Chapter Thirty-Four
I could barely sit still on our one-hour drive from Cork Airport to the Devaney manor near Kenmare.
Finn was asleep in the child seat, his mouth wide open in utmost exhaustion.
My heart felt full as I watched the countryside rush by, but my nervousness about meeting Lorcan’s father was almost crushing.
I felt defensive quickly when it came to my mother or Finn, so I really hoped I wouldn’t get into an argument.
I didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot with Devaney senior.
Lorcan sat in the front beside his brother Aran, who had picked us up in his Land Rover, which was covered in dirt.
Aran had offered me a friendly greeting, no sign that he knew anything about the unfortunate events of the past. Maybe he was willing to give me a chance if Lorcan did. It made me feel better.
“So how’s the baby?” I asked curiously. I knew it was a topic I couldn’t discuss with Devaney senior around, even if that rubbed me the wrong way.
“She has been out of the hospital for two weeks.”
“So she’s in the manor?”
“No, I left her with the nanny in my house a few miles from Devaney manor.”
“Oh.” I’d been curious to meet her as she’d been a preemie like Finn.
Lorcan glanced at me through the rearview mirror. Then his gaze was drawn away. “There it is,” he said, his voice full of pride.
I looked to the front where an ivy-covered mansion with countless chimneys and several towers rose up among the lush greenery. It had a slate roof and a row of windows reflected the few rays of sun that broke through the clouds. Finn sat up in his seat and stared out as well.
His mouth fell open when he saw the manor. I’d never seen such a sprawling estate that wasn’t a historic sight, but tourists definitely never set foot in Devaney manor.
Aran pulled along the cobblestone driveway. He and Lorcan got out of the vehicle, but Finn and I remained in a sort of stunned stupor. Lorcan opened my door and held out his hand. I took it and allowed him to pull me out.
I craned my neck to get a good view of the mansion. Why would anyone need so many chimneys? I tried to count them but lost track eventually.
“Fifty-two ornate chimneys and three hundred and sixty-five leaded windows,” Lorcan said as he lifted Finn out of his child seat and put him down on the pathway.
I shook my head. “It’s a castle.”
“My father can tell you every little detail about it. If you want to impress him, ask him if it’s a Gothic revival.”
I stared blankly at him.
“Many think it’s a Gothic but it was built later.”
I nodded then laughed. I would definitely have forgotten all about it by the time I met Devaney senior. I was nervous anyway. “This is a place where you expect royalty to live. A lordship or something of the sort, not a mob family.”
“No royal blood whatsoever. Our family used to be farmers, and this area was part of their plot, which they leased from a big landowner. It was a small plot, barely producing enough potatoes to feed my ancestor’s, and then the Great Famine hit the country, and people started dying left and right.
Our family split back then. They were two brothers who tried to save their families.
One brother risked passage to New York in the hopes of a better future for him and his family, but three of his six children didn’t survive the journey.
Two had died in the famine before that. Once in New York, they were treated like scum, and he became a railroad worker and his wife a washerwoman, but they still barely got by …
until he and a few fe llow Irish men came together as a gang.
The other brother went to Dublin, and after trying to feed his family with honest work, he too eventually became part of a gang that he soon led.
So two brothers, unbeknownst to each other, were forced to take the same direction to survive. ”
“Is this true?” I asked. It sounded too good to be true, almost as if they were modern-day Robin Hoods.
“It is. Ask my father or read our family history. There’s a fat tome in the library.”
The salty scent of the ocean hung in the air. In the distance, I could make out the boisterous sea. Devaney Manor sat on the shores of Kenmare Bay. The coastline wasn’t as rough here as it was at the Cliffs of Moher.
“Does the property reach the ocean?”
“Yes, there’s a pathway from the conservatory straight down to the cliffs.”
I shook my head, grinning. I’d missed Ireland beyond words, especially Dublin. But even the lush green countryside, with its dots of white sheep and the salty spray of the ocean warmed my heart.
The front door opened and a tall, broad-shouldered older man with gray hair and a beard appeared in the doorway. Then three huge dogs, Irish Wolfhounds, trotted out and down the stairs. Finn took a step closer to Lorcan and me and gripped our hands.
“They look like wolves but act like sheep, don’t worry,” Lorcan said, but even I tensed as the huge dogs rushed toward us. They greeted Lorcan then sniffed at us with wagging tales but still showed restraint.
“William, Butler, and Yeats,” Lorcan introduced the three giants. Their heads almost reached my chest. I grinned wryly because of their name.
“My father loves his poems,” Lorcan said then nudged me and Finn in the direction of the front door.
I wore a beautiful new wool dress and elegant leather boots to make a good impression.
I never wanted to be part of the Devaney family, but now that I was, I wanted them to like me.
I’d never had a big family and always longed for it.
Even if this wasn’t my ideal of a normal family, I knew it would be good for Finn too.
Lorcan and his father hugged very briefly. It was obvious they had trouble showing affection. It was almost endearing. “Father, this is my wife, Aislinn, and this is Finn.”
I took Devaney senior’s hand and smiled nervously.
“Good to finally meet you, Aislinn. It’s unfortunate that your husband didn’t think it necessary to introduce us before your wedding.” The last was said with reproach in Lorcan’s direction. “Call me Thomas.”
I blinked, surprised. “Nice to meet you, Thomas. I wish you could have been at our wedding.” Back then, I had been relieved about his absence, but now I wished we’d had a wedding with our entire families present.
Thomas frowned. “Then my son and you should have married in Ireland as was expected.”
I flushed. Lorcan leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Now that he’s guilt-tripping you, you’re truly a part of our family.”
Thomas narrowed his eyes. “Don’t listen to whatever he’s saying. He’s been a thorn in my side since birth.”
I smiled sheepishly, unsure how to react to their constant banter.
Thomas turned to Finn, who was half hidden behind me. “Young man, welcome to the family. Do you like skeet shooting?”
Finn frowned.
“I’ll show you later,” Thomas said. “How about you call me Gramps?”
After a look at me and Lorcan, he gave a small nod.
“Come on in. We’re letting the cold in.”
We went into the huge entrance hall of the mansion.
A long, colorful silk carpet gave the room a cozy look.
A grand staircase led to the first floor.
The steps had a slight dip in the center from centuries of use.
Tapestries with hunting scenes decorated the walls, and a fireplace added to the cozy atmosphere.
We moved on to a sort of living room that also had a fireplace, albeit a bigger one.
“The big fireplace is in the fireplace room,” Lorcan said with a wink.
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath.
Finn’s mouth hung open as he scanned our surroundings. One of the Wolfhounds came up to him, and he patted him carefully. The dog was taller than Finn.
“They’re docile,” Lorcan assured me again.
“Do you like chocolate cake?” Thomas asked Finn. He nodded enthusiastically.
“My cook baked one for you. Let’s go into the kitchen.”
I gave Finn an encouraging smile, and he took Thomas’s hand. I bit my lip as I watched them walk away.
“Dad is good with kids. ”
Finn seemed to like the old man, just like he’d liked Lorcan from the start.
“Do you want a tour of the house?”
“Don’t call it a house. It’s a castle, but yes.”
Lorcan took my hand and led me back into the entrance hall then upstairs. “Only Aran is here, but he’ll return to his house in the evening. Balor, Callahan and Caden will arrive later today.”
The silk carpets in all the rooms must have cost a fortune.
They looked hand-crafted and ancient. My lips parted in astonishment as Lorcan led me through the first floor then the second and third.
My mouth didn’t close as we discovered the many rooms, staircases, and even the attic.
Nobody needed that much room, but I was in love with the place.
The manor belonged in a horror movie. Hitchcock would have certainly found great inspiration in every nook and cranny of the huge place. It was perfect.
Sheep grazed the slopes surrounding the manor, and horses joined them a bit further out.
“Who takes care of this when you all live in Dublin?”
“A groundskeeper lives in the house we drove past but there’s always been at least one of us living under the roof at any given time. It was never deserted. Father always said a house needs to be lived in to qualify as a home.”
I nodded, remembering the small stone house down the driveway. Thomas was right. It would have been a waste to have a manor like this and only have it taken care of instead of lived in.
Lorcan led me into the hallway then opened the door to a broom cupboard.
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s where I caught Balor and his first love doing the deed.
” He pulled me into the cupboard and closed the door, cloaking us in darkness.
I didn’t even want to think about all the spiders hiding here. The dark made me increasingly nervous.
“Lorcan, what—”
His warm hands pushed up my dress, and I could feel him get down on his knees. He tugged my panties to the side.