Page 3 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
‘I won’t say it, even if it’s true,’ Sylvia promised. ‘You’re very upset and I don’t want to rub salt into the wound. Maybe you should take a break and come down to Kerry for a few days?’
‘Are you there now?’ The thought of going home to Magnolia Manor, the place that had always been a haven to her, made Rose feel calmer. The mellow stones of the old house, the lovely gardens, the wonderful views of the ocean from the top windows, drifted into her mind. The balmy salt-laden air and the smell of woodsmoke and lamb stew… Oh, to be there and forget about all this misery. She imagined her grandmother there to meet her, looking after her the way she used to when Rose was a little girl, making her hot chocolate with marshmallows that she called ‘a hug in a mug’ and wrapping a blanket around her.
‘No, I’m in France and I’ll be here for at least another month.’ Sylvia paused. ‘I initially called to ask you to…’ She stopped. ‘But now is not the right moment. I’ll call you back in a day or two, perhaps.’
‘No, please, Granny,’ Rose pleaded, wanting to stay talking to her grandmother and listening to her warm voice. ‘Tell me why you called.’
‘Well,’ Sylvia started, ‘the apartment project is well under way and Arnaud and I are working remotely on it. But we need someone to help out. Someone with marketing experience and a bit of know-how in real estate.’
Rose nodded. Magnolia Manor was being converted into apartments. It was too big for anyone in the Fleury family to maintain as a home any more, but a plan was underway to make it into living spaces for senior citizens, with shared gardens and facilities. Sylvia had told Rose about the plans two years ago. ‘We thought we’d hire someone and pay them a salary. The gatehouse is empty, so that might suit whoever we hired. It’s a nice place to live and so convenient to the house. So I wanted to ask if you knew of someone who’d be suitable for the job? But now you’re too upset to think about that, so we’ll leave it for a while.’
‘No, don’t,’ Rose said, suddenly excited. ‘I have the perfect candidate for the job. Someone with the right qualifications, who’d be delighted to live in the gatehouse and wouldn’t ask for a huge salary.’
‘You do?’ Sylvia said, sounding doubtful. ‘Who?’
‘Me,’ Rose said.
2
A month later, Rose was sitting on the little patio on the sunny side of the gatehouse of Magnolia Manor. It was a beautiful spring day. She was enjoying her breakfast when she heard Joe, the postman, pull up in his green van outside the front door. He waved at her as he put an envelope through the letterbox and shouted ‘Lovely day,’ before jumping back into the van and driving off. Rose smiled and turned her face up to the sun, listening to the birdsong and feeling the soft breeze from the sea against her face. Total bliss at last. The post could wait, like everything else on this warm spring morning.
She had come here last night, having left Dublin after a traumatic month that included the painful breakup with Gavin, a move out of what had been her home for a long time, and quitting her job at Murray & Fitzpatrick, which was also a huge wrench. But it had been impossible to stay on at the firm after what had happened. Gavin had dumped her and Rose knew everyone would find out. She was embarrassed and very sad. Her grandmother’s phone call had happened at the right moment. Sylvia’s suggestion to run the rebuilding project of the old manor had been like a lifeline.
Running the Magnolia Manor project was going to be fascinating. The senior apartments were going to have all kinds of amenities, like a spa, gym, pool, library and communal dining room – the first such concept in the country. And though Rose was worried about leaving her job so suddenly, she knew Sylvia’s offer of employment would give her good experience. She would never have let a man force her out of a job, but it was the perfect opportunity to diversify.
Rose relaxed in her chair as the soft breeze brought with it a scent of the first roses mixed with the tang of seaweed, a smell so special to this part of Kerry in the springtime. Who could complain about being in this heavenly spot? The job of running the building project would be a challenge, with everything that was involved in getting the business off the ground. Giving up her career had been hard, but maybe this was the beginning of a new one?
Coming home had been the best remedy and here – in this cute little house in the middle of a lush garden, her family close by and a beautiful landscape to explore – Rose could heal and get her confidence back. The ugly scene with Gavin just before he left had slowly faded as she packed her belongings and moved out herself. And here she was, on the first morning of her new life, her bags not yet unpacked, enjoying breakfast in the sunshine.
As Rose sat there, she could hear the noise of the building work in the manor house. As the sound of hammering and drilling broke the peace, she got up and gathered her breakfast dishes, reluctantly going inside to get dressed and get ready to tackle her first day at work. The postman had brought a welcome home card from her sister Lily, and an invitation to the opening of a new boutique in Dingle that sold vintage clothes. That might be fun to go to. Rose propped both cards on the mantlepiece andwent upstairs, carrying her tote bag and one of the suitcases she had left in the hall last night.
Her bedroom, the largest of three, with views over the treetops to the sea, was flooded with sunlight. The curtains with a print of tiny rosebuds were fluttering in a soft breeze. Humming a little tune, Rose put her tote bag and suitcase on the bed and took off her dressing gown. Then she went to the tiny bathroom on the landing and had a quick shower. Back in the bedroom, she slowly dressed in jeans, a shirt and trainers. She tied back her hair, thinking she needed a restyle. She delved into the tote bag for her makeup case, which she had stuffed there with some last bits and pieces before she left the flat in Dublin. As she pulled out the little case, she felt a wad of papers that consisted of assorted bills and a few letters she had forgotten about. She took it all out and glanced at it, noticing the pink envelope with the wedding invitation she had been so excited about the night Gavin had left her. She read the invitation again, feeling as if a cold hand was squeezing her heart.
Rose had been so happy when she first saw the invitation but now, after her breakup, it was like a dagger in her chest. She had wanted to go so badly. This would be a society wedding with everyone dressed up to the nines, champagne and caviar in the best hotel in Killarney.
Louise and Aiden wouldn’t hold back on the bling. Louise loved glamour and they had saved up for the wedding for two years, ever since they got engaged. Louise and Rose had started at the firm at the same time, and become close over long lunches and drinks in the pub, and helped each other take the first steps in their careers. Aiden was friends with Gavin, so when Louise and Aiden started dating, they would often go out together as a foursome. Then Louise had left to work for another firm and they had lost touch for a while. And now Louise and Aiden were getting married, and had invited Rose to this wedding that wassure to be amazing. Louise had called Rose shortly after Gavin had left and offered her support. She said she wanted Rose to come to the wedding and suggested she use her ‘plus one’ on someone else instead.
Rose wasn’t sure she wanted to go under the circumstances, but it would be such fun to be there, catching up with all the gang from Dublin, especially now that she needed cheering up. But then she had a feeling everyone would be looking at her with pity, whispering to each other how Gavin had left her to go to New York and take up a whole new career. ‘Dating her boss,’ they would mutter, tutting at the insanity of it, and how she had not only been dumped by her boss but also lost her job and run off to Dingle town to hide. And then they would comment at how she was staying ‘in that run-down wreck in the grounds of a building site’, when in reality she was living in a charming old cottage, newly restored and modernised. She had heard those whispers and insinuations in the ladies’ loo in a restaurant in Dublin recently.
Rose stifled a sob as she remembered what she had heard and reached for her phone. She needed a shoulder to cry on, and there was only one person in the world who could provide it. Rose sat down on the bed and brought up the number.
It took a few rings before her sister Lily answered in hushed tones. ‘Hello? Sorry, I have to speak softly. Naomi has just gone to sleep.’
‘Oops. I forgot,’ Rose whispered back, remembering that her two-month-old niece was difficult to get to sleep. ‘Do you want me to callyou back later?’
‘No, it’s okay. I’ll go outside,’ Lily replied. ‘It’s a lovely day. Hang on.’
‘Great.’
‘Right, the coast is clear,’ Lily said after a while. ‘She’s still asleep. We had a bit of a rough night so, now that she’s finallysettled for a while, I can sit down here in the garden and look out at the sea while I talk to you.’
‘Lovely.’ Rose imagined Lily sitting in her front garden looking out over the stunning view of the ocean, her trusty baby monitor clutched in her hand as it always was these days. ‘You’re lucky to live in that amazing house. Thanks for the card. So nice of you to send it.’
‘I just thought I’d welcome you home. I’m so happy to have you nearby,’ Lily said.
‘Me too,’ Rose replied. ‘And I also want to thank you for not saying “I told you so” when Gavin did what he did.’
‘Oh well, that wouldn’t have been very kind,’ Lily replied. ‘Who wants to hear stuff like that when they’re feeling bad?’
