Page 21 of An Irish Kiss
She was clearly popular, as not a few others smiled and winked and teased as they went past, down a hall to a private room labelled “Snug.”
Inside there was finally another face he recognised, Mary, and some others all perusing menus, while a selection of books and other reading material lay on the table.
“You came!”Mary beamed at him.“Welcome.”
“Thanks.”
“And it’s good to see you too,” she said to Rory, before introducing him to the others.Names rolled past his ears: Niamh, David, James, Jane.They all seemed at least two decades older than him, but they were friendly enough.And sure enough, as soon as they learned he was Australian, each mentioned a relative of theirs who lived there, and asked if Aidan knew them.
Rory collected two menus then indicated a couple of chairs and sank into the one further away, which put him next to Mary.“We need to order our meals before the kitchen closes,” she murmured, and he perused the menu.Then smiled.
“I don’t think there is any option but to try the pie and Guinness special.”
She rolled her eyes.“You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?”
“Nope.”
She huffed, but he caught a glimpse of a smile she tried to obscure behind the menu.
The door opened and a middle-aged waitress appeared, took their orders, and disappeared.Which seemed to be the prompt to get the night’s proceedings underway.
“So, for tonight’s Story Circle, we’re fortunate indeed to have a special visitor join us who is all the way from Australia,” Mary said.“Welcome, Aidan.”
They all clapped, Rory included, her lips forming a half curve.Oh, he’d love to know why she was looking at him like that.
“Thank you for having me.”
“Perhaps you’d like to tell us a little about why you’ve come all this way and are now here in the neighbourhood,” Mary continued.
Here went nothing, then.He glanced at Rory, who had propped her chin on her hand, half smile affixed, her bright eyes never leaving his face.How long would that smile last…
“My grandmother always told me a story about a family castle, and I never really believed it.It seems that there are lots of people who claim a heritage that involves royalty or a castle somewhere, so I never thought it could be true.And then one day, my sister and I were looking at some old photo albums that belonged to my grandmother, humouring her, and a chart of an old family tree fell out that dated back seven generations.And when I looked at it, I realised there were some names I didn’t recognise, so I started to research.I’m a solicitor, so researching legalities is something I’m quite familiar with.And when I discovered that the Quinns had an association with this part of the world I delved a little deeper.”
He didn’t miss how some of the others glanced at each other, then at Rory.She was now staring at the table, her ponytail swinging forward and hiding her face.
In some ways he wished he could have said this to her more privately, but it was what it was.There was no point coming here to find out about his ancestral roots and then not asking the hard questions.“So my hope is to discover more about my family, about where they lived, and what they did, and take this information back to my grandmother before she dies.”
CHAPTERSIX
There was so much to unpack from what Aidan had said.He was a solicitor?He had a sister?His family had lived here?No wonder he’d taken exception to her earlier foolish comments about people claiming ancestry.Ugh.
And… the Quinns.She did recognise that name.Faintly.If only she could remember why that was…
She grew conscious that the room had stilled, that people were looking at her.She glanced up, they looked away.Why?
The door opened and Helen, their waitress, dispensed drinks from the tray she carried.Good.She could do with a drink.Even if it was only apple cider.She needed to do something to not look stunned by what had just been said.
After savouring the tart tang, she pushed the glass away and glanced up, watching Aidan carefully as Mary and James sought more clarification.Is this why he’d been exploring the old castle?Why he’d been talking to Mary so earnestly before?And he was a solicitor?That was the same as being a lawyer, wasn’t it?How easily she had been fooled by his easy-going ways.Clearly there was a lot more to the man than first appearances suggested.
Helen reappeared and distributed their meals, and Aidan’s explanations were put on pause as they ate their food.But while the scampi was delicious as always, she found it hard to swallow.Was Aidan here simply because he wanted to find out about his family history, or did he have another motive?From the way Mary and the others looked at her she wondered if there was something else at play.How she wished she could remember more about the Quinn family, and whether there was any link to the castle.
She drew out her phone, sent a message with exactly that question to Aisling and her mother, then switched it on silent.
“You’re being very quiet there,” Aidan said.
She took a sip of her Bulmers.“Just enjoying my meal.Are you enjoying the pie?”
“You were right.It is delicious.”His eyes sparkled with humour.
