'I imagine so, though it's difficult to understand why the man would pick a small village in the south of Ireland for his project. Jude, she says part of it's sentiment.'
It surprised and nearly disconcerted him to have the truth spoken so casually. 'Does she?'
'Do you know the story of Johnnie Magee and Maude Fitzgerald?'
'I've heard it. They were engaged to be married, and he went off to war and was killed in France.'
'And she never married, but lived alone in her cottage on Faerie Hill all her days. Long days, as Old Maude was one hundred and one years when she passed. The boy's mother, Johnnie Magee's mother, grieved herself to death within a few years. They said she favored him and could find no comfort in her husband, her other children, or her faith.'
It was odd to walk here and discuss these pieces of his family, pieces he had never met, with a woman he barely knew. Odder still that he was learning more of them from her than he'd learned from anyone else.
'I'd think losing a child has to be the biggest grief.'
'I'm sure it is, but what of those who were alive yet and needed her? When you forget what you have for what you've lost, grieving's an indulgence.'
'You're right. What happened to them?'
'The story is that her husband finally took to the drink, excessively. Wallowing in whiskey's no better or worse than wallowing in grief, I suppose. And her daughters, I think there were three, married as soon as they could and scattered. Her other son, he who was more than ten years younger than Johnnie, eventually took his wife and his little boy away from Ireland to America, where he made his fortune. Never did he come back nor, they say, contact those left here of family and friends.'
She turned and looked back at the pub again. 'It takes a hard heart never to look back, even once.'
'Yeah,' Trevor murmured. 'It does.'
'But so the seeds of Magee Enterprise were sowed first in Ardmore. It seems the Magee running matters now is willing to put his time and money into seeing those seeds grow here.'
'Do you have a problem with that?'
'No, indeed. It'll be good for us, and for him as well most likely. Business is business, but there's room for a bit of sentiment as long as it doesn't cloud the bottom line.'
'Which is?'
'Profit.'
'Just profit?'
She angled back, gestured out to the bay. 'There's Tim Riley's boat coming in for the day. He's been out with his crew since before first light. It's a hard life, that of a fisherman. Tim and those like him go out day after day, casting their nets, fighting weather, and breaking their backs. Why do you suppose they do it?'
'Why don't you tell me?'
'They love it.' She tossed her hair back, watching the boat ride a crest. 'No matter how they bitch and complain, they love the life. And Tim, he cares for his boat like a mother her firstborn. He sells his catch fair so there's no one would say Riley, he's not to be trusted. So there's love of the work, tradition, reputation, but at the bottom of it all is profit. Without an eye on making a living, it's only a hobby, isn't it?'
He caught a curl of her hair as it flew in the wind. 'Maybe I'm attracted to your mind after all.'
She laughed at that and began walking again. 'Do you love what you do?'
'Yes. Yes, I do.'
'What is it appeals to you most?'
'What did you see when you looked out your window this morning?'
'Well, I saw you, didn't I?' She was rewarded by the humor that moved warmly over his face. 'And other than that, I saw a mess.'
'Exactly. I enjoy most an empty lot, or an old building in disrepair. The possibilities of what can be done about them.'
'Possibilities,' she murmured, looking out to sea again. 'I understand about that. So you enjoy building something out of nothing, or out of what's been neglected.'
'Yes. Changing it without damaging it. If you cut down a tree, is what you're putting in its place worth the sacrifice? Does it matter in the long run, or it is only short-term ego?'
'Again the philosopher.' His face suited that, even while the windblown hair and little scar spoke another, less quiet side. 'Are you the conscience of Magee, then?'
'I like to think so.'
An odd sentiment for a laborer, she thought, but it appealed to her. The fact was, she couldn't at the moment find one thing about him that didn't appeal. 'Up on the cliffs there, beyond the big hotel, men once built grandly. The structures are ruins now, but the heart remains and many who go there feel that. The Irish understand sacrifice, and why and when it matters. You'll have to find time to walk there.'
'I'll plan on it. I'd like it better if you found time to show me the way.'
'That's another possibility.' Judging the hour, she turned to walk back.
'Let's build on it.' He took her hand to stop her, enjoyed the faint hint of irritation that came into her eyes. 'I want to see you.'
'I know.' Because it was the simplest angle, and never failed her, she tilted her head and allowed a teasing smile to play on her lips. 'I haven't made up my mind about you as yet. A woman has to be careful when dealing with strange and handsome men.'
'Sweetheart, a woman with your arsenal uses men for target practice.'
Irritated, she tugged her hand free. 'Only if they ask for it. Having a pleasing face doesn't make me heartless.'
'No, but having a pleasing face and a sharp mind is a potent combination, and it'd be a waste if you didn't know how to use both.'
She considered flicking him off and walking away, but damned if he didn't intrigue her. 'Sure and this is the strangest of conversations. I don't know if I like you or not, but maybe I'm interested enough to take some time to find out. But at the moment, I have to head back into work. It wouldn't do for me to be late after I've lectured Sinead.'
'She underestimates you.'
'I beg your pardon?'
'She underestimates you,' Trevor repeated as they walked back across the sand. 'She sees the surface-a beautiful woman with a keen sense of fashion who's passing the time working in her family business. One her brothers run. A woman who in her mind holds the lowest position on the ladder and doesn't do much more than take orders.'
Darcy's eyes narrowed now, but not against the sun. 'Oh, is that how you see it?'
'No, that's how your Sinead sees it. But she's young, inexperienced. So she doesn't see that you have as much to do with the running of Gallagher's as your brothers. The way you look doesn't hurt a thing when it comes to setting the atmosphere, but I watched you today.' He glanced down at her. 'You never missed a step, even when you were pissed off you never broke rhythm.'
'If you're trying to get 'round me with compliments- it's in the way of working. Though I have to say I can't remember having any like these from a man before.'
'No, they all tell you you're the most beautiful woman they've ever seen. It's a waste of time to state the obvious, and it must get tedious for you.'
She stopped as they reached the street, stared at him a moment, then laughed. 'You're a rare one, Trev from New York. I think I like you, and wouldn't mind spending a bit of time here and there in your company. Now if you were just rich, I'd marry you on the spot so you could keep me entertained and indulged all my days.'
'Is that what you're looking for, Darcy? Indulgence?'
'And why not? I've expensive tastes that I want to feed. Until I meet a man who's willing and able to fill my plate, I'll go on filling my own.' She reached up to touch his cheek. 'Doesn't mean I can't have a meal or two with another along the way.'
'Honesty, too.'
'When it suits me. And since I have a feeling you'd cut through even a well-crafted lie quick enough, why waste the effort?'
