"We are?"
Jules smiled tenderly. "You are."
Sheridan's chest constricted with sisterly love for Jules. Her friend hadgiven her blessing, though Sheridan had never asked. Jules had seen the truthand embraced it with open arms.
Deep in her heart, Sheridan hadn't been able to accept the fact that Juleswould scorn any relationship between her and Nicholas. But if Jules endorsedSheridan's relationship with her cousin ... then Nicholas had lied to her.
There are some things Jules would never accept. Our relationship is one ofthem. Her understanding only goes so far.
Another stab of pain jabbed at Sheridan's already bruised heart. Nicholashad used Jules as an excuse to extract himself from an awkward situation.
She'd asked him once if it mattered that she was Irish and he English. He'dscoffed, telling her it made no difference. Had that been the truth or anotherlie? What other falsehoods had he told her?
An Irish peasant and an English aristocrat. A long black line that hadnever been crossed. What made her think she could bridge the gap?
Two souls entwined. The worst of lies.
"Oh!" Jules gasped, drawing Sheridan from the darkness of her heart.
Sheridan's gaze snapped up to see Jules's face pale, her hands clutchingher belly.
Tossing her pruning shears aside, Sheridan scrambled over to her friend."What's the matter? Is it the babe I again?"
Mutely, Jules nodded, clamping her bottom lip between j her teeth as thepain crested and then subsided. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
Sheridan squeezed her friend's hands reassuringly. "What has the doctorsaid about yer difficulties?"
Jules's eyes didn't meet hers. "He reprimanded me for not telling myhusband ... that early labor is prevalent in my family." She added the lastfew words in a nearly inaudible voice.
Sheridan sat back on her heels and stared.
"Say something, Danny," Jules begged, the worry she'd been carrying around,alone and unvoiced, showing clearly in her green eyes.
"How could ye not confide such a thing to yer best friend?"
Jules's expression beseeched forgiveness. "I'm sorry. I... I didn't wantanyone to worry."
"So ye just kept it all to yerself, addin' more burden onto yer meagershoulders? Oh, 'tis a perfect way to make sure yer havin' this babe early."
"I know I should have told someone."
"Yer husband, at the very least."
"Oh, I couldn't tell him. He worries so much about me as it is. He wouldn't have let me come to town had I told him. He'd force me to stay in bed untilthe babe was born, driving himself and me crazy, and I wanted so desperatelyto see you."
Jules dropped her head. "My motives were not entirely pure, though. Infact, they were utterly selfish. You see, I needed you here, needed yourcomfort. I'm ... afraid. This is my first child. My mother's dead and I... Idon't have many female friends ... and all around me are strapping men whofaint at the sight of a pregnant woman. I--I didn't want to be alone." Shepeeked up at Sheridan with woebegone eyes. "Am I terrible?"
Sheridan gripped her friend's hands and squeezed comfortingly. "Nay, not soterrible." She smiled. "And I wouldn't want to be anywhere but with ye. Ye aremy best friend."
Sheridan's smile did not reach inside her. Memory plagued her--the strangeand frightening sensation she had experienced when first laying hands onJules' stomach the day she had told the story of the leprechauns and thepookas.
Sheridan had managed to squelch her concern, telling herself her visionscould be fickle, like her. Sometimes she had them. Sometimes she didn't.
But deep down, she knew. This vision was strong.
And all too real.
Rain, hard and battering, pelted down, thundering on the roof like athousand pebbles. Jules lay in a bed Sheridan had never seen before, her facefearful, knowing her time was at hand.
Sheridan could not see herself in the picture.
Jules was alone--the very thing her friend feared.
"Will you finish the story, Danny?" Jules softly pleaded. "The one aboutthe leprechauns."
Sheridan nodded. She needed to ease her friend's fears. Perhaps she neededto ease her own as well.
Sheridan's melodious voice lured Nicholas down the hall as surely as thecall of the sirens led many a sailor to his doom. Those men, he imagined, hadmet their Maker in peace, however.
Nicholas doubted the same fate would be granted him.
Yet as he stood unnoticed in the doorway leading to the garden, admiringSheridan's animated profile and the joy she brought to Jules, Nicholaswondered if perhaps such a fate wasn't a bad thing.
"Ah, but 'twas a grand fight while it lasted, kippeen and shillelaghbangin' and clashin'. And with that much yellin' from all the pookas and theleprechauns, the din could be heard from Dunqueen in the west to Cashel in theeast.
"Oh, but all that fightin' and bangin' and yellin' was most displeasing toHim"--Sheridan pointed upward-- "who was at that very time tryin' to take awee nap. 'I'll put a stop to those ructions,' " he said. And he did.
"The Creator sprinkled the Stardust of forgetfulness on both pookas andleprechauns so their bad habits would be banished." Sheridan smiled. "Well,some of them, at least.
"So 'twas with that Stardust He bestowed upon all Irish men--and women,mind ye--the gift of imagination to compensate them for what they are not, anda sense of humor to console them for what they are."
"Bravo."
Sheridan tensed, hearing Nicholas's voice. Slowly, she turned her head, hergaze locking with the emerald green eyes of the man who had become herdownfall.
He leaned against the doorjamb, the epitome of the casual gentleman infawn-colored trousers that delineated the strength of his thighs, and abrilliant white shirt, sleeves rolled back and open slightly at the neck,emphasizing his dark skin.
Sheridan berated herself for the slight leap in her heart that alwaysoccurred when she saw Nicholas. Pride quickly came to her rescue, reminding her of his lies, and his convenient excuse they'd be hurting Jules if theirrelationship continued.
"You're looking revived this morning, Nicky," Jules remarked. "Did you havea good evening with Lady Jessica?"
"Well enough--after its rocky start." He gave Sheridan a pointed look,placing the blame squarely at her doorstep for his problems with Jessica.
"That's nice," Jules remarked. "I had a bit of a headache myself."
Headache? Sheridan frowned. She'd been with Jules all night and she hadbeen as animated as a summer lark.
Concern etched Nicholas's face. "Are you all right, puss?"
"Oh, yes. I'm fine." Mischief twinkled in the slight tilt of Jules's lips."Seems my pregnancy has lessened my ability to tolerate shrill voices, andLady Jessica's tone was particularly piercing yesterday. Her anger surprisedme. She always struck me as rather mild-mannered and soft-spoken."
Nicholas's jaw clenched. "Her anger was justified. And I certainly knowsome other females who possess a healthy temper."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Nicky darling. I'm sure Jessica has some wonderfulqualities."
"She does."
"Clearly, she is a nice, stable girl."
"She is."
"Any man who marries her will know that every day will be exactly like theone before."
Nicholas frowned. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing bad, of course. I just mean that life with Jessica will bepredictable. No surprises. But that's good for a man who wants a staid homelife."
"Some men don't like surprises. Some men prefer not to wake up everymorning wondering if they are taking their lives in their hands by leavingtheir bed. Some men might enjoy staid--"
"Boring," Jules murmured loud enough for all ears.
"Staid to unpredictable. A man wants to know his wife I will be home whereshe belongs."
Wife? The word reverberated through Sheridan's head Had Nicholas beenspeaking hypothetically? Or was he thinking of marrying Lady Jessica?
Jules said, "Then Jessica Reardon is a perfect catch. "
"Yet..." She stopped.
"Yet?" Nicholas prompted, his lips pressed in a grim line.
Jules shrugged delicately. "Well, her outburst yesterday does give onepause. She behaved a tad, shall we say, irrationally? Makes a body wonder whatother small things might push her over the edge. Oh, but what do I know?"Before Nicholas could reply, she said, "Danny, will you help me up? I'mfeeling rather tired. I think I'll take a nap."
Sheridan blinked, rousing herself from her stupor at the thought ofNicholas and Jessica as husband and wife.
Jules winked at her, and Sheridan knew her friend's remarks had been forher benefit. Another sweet gesture, but unnecessary. Sheridan wanted nothingfrom Nicholas.
Nothing but a pound of flesh.
And she would extract it one small bit at a time.
Sheridan wrapped her arm around Jules and helped her up. "I'll walk with yeto yer room."
Jules waved a dismissive hand. "Don't be silly. I'm pregnant, not aged. Youstay here and keep my cousin company. I'll see you later."
Before Sheridan could protest, Jules was gone. Sheridan faced Nicholas,whose body suddenly seemed to encompass the entire doorway, blocking herescape, a slight smile playing about his lips.
Sheridan had no intention of allowing him to intimidate her, which isexactly what he was trying to do. She set back her shoulders, tilted up herchin and attempted to breeze past him.
His outstretched arm barricaded her grand exit. "Not so fast."
"Get out of the way."
He shook his head. "You heard Jules. She said to keep me company."
"I'd rather keep company with the devil."
He eyed her. "Rather nervy of you to be angry with me, when I have everyright to be angry with you. You nearly ruined my evening with Jessica."
"And wouldn't that have been a shame now?" Sheridan cursed her unrulytongue for giving away how she felt.
He cocked a brow. "If I didn't know better, I might think you were jealous,Danny."
"Jealous? Ha! Tis no concern of mine what ye do with yer precious Jessica.Ye deserve each other."
"Please retract your claws from my lower extremities. God made me a man,and I'd like to stay that way. Now, could we skip the gristle and get down tothe bone? What, exactly, is eating you? You have not been all that issweetness and light lately."
Sheridan's eyes looked like sapphire peaks of ice, treacherous andbeckoning, and Nicholas had not donned his spiked shoes.
She smiled. "Go to blazes."
"Don't sugar coat it now. Give it to me straight."
"Fine. I'd rather be thrown headlong into a snake pit than to spend anothermoment with a big ape like ye! Now step aside! I've other things to do with metime."
Nicholas's smile evaporated. "Like spending it with Ian McDonough?"
" 'Tis none of yer concern what I do or who I'm doing it with!"
"Anything that goes on in my house is my concern. I'll not have youdallying with the servants."
"Dallying!" Sheridan choked, and then reacted, smacking him across thecheek, the sound of flesh against flesh ringing loudly in the still afternoon.
Nicholas grabbed her wrists, his hold unyielding as he yanked her forwardinto his chest. Eyes blazing fire, he growled low, "You're pushing me, Danny.I'm not a nice man when I'm pushed."
"Yer not a nice man ever! So don't be foolin' yerself." She tried to wrenchfree. His grip only tightened.
"In that case, you'll understand this."
His mouth slammed down upon hers, robbing the breath from her lungs andsealing off any protest. He took what she didn't want to give, his kiss meantto punish, to humiliate, to show her who was master. He meant to dominate her.
The more she struggled, the more demanding his kiss became and the harderSheridan fought not to respond, Yet her heart, body, and soul conspiredagainst her. The feel of his hard frame crushed against hers, the scent ofhim, the heat of him drew her in, annihilating her will, obliterating thought.
His hands slid down her back and cupped her buttocks, pressing her firmlyagainst his arousal. Her fists uncurled, her palms testing the flesh of hischest, reveling in the bunching muscles in his shoulders, before sinking intohis thick, silky mane.
"Danny," he murmured as his lips slanted over hers. "God, how I've missedyou."
He took her hand and led her away from the door and into a small embrasure.He dragged her forward, hard against the broad expanse of his chest, his mouthswooping down and capturing her lips once more.