Reese glared at the couple from his vantage point halfway across the table. The room was full of people standing together in little groups, laughing and talking. Celebrating. Reese sat at one end of the table. Alone. His good mood had deteriorated with Kevin’s entrance. He had another present for Faith, but he wanted to give it to her when he could be assured of some privacy. Reese shifted in the hard chair and angrily tossed back the remainder of his brandy.
“Aunt Tempy,” Faith called over the noise of the group. “The doctor’s arrived. I want to introduce you.”
Temperance was laughing at something Mary said when Faith called to her. She turned. Her laughter died on her lips when she saw the man standing next to Faith. Tempy’s face whitened in shock. Blood roared through her brain. Her knees trembled. The cup and saucer slipped from her fingers and shattered against the hard floor.
Tempy opened her mouth. Her lips formed his name. “Kevin.” Then, like a flower gracefully bowing to a strong wind, she swayed. Seconds later, Temperance followed the cup and saucer down to the hard floor.
“Aunt Tempy!” Faith shouted, jumping to her feet.
“Mary, Mother of God! Temperance!” Kevin gently pushed Faith back into her chair. “Someone get my bag. I need some smelling salts.” He hurried to Tempy’s side. “Step back,” he ordered David, Mary and Reese, who hovered over her. “Give her some air.”
A few seconds later, Sam arrived with Dr. Kevin’s medical bag. Kevin uncorked a vial of smelling salts and passed it under Tempy’s nose.
Unnoticed by the crowd gathered around Temperance, Faith left her chair and worked her way through the group to stand at Reese’s side.
Tempy’s eyes opened. She looked up into Kevin McMurphy’s dark blue eyes and smiled. “Am I dreaming?” she asked. “Kevin, is it really you?”
“In the flesh.” Kevin helped her sit up, then assisted her to her feet. She leaned against him. He curled a protective arm around her.
“Aunt Tempy?” Faith moved to stand in front of her aunt. “Are you all right?”
Tempy looked around and saw the concerned faces, but her gaze drifted back to Kevin. “Too much excitement,” she murmured, embarrassed.
“She’s had a long day and a tiring journey,” Reese said. “It’s probably exhaustion.”
“That’s a possibility,” Kevin agreed, amiably. “But more than likely it was seeing me again.”
“Again?” Reese asked.
“You know each other?” David asked.
“Oh, yes.” Kevin hugged Tempy close. “Once, long ago, I married the lass.” He smiled down at the woman cuddled against his side. “And I intend to repeat the procedure, as soon as possible.”
Temperance blushed, looking younger and prettier than her forty-one years.
Kevin bent and lifted her into his arms. “For now, I’m taking her to her bed. Which one is it?”
“I’ll show you,” Mary volunteered, leading the way.
“But her husband was Kevin O’Malley!” Faith protested.
“Well, lass,” Kevin paused to explain, “so was I. In another lifetime.”
“What?” Reese demanded, following Kevin halfway out of the dining room.
“I’ll explain it all later,” the doctor promised. “Right now, we have some catching up to do.” His handsome mouth curved into a tender smile as he gazed down at Tempy. “Don’t we, love?” He nodded a dismissal in Reese’s direction and proceeded up the stairs with Temperance cradled in his arms.
“Well, what do you know!” Charlie exclaimed, amazed by the sudden turn of events. He plopped down in his seat at the table.
“What do you know?” Reese returned to the dining room and looked at Faith.
“Only that Aunt Tempy eloped with a Kevin O’Malley when she was sixteen,” Faith told them. “My Grandfather Hamilton caught them in Baltimore, put Kevin on a ship bound for England, then sent Aunt Tempy to stay with relatives until the scandal died down.”
“Kevin has been spending a lot of time with you, lately,” Reese reminded her. “Did you tell him about your family? Did you know he was your aunt’s long lost beau?”
Faith stared up at him. “No!”
“Did you suspect it?” He stood over her. His hands imprisoned hers on the arms of the chair.