Page 5 of The Widow's Irish Secret
Tricia put her hand on Vi’s cheek. ‘No, darling, it won’t. It will bring me back to the happiest day of my life. But are you sure you want that style? Puffed sleeves and that wide skirt with layers of flounces. Looks a bit like a meringue. It was all the rage in the nineties, but fashions have changed since then.’
‘I know but I’ve always loved it,’ Vi declared. ‘You looked like a fairy-tale princess in the photos I always thought.’
‘When you were eight, yes.’ Tricia smiled and shook her head. ‘Now you might think it’s hideous. But I’ll find it and we’ll havea look. You can always buy something new if you change your mind. We have plenty of time.’
‘Two and a half months,’ Vi said. ‘So we need to get started on all the details and send out the save the date emails and then the invitations and order the flowers and talk to the caterers and… well, check with Lily if she can give us the orangery for that one day.’
‘Very true.’ Tricia folded the list and put it in the handbag. ‘Lots to consider and discuss. I’m sure Granny will have some of her own ideas, too, so we should be prepared for that.’
Vi looked suddenly worried. ‘Yes, she will. We have to let her do some of the organising or she’ll be upset.’
‘We’ll play it by ear,’ Tricia said, feeling only slightly apprehensive. ‘But apart from all that, I want to go to the cottage and take a peek at it before Granny’s dinner. We have time to take a walk over there beforehand.’
‘Why? You’ll get the keys in a few days.’
‘I know,’ Tricia said. ‘But I just want to see it before I tell Sylvia I’m the new owner.’
‘Okay.’ Vi nodded and got up. ‘Maybe you can go on your own? I want to call Jack and then have a quick shower and change out of these jeans.’
‘Grand.’ Tricia rose, gathering up her bag. ‘I’ll see you up there, then.’
‘Brilliant.’
Vi disappeared up the stairs while Tricia left the house and started up the avenue to the manor house. She then took a path to the left which would lead her to the cottage. She couldn’t wait to see it in real life. Even though she knew it well, she hadn’t been to that part of the garden for many years. Now, as time had passed, she had come to cherish the memories rather than trying to forget, and it was sweet to remember the happy times. It made her feel good to think about them.
Tricia saw the roof of the cottage above the trees before she arrived there. She walked faster, feeling a dart of nostalgia as she arrived at the front garden which had once had an herbaceous border full of flowers of all kinds. Peonies, roses, marigolds, daisies and hydrangea bushes had provided a colourful display and Tricia had often come here to pick a bunch for the dining table in the summer. But now the garden was overgrown and only a few roses and daisies remained, poking their heads through the tall weeds. Her gaze drifted to the house itself which had been newly whitewashed and the thatch replaced with slate ten years ago, the estate agent had told her. The window frames were cracked, however, and she could see broken panes here and there.
She knew the cottage had a kitchen–diner, a spacious living room and a bedroom and a box room downstairs. There was a further bedroom in the attic space with a window in the gable end of the house. The bathroom was in the lean-to and would have to be updated.
Tricia could imagine that the house would have been a lovely family home for the gardener and his wife in the early days. The cottage was built in 1869 so there would have been many families living here, one after the other and the house and garden would have been teeming with children. She had always had a feeling it was a happy house, and Fred had said the same when they’d come here to look at it just after Violet had been born. It felt at the same time like yesterday and a very long time ago. The memories came tumbling back as she stood there at the gate looking up at the cottage.
5
‘What are we doing here?’ Tricia asked as their walk ended outside the cottage.
‘You’ll see,’ Fred said, and opened the gate. He took her hand and pulled her into the front garden that was still well tended. ‘The last tenant left six months ago and now there will be no more resident gardeners. Dad is going to hire a gardening firm from Dingle to look after the grounds from now on. So the cottage is up for rent.’
‘Oh?’ Tricia asked, mystified. ‘We were going to do it up when we were first married but then Lily arrived, so we forgot about it. But now here we are again. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’
‘Maybe I am,’ Fred said with a teasing grin.
Tricia smiled back at her handsome husband, taking in his tall frame, thick copper-coloured hair, sparkling green eyes and the beautiful smile that lit up his face. Fred was always so cheerful, always ready to crack a joke or play a trick when you least expected it. They had been married for over ten years and Violet was two years old, and had just started to talk in real sentences. Tricia loved the old manor and was very fondof her parents-in-law, Liam and Sylvia, with whom they got on so well. But they were never really on their own even though the house was very big. They had dinner together in the formal dining room every evening as one big family. Fred’s parents still stuck to old traditions and although Tricia loved the old house and the beautiful rooms, it felt strange, even after ten years, to live like this, with his parents so close. She knew Fred felt the same, and now as she stood in the kitchen of the cottage, she had an inkling that he might be planning for them to have a space of their own.
‘I know what you want to do,’ Tricia said as she looked around at the old cupboards, the wood-burning range and the sink with its wooden draining board. ‘It wasn’t quite the right thing for us when we were just married but now it feels right. I love the idea.’
Fred turned from inspecting the range. ‘You do?’ he said, looking suddenly very happy. ‘But this house needs a lot of work to get it liveable. And it’s not as comfortable as Magnolia and never will be.’ He took her hand. ‘I know it’s small, but the girls would love to play in the garden and we could put up swings and maybe put in a small swimming pool or something in the back garden. We could have chickens and ducks and they could play farmers. What do you think?’ There was such hope in his eyes as he looked at her with love and a yearning for them to do something together. They had been so busy all these years, Fred with running the farm and the estate with his father and Tricia with her three daughters and her part-time job as an accountant. Doing up the house would give them a chance to be together more.
Tricia nodded and went over to kiss him. ‘I think it’s a lovely idea. A place where we can be together on our own away from everyone. We can do it up slowly and make it just the way we want. It’ll be like a little hideaway. And the girls will love it too.But…’ She paused. ‘What will your parents think? Will they let us buy the cottage to do what we want with?’
‘I’m sure they will,’ Fred said, looking nearly sure. ‘We’ll still be close by.’
‘We’ll ask them at dinner,’ Tricia suggested. ‘I mean, we’ll be doing them a favour doing up the house ourselves. I can’t wait to get started. You know how I love getting my hands dirty. The garden will be a great project, and then we’ll paint all the rooms colours that Sylvia would never choose, and I can make curtains and we’ll get furniture at the flea markets all over Kerry. Oh, Fred, it will be so much fun. And our very own home at last.’
‘Terrific,’ Fred said and hugged her close. ‘I knew you’d be keen to do this. And you know what?’ he added after a long pause. ‘There might be something hidden here that could be very valuable.’
‘Like a treasure?’ Tricia had asked, laughing at his mysterious expression.
‘You never know,’ he had said and then kissed her, making her forget everything except their love for each other.
