Page 44 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
‘I will,’ Rose said with an odd feeling something was going on between them. But she couldn’t quite decide what it was. Just a mutual fondness between two people who were becoming close friends, she decided. And that was a true gift.
Feeling happier than she had been for a long time, Rose went outside into the sunlit garden, looking for her grandmother. It was a beautiful late spring day – a warm breeze carried the scent of roses and newly cut grass, mixed with a hint of seaweed from the nearby shore. She continued down the garden path into the woods, where tall oaks stood beside small palm trees and other exotic shrubs, making this part of the garden an enchanting, lush space. The path wound through it all and down to the jetty where boats used to be moored. Rose kept looking around for Sylvia, but there was no sign of her, or Henri, so she retracedher steps. She went back to the house and around the corner to the greenhouse. Still no Sylvia, but she spotted Henri talking to a man on the edge of the lawn, where they were pointing at long lines of markings in the grass.
‘Henri,’ Rose called. ‘What’s going on?’
Henri looked around and smiled. ‘Hi, Rose. This is Frank McPhee, the engineer in charge of the new heating system.’
‘Hello, there,’ Rose said. ‘So it’s all going ahead as planned?’
Frank nodded. ‘Yes. We’re laying out the plans for the geothermal heating. It’s going to be a horizontal closed-loop system.’
‘That sounds like Chinese to me,’ Rose said, laughing. ‘But I’m sure it will work beautifully.’
‘Yes it will,’ Frank said. ‘And it’s the most efficient system that’s also environmentally friendly. They’re going to start digging tomorrow. The whole system should be operational by September. Right in time for the inauguration and the first tenants.’
‘Brilliant,’ Rose said. ‘It’s wonderful that we’re using a heating system that won’t affect the climate.’
‘It’s the best option for this kind of building.’ Frank folded the drawing he had been looking at. ‘Well, I’ll be off now. I think we’ve gone through everything. But give me a call if there’s anything you want to ask.’ He nodded at Rose. ‘Nice to meet you, Miss Fleury.’
‘Very nice,’ Rose said. She turned to Henri when the engineer had left. ‘That sounded expensive though.’
‘Expensive to install, but it will pay for itself in the end. The most effective and climate friendly way to heat a house, as you just heard.’
‘Great choice,’ Rose said. ‘I’m very impressed. But where is Granny? I wanted to talk to her about something.’
‘She told me she was driving to Ventry to see Lily,’ Henri replied. ‘If you hurry you might catch her before she leaves.’
‘I’ll just give her a quick call.’ Rose took out her phone. ‘Granny,’ she said when Sylvia replied. ‘I heard you’re going to Ventry. Mind if I come with you?’
‘Not at all,’ Sylvia said. ‘I’d love to have some company on the drive. And we can visit Lily together. She’ll be delighted to see you. I’ll wait for you in the courtyard.’
‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ Rose promised.
‘All okay?’ Henri asked when Rose had hung up.
‘Yes. We’re going to Ventry together to see Lily,’ Rose said.
‘Great. But wait a minute.’
Rose stopped. ‘Yes?’
‘I just wanted to say I enjoyed dinner with you the other night.’
‘Me too,’ Rose said. ‘Except the bit where I got stuck up Conor Pass with a flat tyre.’
‘I heard the gallant Noel came to your rescue though,’ Henri said, smiling.
‘He did. I couldn’t ask you as you’d had quite a lot of wine. In any case, I didn’t call him either. He happened to call me just before my phone died.’
‘A happy accident, then,’ Henri said. ‘So are you two getting closer?’
‘He’s helping with my research,’ Rose replied. ‘But that’s all.’
‘I think he likes you more than he lets on,’ Henri said with a wink. ‘And maybe it’s mutual?’
‘What?’ Rose stared at him. Then she shook her head. ‘No, it’s not. In any case, he’s going on a date with some old flame, so…’
‘That doesn’t mean he’s not interested in you.’ Henri paused. ‘But he might just be too shy to show it. Anyway, enough about that. I meant to ask you if you’ve ever been to the Blaskets?’
