Chapter Six
Deirdre
Deirdre had managed to keep her distance from Cassius Trenton the last four days.
She hoped her luck would hold out as she entered the meeting attached to the old mill.
It was where the workers’ meeting was being held - far enough away from town that it wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
There was already a crowd gathered in the front of the room, so Deirdre slid into the back row.
When Cassius strode through the door not five minutes later, she was certain he’d been following her, and that he suspected she’d been avoiding him.
Earlier in the week, she’d seen his broad shoulders at the dry goods counter when she went to buy flour. She’d ducked behind the bolts of calico and prayed he hadn’t seen her.
When his gaze searched the room and finally landed on her, he smiled broadly.
Nearly the entire bench in her row was empty, so there was no reason for him to slide into the empty spot beside her. Unless he’d showed up because he knew it would aggravate her.
“What are you doing here?” She muttered under her breath.
“Your brother Liam said this is where you’d be. You’ve been avoiding me. I saw you hiding behind all that fabric in Randall’s.”
“I wasn’t hiding. The children need new clothes before winter truly sets in and the broadcloth was on sale. Why was it so imperative to see me that you went to the forge to ascertain my whereabouts?” Her head was spinning and her heart was thudding in her chest.
“I went to the forge because one of the carriage horses threw a shoe yesterday. Tracking you down was a benefit of that excursion.”
“You shouldn’t be here. Your family’s money has contributed to the ills of the working class.”
He stretched his legs in front of him and crossed his ankles. Then he crossed his arms - tightly stretching the material over his shoulders and the broad planes of his chest.
Deirdre looked away and thrust out her chin, determined to ignore the long, lean heat of his body reclining beside hers. Determined to ignore the lick of hot want it made her feel.
“When I have access to the fortunes my father and his firm handle, I intend to be far more ethical about the investments.”
She couldn’t hold in the snort of disbelief.
“I’d imagine that’s what all privileged sons say - and then when the money’s at their disposal they sing an entirely different tune.”
There was a flash of vulnerability in the look he shot her, and if she didn’t know better, she’d say her cynicism had wounded him.
“I’m not like other sons. My father despises me for rebelling against the mold he designed for me. Especially for falling in love with the wrong girl.”
His words were tight and clipped.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty about that,” she said with a suddenly queasy stomach. “The girl became a woman with her eyes wide open. Impervious to the charms of scoundrels.”
Their gazes latched and the flash of vulnerability she’d seen morphed into something else entirely.
“They don’t even think of us as human beings!” The man’s shout at the front of the room burst the tense bubble of silence that had arisen between them.
The man thumped his fist on the table to emphasize his point.
“This is a powder keg,” Cass mumbled darkly beside her.
It was a powder keg, and though the way Seamus was embroiled in it made her nervous, nothing else the workers had done had made an impact.
“Negotiation hasn’t led anywhere,” she retorted as she felt the simmering heat of his stare on her profile.
“We’re good at what we do - we just need them to recognize that they can’t pull black gold out of the ground without us,” another man said, more calmly, very obviously trying to diffuse the other man’s anger.
“We are. And our labor is linin’ their pockets while we go in their caves with our picks and our lanterns. Breakin’ our backs for sixteen hours straight.” The man’s complaint was brimming with fury as he nearly spat the words.
“The work feeds our families and what we’re asking for is reasonable. An eight hour workday. More safety precautions to prevent explosions and cave-ins. We have to make our demands peaceably.”
“Why are you here?” Her companion asked from the side of his mouth as he slouched further and pulled the brim of his hat.
“I’m here because the greed of mine owners left me a widow and left my children fatherless. You shouldn’t be here and you know it. That’s why you’re slouching like a sulking child.”
“I call this meeting to order,” a tall, broad man with a bristling mustache and beard thundered at the front of the room.
“So that’s why you’re here. Because your brother Seamus is one of the organizers.”
Deirdre turned to glare at him. “I’m here because the grievances of this assembly are my own.”
“And the presence of your reckless younger brother has nothing to do with it.”
“There’s no cause to sound so smug. You’re a fine one to talk about reckless behavior.”
“My reckless behavior has always only endangered my own well-being. You shouldn’t be here, Deirdre.”
Deirdre’s mouth fell open in shock at his audacity. “I have every right to be here. I’ve seen firsthand how the heel of industry steps on the backs of workers. You haven’t.”
“I’ve seen plenty of things, Wildflower.”
“Stop calling me that. You lost the privilege of calling me that a long time ago.”
He shrugged beside her, his broad shoulders brushing against her own. “It’s what I’ve always called you. Because it’s what you are. Bright and wild -determined to push your way through the fissures in the rocky soil so you can bloom in the sun.”
Deirdre’s heart stuttered at his raw defense as she raised her chin and looked resolutely ahead. “As I said- you lost the privilege to call me that.”
“We’re here because we’re planning a strike and we need to do so with unity and purpose.” Seamus braced his hands on the table as he spoke.
“You really shouldn’t be here. If you’re found out, they’ll take you outside and beat you.” As much as he annoyed her, Deirdre had no wish to see him come to physical harm.
He shrugged again. “I can hold my own in a fist fight. You shouldn’t be here either.”
“We’ll make our move in three days. Come prepared to stand your ground at the start of the shift - you know where.” Seamus’s voice rang out and there was an answering chorus of ayes from the crowd.
The men and women in the crowd stood and began to file from the room. When everyone had left but Deirdre, Cass, and Seamus, her brother stopped at the end of their row.
“What’s he doing here?” Seamus’s menacing question was directed at her.
“Liam told him where to find me.”
Seamus narrowed his gaze on Cass. “If the authorities find out about our plans, I’ll know who to blame. Your silver tongue’s already caused enough chaos in our family and although my brother seems willing to overlook it, I am not. Stay away from my sister.”
Deirdre watched as Cass clenched his jaw so tightly a muscle flickered in his cheek. “I was only seeking her out because I need a place to stay.”
“What about your big mansion on Main Street? Still fighting with your Da?”
Deirdre knew from her brother’s smirk that he was purposefully antagonizing her former lover.
“I don’t belong there. I don’t think I ever belonged there. I want something different.” Cassius firmly insisted.
“If she lets you rent one of her rooms it’ll be nothing more than a business transaction between the two of you. I’ll be watching and you’d better not step over the line.”
Deirdre wove her way past Cass and placed her hand on Seamus’s arm. “While I appreciate your concern, brother, I don’t need your protection.” She turned to Cass. “If I let you have one of the rooms, I’m not doing it out of the goodness of my heart. My motives are purely economic.”
Cass’s expression was inscrutable. “I’m well aware of your animosity, Mrs. O’Shaugnessy. I only seek a place to lay my head that’s not under my father’s roof or his thumb.”
“Then you’ll swear to me, here and now, those are your only intentions,” Seamus interrupted.
Cass raised an eyebrow. “I owe you no oaths.”
Seamus glowered. “If you don’t want me to throw you down one of the tunnels to rot, you do.”
“Seamus, stop. He’s right. He doesn’t need to swear to anything.
I won’t allow him to take advantage of the situation.
” Deirdre had a sinking feeling in her stomach that giving him intimate and prolonged access to her children, especially James, was a terrible idea, but she needed to bolster her finances.
“Then you’re permitting me to show up on your doorstep?”
“I am,” she held out her hand to seal the deal.
Instead of shaking her hand, he lifted it to his lips and pressed a warm kiss to the back of it. “I’ll need a few days. I’ll arrive just in time for supper on Sunday.”
Deirdre and Seamus watched as he dropped her hand and turned on his heel. He strode down the whole length of the row, whistling, before he came to the end and exited through the far door.
“I don’t trust him or his intentions, Dee.”
Seamus’s gruff protectiveness was the response she expected and Deirdre sighed. “Seamus, I’m going to repeat that I can take care of myself and my children.”
Her brother huffed in frustration. “And what if he finds out James is his? What then, Dee? He’s within his rights to take him from you. And I’ve had enough of his family and their lot takin’ things from us.”
“He’s not going to take anything from me besides the food I set on the table. And I’m going to take his coin.”
“I was only thirteen when he left, but I remember how much you wept. I meant what I said about the tunnel. If he crosses the line, I’ll toss him down one of the tunnels.”
Deirdre laughed ruefully. “If I let him cross the line, I’ll ask you to do it myself.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” her brother said with a curt nod.
“So Mam knows he’s back?”
“How could she not? She told us after Mass last Saturday. Said Liam and I were to keep an eye on you and make sure that scoundrel wasn’t sniffing around your skirts again.”