The Advent

The Advent by Deidre Dalton is Book #1 in the Collective Obsessions Saga.

 

Forbidden love and dark secrets haunt two Irish families hacking out a new life in 19th-century America. When Molly Larkin's father discovers her affair with lighthouse keeper Colm Sullivan, his reaction pitches her into madness. Yet the legacy forges a bond of blood that will endure for generations.

From Chapter Six

August 1880

Larkin City, Maine

 

    MOLLY ENDURED HER BIRTHDAY party for several hours. She was sixteen, an adult. A woman. Her father gave a lavish celebration, including a feast of lobster, shrimp, steak, cakes and cookies, wine, whiskey and lager. And there were the guests, of course.

    It was late afternoon when the party moved into the drawing room, where shortly Nigel would serve tea and Molly would open her gifts. All the guests were also invited to dinner, so Molly knew there would be several more hours of forced politeness to endure.

    While she appreciated the party, she was eager to go to Colm. She was on fire for him every day, her desire to be in his bed stronger than her need for food and drink. So she smiled at her guests and let her mind wander to Colm and their treasured time together.

    She helped him plant a garden in the back yard of the keeper's cottage three days earlier, in the late afternoon, when the clouds were heavy with rain but the ground was still dry. Colm lined the rows with a small hoe, and Molly dropped the seeds. In the autumn they would plant potatoes and garlic. Maureen sat in the kitchen that day, watching them from the window, still reading a book.  Afterward, they had their tea, and Molly snuck to Colm again that night.

    Molly tried to go to Colm every night now. They spent most of their time in bed, but not always making love. Sometimes they cooked, or talked, or walked on the beach in the dark. More often than not, they made love in the sand.

    Suddenly she was aware that her mother was standing in front of her. "Yes, mother?"

    Anne smiled faintly. "Your father wants you to move to the divan by the fireplace. It's time to open your gifts."

    "Oh," Molly stood. "It's that time already?" She followed her mother to the fireplace, where her father stood beaming at her. She felt a twinge of guilt. What would he think if he knew she was sleeping with Colm? He would be heartbroken, shamed, and so disappointed in her. She could not bear hurting him, so she thrust the thought from her mind. It was her birthday; she would not think about her guilty pleasure today. Besides, she was convinced he would never find out. And if he did, it was not as though Colm was a peasant, even though he was a paid servant.

    Suddenly, she was confused. "What have I gotten myself into?"

    SHE MET COLM AT the cottage a little after two o'clock in the morning, a few hours after her party ended. Colm was waiting for her, like he always was. He had a birthday present for her: an arrangement of wild flowers wrapped with a necklace made of clam shells and sea weed. She marveled at it, mainly because Colm made it for her. He was pleased that she liked it.

    "What other presents did you receive?" He asked as they sat on his bed, partially clothed.

    Smiling, she leaned back against the pillows. "Roddy gave me a new bridle for Tempus, which he knew I wanted. Daddy and Mother gave me a diamond necklace with a matching bracelet. The McShane's gave me a silver comb and brush, with little clusters of roses carved on the handles. Then we had dinner and drinks, we talked for while, and I went to bed." She giggled. "Then I came here."

    "Has Roddy decided which sister he wants to marry, if any?"

    Molly shook her head. "I don't know. He hasn't let on."

    "Poor lad, I don't envy him."

    "He won't have it so bad. He'll receive a dowry for marrying one of them, and the father is very rich."

    "Is that important to Roddy?"

    She shrugged. "Duty is important to Roddy. He wants to do well by the family, and he wants to make Daddy happy. Roddy knows Daddy sacrificed a great deal to make us comfortable, and it's the least he can do in return."

    Colm watched her, suddenly frightened by her words. Was that how she felt? About duty, and doing right by her father, repaying him for the life she had? He did not really want to know the answer, so he kept quiet. Instead, he began stroking Molly's thigh and kissing her neck. Molly leaned into him, closing her eyes. She let the feelings of desire wash over her. Colm made her forget everything. Her family, her position, her father . . . Yes, even her father.

    Nigel stood outside the open French doors. A single candle by the bed illuminated Molly and Colm in their passion, unaware they were being watched. Nigel waited several minutes to confirm that the couple was fornicating, as Mr. Larkin suspected, and then slipped away into the dark. Next, he would go to the master of the house and confirm his worst fears.

    MOLLY RETURNED TO THE house, went up the back stairs, and entered her bedroom as the clock struck four in the morning. She lit a candle, turned, and gasped to see her father sitting on the divan, his cold eyes staring at her out of a grim, drawn face. "Daddy! What are you doing sitting here?"

    "What are you doing, sneaking around in the dead of the night? Where have you been?"

    Thinking fast, she bent to put the candle on the table. "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk down on the beach. It helped. I think I can sleep now. Do you mind, Daddy?"

    "You're lying!" he roared.

    Terrified, Molly jumped and began to tremble. Her father had never raised his voice to her. She was caught, and could not deny it.

    Quaking, she said: "W-w-what do you want to know?"

    "The truth. Have you just come from Colm Sullivan?"

    Chin on her chest, she whispered: "Yes."

    "What is going on with you two? And tell me the truth, lass. I know most of it already."

    She took a shuddering breath. "I've been sharing his bed since the early part of July."

    His dangerous rumble was worse than a shout, "You have been fornicating with my lighthouse keeper for well over a month? Right under my nose? I trusted you to see him because I thought it was doing you good." He ground his teeth together. His working jaws were terrible to see, so Molly shifted her gaze to the floor. "I'll skin that son of a bitch alive! I'll have his goddamned head!"

    "Daddy, please." She looked at him and reached for his arm. "Colm is not entirely to blame. I encouraged him. I let it happen. I couldn't help it, and neither could he. It's not a terrible thing, Daddy, honestly. I care about him. I'm not a harlot. Daddy, please . . ."

    Stepping back so she could not touch him, he held up a hand for silence. He was glad she had not blamed it all on Colm, but he would not tell her that yet. First she had to suffer for her sins, for sins they were, and unworthy of her. "You were not raised to sleep with a man before marrying him, much less a servant. Jaysus Christ! Do you realize what you have done? You have given away your virginity to a common man who will never be more than my lighthouse keeper, and you know it. What can you offer a husband now? What decent man would take another man's leavings? You have shamed me, Molly, and I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

    "Please don't fire Colm, Daddy," Molly begged, tears streaming down her face. "He has nowhere else to go. It wasn't his fault, I swear it. I went to him - he didn't seek me out. You know he's a good worker, and he just made a mistake with me. That's all. Please, please, Daddy, don't let him go."

    "You can't think I'll allow you to continue seeing him, do you? Are you out of your mind?"

    "Daddy, that's not what I meant. Just don't let him go. Don't fire him. I promise I'll stay away from him. I won't go anywhere near the beach anymore. I swear it."

    "That's not good enough. I'm going to send you away."

    Molly paled. "Where?"

    John's plan snapped into place immediately. "Today Roddy proposed to Sascha McShane, and she accepted. Roddy and the McShane's are returning to New York the day after tomorrow, where Sascha is going to plan her wedding and her wardrobe. You will go with them, and you will not come back until Roddy does, which will be in October."

    Molly was panic stricken. "Why do you want me to go with Roddy and Sascha?"

    "To get you away from here, and from Colm." His anger was subsiding. "I know Roddy will keep an eye on you, and maybe you can learn some manners from Sascha. I suggest you think about what you have done while you're gone, and consider your future. I'm not cruel enough to cast you out, lass, but you have to atone for what you have done. What will you do with your life now? What man would want you? You're sullied almost beyond repair, Mary Margaret. To make amends, you have to change. You have to re-learn all the things you knew as you grew up. Your mother and I taught you simple, Irish-Catholic values. It seems you have forgotten all of that in your lust for my lighthouse keeper. Your duty to this family comes first, and then your loyalty. You have destroyed both with your actions."

    Molly fell to her knees, sobbing, covering her face with her hands. Her humiliation was complete. She realized that the fear, love and devotion she had for her father far outweighed her lust for Colm. Her father seemed willing to give her another chance to prove herself worthy of being his daughter, to redeem herself in his eyes.

    Yet she could not completely relinquish thoughts about her lover. "What about Colm and what we have shared together? It was more than a mere affair."

    On the other hand, what could Colm offer her? A place in his bed at the cottage? Or worse, John could fire Colm, throw her out, and she would live the rest of her life in poverty with Colm, God knows where, doing God knows what. Her choice was simple. It was right in front of her face, but she still hesitated.

    "Well, Molly?" John asked, his voice calmer.  "What will it be? Do you want to throw your life away on a poor man, a poor servant? If you do, I will get rid of him, and I'll throw you out. Forever. Then you can go with your lighthouse keeper to live in some slum, where you'll both work for pennies. Is that what you want?"

    She shook her head. "No."

    "Will you repent? Will you stop this madness and make amends for your actions?"

    She hesitated again. Finally, she raised a tear stained face. "If I promise to go away with Roddy and Sascha, and promise to never see Colm again, will you swear to me you'll let him keep his job here? To not turn him out on his own?"

    "You have my word," John said firmly. "If you forget him, and do your duty by this family, I will never turn Colm Sullivan out for as long as he lives. He can be the Banshee Point Lighthouse keeper until his dying day."

    Molly sighed. She dared not ask for more. "I agree then," she said, her voice catching on a sob. "I will never see Colm again. I swear it. And I will repair myself and place my duty and my loyalty to you first and foremost. I promise."

    John held out his arms to his daughter. With a cry, she rose and stumbled into his warm embrace, sliding her arms around his waist. As she shed bitter tears, John felt his eyes watering momentarily. He had averted a certain scandal, not to mention a tragedy, and he had won. Not only had he reached his goal for Roddy of marrying for wealth and position, he had saved his daughter from a hellish and unimaginable life. His family name had almost been ruined in one stroke.

    Colm would stay, and Molly would go - temporarily - and all would work itself out. He was certain of it, just as he was sure Molly would forget Colm in time, and Colm being the peasant he was, would certainly forget Molly and move on with his life.

    John Larkin could not envision that nothing would be forgotten, or that his troubles were just beginning.