Page 36 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy that,’ Rose said. ‘Both the pub and the waves.’
‘Yes, I think both will be great.’
He walked with her to the car and opened the door for her.
‘Thanks for dinner,’ Rose said. ‘Next time it’s on me.’
‘I’m glad you want to do this again. But we forgot all about work, didn’t we? The website and all that, I mean.’
‘We can do those things online. The website is nearly done anyway,’ Rose replied. ‘We need to adjust it a bit and add a few links and then it can go live. I’ll get onto the firm’s web designer and ask him to help. We’re handling the rentals after all.’
‘Sounds good. Are you sure you should be driving across Conor Pass so late?’ he asked. ‘The road through Anascaul is safer.’
‘And miss the sunset? I’ll be fine. I’ve driven up that road hundreds of times.’ Rose started the engine. ‘I’ll be in touch. Have fun tomorrow.’ He waved as she drove up the slipway, and she waved back as she turned onto the road.
Rose felt a huge sense of relief as she went through their conversation. The apology she had wanted for over a year had been made and she had forgiven him, simply because he seemed genuinely sorry. Now she could leave all that in the past and move on, have a real friend in Henri. She had a good feeling after their long talk. It was as if she had found, if not a brother, a kind of family member she would come to like and trust.
16
Rose put all thoughts of Henri away as she drove along the narrow winding road up the mountainside to Conor Pass. She had wanted to see the sunset, but now black clouds were rolling in above her. She suddenly found herself enveloped in a thick fog. She could see the grassy verge and felt relatively safe as it guided her along, but if she met another car coming the other way, she’d be in trouble.
Rose held the steering wheel so tight her nails dug into her palms. Cold sweat began to break out on her forehead. Then, suddenly, there was a clap of thunder and rain started to smatter against the windscreen. ‘Oh, great,’ Rose muttered, staring ahead, trying to figure out how far she was from the top. Once there, she would feel safer as she began the descent on the other side, where the road was wider. But when she was nearly at the top, the car suddenly started to wobble and she knew the worst had happened. A flat tyre. Just her luck. She made it to the top and managed to pull up. Then she got out, into the downpour, to take a look – she was soaked in seconds. But her suspicions were confirmed and she could see the tyre was completely flat. Shivering, she got back inside. While the wind shook the littlecar and the sound of the rain was nearly deafening, Rose took her mobile out of her bag and saw the battery was nearly at zero. She’d have to act fast if she was to call for help. She was about to dial Lily’s number, hoping Dominic could come and rescue her, when the phone rang.
‘Hello,’ Rose croaked. ‘Whoever it is, please help me. I have to talk fast because my phone is dying.’
‘What’s wrong?’ a voice asked. ‘Rose, this is Noel, what’s the matter?’
‘Oh Noel,’ Rose said, and burst into tears. ‘I’m at the top of Conor Pass,’ she sobbed. ‘It’s raining and I just got a flat tyre and I don’t know what to do.’
‘What are you doing there in this weather?’ Noel asked.
‘I had dinner with Henri in Cloghane,’ Rose explained.
‘You were on a date with him? And he let you drive home alone?’ Noel asked, sounding angry.
‘No, not really. It wasn’t a date and I wanted to…’ Rose stopped. ‘I’ll explain later.’
‘Oh never mind,’ Noel said. ‘Sit tight, I’m on my way.’ He hung up.
Rose sat there, shivering, wondering how long it would take Noel to come and rescue her, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid. She should have checked the weather report and taken the longer way through Camp and Anascaul as Henri had suggested. It would have taken another half hour, but at least she wouldn’t have ended up with a puncture in the pouring rain. And she should have made sure her phone was charged. ‘I’m so stupid,’ she said out loud. ‘Why did I drive up here thinking I’d see the sunset?’ She said a prayer that Noel would get here soon, before the weather got even worse. The loud claps of thunder were terrifying, but at the same time she was fascinated by the forked lightning over Dingle Bay, illuminating the water and themountains again and again. Eventually the thunder died away, but the rain kept beating and the wind shook the little car.
Rose knew Noel lived in Anascaul, so she assumed it would take him a while to get to her. But then, only minutes later, she saw the headlight of a car coming nearer and nearer until it was right beside her. She saw a dark figure getting out, then her door opened and she heard Noel shouting against the wind.
‘Get into my car,’ he ordered. ‘We have to leave yours here for the night. There is no way I could change a tyre in this weather.’
‘Okay.’ Rose gathered up her handbag and got out, bracing herself against the wind that threatened to sweep her off the mountain. Noel held the door open for her and, shivering, she got in and sat in the passenger seat.
Noel closed the door to Rose’s car and got in beside her. ‘There’s a fleece on the back seat. Take off your wet things and put it on. It’s too dark for me to see you,’ he added as he started to drive off.
Rose took off her wet sweater and shirt and put on the dry fleece, which instantly warmed her. ‘Thank you so much for coming, Noel. You’re a star. How did you get here so fast?’
‘I was still at the office. Working late on a brief. I called you just to see how you were getting on with your research, and thought I’d tell you about that woman you asked me about. What wereyoudoing up the Conor Pass so late?’ His voice was barely audible over the noise of the rain and the swishing of the windscreen wipers.
‘I told you. I had dinner in Cloghane. With Henri.’
Noel whipped his head around and stared at her for a moment. ‘On a date with Henri? I thought you hated him.’
‘It wasn’t a date,’ Rose exclaimed. ‘I told you before. We just had dinner and a chat. And I don’t hate him now. I kind of did before. But he wanted to make amends by taking me out to dinner. Bury the hatchet, he said.’ Rose thought about what hadoccurred during the dinner. ‘He apologised for what he did to us and I think he meant it. I said I forgave him, which seemed to make him happy. He wants the Magnolia project to be successful and that won’t happen if we don’t get on.’
