The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy

about it, Trevor mused.
    Darcy delivered their tea, apparently unaffected by the fact that the toddler had gone from whine to wail. “Your meals will be out directly, and if you’ve a need for more tea, just give me a sign.” Still smiling, she turned to the next table and handed the young father a stack of napkins, all the while waving away his apologies.
    “Oh, it’s not so much of a thing, is it, little man?” She crouched down to the little boy’s level. “Wipes up, doesn’t it, but such things scare off the faeries. You might lure them back if they weren’t afraid your tears would flood them out again.”
    “Where are the faeries?” he demanded in the testy voice of a child who desperately needs a nap.
    “Oh, they’re hiding now, but they’ll come back when they’re sure you mean them no harm. Could be they’ll be dancing around your bed next time you lay your head on your pillow. I bet your sister’s seeing them now.” Darcy nodded toward the baby, who had drifted off to sleep. “That’s why she’s smiling.”
    The boy subsided into sniffles and watched his sister sleep with both suspicion and interest.
    That, Trevor thought as she moved on to the next table, was efficient.

 
     
     
     
THREE
     
     
    “N OW , S INEAD, CAN we go over the things we talked about when I hired you?”
    With the pub cleared between shifts, and her brothers ordered out, Darcy sat across from her new waitress. Aidan ran the pub, it was true, and Shawn ruled the kitchen, but it was understood that when it came to the serving, Darcy held the controls.
    Sinead shifted her skinny butt on the stool and tried to concentrate. “Well, you said as to how I was to take the orders in a friendly manner.”
    “Aye, that’s true.” Darcy sipped her soft drink and waited. “And what else do you remember?”
    “Ah . . .”
    Jesus God, Darcy thought, can the girl do anything faster than the pace of a turtle?
    “Well.” Sinead chewed her lip and drew little patterns on the table with her fingertips. “That I was to make certain that the right food and drink was served, again in a friendly manner, to the proper customers.”
    “And do you remember, Sinead, anything about the taking and serving of those orders in an efficient and timely manner as well?”
    “I do, yes.” Sinead dropped her gaze to her own glass, all but pinned her eyes to it. “It’s all so confusing, Darcy, with everyone wanting something, and at the same time.”
    “That may be, but you see, the thing with a pub is people tend to come in wanting something, and our job is to see they get it. You can’t do your job if you hide in the loo half your shift.”
    “Jude said I was coming along.” Sinead raised her eyes now, and they brimmed with tears.
    “That won’t work with me.” Darcy leaned forward. “Filling your eyes up and letting tears shimmer only works on men and soft hearts, and that’s not what you’re dealing with here. So sniff them back, girl, and listen.”
    The sniff was more of a wet snuffle, but Darcy nodded. “You came to me asking for work and promising that you’d work hard. Now, it’s barely three weeks since that day, and you’re already slacking. I’m asking you straight out, and you answer in the same manner. Do you want this job?”
    Sinead dabbed at her eyes. The new mascara she’d purchased out of her first week’s pay smeared. Some might have found the look pitiful and softened. Darcy only thought the girl needed to practice shedding tears with more grace.
    “I do. I need the work.”
    “Needing work and doing work are two different matters.” As you’re about to discover, Darcy decided. “I want you back here in two hours for the evening shift.”
    Tears dried up quickly with sheer shock. “But I’ve the night off.”
    “Not anymore, you don’t. You’ll come back prepared to do the job you’re paid to do if you want to keep it. I want you moving smartly from table to table, from table to kitchen and back again. If something confuses you or there’s something you don’t remember or understand, you can come to me and I’ll help you out. But . . .”
    She paused, waiting until Sinead met her eyes again. “I won’t tolerate you leaving your stations. You’ve got to pee, that’s fine, but each time I note you sliding into the back and staying over five minutes at it, I’m docking you a pound.”
    “I’ve . . . got a bladder problem.”
    Darcy would have laughed if it hadn’t been so