Page 42 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
‘Hello,’ Rose said loudly. ‘I haven’t come to have my hair done today. I’m here for something else.’
‘What would that be?’ The stylist switched off the hairdryer and looked curiously at Rose.
Rose suddenly realised how strange her request was going to seem. ‘Well… I… eh. I was looking for a photo in an old issue ofOK! Magazine, you see. I heard you have those here for your clients,’ Rose explained.
‘We do,’ the stylist said. ‘But I’m not sure we’d still have the one you’re looking for. Which one was it?’
‘The Paddy’s Day one in March,’ Rose replied. ‘Mary Kennedy is on the cover.’
‘I remember that one,’ the client who was having a blow-dry said.
‘Me too,’ the stylist said. ‘But I think we threw it into the recycling bin yesterday. You can have a look if you like. It’s around the back. The green bin.’
‘Oh,’ Rose said. ‘I’ll go and see if I can find it, if that’s OK?’
‘Yes. Through that door,’ the stylist said, nodding at a door behind her. ‘Should be at the top of the bin with some cardboard and a few other magazines.’
‘Brilliant.’ Rose went out the door into a small courtyard where the bins were lined up against the far wall. There were two green bins and Rose opened the first one, only to find envelopes, packaging and a paper sack. Must be the bin belonging to the post office, she assumed, and opened the other green bin. It was also full of packaging from various hair products. Rose pushed those aside and found stacks of magazines. She had to dive right in head first to retrieve them, but then found that she couldn’t get out. She was stuck head first in the deep bin. She tried to wriggle out but she was too far down. ‘Oh no,’ she exclaimed, trying to get her hips back over the edge to no avail. ‘Help!’ she shouted as she sank deeper into the bin.
‘It’s okay, I got you,’ a voice said, as a pair of strong hands grabbed her, pulled her out and put her back on her feet. ‘There. Are you okay?’
Still hugging the stack of magazines, Rose discovered Noel standing beside her. ‘I’m fine. Thank you for pulling me out,’ she panted, shoving the magazines at him. ‘Here, take a look. See if you can find the one with Mary Kennedy.’
Noel laughed and took the stack, quickly flicking through them. ‘Whatever next?’ he muttered. Then he pulled one of the issues out with a flourish. ‘Here you are. Mary Kennedy. A little scrunched and torn, but she seems to be in one piece.’
‘Oh fantastic.’ Rose started to look through the magazine. ‘It has to be at the back with all the society pages…’
‘Come and sit in the car while you do it,’ Noel suggested, tossing the other magazines back into the green bin.
‘Yes, yes,’ Rose replied absentmindedly as she riffled through the pages, her heart racing. She hardly noticed Noel leading her by the arm through the salon and out to the street where his car was parked. She got into the passenger seat, flicking to the society pages, and there it was, finally. ‘Ben McWilliams’s fortieth birthday party,’ she exclaimed, peering at each photo in turn. ‘A whole page of photos.’ She held her breath while she searched and, after an agonising minute, there it was. A photo of a pretty dark-haired woman in a navy dress – wearing a necklace with topazes and pearls. It was identical to the one Rose owned. ‘Oh holy mother,’ Rose mumbled staring at the photo. ‘That must be Melanie Blennerhassett.’
‘Very attractive,’ Noel remarked.
‘Yeah, maybe. But it’s my necklace, isn’t it?’
‘Looks very similar all right,’ Noel agreed.
‘Take a closer look,’ Rose said, holding the page up for Noel to see. ‘It’s the same one, right?’
‘Yes,’ Noel said as he studied the photo. ‘Vicky was right. It looks identical to yours.’
‘Yes, it does,’ Rose said, near tears. ‘Only this one must be the real one. It must have been stolen a long time ago. How do I get it back?’ she asked, staring at Noel, her eyes full of tears.
‘I don’t know,’ he said.
‘But you’re a lawyer,’ Rose insisted. ‘You must have some idea what to do about this.’
‘I’m a lawyer, yes. But not a miracle worker,’ Noel remarked. ‘If, as you say, the copy that you have was made around a hundred years ago, there is no way you can force the owner of the real one to give it to you. It legally belongs to her, I’m afraid.’
‘Oh,’ Rose said, staring blankly ahead. ‘But… Oh, okay,’ she said with a deep sigh. ‘I understand what you’re saying. All I have to do is go back in time and find out why this was done. Then maybe…’ She shook her head. ‘No. There’s no way I can get the woman who owns it give it back.’
‘There’s no giving back of anything,’ Noel stated. ‘She must have inherited it or bought it or something. I think—’ he took Rose’s hand ‘—you have to accept it and move on. Your necklace is every bit as beautiful as the one in that photo. And that is because of how you wear it. Maybe you could learn to love the one you have and forget about the real one? I mean, how many people know about it?’
‘Only you,’ Rose said. ‘I didn’t tell Lily or Granny. I didn’t want to upset them, especially Granny.’
‘Of course not.’ Noel started the car. ‘I’d better drive off. I’ve parked on a double yellow line, and I see Sergeant Murphy coming down the street.’
Rose nodded. ‘Yes, you’d better leave. No need for the best solicitor in town to get arrested.’
