Page 55 of The Book of Irish Secrets
‘And then, later, he gambled it all away,’ Rose filled in. ‘So we could have been left with a huge legal battle. But thanks to our great-grandmother Caroline, it was avoided.’
‘Dear Caroline,’ Lily said fondly. ‘She really was an angel in disguise.’
‘Not quite the angel when she was younger, I’m afraid,’ Sylvia remarked. ‘There’s something I have to tell you, now that you have heard the story about Louis Fleury.’
‘The reason for the big fight?’ Lily asked.
‘Yes,’ Sylvia said. ‘Only I know what happened. And now, after all these years, it has to be revealed.’
THIRTY-ONE
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they stared at Sylvia, waiting for her to continue.
‘A wild guess, but is it a case ofcherchez la femme?’ Arnaud, who had until now kept quiet, asked the question on everyone’s lips.
‘Yes.’ Sylvia looked at Arnaud. ‘Of course. Caroline. They were both in love with her. And she played them both, just for fun. She was a great beauty, known to be flirtatious but demure at the same time, which drove all the young men mad. She came to one of the Magnolia balls when she was nineteen and then Louis fell madly in love with her and she with him – and Cornelius. Of course, it would have been difficult to choose between them as they were so alike.’
‘Impossible,’ Vi murmured. ‘Two drop-dead gorgeous men mad about you. How exciting that would be for any young woman. Identical twins and everything.’
‘They were identical physically, yes,’ Sylvia said. ‘But quite different in personality. Louis was kind and considerate and lacked the dashing quality that Cornelius had. Louis also had a great musical talent and played the piano like a professional musician.’
‘Really?’ Rose asked, looking excited. ‘That must be where Sophie and Naomi got their musical talent. How amazing to find that out now. We were always wondering where it came from.’
‘And Claire plays the piano beautifully,’ Sylvia said with a glance at Claire. ‘I’ve heard you playing the nocturnes by Chopin late at night.’
‘Oh,’ Claire said, blushing. ‘I didn’t think anyone heard me.’
‘I did and it was lovely to listen to,’ Sylvia said.
‘But go on, Granny,’ Vi urged. ‘Tell us about the twins.’
‘Well,’ Sylvia started, ‘as I said, the brothers were so different. Cornelius was good at sports. Riding, tennis, rugby, swimming, there was no sport he didn’t excel at. Louis was shy and a real introvert. He was fond of nature and adored his dogs. Loved books and poetry. And music, of course.’
‘I’m in love with him now,’ Lily said in a dreamy voice. ‘Cornelius without the mischief. Louis would never have gambled the house away.’
‘I think Caroline began to see what she had missed,’ Sylvia said. ‘Especially when Cornelius revealed what he had done. Even if it was all sorted out in the end.’ She turned to Arnaud. ‘And what he did brought you here and us together. So we shouldn’t wish that events in the past never took place. Everything happens for a reason which can change people’s lives even a long time afterwards, if you see what I mean.’
Arnaud smiled tenderly at Sylvia. ‘Oui, mon amour. You are so right.’
‘But what I want to know is how it all happened,’ Rose said. ‘I mean, how could Cornelius come between Louis and Caroline?’
‘I think I know,’ Claire said, still trying to recover from the shock of Sylvia’s revelation. She had filled in every piece of the puzzle. Claire suddenly remembered something from her research. ‘Louis went to Australia to visit the firm that managedtheir imports from the Far East. And he stayed away long enough for Cornelius to get closer to Caroline.’
‘Six months,’ Sylvia said. ‘At least that’s what Cornelius told me. But when I think about how Caroline was as a young woman – flirtatious and fun-loving – I realise that she and Cornelius were perfectly matched. I can see that Louis’ serious, pensive side might have seemed boring to her then. It wasn’t until she was older that she came to feel that Louis was the kinder of the two brothers. But by then it was too late. Louis was gone, married with children of his own, and Caroline had given birth to Liam. And Louis would never come back to Magnolia Manor, even for a visit.’
‘No, he never did,’ Claire said. ‘And the bitterness lingered and stayed through the generations. It was never revealed what the feud was about. But we were told we’d never go to Kerry. We went to Wicklow and Wexford on our summer holidays, which was lovely, too, of course. I can’t say our childhood was sad in any way, there was just this mystery about all of you that we never managed to solve. So we made up stories about you,’ she added with a giggle.
‘What kind of stories?’ Rose asked.
‘That you were fairy-tale princesses living in a castle,’ Claire said.
‘Oh, yeah, princesses that had to do household chores,’ Lily cut in, looking amused.
‘And I had to wear Lily’s cast-offs,’ Rose said.
‘We had to work during the holidays when we went to college,’ Vi said. ‘To help pay for the fees.’
‘Very character forming,’ Sylvia said. ‘And educational.’
