Page 13 of The Book of Irish Secrets
‘Talk about the devil,’ Karina said, smiling at the woman. ‘Here she is now. Rose, come and meet my new assistant, Claire O’Hanlon.’
Claire stared at the woman approaching them, trying to get her heart to slow down as the moment she had envisaged for years became reality.
SEVEN
Rose smiled and held out her hand as she walked swiftly towards them. ‘Hi, Claire. Welcome to Kerry. I heard you just arrived yesterday and that you’re staying at the Madigans’ B&B.’
‘That’s right,’ Claire stammered, staring at the beautiful woman who was her third cousin. But, of course, Rose had no idea. After a moment’s awkward silence, Claire shook Rose’s hand and said a quiet, ‘Hello.’ She wondered how on earth Rose knew so much about her already, but then this was Kerry and a very small community where everyone knew each other and any stranger would stick out. Especially in low season. She had worried that taking the job with Karina might have been a mistake, but arriving alone, unattached to anyone in town, would have been more of a problem.
She looked at Rose and took in her bright blue eyes, her gleaming blonde hair that bounced around her face and her warm smile. ‘I believe we’ll be working together when there are big parties here,’ Claire said.
‘We will,’ Rose agreed.
‘And Claire is also a whiz at computers,’ Karina cut in.
‘Great,’ Rose said, looking impressed. ‘We could do with a techie person around here.’
‘I’m not sure—’ Claire was about to protest. She just happened to have had the same problem with her own laptop a while back. But she wanted to give the impression that she was perfect for the job. ‘Thank you,’ she replied finally. ‘This is a very interesting house.’
‘We’re very proud of it.’ Rose paused and checked her watch. ‘Look, I have to leave you to go and get my daughter from school and my little boy from his playgroup. Lovely to meet you, Claire. Give me a shout if you need anything. Karina will fill you in about our schedule for the next few weeks.’
‘Thanks, Rose,’ Claire said as the first rush of excitement died down. ‘Bye for now.’
‘Bye,’ Rose said and glided out of the room.
‘She’s lovely,’ Claire said when Rose had left. ‘So graceful and so very friendly.’
‘She rules the manor with a rod of steel,’ Karina said. ‘But she’s very nice looking and a wonderful mother. Her daughter, Sophie, is adorable and a real child prodigy when it comes to music.’
‘She is?’ Claire said, thinking about her own musical talent and how Auntie Rachel had said it was a Fleury trait.
‘She can play that tin whistle like a real musician,’ Karina said. ‘It’s a treat to listen to her. And her Irish dancing is amazing for a six-year-old. The Fleury children are all wonderful, I have to say. Funny and wise and very lively.’
‘How many of them are there?’ Claire asked, even though she knew from reading about them.
‘Six so far,’ Karina replied. ‘Lily has two, a girl and a boy, Rose the same and Vi and Jack’s little twins are eighteen months. Their granny, Tricia, has her hands full. The girls are so lucky to have their mum always ready to help out. Tricia lives in the gardener’s cottage down by the little beach. But she’s away right now with Cillian, her partner, who’s an archaeologist,’Karina ended as she started to walk out of the room. ‘But come on, I’ll show you the dining room and library and then I think we’ll walk over to the orangery.’
‘Brilliant.’ Claire followed Karina out of the ballroom, thinking how lucky those children were to grow up with their cousins. Her own family was scattered around the world, which made her feel a pang of loneliness.
They visited the dining room, where some of the smaller parties took place, and the library that had turned into a sitting room for the occupants of the senior apartments, where they could meet to watch TV, read books or just chat. The huge bookcases crammed with books covered an entire wall and there were groups of easy chairs and little tables all around the big room. The oriental carpets on the floor and the glowing embers in the period fireplace added to the cosy atmosphere despite its size.
‘The family use it for some of their parties too,’ Karina explained. ‘Then they use a booking system and the tenants have to stay away.’
‘I see.’ Claire spotted a door in the far wall. ‘What’s in there?’ she asked.
‘Oh, just the music room,’ Karina replied and opened the door to a smaller room where a grand piano took up most of the space. The windows had no curtains and apart from the piano, a harp and violin on a small table beside a music stand, there was no other furniture. ‘The grand piano is a Steinway,’ Karina continued.
‘Does anyone play on it?’
‘Yes, both Naomi and Sophie have piano lessons here, so it’s tuned regularly,’ Karina said. ‘Do you play?’
‘Yes, but I’m a bit rusty,’ Claire said, not wanting to reveal her musical talent. She looked at the grand piano, longing to sitdown and play. ‘I used to have lessons at my great-aunt’s house and I inherited her piano when she died.’
‘Were you very close to her?’ Karina asked with great sympathy in her voice.
‘Yes,’ Claire said. ‘She was so lovely and kind. I miss her terribly.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Karina said softly. ‘It’s hard to lose someone you love, whatever age they were when they died. You know, I’m sure Sylvia wouldn’t mind if you played the piano here from time to time. You just have to ask her.’
