Page 31 of The Widow's Irish Secret
Naomi rolled her eyes and sighed theatrically. ‘No manners at all.’ She sat down and picked up her fork. ‘Come on, Granny, get it while it’s hot.’
They all laughed and joined the children at the table. Tricia smiled at Liam and thought about what he had just said. ‘What was that about a pirate ship?’ she asked Dominic.
‘Just a story we made up,’ Dom replied when he had finished a bite of meatball and spaghetti. ‘There’s no pirate ship. I thinkthey were taking samples of some kind from the bottom of the bay.’
‘Did they really have snorkels?’ Lily asked.
‘I’m not sure,’ Dom said. ‘They were too far away for us to see them properly. But I did think it was strange that they were so far out. If they were taking samples or studying marine life, wouldn’t they be closer to the shore?’
‘Who are they working for, anyway?’ Lily asked. ‘The Department of the Environment?’
Dom helped himself to water from the jug. ‘Or maybe some private company? Could they be looking for something else, though? Like mineral deposits? You never know what hides deep down on the ocean floor.’
‘I’m going to ask around,’ Lily said. ‘People coming to my garden café might know. Nothing stays secret in this town. Mum, why don’t you come and have a coffee there tomorrow? You’re bound to meet some old friends there. It’s getting to be a real hot spot.’
‘It’s the in place in town in the summer,’ Dom said. ‘A great place to find out what’s going on in town.’
‘I’d love to,’ Tricia said. ‘I’ll pop over when I’m back from town. Vi and I are going to the vintage shop to see if we can find an outfit for the party. It’s only two days away.’
‘I know.’ Lily sighed and pushed away her plate. ‘Granny’s going bananas. She pretends to be all cool and collected. But she’s really up to ninety about it.’
‘Why is she going bananas?’ Naomi wanted to know. ‘I want to go and see that. I’ve never seen anyone going bananas.’
‘It’s just a way of saying someone is really stressed,’ Lily explained. ‘There are no bananas involved.’
‘Oh.’ Naomi went back to hoovering up spaghetti from her plate.
Tricia smiled at her granddaughter, thinking how smart and cute she was, and then her thoughts drifted to Cillian and their new friendship that could become something a lot more in time. She didn’t want anyone to know, it was too soon and too new. In any case, if it ended as soon as it had started, it would have been good not to share it with anyone. But how lovely it was to sit here at the table having dinner with this young family who she loved so much. She wanted Cillian to get to know them so he could talk about Fred and their student days together. It would be lovely for the children to find out what their grandfather had been like as a young man, before he had met Tricia and had a family. That was a little part of Fred that she couldn’t share with them.
Then Lily’s words drifted into her thoughts.
Nothing stays secret in this town.
She hadn’t heard anything from Terence or her solicitors since she’d arrived. But her time was running out. She needed to find out if she could sell the drawings. She needed to get into the Magnolia archives to see if the little boy whose drawings had been put in the old wardrobe was someone famous. Or perhaps use this trip to the café to at least find out any clues as to who used to live in the cottage.
16
The café in the old orangery sat in the middle of the walled garden which, now in the height of summer, was especially lovely. The herbaceous borders were full of shrubs and flowers in full bloom; peonies competed with roses and hydrangeas, their colours vivid against the backdrop of the mellow stones of the old walls. The gravel paths had been newly raked and the lawns mowed to velvety perfection. Tricia’s heart swelled with pride as she walked down the path to the orangery, where the little terrace had been furnished with small round tables under the oaks. The tables were nearly all occupied, but Tricia spotted a free one near the entrance door and headed for it before anyone else would take it. Vi was joining her when she had left the bags with their shopping in the gatehouse, so Tricia draped her scarf on the back of one of the chairs to show it was occupied.
Tricia and Vi had spent a wonderful mother–daughter morning shopping in the vintage boutique in town and had been lucky to get two perfect outfits for the party the following day. Vi had found a dark green silk shift dress that had real nineteen twenties vibes. Tricia, after going through practically the whole stock, finally struck gold with a black chiffon dressthat came down to just below her knees. She added a long string of fake pearls and a velvet headband with a feather to wear in her hair. They had tried on their outfits and laughed as they saw themselves in the mirror, Vi declaring that Tricia’s bobbed hairstyle was the perfect jazz girl ’do.
Tricia looked around for Lily and spotted her in the café at the till where there was a long queue of customers waiting to pay. She realised then how hard Lily worked and what a huge success she had made of the garden and the café. Waiting for the worst of the rush to be over, Tricia turned her face to the sun, her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth and the soft breeze against her skin The air smelled of flowers, and the birdsong and the murmur of many people chatting added to the feeling of calm and enjoyment.
‘Tricia? Do you mind if I sit down?’ a voice said beside her.
Tricia opened her eyes and discovered Mary standing there with a tray. ‘Oh, hi, Mary. I’m waiting for Vi, but do sit down on one of the other chairs. The café is very busy today.’
‘It always is at this time of year.’ Mary put her tray on the table and sank down on one of the chairs. ‘Gosh, it’s warm.’ She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. ‘Hey, I see a friend from town over there looking for a seat. Do you mind if she joins us?’
‘Of course not,’ Tricia said. ‘I only want to keep one chair free for Vi. Don’t know what’s keeping her.’
Mary waved at a woman coming out of the café with a tray. ‘Come and sit here, Theresa,’ she shouted.
The woman, who was small and stocky with shiny black hair, smiled and started to walk towards them. ‘I can’t believe how packed this place is. Thank goodness you got me somewhere to sit.’ She smiled at Tricia, put her tray down and held out her hand. ‘Hi, I’m Theresa Coyle. And you’re Tricia Fleury, of course. You don’t know me but I know your mother-in-law Sylvia. She often comes to our salon to have her hair done.’
‘Which salon is that?’ Tricia asked.
‘Foxy Locks just around the corner from Lidl.’ Mary took a bite of her slice of carrot cake.
