Chapter 4

4

A steamboat captain from New Orleans as her match? That was an interesting prospect.

Enya sat stiffly on a chair in the office at the back of Oscar's Pub. Her da rested on a stool Bellamy had dragged in. Kiernan stood, and Bellamy perched on the edge of a writing table, having shoved aside ledgers and papers of all sorts.

Another beautiful painting of an Irish landscape hung on the wall behind the writing table, but otherwise the tiny closet was dingy—the walls gray and in need of fresh paint and the floor littered with crumbs and sticky with beer residue. Several crates full of what appeared to be mugs and other supplies for the pub made the room even more crowded.

"I've heard Callahan O'Brien owns over fifty steamboats." Her da rubbed at his smooth-shaven jaw while staring at the wall. He was probably calculating the fortune Callahan O'Brien had amassed with his fifty steamboats and was ready to sign the papers to make the match official.

Kiernan's eyes held a calculated look too. "Late last year, Captain Sullivan O'Brien inquired with our solicitor about the possibility of buying our iron to build a railroad in St. Louis. So, obviously, the O'Briens are considering expanding their empire. We could include that as part of the nuptial agreement."

Da nodded. "Aye, 'twould be a boon for production, so it would."

Bellamy swung one of his legs as though he didn't have a care in the world, while in fact he was brokering a major deal. "Captain O'Brien—Sullivan—is in St. Louis about once a month, usually only for a couple of days."

Enya couldn't keep quiet. She never could. "Exactly why is he seeking a bride in St. Louis instead of New Orleans?"

Bellamy shrugged. "He didn't say. But I have my suspicions."

"And what exactly are those suspicions?" she persisted. If she was going to agree to marry the man, she had to know a few basic details.

"Obviously, marrying a stranger provides fewer romantic entanglements." Bellamy held her gaze.

Fewer romantic entanglements. Did that mean Captain O'Brien saw the marriage as a business arrangement without aspirations for love and romance? If so, then she'd agree to marrying him right here and now.

Kiernan opened his mouth to add to Bellamy's statement, but she cut in with another question. "Why does he want to get married?"

"I suspect his father is pressuring him to settle down." Bellamy spoke frankly, which was one more thing she liked about him. He was a good and honest man.

The real question was whether she could trust Sullivan. After Bryan, she wasn't sure she'd be able to trust another man ever again. "Where exactly does he plan to live? New Orleans or St. Louis?"

"I imagine he'll need to have ties to both."

"And does he intend to bring his wife on his travels?"

"Would his wife want to go on his travels with him?"

"Aye, I would." Oh aye, would she ever.

"Then I'll talk to him about it."

She would even if just for a month, until her mam had time to adjust to the news of the pregnancy. Then, once Mam had resigned herself, Enya could return and hopefully avoid the righteous indignation.

She tossed out the biggest and most pressing question. "How will he feel about raising another man's child?"

At her bluntness, both Da's and Kiernan's gazes sharpened upon Bellamy. Because that was the real issue, wasn't it?

They might as well stop dancing around it. Bellamy was good at this. He'd had no trouble figuring out the qualities that would make Sullivan O'Brien the perfect candidate to Da and Kiernan—his wealth, prestige, and the possibilities of future business partnerships. And Bellamy had obviously sensed that she would find Sullivan the perfect candidate because he wasn't expecting love, which she would never be able to give him.

Ultimately, no matter how perfect a candidate Sullivan O'Brien might seem, he had to be willing to marry a pregnant woman.

"Enya is with child," Kiernan said quietly with a glance toward the closed door.

Bellamy already knew. But Enya didn't say so. Instead, she watched him and waited for his answer.

He studied her in response, taking her in from her head to her toes. Even though his expression contained appreciation for her looks, she didn't get the impression he was enamored with her the way other men usually were.

When he met Kiernan's and Da's gazes, his lips quirked into a small smile. "I don't anticipate the news will make a difference to Captain O'Brien. But I'll make sure he knows."

At that, Da stood and began to put back on his coat. "Good. Then you'll come by the house with him tomorrow morn?"

"No." Bellamy glanced at his pocket watch, then hopped off the writing table. "We'll go meet him right now."

Da paused. "Now?"

Bellamy grabbed his great cloak from a nail sticking out the back of the door. "Oh aye. Right now. Captain O'Brien would like to make the decision tonight."

"We've had a long day," Kiernan cut in.

"And we're tired," Enya added.

With his coat only halfway on, Bellamy's movements grew idle, and the wide-eyed look he gave them seemed to say that rather than his statement being odd, they were out of line for questioning him about so hasty a meeting. "He'll be leaving soon, so he will. We can't tarry on the matter."

Enya pushed up from her chair. "I'd like to get to know the candidate a little before making the choice."

"I agree with Enya, so I do," Da said. "We are needing a wee bit of time to evaluate him. After all, we've already had to deal with one failed marriage, and I'd like to be preventing Enya from getting herself into any more nonsense."

Enya stiffened. Getting into nonsense? What was she? Twelve instead of twenty?

Bellamy stuffed an arm into his other sleeve. "'Tis tonight, right now, or never."

"Then find someone else." Even if she didn't particularly care who she married, she had her baby to think of and needed to make sure he would be a kind man.

"Now hold on." Kiernan's handsome features creased into a scowl. "We just discussed on the way here that the sooner Enya gets married, the easier things will go and the less gossip we'll have to contend with."

"Oh aye," she muttered. "We can't forget about maintaining the perfect Shanahan image."

Kiernan leveled his scowl on her. "We're doing this for you, Enya."

She knew she was being partly unfair to Kiernan and her da. She didn't want to cause problems for them, and she didn't want to embarrass her family any more than she already had. But at times, she despised that the family had to appear perfect on the outside when on the inside they were just human and made mistakes.

"We'll go." Da spoke with finality. "We'll meet Captain O'Brien, so we will. After that, we'll be deciding what to do."

What was the point in arguing with the men any further? She supposed it wouldn't hurt to visit with Sullivan tonight instead of tomorrow.

Within minutes, they were bundled up in the barouche. Bellamy took the spot on the seat beside her, and during the short drive, he gave them more information about Captain Sullivan O'Brien. He was the oldest child and only son of Callahan O'Brien and heir to the man's fortune. He'd captained a steamboat during the war against Mexico in 1846. During a battle, when another steamer had been hit, he'd jumped into the water and rescued all but a handful of men. He'd been badly injured and had almost died, but he'd survived and returned a war hero.

Not only was Sullivan known for his bravery and daring deeds during the war, but he was well known among the steamboat community for his fairness, loyalty, and generosity.

Bellamy relaxed casually against his seat. "Every one of his deckhands and cabin crew who come into the pub have nothing but good things to say about him. He's firm but kind."

Once again, Enya could see the strategy Bellamy was employing. He was selling Captain O'Brien to Da and Kiernan with what they needed to hear. And he was selling the captain to her with what she wanted to know.

The wily matchmaker's strategy was obviously working. By the time the carriage came to a halt, Da and Kiernan were nearly ready to marry Sullivan in her place.

As Bellamy opened the carriage door, the chilly, damp wind coming off the Mississippi greeted her. Had they come down to the waterfront to meet him at his steamboat? When Bellamy stepped out and reached a hand back to help her out, she took his offer and ducked through the doorway only to freeze.

There, only a dozen paces away, stood the Cathedral of St. Louis, the fast-flowing water of the Mississippi visible beyond. The towering building with its Greek Revival–style architecture and tall pillars was unmistakable, along with the large windows with transparent paintings covering them. The light greenish–blue steeple rose from a tower at the front with a gilded ball and cross at the top.

Bright moonlight revealed the Latin words engraved in gold over the entrance, "In honor of St. Louis. Dedicated to the One and Triune God. A.D. 1834."

The moonlight also revealed a clock on the tower that read eleven thirty.

"Bellamy?" Enya quickly found her voice. "What are we doing at the cathedral?"

"I think you know." He finished helping her down the step to the ground.

When her feet were firmly planted, she wrenched back. "He's here? Right now? Waiting to get married?"

"Aye."

"You've had this planned?"

"Oh aye."

"And if I hadn't come to the pub, who would you have picked for the captain?"

"I had a short list of possibilities."

Was that what had been on the sheet he'd been reviewing when they walked into the pub? She huffed. "Well, don't be throwing away your list yet."

"Too late. I already did. The second you walked into the pub, I knew you were the one for Sullivan."

She shoved Bellamy's arm. "You're sure of your abilities to make a match, aren't you?"

He grinned. "As the matchmaker lore goes: a man cannot control love; he can only try to guide it."

As he escorted her up the wide steps to the front doors of the cathedral, Da and Kiernan followed, still in discussion over Captain O'Brien and the many benefits of the union.

Bellamy started to open the door, then halted. "Would you wait here and give me a moment first with Captain Sullivan?" He didn't allow them a chance to object and disappeared inside the cathedral.

Enya was half tempted to follow after him and take a peek at the man the matchmaker thought she ought to marry. But she held herself back and dragged her velvet cloak closer.

Kiernan wrapped an arm around her, shielding her from the wind. "If he's the right man, you'll marry him, won't you, Enya? You won't delay this, will you?"

"I'll try not to." The shame and guilt of all that had happened with Bryan and her failed marriage rushed in to taunt her. How could she have been so na?ve to believe Bryan's declarations of devotion? How had she been so na?ve to mistake lust for love? And how had she been so na?ve that she hadn't been able to see his greed for her family's money in the days leading up to their hasty wedding?

Was she a poor judge of character? And if so, what would keep her from making another mistake this time? Or maybe her mistake had more to do with being rash and impetuous. But if so, then was she being rash and impetuous again?

Doubts swirled around her mind along with weariness. When Bellamy opened the door and waved them inside, Kiernan assisted her to the back pew, and she sank down.

One of the chandeliers emanated a low light in the narthex, revealing the rows of deserted pews flanked by columns that rose to the barrel-vaulted ceiling. A few candles in the chancel were lit, glowing over the communion rail, the beautiful mosaic tile floor, and the large painting of a crucifix behind the altar.

Captain Sullivan wasn't in sight. Had he decided not to come after all?

"He's here." Bellamy cocked his head toward the eastside chapel off the chancel. "The men will discuss matters for a few minutes to confirm the deal. Then we'll be letting Enya meet Sullivan after that. Does that sound fair?"

Da gave a firm nod. "Fair enough."

As the men started down a side aisle toward the east chapel, Bellamy smiled over his shoulder at her, as though to reassure her that everything would be alright. But would anything be alright ever again?