The Fire's Center Read Online Free
Author: Shannon Farrell
figure, "I shall send five pounds, which will represent one month’s salary."
Riona laughed incredulously. "Really, sir, I've never earned that much in a year in my life."
His brows knit slightly. "Your honesty does you credit, even if it is a bit foolish given your current plight. You'd earn that in a good family in England. And I don’t cheat my workers," Lucien said.
He now resolved to send not just five pounds but twenty-five. He hated to think of her family worrying, scrimping and saving. It was a miracle as many of the Irish lower classes had survived as they had, if all the reports he had heard about the severity of the Famine were true.
Reluctantly, Riona agreed to his proposal. "Well, thank you, sir. I’ll do my best to please you."
"I warn you, though, I have only a humble bachelor’s establishment."
"No family?" she asked shyly.
He shook his head. "My mother died when I was small. My father passed several years ago and left a couple of properties to me and my brother. My old uncle Oliver lives in the family home down in Wicklow, and I have a town house. My aunts have a property north of the capital. My brother has a family, but I don’t really see them very much. Always busy with work, you know," he explained.
"One brother?" Riona asked, marvelling at the small family.
"Yes, two years younger than myself, called Quentin. He’s married to Antoinette. They have two children, a boy, Neville, who is eight, and a girl, Lisette, who's seven. Who knows, perhaps they might need a governess one day soon? The woman they have now is fine for the moment, but she is rather old and cranky," Lucien said with a laugh.
"Well, perhaps. That would be a wonderful chance for me. I'd love to go back to Donegal, of course. But at the same time, there might be all sorts of opportunities for me in the city if I work hard."
She looked so earnest and innocent, he didn't dare remind her that there would also be plenty of opportunities for women who didn't wish to pursue manual labors…
"Tell me about your family," he requested, leaning back against the leather seat as he continued to gaze at her exquisite face.
"I wouldn't like you to think that we're all feckless, not willing to work hard," she said promptly. "It's just that I'm the eldest now, out of the twelve of us, and with Mum gone and Pa away I had to do something."
His brows lifted. "Twelve?"
"Yes, with me in the middle."
"You said the eldest now. Can you tell me about it?" he probed gently.
Riona looked out the window, feeling as though she could barely breathe. But something about this man by her side was so compelling, she could hardly refuse his request. She took a deep breath, and began.
Chapter Two
"The Famine has been a disaster for Ireland, I know, but my family has truly suffered," Riona said as she began to tell Dr. Woulfe more about herself.
"We used to all work on a splendid estate outside Dunfanaghy. My first three brothers, Padraig, Seosamh, and Martin, worked as fishermen. Number four, Michael and myself, followed in our father’s footsteps to become school teachers.
"Our landlord, Mr. Woodham was a father of five, and a widower. He didn't care that, well, that we're Catholics," she said, blushing. "He thought Michael and I were educated enough for his three boys and two girls. Father taught in the local state-run school. The rest of the family worked on the estate as well. My four sisters and mother all earned a living with their needles and other domestic chores around the estate. The youngest boys, Finn and Earc and Bran, were carpenters, though Bran, the youngest, is still school-aged."
"It sounds like an ideal place. What happened?"
"One day Mr. Woodham told us that the taxes on the estate had been raised, and he would have to sell up. Suddenly our home and our livelihoods had vanished overnight. The potatoes had failed, and
Riona laughed incredulously. "Really, sir, I've never earned that much in a year in my life."
His brows knit slightly. "Your honesty does you credit, even if it is a bit foolish given your current plight. You'd earn that in a good family in England. And I don’t cheat my workers," Lucien said.
He now resolved to send not just five pounds but twenty-five. He hated to think of her family worrying, scrimping and saving. It was a miracle as many of the Irish lower classes had survived as they had, if all the reports he had heard about the severity of the Famine were true.
Reluctantly, Riona agreed to his proposal. "Well, thank you, sir. I’ll do my best to please you."
"I warn you, though, I have only a humble bachelor’s establishment."
"No family?" she asked shyly.
He shook his head. "My mother died when I was small. My father passed several years ago and left a couple of properties to me and my brother. My old uncle Oliver lives in the family home down in Wicklow, and I have a town house. My aunts have a property north of the capital. My brother has a family, but I don’t really see them very much. Always busy with work, you know," he explained.
"One brother?" Riona asked, marvelling at the small family.
"Yes, two years younger than myself, called Quentin. He’s married to Antoinette. They have two children, a boy, Neville, who is eight, and a girl, Lisette, who's seven. Who knows, perhaps they might need a governess one day soon? The woman they have now is fine for the moment, but she is rather old and cranky," Lucien said with a laugh.
"Well, perhaps. That would be a wonderful chance for me. I'd love to go back to Donegal, of course. But at the same time, there might be all sorts of opportunities for me in the city if I work hard."
She looked so earnest and innocent, he didn't dare remind her that there would also be plenty of opportunities for women who didn't wish to pursue manual labors…
"Tell me about your family," he requested, leaning back against the leather seat as he continued to gaze at her exquisite face.
"I wouldn't like you to think that we're all feckless, not willing to work hard," she said promptly. "It's just that I'm the eldest now, out of the twelve of us, and with Mum gone and Pa away I had to do something."
His brows lifted. "Twelve?"
"Yes, with me in the middle."
"You said the eldest now. Can you tell me about it?" he probed gently.
Riona looked out the window, feeling as though she could barely breathe. But something about this man by her side was so compelling, she could hardly refuse his request. She took a deep breath, and began.
Chapter Two
"The Famine has been a disaster for Ireland, I know, but my family has truly suffered," Riona said as she began to tell Dr. Woulfe more about herself.
"We used to all work on a splendid estate outside Dunfanaghy. My first three brothers, Padraig, Seosamh, and Martin, worked as fishermen. Number four, Michael and myself, followed in our father’s footsteps to become school teachers.
"Our landlord, Mr. Woodham was a father of five, and a widower. He didn't care that, well, that we're Catholics," she said, blushing. "He thought Michael and I were educated enough for his three boys and two girls. Father taught in the local state-run school. The rest of the family worked on the estate as well. My four sisters and mother all earned a living with their needles and other domestic chores around the estate. The youngest boys, Finn and Earc and Bran, were carpenters, though Bran, the youngest, is still school-aged."
"It sounds like an ideal place. What happened?"
"One day Mr. Woodham told us that the taxes on the estate had been raised, and he would have to sell up. Suddenly our home and our livelihoods had vanished overnight. The potatoes had failed, and
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