, after Owen returned, the two of them found it necessary to return to Miss Redmond’s house. The twelve hours following the notification of their daughter’s death had, of course, not been kind to her family. Her father looked haggard, her mother pale and extremely fragile. And though Sean had informed dozens of family members about loved ones’ deaths, there had been something worse about this family.

Added to the difficult situation was the unusual, new tension that had sprung up between him and Owen. Owen hadn’t come right out and said anything, but Sean knew his partner was displeased about his treatment of Eloisa.

To top it off, there now seemed to be something new brewing between Owen and Eloisa. In the last year that they’d worked together, Sean couldn’t remember Owen ever mentioning the beautiful Eloisa Carstairs, not even in passing.

But this afternoon, Owen had been intent on making sure he
reminded Sean that only he had been able to ease her fears, not Sean. That he had been the one to escort her home, not Sean.

And though it was exactly as it should be—after all, hadn’t he very firmly reminded Eloisa that she should not be having anything to do with him?—he knew now that he and Eloisa could never even be friends. He was honest enough with himself to admit that seeing the way Owen had comforted her had been physically difficult to witness. Every nerve inside of him had felt about ready to snap in pain. It had taken everything he had to remain passive and distant and not glare when Owen had wiped the tears from Eloisa’s cheeks.

The tears he knew he’d put there.

By the time he worked through the new stacks of paperwork Sergeant Fuller had placed there, the last bit of restraint he’d been holding was stretched perilously tight.

When he’d walked in the door of his small home, all he’d wanted to do was eat some leftover soup and attempt to forget about everything. But no less than fifteen minutes after he’d gotten home, Maeve and Katie appeared. Then Maeve began bustling in his kitchen like she owned the place, even though they lived a good ten blocks from each other.

Of course, that wouldn’t be difficult to do. He barely knew how to do much more than make toast and tea.

“I’m only in a mood because I am not in the mood for company. You shouldn’t come over here uninvited.” Looking at Katherine Jean, who was staring at him with wide eyes, he murmured, “No offense to you, Katie.”

“None taken,” she said with a small grin. “Though Maeve is right. You do seem fairly disconcerted today.”

“Disconcerted, hmm? That’s a new word.”

Maeve rolled her eyes. “She’s doing that a lot these days, throwing out words we all have to guess the meaning of.”

Katie tucked her chin. “I’m trying to improve my vocabulary. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“Of course there isn’t.” He was proud of her. He even knew that, secretly, Maeve was too. “Any special reason you are working on your vocabulary?”

“Simply trying to improve myself.”

“Ah.”

“She went in the Women’s Pavilion and started getting all sorts of ideas,” Maeve explained with a sniff. “I told her all she needs to be doing is keeping herself out of trouble until the right man comes along.”

“All anyone talks about anymore is my future husband.”

“It is about that time. Most girls are getting married at your age,” he murmured. As much as he wanted his sister to remain a young girl, he was enough of a pragmatist to realize that those days were long gone.

Katie met his gaze with a definite look of disdain. “Like that is all I’ve got to think about.”

He wondered what else she was thinking of, but knew better than to ask her in front of Maeve.

Sean stood up and took his cup of tea from Maeve’s hands. “Thanks for this.” After taking a fortifying sip, he smiled. “You make a good cuppa, for sure, Maeve.”

She sat down. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll be glad about that.”

Her sweet words brought him what he was sure was his first smile of the day. “Maeve, you better be careful. If you keep talking like that, I’m going to have to tell Jack that you do have a fair share of sweet words in that thick head of yours.”

“You’d better not even think about doing something like that. He’ll walk all over me, he will.”

Katie giggled. “Nah. He’d only call Sean a liar. You know your man doesn’t think you’re ever sweet, Maeve.”

“I’m not that bad,” Maeve retorted, though her lips twitched.

“Sure you are,” Katie teased.

Sean bit back a bark of laughter, but only succeeded in half choking. “I wouldn’t blame him, neither. I’d say anything I could to make sure Maeve didn’t let loose her temper on me.”

“Jack O’Connell knows I love him.”

“And he also knows the wrath of your temper,” he quipped just as an impatient rap sounded at his front door.

“You sit here, I’ll get it, brother,” Katie said as she trotted out of the kitchen.

Thinking it was his elderly neighbor, wanting to sit in front of the fire for a few minutes and chat, he called out, “Tell Jeremy I’m not up for company tonight.”

“Sean, it isn’t Jeremy,” Katie called back. “It’s Detective Howard.”

There was enough worry in her voice that Sean leapt to his feet. “Owen, what’s happened?” he asked as he ran into the front room and grabbed his jacket off the back of his couch.

“Nothing alarming.”

Sean looked at him in surprise. “Aren’t you here on business?”

Owen glanced at Katie, then shook his head. “No, but we can do this later. I didn’t realize you had company.” Glancing Katie’s way again, he said, “Please forgive the interruption.”

“It’s nothing. Only my sisters.”

“Thanks, Sean,” Maeve said from the doorway leading into the kitchen.

“Owen, this is my sister Maeve, Maeve O’Connell.”

He inclined his head. “Ma’am.”

Sean continued. “And you know Katie, of course.”

Katie smiled prettily. “It’s nice to see you, Detective Howard.”

Behind him, Maeve inhaled sharply, though whether she was finding fault with Katie being so forward with a gentleman or to a policeman, he wasn’t sure.

And to Sean’s further dismay, Owen bowed slightly. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Ryan.”

Maeve entered the room and raised her eyebrows. Sean felt like doing the same. He had no idea Katie even possessed such pretty manners. But then, as he noticed Owen doing everything he could to look anywhere but stare at his sister, Sean took things into his own hands.

“How about some tea? My sisters and I were just sitting in the kitchen.”

“Actually, I think we’d best be leaving,” Maeve said. “Katie, let’s go.”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” After darting another shy look at Owen, Katie hugged Sean good-bye. “I love you, Sean.”

Pressing his lips to her cheek, he murmured, “I love you too. Stay out of trouble.”

After a quick, sidelong glance at Owen, Katie glared at him. “I’m not a child, Sean.”

“I am discovering that, Katherine Jean. Thanks again for the tea and fresh bread and butter, Maeve,” he added as she led Katie out the door.

“Get some sleep now.” Looking at Owen, she added a cheeky smile. “I think both of you are going to need some.”

Then they departed without another word.

Sean closed the door behind them, then immediately felt more self-conscious. He had never been to Owen’s apartments, but he imagined Owen could probably fit three of Sean’s house in his drawing room.

“Again, may I offer you a cup of tea, Owen?”

“No, thank you.”

“Well, if you don’t mind, let’s go sit in the kitchen. It’s a bit warmer in there.”

“Wherever you would like is fine.” Owen looked like he wasn’t aware of the temperature in the room. But Sean noticed that some of the fire had gone out of his eyes, that he now looked more reflective.

He added a bit of hot water to his tea from the kettle on the stove, sat, and took another fortifying sip. His pleasures were few, and he didn’t intend to miss this one because of good manners. “So you said this wasn’t business. What is it? How may I help you?”

Owen shifted from one foot to the other, looking everywhere but directly at him. “I came over to talk to you about Eloisa.”

“Oh?”

“I think we need to discuss what happened with her this morning.” When Sean straightened, ready to kindly ask him to leave, Owen raised his hand. “This is important, Ryan.”

“I did not invite her to come to the station. I may be more than a little rough around the edges, but even I wouldn’t have done something like that. I hope you realize that.”

“Of course I know.” He shifted, glanced at the doorway to the front room in a curious way, then looked even a bit more uneasy. “I thought I should let you know that she was quite upset with you.”

Regret filled him as some of the harsh things he said played in his head. “I’m sure she was.”

“So much so, she discussed it at length, Sean. I don’t believe anyone has spoken to her so sharply before.”

“I imagine not.” He hoped not. Barely stifling a sigh, he gestured to a chair on the opposite side of the table. “Have a seat. I’m feeling more and more awkward, looking up at you like I’m a child.”

While Owen unbuttoned his jacket, then took the chair, Sean
prepared his explanation. He needed to be completely honest with his partner. Their relationship deserved that. And, well, as much as Sean hated to admit it to himself, Eloisa’s relationship with Owen deserved it. It was obvious that there was something brewing between them.

When Owen leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, Sean said, “Eloisa would be very correct in thinking that I spoke too harshly to her. She caught me off guard, and I hated the idea of her being looked at and remarked upon by the assortment of criminals and petty thieves who were lounging around the premises. However, instead of telling her any of this, I lashed out at her. It was wrong. I’ll apologize to her the next time our paths cross.”

“All right.”

Sean had expected Owen to bounce to his feet and walk out now that he’d gotten his way very easily. But instead of darting out right then and there, his partner continued to stare. It seemed more needed to be said.

Perhaps, even, that the whole situation was not completely his fault. “It should be said, however, that while I did not behave as mannerly as I would have liked . . . I’d venture that you would agree that Miss Carstairs should have never come to the station, let alone unescorted. Any number of things could have happened to her.”

“Ah, yes. She told me you told her that as well.” Owen’s voice had turned languid, almost as if he was finding Sean to be amusing. Almost as if he was finding the whole situation amusing.

Which, of course, irritated Sean to no end.

Eventually, Owen shifted, resting one foot on his opposite knee. It was a pose Sean had seen him strike dozens of times, usually when it was late and they were in their precinct office, discussing the intricacies of a particular case. “For the record, I don’t disagree. At all. Eloisa made a serious error in judgment.”

Sean relaxed. “Are we all right then?”

“Of course.”

“Then, why . . .?”

“Ryan, to be honest, the reason I came over was because I discovered Eloisa is entertaining thoughts about you.” He paused, then blurted, “Of a romantic nature.”

Sean felt his neck. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.” Though, of course, he did.

Owen stared at him a long moment, then shrugged. “I think you do. I think we both do.” He shook his head. “Sean, I was practicing my speech to you the whole way here. Believe it or not, I was searching for the ideal words to attempt to describe Eloisa’s spotless reputation.”

“I am well aware of her flawless character.”

“I was going to remind you of her place in society.”

“I don’t need any reminder, Howard.” In the eyes of most of the elite, Sean Ryan was little more than an Irish laborer. Little more than a drunk, a vagabond. An unskilled, illiterate, uncouth man who very likely carried disease. “She and I are as far apart as the stars in the sky and the soles of my feet.” She was also as bright and beautiful as one of those stars. And just as unobtainable.