Page 34 of The Widow's Irish Secret
‘Have you sent out the save the date cards?’ Tricia asked.
‘We did it by email yesterday,’ Vi replied. ‘Didn’t you get one?’
‘I might have missed it in the middle of all the building stuff. Ted sends me emails about it all the time. He doesn’t want to clog up my texts, he said.’
‘Oh. Very considerate.’ Vi smiled at her mother. ‘Is he the one who’s making you look so happy?’
‘Never you mind,’ Tricia said, trying not to laugh. She picked up her phone. ‘I’ll check my emails now and see if your card arrived.’ She quickly scanned her inbox and then saw the item. ‘There it is. The twenty-second of August. Lovely virtual card, sweetheart. Well done.’
‘It wasn’t me, it was Jack,’ Vi said. ‘He did the design on some artwork app he found.’ She finished her coffee and gathered uptheir plates and cups and put them on the tray. ‘I’d better go. Jack will be home soon.’
‘I’ll take the tray in and put it away,’ Tricia promised. ‘In any case, I need to go through my emails and reply to Ted and thank him. I’m sure he was the one who got the electrician to finish so soon. And I want to see if Lily will sit down here with me when the rush is over. She needs a break.’
‘Good idea, Mum.’ Vi got up. ‘See you later, then. Early dinner and bed so we’ll be at our best for the party tomorrow.’
Tricia nodded and smiled. ‘Yes, very sensible. I need beauty sleep a lot more than you.’
‘Say hi to Ted.’ Vi winked and then she was gone before Tricia could reply to the insinuation. But then she thought,Why protest? If Vi thinks I’m interested in Ted, she won’t suspect that my relationship with Cillian is anything more than old friends meeting up again…Maybe it wasn’t fair to Ted, but she was sure he wouldn’t care. He seemed such a self-contained, confident man with a good sense of humour. He’d probably have a good laugh at the idea of being the fake love interest.
Tricia smiled to herself as she checked her emails again. There was one from Ted with a few details of minor additional costs. He also said,The electrician found an old metal tube behind a wall panel. Rusty and dented but intact. There might be something in it so I put it on the kitchen table for you to look at.Tricia decided to take a look at it that evening. It could contain something that might tell her more about the O’Grady family.
Then she forgot everything as she saw an email from Cillian. What he said made her throat contract.
17
Hi Trish,
just to say I miss you and that I won’t be at the party after all. I have to go away for a meeting with the firm I’m working with. I have to do a presentation of all we have done so far and our future plans and also what we have found. It has to be done in order to raise funds to finish everything and we need to justify spending more money on this very exciting project. I’ll be in touch as soon as I’m back from Germany.
Love,
Cillian
So it was true, then. He was working for a German firm on something that he had to keep secret. But what was it? Tricia sat there, forgetting everything around her as she tried to put the pieces together. She was certain Cillian’s project was connected to the diving in the bay. Then her little grandson’s words popped into her head. He had said something about diving to find a pirate ship, which of course was nonsense. But what if it had to do with some other kind of sunken ship as she had suspected?After all, Cillian had seemed very shaken by that old drawing she had found in the cottage, the one that depicted a ship called theCarmen. But no, it couldn’t be. Cillian was an archaeologist and had nothing to do with diving or old ships. Finding the drawing now, and showing it to Cillian, was an amazing coincidence – if the two were connected at all.
Tricia shook her head trying to clear her mind. It was all so confusing, and added to that, her feelings and emotions were suddenly in turmoil. The fact that he had taken off just like that without telling her until he was gone was also a little disturbing. She had felt they were getting so close and that a warm friendship was beginning. He had said he was a restless soul with itchy feet but, blinded by her attraction to him, she hadn’t paid much attention to that. Now she realised what he meant. He had gone off without as much as a goodbye, only letting her know when he’d arrived in Germany. Was this something he did all the time?
But despite her dismay, she was glad Cillian was not coming to the party. It would be too difficult not to reveal the chemistry between them. This way she could concentrate on Vi and Jack and give them all the attention they deserved. She would deal with what was going on with Cillian when he came back.
Tricia pulled herself together as she heard the gravel crunch and saw Lily approaching her table. Better to park all this at the back of her mind and concentrate on the present.
Tricia smiled as Lily pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘You look a little tired, Lily-lou.’
‘I am,’ Lily replied. ‘Today was hectic. But the rush is over now and we’ll be closed tomorrow for the party. Do you have an outfit?’
‘Yes, Vi and I managed to find two great dresses in the vintage shop. Possibly the last ones left. But what about you?’
‘I rooted around in a trunk in the attic last week and found a red sleeveless number with sequins that I’ve had cleaned and mended. More nineteen forties than twenties, but it’s very nice. Rose is wearing palazzo pants and a white top, which could be from any era. Granny had a dress made by a seamstress in Tralee. It’s fabulous. She’ll be the belle of the ball and outshine everyone. I hope Vi won’t mind.’
‘She won’t,’ Tricia declared. ‘She’ll be happy for Sylvia to shine this time. And she deserves it after all her hard work.’
‘Yes she does.’ Lily looked at her mother. ‘So what else is going on? I saw you looking a little startled as you checked your phone right now. I hope there is nothing wrong at the cottage?’
‘No, not at all,’ Tricia replied. ‘In fact, I’ll be able to move in the day after tomorrow. The electrician has finished so all is safe now and Ted has done all the new pipes in the bathroom and put in a new immersion tank. The basic furniture is already there and then I have a load coming from Donegal in a few days with everything for the kitchen and my books and bits and pieces. Of course the work will still be going on for a few weeks but it’s all coming together.’ She smiled at Lily. ‘Actually, Ted said he thought there was enough room in the box room for a bunk bed, so the kids will be able to stay the night with me whenever you and Dom want to get away.’
‘Ted seems to be like a real gem,’ Lily remarked. ‘What a good idea to put in a bunk bed. That’ll be such fun for the kids. And great for us too. I think Rose and Noel need to get away more than we do, though. So Naomi and Sophie could have a girls’ sleepover with you when you’re ready.’
‘That sounds lovely.’ Tricia smiled. ‘You have no idea how wonderful it is for me to be here with all of you. And to feel needed and wanted. That’s all I could ever wish for.’
