Page 22 of Crimes, Conspiracies, and Courtship (Paddy’s Peelers Mystery #1)
CHAPTER 21
T he O’Briens looked at each other, and Maggie nodded.
“I was a constable in Dublin. T’ings were getting hostile in the city, and da force was poorly paid and overworked. There was no organization, and I was getting frustrated. Maggie’s half brother was English and wrote to us about da Bow Street Runners and da work dey were doing in London.”
“It must have been hard to move so far from family,” sympathized Hannah.
“He spoke for me, and I became a Runner. Our basket was full, and we were happy.”
Maggie cut in, “Our basket was fine, but it was not full. I could not bear a child and was in a dreadful state. One day, Paddy comes in da door, carrying a skinny lad burning up with fever.” They both cast a loving gaze on Harry. “An orphan who’d been sold to… Anyway, he’d been cast out when he fell ill.”
“I came upon a group of boys, beating mercilessly on a wee lad. He was holding something in his coat and putting up a fierce fight. I disposed of da hooligans, picked da lad up, and brought him home,” finished Mr. O’Brien, reaching down to rub his dog’s head.
“And our family began.”
“What were you so determined to keep?” Mattie asked Harry.
“A box my mother had left with me. The name Walters had been carved on the lid, and somehow, I always knew it was my father’s name.”
“Next was Gus. He was sold to a chimney sweep,” Paddy continued. “Da man was beating da boy because he’d grown so fast in two months dat he couldn’t do his job. I paid da scalawag a good price and took da boy myself.”
“Best day of my life,” said Gus with a sappy smile. “Only the good Lord knows what might have happened to me if this big burly angel hadn’t come along at the exact time he did.”
Dr. Brooks’s soft voice entered the conversation. “My father was swindled with a fraudulent insurance policy. When our bookstore burned, we were ruined. They were sent to debtor’s prison, and I tried to earn money on the street to get them out. Or at least feed them. Being an academic, you can imagine I didn’t do well.”
“He tried to pick my pocket,” Paddy said, slapping his knee. “But I saw da intelligence and da desperation in his eyes. He was number t’ree. Liked scientific things—plants, healing herbs—wanted to be a doctor.”
“My mother, a friend of Maggie’s, died of a fever. She took me in without blinking an eye,” said Clayton. “She’s been a second mother to me, and Paddy the only father I’ve known.”
They moved on to Benjamin and Elijah, each man helping with the telling of his story. Ben had a desire to learn the law, after seeing so many, including his own family, unjustly punished. The O’Briens educated him and sent him to the Inns of Court. He now represented the Peelers, gave legal advice, and helped them prepare the cases which needed to go to a barrister and be heard in court.
Eli was an old soul who had a talent for sketching. Now finishing his second year as a Peeler, Eli had decided not to be an investigator. He was no coward, but he could not tolerate a lifetime of the violence that Runners and Peelers must endure.
Maggie cast an affectionate look at her youngest son. “Ye’ll find yer way, won’t ye, my sweet boy?”
Eli’s neck turned red at the endearment. “Yes, ma’am. But my future will always be tied to our family in some way.”
“They saved the best for last,” piped Nora with a grin.
“Aye, our only girl.” Maggie beamed. “She was left as a bairn on the steps of da hospital. A friend who worked in the children’s ward saw her mop of red hair and knew she was an O’Brien. Since we had no idea where she came from, she was given our surname.”
Paddy sighed. “One look at the wee child, and she stole our hearts.”
“I’ve been doted on and raised by six brothers besides my parents,” said Nora. “It’s no wonder I can throw a knife and shoot a pistol as well as most men, then toss a dress over my head and woo them until I get my way.”
“Which she always does,” added Gus, sending everyone into laughter.
It was obvious these adults, raised by the childless Irish couple, were devoted to each other. Mattie saw the love on each face and knew they would all give their lives for the other. She blinked back the unexpected tears. “Your family is more loyal and loving than many who share the same blood.”
“It is a testament to you both, Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien, on your skills as parents and the warmth of your affection,” added Hannah.
When Mattie asked about sending for Mr. Jones, Harry insisted he take the ladies home. Mattie was secretly thrilled. They could take Hannah home, and she would have a few minutes alone with him.
* * *
Harry had already arranged for Roger to be ready to drive the carriage that evening. The lad had arrived after dinner and waited in the kitchen, enjoying a good meal, until it was time to fetch the carriage.
Seeing the lad in a fine greatcoat, the top hat on the table next to Roger’s empty plate, made Harry smile. Fate had sent him past that alley the night he’d found the boy.
They took Hannah home, who promised to call on Mattie the next day. Harry knocked on the roof of the carriage, then poked his head out the window. “Mr. Lynch, park at Hanover Square before you take us to the townhouse.”
“Yes, Mr. Walters,” the driver called back.
“He seems young,” Mattie said as Harry leaned back against the squabs.
“He’s just sixteen, but he grew into manhood early. I stumbled upon him near the docks when a gang of cloak twitchers tried to rob him.”
“Following in the O’Briens’ footsteps and collecting your own waifs?”
He shrugged, embarrassed. “ We offered him a job. Whatever he makes of himself from there is his own doing.”
“Your tough exterior hides such a massive heart.” She kissed his cheek.
Just the mere whisper of a touch sent desire rumbling through his body. He cupped her cheek with one hand, tipped his head, and brushed her lips with his. A whimper bubbled in her throat, making him smile against her mouth.
“This will be the longest year of my life,” he murmured, his forehead touching hers. “But you are worth every moment of torture.”
“Is it too long to wait?” she asked as her fingers played with his cravat.
He shook his head and leaned back against the squabs again, pulling her next to him and kissing the top of her head. The carriage had come to a stop. “No, I think your brother is wise to have us wait.”
“Why?” She looked up at him, concern in her eyes. “In case you change your mind?”
Harry laughed. “No, love, in case you do.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and he laid a finger over her lips.
“You are young, ten years my junior, and I assume I am your first romantic encounter with a man.”
Her silence told him it was true. “If your love is misguided, wrapped up in a feeling of gratitude or appreciation for my help, or if you find you were only smitten—as a young woman could easily be—you will have the opportunity to change your mind.”
Her lips trembled as if he’d hurt her. “You must understand, Mattie. I want—no, I need—you to be happy for a lifetime. If you ever regretted for a moment your decision to marry me, that regret would break my heart even more than living without you.” He tipped her chin up with his thumb and kissed her eyes, then her nose, and finally her sweet, sweet lips. “You deserve the best in life, and I don’t mean material things. I mean the contentment of a well-matched marriage, the bliss of a family, the ecstasy of love.”
* * *
Mattie leaned into his kiss, her heart full. Silly man, thinking she’d ever change her mind. He didn’t know her as well as he thought. But the not knowing was part of the courtship. Learning one another’s likes and dislikes, moods, facial expressions, which touch made his eyes go dark with desire or her breath come in pants, what made the other laugh.
“I read somewhere that love is a journey, full of surprises and joy, unexpected moments of pain and sadness. But always, it is a journey to be experienced and savored.” She paused, searching for the right words. “But the foundation of our love is solid. The storms we encounter may rock us, but we will always remain upright, like the old towers you come across still standing in the countryside, though weathered with age.”
Harry chuckled. “I’ll be the old tower, and you will be the beautiful new addition the next owners add.”
She did not laugh. She had to make him understand her love wasn’t an accident or a misunderstanding. “I admit you are the reason I have bloomed, the reason I am embracing life in a new way. I always thought I could be content as a spinster rather than endure a loveless marriage. There would be other distractions to fill my life.”
“Spinsterhood would be the worst fate for you, sweetheart.”
“When you came along, I saw the world had so much more to offer and how much I had hidden away from it. I used my books as an excuse and an escape, for reading the pages was much safer than experiencing it firsthand. But the most vital thing you gave me was the realization that I didn’t want to be alone.
“Even without you, I could be happy, better off than if I’d never known you. I need you to realize how you showed me there are choices. I have choices. And I choose you.”
He looked straight ahead, his expression unreadable in the shadows. She touched his cheek and turned his face to her. “There is something else. What is it, Harry?”
“Did it shock you when they told you of my… rough beginnings? My first eight years were spent in an orphanage and then a brothel.” His voice was rough, hoarse, as if the words had been forced. “I shared only bits and pieces of my past with you until tonight.”
Mattie shook her head, hoping he read the love in her eyes. “Everything you’ve been through, everything you’ve experienced in your lifetime, has made you the man you are today. The man I am in love with. You brought me to life, Harry. I am the person I knew I could be—wanted to be—because of you.”
He kissed her then, and the same thrumming rushed through her core as before, but something was different. This kiss was more… confident. She had eased his mind and, in doing so, eased her own.
They were a good team. Their differences would make them stronger, complementing one another as they moved through this life together. Always together.
All thanks to a petulant pair of mute swans.