Page 15 of The Widow's Irish Secret
‘Go on,’ Tricia said.
‘Well, there is something going on near your cottage. I saw people walking on the beach below the house just before you arrived.’
‘Tourists?’ Tricia suggested.
‘No. They weren’t tourists, I’m sure of that. They seemed to be looking out across the bay with binoculars and taking notes. I thought I recognised one of them, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, I thought you should know and maybe call the Guards if you see anyone acting suspiciously. It’s happening on Magnolia property after all and they were trespassing.’
‘Oh.’ Tricia thought for a moment. ‘That’s a little worrying. Maybe it has something to do with the rib I saw pulled into the reeds beside the pier when I went down for a swim the day I arrived.’
‘Could be,’ Nora said. ‘Maybe you should talk to the Guards about it. Just so they know something is going on.’
‘I might,’ Tricia said. ‘I’ll keep a lookout anyway.’
‘No need to tell Sylvia,’ Nora said. ‘But it’s late and I’m sure you want to go to bed. We’ll talk later. Sleep well.’
‘Goodnight, Nora,’ Tricia said and hung up.What is going on?she wondered as she got into bed.I’d better have a chat with the Guards tomorrow. Nora told me not to worry Sylvia about this.But then she remembered Sylvia’s face when she mentioned the rubber dinghy and the diving gear she had seen. Did Sylvia already know what that was all about?
9
Tricia thought long and hard about what Nora had said the following day. Then she decided not to contact the Guards right now. She didn’t want so sound like a hysterical woman who was worried about a few people on the beach. Of course they were trespassing but there was no proof anyone was doing anything illegal, especially if Sylvia knew about it. Tricia had a feeling she did but either didn’t want to talk about or had agreed to keep it quiet. Whatever was going on, it seemed better to say nothing for the moment and try to figure it out for herself. Besides, she didn’t particularly want to draw any further attention to herself. She’d wanted to keep a low profile as long as possible in case Terence was still looking for her.
Tricia thought back to the reading of Sean’s will. Terence’s face. His accusations and threats, and then that gossip in the local newspapers. That had all come from him. Those newspapers were not widely distributed and everything had died down after the first flurry of headlines. But there had been glances and whispers everywhere she went. Added to that was the worry of being charged with a crime. Terence seemed to hold all the cards at the moment. She wasn’t ready to face himagain, not yet. As an afterthought, she googled her name to see if there was anything further about her in the local news – or even nationally. But nothing came up and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She sent an email to her solicitor to check that everything about the sale of Sean’s farm was going ahead as planned. He replied that everything was in order and that the legal problem might be resolved with a bit of luck. Tricia said a silent prayer that he was right and decided not to worry and simply enjoy the doing up of the cottage, spending time with her grandchildren and having fun with her new group of friends.
Maggie, the fun redhead, picked Tricia up from the gatehouse on Friday night. ‘Hiya,’ she said when Tricia got into the car. ‘Are you ready for the speed dating?’
‘As ready as I can be,’ Tricia replied with a nervous laugh. ‘Not sure I know what I’m doing. Except to give you some support. I have absolutely no interest in dating or meeting men.’
‘Of course you don’t,’ Maggie said. ‘But I’m so glad you decided to come with me. I don’t think I’d have the nerve to walk in there on my own.’ Maggie eyed Tricia’s red cotton shirt and beige chinos. ‘You look great, though. Not a day over fifty.’
‘So do you,’ Tricia said. ‘Much younger than me, actually.’
‘Thanks. I hope some of the old guys will agree with you.’ Maggie started the car and they rolled slowly through the gates.
‘Old guys?’ Tricia asked. ‘I thought they’d be around our age.’
Maggie grinned. ‘Yeah, they are. And we’re old too according to our kids, but women are better at thinking themselves young.’
‘I’m not sure I agree with you,’ Tricia said. ‘It’s very individual and not really related to gender, I feel.’
Maggie shrugged. ‘Could be. But I certainly don’t feel old. My body is a little saggy here and there, of course, and my red hairis thanks to my hairdresser these days. But as long as I have my health and have a laugh from time to time I’m not going to complain. And tonight is not about being serious, is it? It’s about meeting people and having fun.’
‘Of course,’ Tricia agreed, feeling a slight buzz of excitement mixed with fear. What had she got herself into? She had only come to support Maggie, who she liked a lot already. Meeting men or dating was far from her mind and she hoped she wouldn’t attract any attention. In fact she wasn’t even interested in that kind of thing any more. She didn’t even know what speed dating was all about.
‘It’s not as scary as you think,’ Maggie said as if reading Tricia’s thoughts. ‘You get five minutes with each man and then another one takes his place. During the five minutes you’re supposed to tell him a few facts about yourself and then he does the same. It all lasts about half an hour and then we all have drinks and some finger food and chat. It’s very nice, really. And no obligation to meet any of the men if you don’t like any of them.’
‘Well that’s reassuring at least,’ Tricia remarked.
They parked beside the community hall and hurried inside as a rain shower suddenly smattered against the car.
‘Typical,’ Maggie panted as they rushed in through the door. ‘Now my hair will be all frizzy.’
‘It looks fine to me,’ Tricia told her as she looked around the hall where people were already sitting at tables dotted around.
A woman with grey hair came up to them and asked for their names. Then she handed each of them a Post-it sticker with their name on it from a stack she was carrying and told them to put them on and to sit at any free table. ‘We’re about to start,’ she said. ‘You get five minutes with each date and then the men change tables and you stay put. Have fun,’ she added before she went to another new arrival. Tricia had been about to tell her shedidn’t want to participate in the speed dating and that she was only there for Maggie, but the woman was now busy with other participants.
‘Oh, well, I might as well play along,’ Tricia muttered and put the sticker on the front of her shirt and sat down at an empty table near the end of the row.
