Page 54 of The Book of Irish Secrets
When Claire arrived in the library, which was cosy with all the little lamps lit casting a warm glow over the books and the old oriental carpet, everyone was already there, gathered around a table with refreshments. Vi and Jack came forward to say hello and they chatted for a while. Vi, a stunning young woman with glossy red hair and green eyes, asked Claire how she was settling in and Jack asked if she was missing Dublin.
Rose kissed Claire on the cheek and told her to help herself to tea, coffee or a glass of wine.
Lily was just as nice and smiled at Claire. ‘We don’t know quite what this is about, except that you’re going to tell us something very exciting.’
‘I hope it won’t shock you too much,’ Claire said.
‘We can take it,’ Lily’s husband, Dominic, said. ‘How about a glass of wine?’
‘Great,’ Claire said.
‘Red or white?’ Dominic asked.
‘White, please,’ Claire said.
‘Okay.’ Dominic poured Claire a glass of white wine and then gestured at the large sofa by the bookcases. ‘Sit down there beside Sylvia. She said she wanted a little chat with you before your speech.’
‘Speech?’ Claire asked, shaking with nerves. ‘I was just going to…’
‘It’s more an announcement,’ Sylvia said and patted the seat of the sofa. ‘Sit down here and we’ll talk about it while everyone gets a drink of something.’
Claire sat down beside Sylvia. ‘Okay.’
‘Now,’ Sylvia whispered in Claire’s ear, ‘I just wanted to tell you not to be nervous. I have prepared the ground a little bit, so it won’t come as a huge surprise. I’ve told them you’re a Fleury, a distant relation. So all you have to do is tell your story. Except—’ she lowered her voice further ‘—we won’t mention the little detail of who the real heir was, as we agreed. No need to go into that.’
‘Of course not,’ Claire murmured back. ‘I spoke to my sister last night and she agreed with me. We’re not going to tell Patrick about the timing of Louis’ birth. Everything else, yes. But he won’t be that startled as we all knew that we had relations in Kerry and that there was some kind of falling-out.’ Claire met Sylvia’s eyes. ‘You know what that was, don’t you? The argument that caused the feud?’
‘Yes,’ Sylvia said.
‘Are you going to tell us?’ Claire asked.
‘I think I have to,’ Sylvia said. ‘Later.’ Then, when everyone had found seats on chairs or sofas, she clapped her hands. ‘If you’re ready, I will ask Claire to tell us why we’re here. As I have told you, her maiden name is Fleury, but she’s not as distant arelative as you might think. Claire, please tell them what you told Rose and me recently.’
Claire stood up and nervously wrung her hands while she started to speak. ‘As you might know, my birth name is Claire Fleury.’ She paused for a moment before she got to the main point. ‘It might surprise you to hear that I am the great-granddaughter of Cornelius’s brother.’
There was a communal gasp and they all stared at her in stunned silence until Lily spoke. ‘Cornelius had a brother? How come we didn’t know?’
‘Because of something that happened over a hundred years ago. The brothers had an argument,’ Claire said. ‘More like a row, really. They might even have fought physically. I believe it could have had something to do with Caroline. Then Louis, Cornelius’s brother, left Magnolia Manor, never to return. He later married and had two children, my grandfather and his sister, my great-aunt Rachel. And then there was my father, and then his children. My brother, Patrick, my sister, Marian, and – me.’ She drew breath, feeling she had made a mess of the story and now everyone was confused. Claire delved into the shopping bag at her feet and pulled out Auntie Rachel’s book. ‘It’s all in here,’ she said, holding the book up. ‘My great-aunt put all the photos she had into this book, and drew up a family tree and…’ She stopped, feeling frustrated. ‘I’m not good at making speeches, sorry if it’s a bit garbled.’
‘Not garbled at all,’ Vi said in her crystal-clear voice. ‘Just incredibly startling, that’s all. Nobody knew about this brother, so we’re a little shocked, really.’
‘They were not only brothers,’ Rose cut in. ‘They were identical twins.’
‘Wow,’ Lily said. ‘That’s even more shocking. Could you pass that book around, Claire? I want to look at the family tree and the photos.’
‘There are things written in it too,’ Claire said as she handed the book to Lily. ‘All kinds of descriptions of family life in Dublin. Louis and my great-grandmother Helen lived in a big house in Killiney that they called Villa Magnolia.’
‘Another clue,’ Vi said. She went to look at the book over Lily’s shoulder and they studied the contents together as Lily slowly turned the pages.
‘This is amazing and sad at the same time,’ Lily said. She pointed at the photo of the two brothers standing together under the magnolia tree. ‘What a great photo. And they are so alike, it’s spooky.’
‘But they don’t look comfortable with each other,’ Vi remarked. ‘Cornelius looks stiff and his brother’s jaw is so tense you’d think it might break.’
‘They were already enemies,’ Sylvia said. ‘Louis was trying to hold in his anger. But then he couldn’t control it any more.’
‘So they had a fight?’ Rose asked.
‘Yes,’ Sylvia said. ‘It started with a verbal confrontation in the library. Some harsh words were said by both of them. And then Louis lunged at Cornelius and they started to wrestle. Maria, their mother, had to call the gardeners to separate them. They were both bruised and bleeding, Cornelius said. And then Louis went to his room, packed his bags and left without saying goodbye. I think he wrote to his mother after that and they were in touch quite often. Maria even went to Dublin to plead with Louis to come back but he refused.’ Sylvia drew breath and shook her head. ‘Such a sad time for that family. Their sister, Iseult, had eloped and married against her father’s wishes, so all they had was Cornelius to take over the estate.’
