Page 15 of Irish Rose
“For all you know, I can’t add two and two.”
“Mrs. Malloy and O’Donnelly at the dry goods say differently.” He leaned back against a workbench. Studying her from there, he decided he’d spoken no less than the truth. Even wet and dripping, she was a pleasure to look at.
“Mrs. Malloy. You’ve spoken to her? You went to Mr. O’Donnelly and asked questions about me?”
“Just checking your references.”
“No one told you to go poking about the town asking questions about me.”
“Business, Irish. Strictly business. What I found out is that you’re neat as a pin and dependable. Your figures tally and your books are clean. That’s good enough for me.”
“This is crazy.” Struggling against a surge of excitement, she dragged a hand through her still-dripping hair. “A body doesn’t hire someone they’ve known only a few days.”
“Irish, people are hired after a ten-minute interview.”
“That’s not what I mean. This isn’t a matter of me giving you a résumé, then catching a bus to take a new job across town. You’re talking about me coming to America and taking on a job that’s bigger than the inn, the farm and the dry goods put together.”
He only moved his shoulders. “It’s just a matter of more figures, isn’t it? You’re talking about going north in a year, I’m giving you a chance to go to America now. Make the break.”
“It’s not so simple.” Along with the excitement was a growing panic. Wasn’t this what she’d always wanted? Now that it was nearly as close as a handspan, she was terrified.
“It’s a gamble.” He was watching her again in that quiet, intense way. “Most things worth winning are. I’ll pay for your ticket as a sign of good faith. You’ll start out at a weekly salary.” He considered a moment, then named a figure that had her mouth dropping open. “If it works out, there’ll be a ten percent raise in six months. For that you take care of all the details, all the figures, all the bills. I’ll want a weekly report. We’ll leave in two days.”
“Two days?” She was numb now, so numb she could only stare at him. “But even if I agreed, I could never be ready to leave by then.”
“All you have to do is pack and say your goodbyes. I’ll handle the rest.”
“But I—”
“You have to make up your mind, Erin. Stay or go.” He stepped toward her again. “If you stay, you’ll be safe, and you’ll always wonder what if.”
He was right. The question was already nagging at her. “If I go, where will I live?”
“I’ve got plenty of room.”
“No.” On this she would have to be firm, right from the start. “I won’t agree to that. I may say I’ll work for you, but I won’t live with you.”
“It’s your choice.” Again he moved his shoulders as if it didn’t matter. He’d already anticipated her balking there. “I don’t imagine Adelia would have any problem putting you up. In fact, I think you know she’d love to have you with her. It wouldn’t be charity,” he said, keeping one step ahead of her. “You’d be bringing in a wage. You could get your own place, for that matter, but I think you’d be more comfortable with your cousin at first. And our farms are close enough to make it convenient.”
“I’ll talk to her.” Sometime during the last two minutes her mind had been made up. She was going. Her bridges might not be burning behind her, but they were certainly smoking. “I’ll have to speak to my family, as well, but I’d like to accept your offer.”
She held out her hand. Burke took it just as casually, though he wondered about the wild surge of relief that coursed through him. “I expect a day’s work for a day’s pay. I don’t doubt you’ll give it to me.”
“That I will. I’m grateful for the chance.”
“I’ll remind you of that after you’ve spent a few days sorting through the mess my last bookkeeper left me with.”
She stood very still for a moment, letting it all soak in, layer by layer. Then she spun in a quick circle and laughed. “I can’t believe it. America! It’s like some kind of a mad dream. I’ve hardly been more than fifty kilometers from Skibbereen, and now I’m going thousands in the blink of an eye.”
He liked to see her this way, her face flushed with pleasure, her eyes lit with it. And the rain still drummed on the roof. “It takes a bit longer than that to cross the Atlantic.”
“Don’t be so literal.” But she was too excited to take offense. “In a matter of days I’ll be in a new country, a new place, a new job. New money.”
He started to reach for a cigar, then thought better of it. “The money puts a gleam in your eye.”
“Anyone who’s ever been poor gleams a bit when they’ve got enough money.”
He acknowledged this with a nod. He’d been poor, but he doubted Erin would understand that degree of poverty. He appreciated money, though if he lost it, as he had before, he would simply shake the dust off his shoes and make more. “You’ll earn it.”
