Page 29 of The Book of Irish Secrets
The woman studied Claire for a moment. ‘Yes, but you must have some family connection. You have the Fleury look.’ She turned to Sylvia. ‘Doesn’t she?’
Sylvia looked intently at Claire. ‘Yes, there is something about that face that I thought I recognised. But Claire is from Dublin and has never been to Kerry, so that’s just coincidental.’ She smiled at Claire. ‘You’re doing a wonderful job. I will tell Karina when she comes back from whatever she thought was more important.’
‘Thank you,’ Claire said. ‘I’m really enjoying it too.’
‘Wonderful,’ Sylvia said and waved her hand. ‘Carry on.’
Claire went into the ballroom ahead of them, nearly feeling the woman’s eyes boring into her back. She turned and met the woman’s gaze and smiled. The woman didn’t return her smile, giving Claire an odd look before she turned back to Sylvia.
The moment passed but Claire had a feeling the woman was still trying to connect her to the Fleury family. She hadn’t realised that her family likeness to the Fleurys would be so noticeable to some people.
FOURTEEN
Keeping a low profile proved nearly impossible during the following days, Claire found. But she managed to stay away from the Magnolia party, calling in sick that morning. She knew she would miss the fun, but she didn’t want to run into anyone who might look at her curiously like that lady at Sylvia’s birthday party. She knew she was being a little paranoid, but she was terrified of being found out before she was ready to reveal her true identity.
Claire had sneaked into the little room that held the family archives a few times, picking up bits of papers here and there from the untouched pile. But she’d found nothing yet. She needed an hour or two to do a thorough search but had not had any opportunity to do so yet. She would have to wait until after St Patrick’s Day, when there would be a temporary lull in the celebrations and events. She also felt she needed someone she could confide in, rather than Finola, who was too far away.Maybe, she thought,I could talk to Pierce? He seems so kind and understanding and wouldn’t tell anyone if I made him promise.
And then, as if reading her thoughts, Pierce called to ask how she was. ‘Just a head cold, I hope,’ he said.
‘Yes, that’s what it is,’ Claire replied, trying to sound just a little bit under the weather. ‘I didn’t want to pass it around.’
‘That’s very considerate of you,’ Pierce said. ‘Especially as there will be some elderly people at the party who might be a little frail.’
‘That’s what I thought,’ Claire said, cringing slightly at having to lie to Pierce.
‘I also want to thank you for convincing Karina to do the cookbook,’ he continued. ‘The meeting in Dublin went very well, so she’s all set to get started. All thanks to you.’
‘It was nothing,’ Claire protested. ‘I just gave her a little push in the right direction. I think she really wanted to do it anyway.’
‘Yes, but she wouldn’t have gone ahead without your encouragement. I hope you’ll feel better soon,’ he said. ‘I’ll look forward to seeing you back at the office.’
‘Me too,’ Claire said, feeling a flush of warmth. ‘I’m sure I’ll be fine in a day or two.’
‘Maybe we could go for a drink when you feel better?’ he asked.
‘I’d love to,’ Claire replied, hoping this might be the opportunity to confide in him.
She stayed away from the office the next day but then felt guilty about pretending to be sick when there was so much going on. Karina welcomed her back with a pat on the back and said Claire had been missed. Brendan, her husband, was back from yet another business trip and the three of them had a jolly lunch in the kitchen, celebrating the book deal.
Pierce didn’t join them but she bumped into him just outside the office.
‘Hi,’ he said with a warm smile. ‘Nice to see you back. Feeling better?’
‘Much better, thanks,’ she said.
‘Great. Hey, you want to go to the pub quiz tonight? Only if you feel up to it, of course.’
‘That sounds like fun,’ Claire replied. ‘What time does it start?’
‘Eight o’clock. We could have a bite to eat first, if you like. No need to change, so we can go straight from here. Would that be okay?’ He looked suddenly shy and shuffled his feet.
‘Yes, that sounds great,’ Claire said. ‘I’ll be ready about six, if that’s okay?’
He nodded, looking happy. ‘That’s fine. We can walk there together.’
‘It’s a date,’ she said before she could stop herself. ‘Well, I mean, it’s…’ she stammered, feeling awkward. Of course it wasn’t a date. He was just being friendly and wanted company, she told herself. And all she wanted was someone who would listen to her story and help her find out more.
He grinned. ‘Are we both being careful here? I think it looks like a date, actually. So let’s call it that.’
