Virginia Henley by Dream Lover Read Free Book Online Page B

and stepped forward to greet Montague. “Welcome to the celebration, William.” When she offered him her hand, he took it to his lips, openly assessing the beauty of her face and form. She knew the Englishman found the FitzGerald women highly attractive. It was no wonder he’d lost his head entirely when fifteen-year-old Amber had cast her lure his way.
    “I didn’t come alone. I’ve brought my son and daughter to acquaint them with their mother’s side of the family.”
    “And about time, too, but where is Amber?” Kathleen asked pointedly.
    “She sends her regrets; her delicate constitution makes a sea voyage a penance,” William said smoothly.
    If she can stomach you, she has a constitution of iron, and as to penance, I suspect she pays that every day of her life.
“I’ll go and find them and make sure they are enjoying themselves. Father, pour William a double; by the sober look of him, he’s a deal of catching up to do.”
    Edward FitzGerald and William Montague hadn’t had dealings together in years, at least none that Montague was aware of, the earl thought wryly. He had given Montague one of his brother’s daughters in marriage, knowing full well the little minx wouldn’t take no for an answer. Amber had seduced the English aristocrat, all right, but only bybeing clever enough to refuse him sexual liberties until he’d proposed marriage.
    Edward poured him a glass of smoky Irish whisky. “Yer a fortunate man, Montague. Ye have something I was denied, a son.” His firstborn, Kathleen, had been a twin, but her brother had been stillborn. “The daughter was inevitable, every FitzGerald dead or alive has produced one, but the odds were against a son.”
    “I understood you were one of twenty-three children. Your father obviously produced sons.”
    “Not many, and none save me who survived. One died in infancy, another three lived long enough to produce daughters before their early demise.”
    “So all the male FitzGeralds who crew the merchant ships are third generation,” Montague concluded thoughtfully.
    “They are indeed,” said Edward, raising his glass. “A toast to grandsons! Where would we be without them?”
    William Montague cursed himself for a fool. The FitzGeralds were so numerous, he’d never given the succession a thought. Why had it never dawned on him before that Shamus O’Toole’s eldest son was Edward FitzGerald’s heir and the next Earl of Kildare? A plan almost full blown came to him. Why not betroth his daughter, Emerald, to Joseph FitzGerald O’Toole? Perhaps a daughter could be of some use after all.

E merald caught her breath at the magnificence of the Georgian mansion in its perfect setting.
So this is Castle Lies
, she thought with a shiver of anticipation as she scanned the throng, looking for a certain face. When she did not find it, she took her courage in both hands and approached a group of young FitzGeralds. “How do you do? I am delighted to make your acquaintance.”
    There was a moment’s dead silence as the girls’ eyes fixed upon the intruder and swept over her velvet-covered high breasts.
    “Well, now, if it isn’t the queen of England,” said Fiona. The other girls laughed maliciously.
    Emerald bravely swallowed the taunt and tried again. “I’m a FitzGerald on my mother’s side … I’m half Irish.”
    “Which half would that be? The top half?” Fiona drawled as two young men ogled Emerald’s breasts.
    “Sure, if she’s Irish, she must be one of the little people,” Dierdre suggested.
    The warm blood drained from Emerald’s cheeks. Never had she been more painfully aware of her small dark appearance.
    “What’s your name, then?” one of the girls asked. “The lady’s name is Emerald,” a deep voice said from behind her.
    Emerald turned and looked up into Sean O’Toole’s dark laughing eyes and suddenly it didn’t matter that the girls had been cruel to her. Nothing mattered except
he
was there, laughing down at her, close