Page 40 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
‘Of course,’ Noel agreed. ‘Do we have folders to put the photos in?’
‘Yes.’ Rose pointed at a pile of folders on the small table by the bookcase. ‘I bought those to do just that. Didn’t know how to mark them though.’
‘Why don’t you put eighteen eighty to nineteen hundred,’ Noel suggested. ‘Then sort the rest into twenty-year periods or something, unless you’re sure of the date.’
‘Good idea,’ Rose said, cheering up. ‘In any case, we’re only going to include the most interesting photos in the display. We also have a number of portraits that are really lovely, and then the items like snuff boxes, ladies’ hats, gloves and shoes and evening bags that are like works of art, with embroidery and sequins and pearls. Some of them could be used in the vintage section of the fashion show.’
‘Good,’ Noel said absentmindedly while he studied the photos. ‘I do love these. Look at the men and their huge moustaches. And those tall top hats that look like chimneys.’
Rose glanced at the photo and laughed. ‘I know. They look so funny. It was all so formal then.’
‘White tie and tails every evening, and all the ladies in pretty gowns and all their jewellery. Ladies’ maids and valets and the whole shebang just to eat their dinner.’ Noel handed her another photo. ‘This one is interesting. It’s a family group that seems to have been taken around nineteen twenty or so. The woman holding the baby is beautiful. Reminds me a bit of you. But it seems to have been taken outside some other big country house.It’s a nice house, but not as big as Magnolia Manor. I wonder who they are?’
Rose took the photo and studied it for a moment. It was of a man, a woman, a little boy and a baby, and it was similar to the other one she had found, where the faces had been difficult to make out. This one was clearer and she immediately recognised the young woman. ‘It’s Iseult, my great-grandfather’s sister,’ she said excitedly. It was the first time she’d spotted Iseult that day. ‘Nobody really knows what happened to her. She seems to have disappeared from the family archives around the beginning of the twentieth century. But here she is, with a family. But who are they? Her own children or someone else’s?’ Rose turned the photo to look at the back. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Something is written here, but I can’t quite make it out.’
Noel took the photo and went to the window, peering at the back of the photo. ‘It says… “Willowbrook House, summer of nineteen twenty-one. The… something family.” Can’t see the name clearly. Starts with a “L” and ends with an “n”.’
‘Oh!’ Rose suddenly exclaimed as something popped into her mind. A memory of a name she had heard recently… ‘Could it be… Lincoln?’ she asked.
Noel kept looking at the faint name with a strange expression. ‘Yes, I think it is now that I look at it again… You’re right. Definitely Lincoln. And Willowbrook House…’
‘Gosh,’ Rose whispered, feeling suddenly faint. ‘That name… Lincoln. What does that mean?’
Noel looked at her with concern. ‘Rose? Are you okay? You’re very pale. Does that name mean something to you?’
‘Yes… It’s just that…’ Rose started. ‘I think I’d better tell you what’s going on.’
Noel sat down on the stool again. ‘Only if you want to. Will I get you some water first?’
‘No thanks, I’m fine.’ Rose took a deep breath. ‘There’s something I should tell you. I haven’t told anyone about this, but I feel I have to now. I haven’t said anything to Granny or Lily, so…’
‘It’ll be between you and me,’ Noel assured her. ‘I see that you’re very troubled by whatever it is.’
‘Yes,’ Rose said. ‘I am.’ She paused, wondering for a brief moment if she should go on. But she had to share it with someone, and she trusted Noel. ‘You see, just before the wedding, I found out that my necklace is a fake. A copy made sometime in nineteen twenty.’
Noel stared at her, looking shocked. ‘Fake?’ he said. ‘Are you sure?’
Rose nodded. ‘Yes. It was the woman in the vintage jewellery shop who told me. They are experts, so there’s no doubt. I also found the hallmark stamp, which says it’s silver not white gold, and the topazes are glass as are the pearls.’ Rose drew breath, tears welling up in her eyes. ‘It was such a shock.’
‘I can imagine.’ Noel put a hand on Rose’s shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry. But go on.’
‘Then a weird thing happened,’ Rose continued, recovering her composure. ‘I showed the necklace to Vicky, pretending it was real, and she told me she had seen a woman wearing the same necklace in a magazine. And that was Melanie Blennerhassett.’
‘Oh,’ Noel said. ‘So that’s why you were looking for her.’
‘Yes,’ Rose replied. She looked at Noel for a moment, feeling relieved to have finally shared what had been weighing on her mind. He was still looking as if he was trying to take it all in.
He shook his head. ‘What a strange thing to happen,’ he mumbled as if to himself.
‘Really weird,’ Rose agreed. ‘Oh, it’s such a relief to share this with someone. I don’t want to tell Granny until I find the real necklace, she would be so upset.’
‘She’d be devastated,’ Noel agreed. ‘But go on. What happened next?’
‘Thanks to you, I found Melanie and talked to her. She said she’d borrowed the necklace from a friend called Penny Lincoln, and that she’d give this woman my number, but she hasn’t called yet. Maybe she never will,’ she concluded miserably.
‘Maybe not,’ Noel said. ‘And you can’t demand that she does. If the necklace she has looks similar, it might not be the same one at all. It can be hard to tell from a photo. Have you thought of that?’
‘Yes.’ Rose paused for a moment. ‘But Vicky said she had seen it in an issue ofOK! Magazinewhen she was at the hairdressers. She swore that necklace she saw in the photo was identical to mine. That’s all I know.’
