Page 57 of The Book of Irish Secrets
Tonight?He asked. It’s only nine o’clock. I’ll pick you up and then we’ll go to a pub and talk. It’s important.
Okay,she texted back.I’ll be outside the main entrance in about ten minutes.
Then Claire looked around the library and noticed that Sylvia and Rose had gone to join the others gathered around Auntie Rachel’s book. She wandered over to them. ‘I’ll leave the book here with you, so you can have a good look,’ she said. ‘I have to go and meet – someone.’
Sylvia nodded. ‘That’s a good idea. I’ll look after everything and put the book in a safe place when everyone’s gone.’
‘Great. Thank you, Sylvia. I think I’ll just slip away now. Say goodbye to everyone from me, please.’
‘I will,’ Sylvia said. ‘Bye, Claire. It was a happy occasion, don’t you think?’
‘Oh yes,’ Claire said warmly, leaning over to kiss Sylvia on the cheek. ‘Thank you so much for organising it. See you soon.’ She waved at everyone. ‘Sorry. Have to run. See you all very soon. Bye.’
Then she left, running down the corridor and up the stairs to brush her hair and put on a bit of makeup. Should she change? No, the white shirt and navy cardigan she had put on for the meeting were fine. She just needed to freshen up a little. After all, it wasn’t a date – or was it? She had no idea. But the thought of seeing Pierce, whatever the circumstances, made her heart sing. She realised how much she had missed him these past weeks. And how much he had come to mean to her.
THIRTY-TWO
Claire stood shivering in the chilly wind below the front steps of the manor waiting for Pierce to arrive. While she waited, she looked up at the sky where the clouds scudded across the half-moon and the stars twinkled as if to send her a message. Claire imagined that they wanted everything to end happily for her. She felt good about the welcome her third cousins had given her, but now she felt unsure about what would happen with Pierce. She had no idea why he wanted to see her but it had seemed both urgent and serious. Was it something to do with Jo? Or his ex-wife? Or was he going to tell her he never wanted to see her again?
She paced around on the gravel to keep warm, hoping he’d arrive soon. Then, there he was, driving his old wreck of a car, pulling up in front of her. She waved and smiled.
Pierce got out of the car and held the passenger door open. ‘Hi, there. Hop in before you freeze to death. Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t get this damn thing to start and then I realised I was nearly out of petrol so I had to fill her up on the way.’
‘Okay.’ Claire got in and Pierce slammed the door shut and started the car. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m fine,’ he said in a friendly tone that made her feel more hopeful. ‘How about you?’
‘I’m very well, thanks,’ she replied, feeling suddenly that she wanted to stay cool and unemotional, despite being anxious to tell him all her latest news. But being with him like this, sitting so close, made her feel flustered. She longed to touch him and smell that mixture of wool and soap and sea air that was so unique to him. She crossed her fingers, hoping with all her heart that what he wanted to say to her would not be sad or upsetting. This evening had been so full of emotion, and even though it had ended on a happy note, it had still been nerve wracking. She didn’t think she could take much more.
They were silent as Pierce drove across the bridge and along the Strand. He pulled up in front of a pub called the James Long. ‘Here we are,’ he said. ‘And as luck would have it, there is a parking space just a few feet away.’ He rolled forward and they parked. Pierce switched off the engine and turned to face Claire. ‘Hi,’ he said and shot her a smile. ‘Don’t look so worried. There hasn’t been an accident or anything. It’s just… well, I needed to see you and tell you something. But let’s go inside and get something to drink and we’ll talk about it.’
‘No,’ Claire said and grabbed his arm. ‘I don’t want a drink and I don’t want to go inside where people might stare at us. Can’t we stay here and talk instead? You’re driving so you can’t drink anything alcoholic. I should have invited you up to my flat but that didn’t feel quite right. The whole family is in the library, you see. We had a meeting and I told them everything.’
‘You did?’ Pierce looked at her in the dim light of the dashboard. ‘How did they take it?’
‘They were stunned, of course, and stared at me as if I were from another planet. But then, when I told them the story, they began to take it in and then we had such a great, happy time celebrating the two families getting together. Strangely, theydidn’t have a problem with me lying to them all this time. They seemed to understand why I had to do it. And Sylvia had those final pieces of the puzzle about the feud.’ Claire paused for a moment, willing him to be as understanding as they had been.
‘I’m so relieved for you, Claire.’ He paused for a moment as he looked at her. ‘I’ve been too critical and too judgemental of you. I should have realised that you only did what you did because you wanted to find out the truth. But when you made me promise not to tell anyone, I felt you made me part of the deception. I should have seen the whole picture, but instead I only saw it from my own point of view. I was really angry with myself for my holier-than-thou attitude. As if I never make mistakes.’
‘Oh please, Pierce, don’t be so hard on yourself,’ Claire pleaded. ‘I see now how you must have felt and I don’t blame you at all.’
‘That makes me very happy,’ he said with a fond smile. ‘I’ve been kicking myself for being such a stick-in-the-mud. Your quest had to be completed before you could tell anyone. It’s such a fascinating story. I mean, the twin brothers – the row, the falling-out?—’
‘But there is something I have to tell you,’ she interrupted. She knew she had promised to keep the identity of the rightful heir of Magnolia Manor secret, but she had to tell Pierce everything. If she didn’t, what hope did they have? ‘Technically, my brother is heir to Magnolia Manor. As my great-grandfather was born first. But we don’t want to claim our inheritance.’
‘So you’re not going to say anything about that?’ Pierce asked.
‘No. We have decided not to tell anyone about that, except you, of course. I just can’t lie to you any more,’ Claire said. ‘I have to be honest with you from now on.’
‘Oh,’ Pierce said with a worried look in his eyes. ‘Well, as touched as I am that you’ve told me everything, including the bit about the rightful heir, it might be too late. That’s what I wanted to tell you.’
Confused, Claire stared at him. ‘Too late? What do you mean? Have you been talking about all this to someone?’
‘Yes. Hugh. Your ex.’ Pierce hung his head. ‘It was a while ago, when he was here. The day after the St Patrick’s Day party in the pub. I bumped into him in the street and he started telling me about you and your real name and all that. So I said I already knew. He looked a bit disappointed but then he was trying to upset me, smirking like he was the only one who knew you. We argued. I mentioned your great-grandfather and what you said about Caroline. I said you were probably the heir to the manor and he’d get nothing now you were divorced.’
‘Oh no.’ Claire couldn’t look Pierce in the eye.
‘He seemed upset,’ Pierce confessed. ‘I was trying to annoy him.’
