beat the living tar out of him. He shrugged.
To hell with you, Joseph. If you call the tune, you’ll have to pay the bloody piper.
By the time he remembered Emerald, she had departed the ship.
K athleen sought out her husband. She had just inspected the lambs that were spitted and slowly roasting in the kitchen and wanted to be certain the roasted pigs in their outdoor pits would be ready for carving at approximately the same time.
“Where’s Joseph?” Shamus asked his wife.
“He’s taken young Emerald for a sail. I must say the pair of them seemed quite taken with each other.”
“What did I tell you?” William asked with a wink.
“I thought the lads would be racing their ships; where’s Sean?”
“He’s with the FitzGeralds and John Montague at the stables, organizing a horse race at the moment,” Kathleen informed him. “Check on the roast pigs, Shamus. I want everything cooked and ready to serve at the same time.”
“Right ye are, love. Paddy Burke just added more turf to the cooking fires.” He watched his wife as she joined her sisters and felt his heart swell with pride. There wasn’t a woman in six counties could hold a candle to her. He turned back to his father-in-law and William Montague. “Come on, the Murphy brothers have arranged a boxing match for this afternoon. I know yer both bettin’ men, so let’s be seein’ the color of yer money!”
* * *
J ack Raymond seethed with envy. He had always been led to believe the Irish were a downtrodden people in an oppressed land. This he considered entirely justified because the Irish were inferior. But the FitzGeralds, and especially the O’Tooles, gave the lie to this theory.
His own father was a titled English aristocrat while Shamus O’Toole was nothing but Bog Irish, yet Fate so favored the sons of this household, it had bestowed upon them everything in life that was worthwhile. Not only did they live in a mansion with servants at their beck and call, they owned a thriving shipping business that made them filthy rich. To boot, they were surrounded by a loving family that heaped affection and admiration upon them, and they had been endowed with devilishly handsome looks and strong physiques. The injustice of this stuck in Jack Raymond’s craw, but the thing they had that rankled the most was happiness.
It made Jack’s blood boil to see how much these people enjoyed life. They did everything with a passion, whether it was eating, drinking, or dancing, and they never seemed to stop laughing. The fact that they were considered inferior by their betters; such as himself, on the same level as animals, didn’t seem to bother them one whit.
Jack would not lower himself to join their vulgar entertainment. He stood apart as an observer, aloof and alone. He wished that he had not come today to witness such an excess of enjoyment, but most of all he wished that Emerald Montague had not witnessed it. Jack secretly coveted her, and thought of her as his. More than anything in the world he wanted her for his wife and he wanted her for her name. Today, he realized he had two formidable rivals in Sean and Joseph O’Toole.
He must make himself indispensable to his uncle. He would keep his eyes and ears open and relay any information that might be of use to William. If it was informationthat hurt the O’Tooles, so much the better. Jack Raymond couldn’t remember having had a more miserable day.
J ohnny Montague couldn’t remember when he’d had a better time in his life. Though he found it hard to believe, Irish girls seemed to find him irresistible. He vaguely realized his clothes, his speech, and his nationality made him different from the other young men present, but the females seemed to relish that difference. They attached themselves to him in pairs, quizzing him about London, listening with rapt attention to his answers, then offering to wait on him hand and foot. No sooner did Dierdre run to fetch him a drink, than
To hell with you, Joseph. If you call the tune, you’ll have to pay the bloody piper.
By the time he remembered Emerald, she had departed the ship.
K athleen sought out her husband. She had just inspected the lambs that were spitted and slowly roasting in the kitchen and wanted to be certain the roasted pigs in their outdoor pits would be ready for carving at approximately the same time.
“Where’s Joseph?” Shamus asked his wife.
“He’s taken young Emerald for a sail. I must say the pair of them seemed quite taken with each other.”
“What did I tell you?” William asked with a wink.
“I thought the lads would be racing their ships; where’s Sean?”
“He’s with the FitzGeralds and John Montague at the stables, organizing a horse race at the moment,” Kathleen informed him. “Check on the roast pigs, Shamus. I want everything cooked and ready to serve at the same time.”
“Right ye are, love. Paddy Burke just added more turf to the cooking fires.” He watched his wife as she joined her sisters and felt his heart swell with pride. There wasn’t a woman in six counties could hold a candle to her. He turned back to his father-in-law and William Montague. “Come on, the Murphy brothers have arranged a boxing match for this afternoon. I know yer both bettin’ men, so let’s be seein’ the color of yer money!”
* * *
J ack Raymond seethed with envy. He had always been led to believe the Irish were a downtrodden people in an oppressed land. This he considered entirely justified because the Irish were inferior. But the FitzGeralds, and especially the O’Tooles, gave the lie to this theory.
His own father was a titled English aristocrat while Shamus O’Toole was nothing but Bog Irish, yet Fate so favored the sons of this household, it had bestowed upon them everything in life that was worthwhile. Not only did they live in a mansion with servants at their beck and call, they owned a thriving shipping business that made them filthy rich. To boot, they were surrounded by a loving family that heaped affection and admiration upon them, and they had been endowed with devilishly handsome looks and strong physiques. The injustice of this stuck in Jack Raymond’s craw, but the thing they had that rankled the most was happiness.
It made Jack’s blood boil to see how much these people enjoyed life. They did everything with a passion, whether it was eating, drinking, or dancing, and they never seemed to stop laughing. The fact that they were considered inferior by their betters; such as himself, on the same level as animals, didn’t seem to bother them one whit.
Jack would not lower himself to join their vulgar entertainment. He stood apart as an observer, aloof and alone. He wished that he had not come today to witness such an excess of enjoyment, but most of all he wished that Emerald Montague had not witnessed it. Jack secretly coveted her, and thought of her as his. More than anything in the world he wanted her for his wife and he wanted her for her name. Today, he realized he had two formidable rivals in Sean and Joseph O’Toole.
He must make himself indispensable to his uncle. He would keep his eyes and ears open and relay any information that might be of use to William. If it was informationthat hurt the O’Tooles, so much the better. Jack Raymond couldn’t remember having had a more miserable day.
J ohnny Montague couldn’t remember when he’d had a better time in his life. Though he found it hard to believe, Irish girls seemed to find him irresistible. He vaguely realized his clothes, his speech, and his nationality made him different from the other young men present, but the females seemed to relish that difference. They attached themselves to him in pairs, quizzing him about London, listening with rapt attention to his answers, then offering to wait on him hand and foot. No sooner did Dierdre run to fetch him a drink, than
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