Read Online The Irish Bride by Alexis Harrington - Free Book Online

settle on the floor, which offered
precious little space between bed and wall for his broad shoulders.
His boot scraped the mopboard as he shifted to get comfortable. The
chill of the room touched Farrell’s cheeks. She tried not to think
of how cold Aidan might get during the night without the hint of a
blanket or cover. He’d killed her brother, after all, and wasn’t
deserving of her concern.
    The thought circled in her
sleep-fogged mind, truer than true. Even so, it wasn’t in her
nature to stand fast in such hard judgement. Reluctantly—and
begrudgingly—she bunched one of the thin blankets in her hands and
tossed it down to him, assuring herself that she’d do the same for
a stray dog.
    “ Thank you,” he said
softly.
    Determined not to respond, she rolled
onto her side with her back to him, released her breath, and let
sleep overtake her once more.
    * * *
    “ Where are ye going in
America, exactly?”
    Early the next morning in a relatively
quiet corner of the pub, Farrell and Aidan sat across the table
from a derelict-looking ship’s master, one James McCorry. He wore a
stained blue wool coat with tarnished brass buttons, and his
craggy, weather-beaten face bore a couple of scars that appeared to
be souvenirs of knife cuts. Heaven only knew if his vessel was as
dilapidated. A few careful questions Aidan had asked of Kate’s
patrons had directed him to the captain.
    The man took a long drink of his ale
and wiped his mouth on his crusty sleeve. “This time we’re bound
for New Orleans.”
    Farrell possessed no great knowledge
of American geography, but she didn’t think that city was mentioned
as a destination by many Irish immigrants going to the United
States. They went to places like New York and Boston, Philadelphia
and Baltimore. Obviously, Aidan didn’t think much of the location
either.
    “ That’s a wee bit farther
than we hoped to go.”
    “ Aye, it’s five thousand
miles from here. New York is but three.”
    “ Ye’d not be going to New
York or Boston?”
    “ No, but at this time of
year, the weather will be better when we dock in the southern
climes than it would be up north. The other ship in port,
the Exeter , is
going to New York. She sails in three days.”
    Aidan pushed away his empty tankard
and prepared to stand. “I thank ye, Mr. McCorry. My wife and I will
see about passage on the other—” He broke off so suddenly, Farrell
stared up at him. But he wasn’t looking at the captain or at her.
His stance was rigid, his gaze was fixed on a pair of soldiers who
had just come in. Armed with muskets, they made their way to the
bar and began asking Kate questions Farrell couldn’t make out at
this distance. Aidan sat again.
    “ D’ye sail soon?”
    “ In a fine hurry, are ye
then?” McCorry asked, letting his eyes drift to the soldiers, then
back to Farrell, where they lingered just long enough to make her
uncomfortable. “We leave on the noon tide. I’ve already got my
cargo—there’s a great lot of unhappy Irishmen wantin’ to go to
America. But I’ve room for two more. I provide water and one pound
of food every day we’re under sail, if the wind favors us. If ye
want more, you’d best bring it. Ye must bring yer own bedding and
dishes, too. It’s nothin’ fancy but it’ll get you where you want to
go.”
    “ Sounds fair,” Aidan
replied. Farrell was less sanguine about traveling with James
McCorry, but a glaring reminder of why they needed to make hasty
departure stood at the bar in the form of the two
soldiers.
    McCorry held out his hand. “Five
pounds passage for each of ye.”
    “ Ye’ll get your fare when we
come aboard,” Aidan said.
    “ T’would be a pity if I had
to sell your berth to someone else,” McCorry sighed with feigned
regret, and cast another glance at the military men. He smiled,
revealing rotting teeth, and the knife scars pulled his face into a
frightening grimace. “I can hold it if ye pay me now.”
    Aidan’s expression remained