Page 28 of Calling on the Matchmaker
On the opposite side of the table, Finola had her place as the oldest, with Enya in the middle and Zaira last. At nineteen, Zaira wasn’t far behind Enya in drawing the attraction of the local young men. With Da’s determination that his children get married in order by age, Zaira had complained she’d never have the chance to wed, or if she did, she’d already have one foot in the grave, especially because Finola was holding them all up.
Finola bit back a sigh. Maybe she should just run away to the convent. She’d contemplated that option on a few occasions. But she wanted to part ways with her parents on good terms. If she could make it past this last suitor, then she’d finally be able to go.
“Finola is wishing to get a thimble in her piece, that she is.” Madigan spoke from around a forkful of cake.
“Thimble?” Riley asked.
“Whoever gets the thimble will end up a spinster,” Madigan explained with a wink toward Finola, his expression filled with knowing mischief.
A moment later, Riley’s gaze collided with hers. The dark blue was unreadable, almost stormy, with a power that swirled something low and tight inside her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but his eyes, his looks, his charisma were dangerous. She could see how a woman could become charmed by him all too easily.
But not her. She’d remained strong through all the other suitors. She could do so with Riley, no matter how magnetic he might be.
She poked at her cake with her fork and pretended innocence. “Of course I don’t want a thimble. But I suspect Mr. Rafferty might be hoping for the button of bachelorhood.”
“And why would I be hoping for that?” Riley’s tone was casual.
All eyes turned upon Riley, as though he had a secret he needed to divulge.
Finola wavered. Had she made a mistake in alluding to his reluctance to get remarried? Maybe she ought to keep that fact to herself for now. After all, if her da suspected any issues, maybe he would have Bellamy find a different man, and she’d have to go through the matchmaking process again ... for the fourteenth time.
She lifted a forkful of cake to her mouth and took a bite only to clamp down on a metal band. She rolled it around, cleaning the cake from it before pulling it out. “No wee worries, everyone. I have the ring.” She suspected Mam had marked the location of the ring and instructed the servant to deliver that particular portion directly to Finola.
The attention returned to her, and she held up the ring for everyone to see. It was a simple silver band without any elaborate decorations, nothing special. Even so, she had to make the most of the occasion to scare Riley.
She pushed her chair back from the table and stood. “Looks like Mr. Rafferty and I will be taking our vows early.”
He didn’t respond, but he was watching her along with the others, his expression once again unreadable.
“Before Shrove Tuesday.” She started around the table toward his end, searching for any sign that the news displeased him.
His eyes only seemed to darken the closer she came, so by the time she stopped in front of him, the swirling had returned to her belly.
He didn’t say anything, simply waited, his shoulders tense, his body motionless.
Somehow the air between them seemed heavy and warm. Was the heat coming from him? Or was it pulsing from her? In fact, the whole room had heated, as if a servant had started a blazing bonfire.
What was this about?
She needed to step away from the strange new sensations. But she couldn’t. Not yet. She had to stick with her plans and do the first thing on the list in her pocket—hold his hand, right here, right now, in front of everyone.
But how could she? It was so personal and was perhaps crossing a boundary that shouldn’t be crossed.
With all the other suitors, her scheming had been harmless. She’d sobbed all over the suitor who hadn’t liked women who cry, pretended she wanted a dozen children and listed them by name for the suitor who’d been reluctant to have babies, and talked about all the trips on the Mississippi she wanted to take for the suitor who hated steamboats. She’d eaten raw fish around another man with a weak stomach so that he ended up retching. Madigan had helped her scare one fellow away with snakes and had dumped paint on another.
Aye, she’d conspired to no end. But it had been for the best. The men deserved a better wife than her.
Before she lost her nerve, she offered the ring to Riley. “I do believe this is our engagement ring. And it seems only fitting that you should be the one to put it on me.”
Riley didn’t take it from her. Instead, he lowered himself to one knee before her. He slipped his hand inside his coat pocket, and in the next moment, he held out a different ring—a traditional claddagh ring, a gold band with two hands clasping a heart topped with a dainty crown. The heart represented love, the hands friendship, and the crown loyalty.
It was delicate and beautiful, and her heart pattered faster at the sight of Riley down on his knee with the ring. If she’d ever once dreamed of getting engaged, she couldn’t have asked for a more perfect moment than this.
“Miss Shanahan, I would be pleased if you would accept this ring as a token of our agreement to marry.”
10
Riley knelt in front of her and peered up at her, his eyes containing only sincerity.
