Page 14 of The Book of Irish Secrets
‘That would be lovely,’ Claire said. ‘I might do that.’
‘You should.’ Karina walked back across the library. ‘Come with me and we’ll go outside. The view from the front steps will cheer us up.’
They walked out of the library and across the huge hall with its tiled floor and huge fireplace and out through the impressive double entrance doors to the steps where they stood for a moment enjoying the sight of the magnificent magnolia tree that already had buds that would be in bloom at the end of the month, and the sweeping view of the gardens and the ocean beyond.
Claire stood for a moment, mesmerised by the sheer beauty of it all and thought of the twin brothers posing for the photograph that had been taken on this very spot over a hundred years ago. She felt a sudden chill as she stood there and Karina looked at her curiously.
‘It’s very humbling, isn’t it?’ Karina said. ‘I mean, the house, the gardens, the view, the tree. Such a huge slice of history, so well preserved. I often imagine all the Fleurys of all the different generations coming and going, living through all kinds of difficult times. And then the house, still standing, still so beautiful, even if a little dented by time and weather.’
‘Yes,’ Claire breathed, still awestruck by it all. ‘It’s incredible to be here at last.’
Karina gave her a sideways glance. ‘At last? Oh, yes, you told me you had wanted to come here.’
Claire nodded. ‘Oh yes, all my life,’ she said without thinking. ‘I mean, ever since I read about the manor when… a while back. There was also a feature in a magazine about the manor and its history.’
‘About forty years ago?’ Karina asked. ‘That thing inTheIrish Timesweekend magazine? I do remember that. We were all so excited to read it. Lily and Rose were tiny tots then and Vi wasn’t even born. Tricia and Fred had only been married a few years. It was something to do with great houses of Ireland. Sylvia and Liam hosted a party with a Victorian theme and we all came dressed in clothes from the period, or tried to, anyway. Such fun,’ Karina said wistfully. ‘Years before the tragedy. I suppose you heard about that too?’
‘Yes,’ Claire said. ‘I did. It was in all the papers. So incredibly sad.’
‘We were all devastated.’ Karina looked suddenly upset. ‘The whole town was in mourning. Oh, it was a terrible time. I don’t like to think about it even now.’
‘I can imagine,’ Claire said, remembering how she had felt when she heard about it. She had been devastated, too, in an odd way. It had been as if the fairy-tale castle had crumbled and the whole fantasy of being part of that family one day had slowly faded. But her determination to solve the mystery never died, it had been growing steadily until this day, and here she was at last, standing on the steps of the manor under that famous magnolia tree.
‘But that was so long ago and everyone has moved on,’ Karina said. ‘They have all settled into their adult lives and seem so happy, which is a true blessing.’ She started to walk downthe steps. ‘Now, on to the conservatory where you will meet Lily. Sylvia will join us there and we’ll have a cup of tea. Lily does everything in the café, down to making all kinds of jams and sauces that she sells here. Those Fleury women are such powerhouses.’
‘Gosh, yes,’ Claire agreed. ‘They seem to be good at everything. I’ve seen the café on the Magnolia website. It looks lovely.’
‘Even better in summer when we can sit outside under the trees,’ Karina said. ‘Lily used to close down for the winter, but this year she’s kept it open to see if it was viable. And it seems to have been a good decision. There’s a decent crowd here nearly every day.’
The short walk to the orangery took them down a gravel path and through an archway in an old wall that was the entrance to the Regency garden. The stone-fronted façade of the orangery could be glimpsed among the trees, the tall windows reflecting the late-afternoon sun.
‘What a lovely place.’ Claire looked around the garden with its shrubs, neatly tended flowerbed and the velvety green lawns. She could hear birdsong and the quiet trickle of water from the fountain at the far end. A smell of earth and grass and a faint tang of seaweed floated in the air. ‘It’s so peaceful here.’
‘A real haven.’ Karina led the way to the orangery and opened the door that had beautiful stained-glass panels. Tiny bells chimed as they walked into a bright room with round tables spread over the wide oak planks of the floor.
A woman with dark hair and eyes stood behind the counter, looking at the screen of a laptop. She looked up as Karina and Claire approached. ‘Hi, Karina. And you must be Claire,’ she said and held out her hand. ‘I’m Lily. Welcome to Magnolia Manor.’
Claire shook hands with Lily, feeling again the same kinship she had felt when she met Rose. ‘Thank you, Lily,’ she said.‘Nice to meet you.’ She was calmer this time as Lily’s brown eyes studied her for a moment.
‘Rose just texted me to say you were on your way,’ Lily said. ‘Granny will be here in a minute. She said to go ahead and have tea and she’ll be along when she has finished talking to Arnaud. He’s on his way from France but his business meeting was delayed so he’s flying to Paris instead and then getting on a flight to Farranfore when he can get away. I hope he’ll be here in time for the birthday party.’
‘Me too,’ Karina said. ‘So is he staying around for a while after that?’
‘He’ll be here until the end of the summer,’ Lily replied. ‘He’s arriving early this year. So Granny will be pleased.’
‘Those two are amazing the way they can hack a long-distance relationship,’ Karina said. ‘My Brendan is only away for a few days and I’m miserable without him. He’ll be home tomorrow, though, thank goodness. He’s in London on business,’ she explained to Claire.
‘I’m looking forward to meeting him,’ Claire said.
‘Why don’t you show Claire around while I make tea?’ Lily suggested. ‘Not much to see, except the little museum part over there,’ she said, pointing at an archway through which Claire glimpsed some framed portraits on a wall. ‘There’s a showcase with a few knickknacks and stuff too. Just fun things like fans and gloves and other bits and pieces from the early days of Magnolia, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.’
‘That sounds fascinating.’ Claire walked over to the archway. ‘I love history and Magnolia Manor is such an intriguing place. I’ll just take a peek at the portraits.’
‘Go ahead,’ Lily said. ‘I’ll give you a shout when the tea is ready.’
Claire didn’t hesitate but walked swiftly through the archway and into a space where the walls were hung with severalportraits in gilt frames. Mesmerised, Claire walked along the wall looking at each portrait in turn. The first one was of a beautiful dark-haired woman with flashing green eyes.
‘That’s Maria Fleury,’ Karina said behind Claire. ‘Renowned for her beauty.’
