Page 43 of The Book of Irish Secrets
‘You did, and I’m glad.’ Karina shot Claire a smile. ‘I’ll be in touch later and we’ll have a coffee and look at everything.’
‘Great.’ Claire turned her attention to the emails. She heard voices from Pierce’s office and assumed he was talking to his daughter. Then her phone pinged with a message from him.
I wanted to talk to you, but Jo has just arrived. I’ll send her down to say hello in a minute.
Claire stared at the message for a moment, wondering what he wanted to talk to her about and why the arrival of his daughter had stopped him. She turned back to her work, trying to concentrate, and gave a start as she heard someone at the door. ‘Come in,’ she called and then the door slowly opened and a tall young girl peered in.
Claire got up and held out her hand. ‘Hi, I’m Claire. You must be Jo.’
The girl smiled shyly and shook Claire’s hand. ‘Hi, Claire.’ She was slim with dark hair in a ponytail and the same deep blue eyes as her father. But there was a wary look in her eyes as she gazed at Claire and her smile was stiff.
Claire had the impression that the girl was sizing her up and perhaps wondering about her relationship with Pierce. ‘I only arrived in Kerry recently,’ Claire said in order to make sure there was no misunderstanding. ‘I’m still trying to get to know everyone.’
Jo nodded. ‘Okay,’ she said and turned to her father, who had just appeared behind her. ‘Can I go to your place now? I want to unpack and get all my notes ready for studying.’
‘Of course,’ Pierce said with an apologetic glance at Claire. ‘See you later.’
‘Nice to meet you, Jo,’ Claire said, smiling politely.
‘Great to meet you too,’ Jo said as Pierce gave her a push with his elbow.
As they left, Pierce shrugged and rolled his eyes behind Jo’s back and Claire felt a dart of pity for him. Jo was obviously a little spoilt and had that teenage attitude of trying to be ‘cool’. She had been quite rude but that was probably just shyness. Claire had come across it with Marian’s children and she knew that kind of behaviour was really based on insecurity. Jo had also had to deal with her parents’ divorce and her mother’s new partner, which had to be hard at the age of fifteen.
Twenty minutes later, Pierce called. ‘I’m sorry about that,’ he said. ‘She could have been a little friendlier with you. But she’s been through a lot of stuff and that was all our fault. My ex and mine, I mean. So I hope you didn’t take it personally.’
Claire laughed. ‘Of course not. Please don’t worry. I know what teenagers can be like. My niece and nephew were quite horrible at times at that age. But they turned into lovely young adults eventually. I wouldn’t give out to her about it if I were you. Just pretend it didn’t happen.’
‘But she needs to know how to behave,’ Pierce protested. ‘I can’t let her get away with it.’
‘I think you should,’ Claire insisted. ‘Just let it go, otherwise she’ll resent me. No need to start her visit with a scolding. That will only make her dislike me. I don’t mean to interfere in your parenting,’ she added. ‘I don’t have children, so I’m probably the worst person to give you advice.’
‘Actually, I think you’re right about not scolding her,’ Pierce said. ‘This time, anyway. Thanks for not being offended.’
‘Ah, sure, it wasn’t a big deal,’ Claire assured him. ‘So let’s forget it, okay?’
‘It’s forgotten,’ Pierce said, his voice warm. ‘Thanks, Claire. You’re a star. Let’s have dinner soon.’
‘That would be great,’ Claire said. ‘But maybe better to wait until after Jo’s gone home.’
‘Yes, I suppose. So,’ he continued, ‘I had a feeling you’ve found some more clues to the Fleury feud?’
‘Eh, well,’ Claire said. ‘Nothing much really,’ she said, feeling awkward. What she had found out about the twins’ birth had made her rethink her whole project. She didn’t want Pierce to know about it, or even tell anyone in the family. She had decided earlier that the best thing to do would be to leave, giving some kind of excuse about having to go to Dublin for the sale of the house and then not coming back. It would break her heart but it would take care of the problem and then they’d soon forget the woman who had come to Kerry and briefly worked at the manor.
‘Claire?’ Pierce asked. ‘Are you still there?’
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘Sorry. I was just distracted by an email that came up on the screen. I have to deal with it straight away. We’ll talk soon.’
‘Okay,’ he said, sounding both puzzled and slightly put out. ‘See you around, then.’
‘Bye, Pierce.’ Claire shook her head and turned her attention back to the emails. She felt bad about having brushed him off like that, but she had had no choice. Pierce had seemed a little offended by her quick goodbye. He had also seemed somehow worried about his daughter’s behaviour but that was just parenting angst, she assumed. He had sounded as if he needed to talk to someone about it, but Claire didn’t feel qualified to give that kind of advice. Jo seemed like a tricky kind of girl. But thatwas his problem and Claire found herself thinking that being childless might be sad but it also meant she was free of such problems. She hoped she could help him in some way all the same, but she didn’t want to butt in either.
Well, right now it was best to stay out of it completely. And she had to keep her distance from Pierce until it was time to leave. That thought made her immensely sad, because she felt she had found a kindred spirit in him. He had strongly disapproved of her lying to the Fleurys, but had still tried to understand why she was doing it. He had given her the benefit of the doubt. He was such a kind, caring man and now she was about to upset him by leaving without an explanation. Could she really leave him and her lovely new life behind? She knew she might have to in order not to cause trouble for a family she had come to love and it broke her heart.It’s the hardest choice I have ever had to face, she thought. But she still didn’t know if she could bring herself to do it.
TWENTY-FOUR
Later that day, just after lunch, Karina invited Claire to have coffee with her in the garden as the sun was shining and she had put out the garden furniture. Happy to have a break in the sunshine, Claire sat down on one of the chairs while Karina fetched the coffee from the kitchen. Then she settled on the other chair and closed her eyes, turning her face to the warm sunshine.
‘Oh, this is heavenly,’ Karina said with a contented sigh. ‘It’s been so cold and wet lately. But now I feel spring is truly here.’
