Page 53 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
The narrow road up to the mountain pass called Moll’s Gap was difficult even in good weather, but today it was shrouded in mist, making it even more challenging. When they reached the top, they were disappointed that the glorious views of the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks were impossible to see. But instead of driving down the other side, Noel pulled up by the side of the road.
‘Why are we stopping?’ Rose asked. ‘There’s nothing to see in this weather. It’ll be better when we get out of the clouds.’
‘I know.’ Noel turned to face her. ‘It’s just that I feel I have to tell you something.’
‘Okay,’ Rose said, startled by his troubled eyes.
Noel cleared his throat. ‘This is going to shock you. But it’s the truth and I have just figured it out. You remember that family photo of Iseult holding the baby?’
‘Of course,’ Rose said, staring at him. ‘What about it?’
Noel swallowed noisily. ‘I know who the baby was.’
‘You mean the one in Iseult’s arms? It was her baby?’
Noel shook his head. ‘No, it wasn’t. It was her husband’s grandchild. His son’s firstborn.’
‘Oh. Of course. That makes sense. He was so much older than her. And she had no children. So how do you know this?’ Rose asked, intrigued.
‘Because that baby was my grandmother.’
23
Speechless, Rose stared at Noel. ‘What do you mean?’ she whispered. ‘How is that even possible?’
‘Of course it’s possible,’ he said. ‘My grandmother was born in nineteen twenty-one and died ten years ago.’
‘Yes, yes,’ Rose said impatiently. ‘I understand about the age of someone born in nineteen twenty-one, but how come… I mean, your grandmother and Iseult… It seems too strange to be true. When did you figure this out?’
‘It came to me bit by bit,’ he said, staring out at the swirling mist. ‘I had forgotten that my grandmother’s name was Lincoln before she was married. I always knew her as Adeline Quinn.’
‘Adeline?’ Rose said softly, as if tasting the name. ‘That little baby was called Adeline?’
Noel nodded. ‘Yes. She was Patrick Lincoln’s granddaughter and she grew up in County Cork. She married my grandfather in nineteen fifty-four, and moved to Anascaul in Kerry. Then she had my father a few years after that. And two more children, my aunt and uncle.’
‘I see. But then how come it didn’t ring a bell when we looked at the photo and I talked about the Lincoln connection?And Willowbrook House? You must have heard that mentioned sometime.’
Noel nodded, looking awkward. ‘Yes, I had heard it, but didn’t remember in what context. I told you it rang a bell. In fact it shook me to hear you say it. Everything seemed to fall into place at that moment. I asked my father when I came home to confirm my suspicions, and he said that my grandmother had spent her early years in that house but it was sold when Iseult’s husband died. I think the family was in a lot of trouble money-wise. Many people were of course, it was the start of the Depression.’
‘You asked your father when you came home?’ Rose said, trying to understand. ‘You mean you knew all this weeks ago and didn’t tell me?’ She suddenly felt as if she was looking at a different person to the Noel she knew and thought she had fallen in love with. Someone she couldn’t trust. ‘Why?’ she asked, staring at him.
‘I wanted to have all the facts before I told you,’ he explained.
‘You were thinking like a lawyer,’ Rose stated. ‘Not like a friend who was helping me to find out what happened to Iseult.’ She looked accusingly at him. ‘You knew how desperate I was to find out and you kept all that from me?’
‘It didn’t change anything, did it?’ Noel argued. ‘The fact that the baby was my grandmother still doesn’t answer any questions about Iseult. It’s just a curious detail.’
‘It’s an important detail,’ Rose said. ‘And you didn’t share it with me.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Noel said quietly. ‘I was wrong. But I didn’t want to…’ He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I always have to be sure before I say anything about an important issue. And maybe I was afraid you’d look at me differently.’
‘Why would I?’ Rose asked. ‘It’s the fact that you kept that important fact from me that makes me look at you verydifferently. If you had told me straight away you’d be the same person to me. I feel we lost something there. Something to do with trust.’
‘Maybe we did,’ he said, looking miserable. ‘And that’s all my fault.’
Rose tried to pull herself together. Yes, she was disappointed in him, and it felt as if she had discovered her hero was less shiny and wonderful. But they were here together on a quest. She needed to put her feelings aside and continue her search. She was here in the car on top of a mountain with Noel and they had to move on. ‘Okay,’ she said after a long silence. ‘We’ll talk about all that later. Right now, we have to go on and try to solve the mystery.’
‘You’re right,’ Noel said stiffly and started the car. ‘Let’s get going. Where were we in the research? The Lincolns and where they live now. Not in Willowbrook House, as far as we know.’
