Enthrallment

Enthrallment by Deidre Dalton is Book #4 in the Collective Obsessions Saga.

 

George Sullivan reunites with his long-lost love Susan O'Reilly. Their daughter Carly enters into an unholy alliance to secure her position as Liam Larkin's wife. As secrets unfold and more madness takes root, Carly plots a fatal and twisted scheme to exact revenge on the Larkin family . . .

From Chapter Four

Spring 1981

Larkin City, Maine

 

    LESS THAN SIX MONTHS after her wedding, Carly was the proud owner of her own catering company. She mulled long and hard over a name for the business, deciding to eschew with a typical moniker such as using her own name exclusively or that of the city in which she lived. Because Larkin City had its own harbor, she finally settled on calling her company Harbor View Catering. Her office window afforded a clear view of the harbor, so she thought the name was fitting.

    Harbor View Catering was housed in a pleasant business court called Brickyard Square on Main Street in Larkin, a few blocks away from the lumber yard. The court was fairly new, having been built by the Larkin Construction Company five years ago. There were several other businesses in the court, including a boutique, a printing company, an architectural firm known as Bennett Blueprints, a pizza parlor, an aerobics studio and a French restaurant named Pepe's Café. Willow trees were abundant in the center of the court, wafting over pink brick walkways and buildings. Several wooden benches were situated under the willow trees, where locals sometimes took lunch. It was a tranquil setting.     

    The catering company was on the left side of the court. The front window had white shutters and sparkling clean glass. A large wooden sign, painted light pink to match the brick, rested above the entry door. Black lettering imbedded into the wood announced her business: Harbor View Catering. By appointment only. Carly O'Reilly, Proprietor. It was rather old-fashioned and antiquated, but Carly loved it.

    The first floor of the building contained light gray carpeting and elegant cherry wood furniture with embroidered cushions. Carly envisioned clients waiting for her in the chairs as she appeared to greet them from her office upstairs. Glass and wood coffee tables were in between the pieces of furniture, on top of which rested tasteful picture books depicting the different parties Carly serviced while working for Bella Catering. The photographs showed the elegance of the decorations used as well as the sumptuousness of the food served. Sample menus printed on parchment paper were also scattered on the tables, listing dishes she used while at Bella, recipes of her own and a few she garnered from the Larkin family chef, Mae Jensen.

    The kitchen was on the first floor, in the rear of the waiting area. There was alley access in the kitchen, where vendors delivered supplies and where the catering company left with their party arrangements. A few weeks before the grand opening, Carly hired six employees through the locally-owned Clamshell Employment Agency, where she chose a chef, a secretary and four others to help prep food and deliver the goods. Liam purchased a custom-built van for her use, pink in color with black company lettering on the sides.

    Carly's large office was up the carpeted stairs above the main floor. The upper level also had a conference room and a small cafeteria, as well as several storage closets and smaller offices. Vendors had already been trying to sell her their food and decorative products, and she had closets full of their free samples, which she intended to make good use of in the future.

    The office was built into the corner of the building, with a huge picture window that straddled both Main Street and the entry to Brickyard Square below. The view was lovely, and she often sat at her desk and looked out both sides of the window, appreciating the sight of the harbor and the street below. There were several large indoor trees in wicker baskets around her office, a few of them near the edges of the window.

    The days, weeks and months leading up to the grand opening was frenetic for Carly. She was enjoying the first flush of her marriage to Liam, which at times swerved her from her business course. Her husband enthralled her – he was handsome, passionate, humorous and adoring of her. Her life was idyllic, very nearly perfect.

    On occasion Carly would drive to Bangor to see her mother, usually without Liam, when they would have lunch and do a bit of shopping. Susan O'Reilly was heartened to see her daughter so happy, and doubly glad she had not told Carly of her family relationship to Liam.

    One day in early March 1981, Carly and her mother met for lunch at Governor's Restaurant in Bangor. After finishing their meal, they sat at their table drinking coffee until it was time to leave. Susan took in Carly's rich attire, pleased by her appearance. Carly's blouse was pure white silk, which was tucked neatly into a lime-colored cashmere skirt. Her nails were well-manicured and her hair was straight and shiny.

    "I'll say it again," Susan observed. "Marriage agrees with you." 

    "It's not just the marriage," Carly stated with a smile. "Being with Liam agrees with me. He is so wonderful, mother. I have never felt so loved and cherished by a man. And the house! I've lived in the mansion for three months and I still haven't seen every room. It's endless, but so beautiful. The view from our room overlooks Banshee Point, and on windy days I can actually smell the sea."

    "And what about Liam's family?" Susan wanted to know. "How do you get along with all of them?"

    "I adore Liam's father Rory," Carly enthused. "He's sweet and funny, but can be as hard as nails when he has to be. Denise is a bit of an airhead, though. She's harmless, really. Brian and Mary Larkin are kind to me, as is Sean. I like Kevin well enough, too, but I don't care for Shannon. She's as cold as ice, and her husband Scott is barely civil to me in front of her. When she's not around he's a bit friendlier, but he knows where his bread is buttered."

    "So, all in all, you like Liam's family?"

    "Apart from Shannon, yes," Carly agreed. "I couldn't have wished for a better group of people."

    "What about Phoebe McGarren?" Susan asked.

    "She's so old she rarely leaves her room," Carly replied off-handedly. "I've only seen her about a dozen times since our wedding. Aunt Phoebe is perhaps one of the classiest people I've ever met, but I'm not sure what she makes of me. She's nice, but very reserved. Liam visits her in her room at least four times a week." Carly wrinkled her nose. "That's the only drawback, I think."

    "You resent the time Liam spends with Phoebe?" Susan was surprised.

    Carly looked embarrassed. "Yes, I do resent it. He has some sort of blind loyalty to her, an immense respect he reserves only for her."

    Susan finished her coffee, taken aback by her daughter's insecurity. "Perhaps if you get to know Phoebe you'll understand and appreciate Liam's devotion to her."

    "I don't think so," Carly dismissed the idea.

    Susan was dismayed. "You're making a mistake, my dear. Phoebe is like a matriarch in the Larkin family."

    Carly stared at her mother. "How did you know that?"

    Susan recovered herself quickly. "Despite the fact that it's obvious, I've also heard enough from you and I boned up on the Larkin family history before you married Liam. I wanted to know what my daughter was getting into."

    Carly seemed to accept the explanation. She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, smiling prettily. "I have to get back to Larkin, mother. Oh, I almost forgot to ask you – there's going to be a family dinner at the mansion on St. Patrick's Day. Can you come?"

    "I'd like nothing better."

    Carly stood from the table. "Good. Why don't you come around four o'clock? That way you'll be just in time for tea." She leaned over and kissed her mother on the cheek.

    "I'll see you then," Susan said, grasping Carly's hand briefly before letting go.

    Susan watched her daughter leave the restaurant, emotion constricting in her throat. Carly was already one of the Larkin's after three short months. While she still saw the mansion as breathtaking and luxurious, it was becoming commonplace to her the longer she lived there.

    Carly was being grafted into the Larkin way of life without being aware of it. Susan hoped her daughter remained true to herself and did not allow her natural persona and identity to become swallowed up by her husband's family.