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"Your mam wants to see you," Patrick told his son when he walked in the door. His face was grim but sympathetic, causing alarm bells to start ringing in Liam's head. "I don't know what's got her in a lather," his father added, "but I'll wager it's something to do with Kate."
Liam sighed. "Of course it does," he said crossly. "Where is she?"
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Liam found his mother furiously weeding again, and when she finally looked up at him, the sheer anger in her eyes caused him to take a step back. Her voice was oddly calm, however, and Liam's unease grew. "Had a nice chat with Kate today?" Iseult asked, her even tone a sharp contrast with the fire in her eyes.
"I did," Liam said. "Mam what's--?" He got no further as Iseult raised a hand. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLiD2ijm50
"Your uncle was in town today," she said. "He happened to be in the cafe when you and Kate entered, and he heard a rather interesting conversation concerning future grandchildren."
"You sent Uncle Calum to spy on me?" Liam demanded, horrified. "That's something Nora would've--!" Once more he was cut off, and when his sight cleared, Iseult was on her feet, glaring at him.
"Don't you dare compare me to that bitch," she said through gritted teeth, eyes blazing. "I am nothing like her!"
"Really?" Liam snapped, rubbing his abused cheek. Never had Iseult raised a hand to him in anger. She'd paddled his backside plenty of times as a toddler, but never had she struck him like this. "Jesus, Mam! You've taken a leaf out of her playbook!"
"I am nothing like her," Iseult repeated. "I am trying to protect you and any future children you may have! Do you think I want to see a child of yours stolen from your wife, like Leah did to Saraid when she had Niamh? To be raised to seduce someone away from their loving family? To be sexually abused? To be turned into a weapon, mistreated, abused, thrown to one side, all because of who their parents were?"
Liam glowered at her. "No, of course not," he said, "but that doesn't mean you should stoop to the same level Nora and her ilk did. She's dead, in case you forgot, and Kate is at least trying to make amends!"
"You don't know her," Iseult said angrily.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJaTqLGm5s
"Neither do you," Liam countered. "Aunt Saraid was the one who suffered when she became pregnant with Niamh, and you were largely left alone, if your family history tells me correctly. So why the hell are you still so determined to keep me and Kate apart?"
"Because Saraid is my best friend," Iseult said. "And I'd do anything to ensure Kate never harms anyone remotely close to me again."
"By turning into Nora?" Liam sighed and rubbed his sore cheek. He was amazed Iseult hadn't knocked a tooth loose, but right now, anger was uppermost. "Mam, I know not to trust Kate with everything. Even I know a leopard can't change its spots overnight. But you have to let me go out in the world and learn from my mistakes. And in any case, Kate will never be left alone with any child of mine until she can either prove she's changed for the better, or until my hypothetical child is old enough to tell me what she does when my back is turned."
"No," Iseult said, folding her arms.
"No?" Liam said incredulously.
"No," Iseult repeated. "You are my son, and any child you have will be my grandchild, so I will have the final say over where that child goes. And if I have my way, Kate will never meet that child this side of the hereafter."
Liam gaped. "You really are Nora reincarnated," he said. "My God. What the hell has happened to you?"
Iseult raised an eyebrow. "I'm just looking out for my family," she said. "Which reminds me; when Niamh moves to Dublin, she's going on her own, or with Daniel when the authrorities have determined if he's safe with her. I personally hope they have the sense to realise she's her grandmother's granddaughter, and refuse to release him back to her care. If I had the means, I'd adot the child myself, but Niamh is digging her heels in and insisting she's ready to finally be a mother to her son."
"Like I said, what the hell happened to you?" Liam said, staring at his mother and not liking the new light in which she was presenting herself. "You're determined to smother any child that comes into your care, regardless of what that child might want. I hope the authorities don't let you adopt Daniel; God knows what'll happen to him when he grows up and starts taking an interest in girls."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMU56nEuay
"Daniel would be better off with me," Iseult insisted. "Just as you will be."
"No," Liam said firmly. "I won't let you smother Daniel, and I am through letting you smother me. I know you wanted to protect me from Kate, and at first I agreed with you. But since you're so determined to see her as a villain when she's done nothing to you, save by proxy, you're never going to see the light. But I'm not sticking around long enough to find out. I'm leaving tonight, and I'm taking Niamh with me before you do something unthinkable."
"You will not leave this house while I still have a say in the matter," Iseult warned. "If I have to lock you in your room tonight, I will. Don't push me."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzh1DkTLYm
Liam almost laughed at the intensity in her voice. "I can marry Niamh and then I'll be free of you," he said. "And I'll do it with or without your permission."87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAy8WiAJzs
"You'll do it without," Iseult said. "But it's not going to happen. I am not letting you out of my sight so long as that hussy remains at large. Do you hear me?"
Liam opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Patrick stormed into the garden, his face showing the first open anger Liam had ever seen. "The hell are you doing?" he roared, glaring at Iseult, who shrank back, her eyes wide, mouth working silently. "I can't believe what I've just overheard! Are you really threatening to lock my son up, just to keep his so-called wicked mother from getting her claws in him? After she admitted to letting herself be driven by Nora's wiles?"
Iseult had no answer, and Patrick jerked his head in sharp dismissal to his son. "Go," he said, his voice slightly softer. "You've got my permission and my blessing to marry Niamh, and God help anyone, man or woman, who gets in your way."
Thus dismissed, Liam beat a hasty retreat, but while he was relieved, he was also sad. His mother had snapped, it seemed, after months of legal brangles. Her fight to protect him had come from the noblest of intentions, but clearly the enormous strain under which she had labored for the better part of a year had broken her, and Liam's heart was sore with grief as he went in search of Niamh. Marriage could wait; he had to get his future wife out of the house before something much worse happened.
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