Love's Rescue by Christine Johnson Page B

took coming here? You could have drowned. You nearly did.”
    “If not for Captain O’Malley, I might have.” This was her opportunity to demonstrate that he was one of the few in Key West capable of meeting Father’s expectations. “He braved the seas to rescue both Aunt Virginia and me. The wreck was breaking up and the waves were dragging me down, yet he brought me to safety.”
    Father stiffened. “I will not hear any talk of wreckers, do you understand?”
    “But he saved our lives.”
    “Lives you put in jeopardy through your rash actions.” He strode across the room, unstopped the decanter, and poured brandy into a glass.
    “But Papa, how could I stay in Charleston? How could I stay when Mama is gone?”
    “If you love her, you will obey her wishes.” He lifted the glass to his lips and drained it.
    Elizabeth tried to hide her shock. She remembered him sipping brandy from time to time after supper, but she had never seen him gulp an entire glassful before a meal.
    His piercing gray eyes looked black in the dim light. “Tell me why you turned down every suitor.”
    Elizabeth had not expected such direct examination. She again tried to swallow the knot in her throat. “None were suitable.” It was the response she had rehearsed in her mind the entire voyage, yet it sounded pitiable when spoken aloud.
    “Not suitable?” Father punctuated each word with disbelief. “Society’s elite are not suitable for the daughter of an attorney? Your great-aunt tells me that many prominent men presented themselves, yet you turned them all away. Do not presume tothink you can put off such men without repercussions. Thankfully Mr. Finch is a generous and forgiving man. He tells me that his affections have not changed.”
    Elizabeth could think of no response to this unwelcome news.
    “You are fortunate,” Father continued. “Most men would not risk rejection a second time. Mr. Finch is a man of uncommon courage. I expect you to treat him with all the courtesy that his position demands.”
    “Is he not employed as a clerk in your office?”
    “I am not referring to his current employment,” Father snapped. “Mr. Finch is the son of a highly respected plantation owner.”
    She had missed that bit of information somehow. “Why would an heir to a distinguished estate work as a clerk at a Key West law office?”
    “As the youngest son, he does not stand to inherit. However, he is rising rapidly under my tutelage. Given his excellent academic record at law school, I expect to make him a partner soon.” His gray eyes bored into her. “He would make a fine husband.”
    Shallow breaths would not still the pounding in her ears. “But I am in mourning.”
    “I am aware of that. However, Key West is not Charleston. Your great-aunt notwithstanding, few here care about convention. No one will look askance at a man under my employ calling at the house on occasion. I expect you to receive him, not run to your room. Do I make myself clear?”
    Elizabeth choked back the panic churning up her throat. “Yes, sir.”
    She would obey the letter of Father’s law, but she could not grant her heart to Percival Finch. Not when a man the caliber of Rourke O’Malley was within reach.



7

    T hree nights later Elizabeth sat at her vanity, waiting for her maid to appear. The day had been long and filled with the aggravations of taking on new responsibilities, but at least Percival Finch had yet to pay a call. That blessing would not last.
    If only Rourke would return.
    Restless, she crossed to the front window. She could see nothing between the posts of the upper-floor veranda and the coconut palms. Moreover, the restored room did not have a door or floor-length window to walk onto the balcony. She returned and flopped onto the bed.
    Aunt’s criticisms today had stung. Despite having no experience and little training, Elizabeth had waded into managing the household. She consulted with Cook each morning and asked Florie to clean