Page 23 of An Irish Kiss
Mary nodded.“Perhaps you could show that to Aidan one day.”
“Sure.”
“That’d be great, thanks.”He smiled at her appreciatively.
Oh, she was a fool to take his smiles so much to heart.
“Now,” Mary drew another book to her.“I knew I recognised that name, and I think from what you mentioned earlier that you’ll find this next photograph reveals a little more about your family history.”She passed it to him, another page opened.
Rory didn’t want to look too obvious as she glanced at it, but from what she could see, the Quinn family had certainly come up in the world.Instead of thatch, this house was larger, two storeys, with what looked like more expensive slate tiles.
“That house suggests the Quinn family’s fortunes had improved by the early 1700s, although I think you’ll agree it’s nothing in comparison to where they lived next.”
The room seemed to take a collective breath, and Rory’s heart began to pace.Just where had Aidan’s family lived next?
Mary handed over another book, again opened to a photograph.
And this time Rory gasped.She recognised that place.She’d been there just this afternoon.
The burned down castle beside the golf course on the grounds of the Castle Griffin Hotel.
* * *
His heart pulsedas he studied the photograph.Granwasright.“So the castle did belong to my family,” he said slowly.
Mary tapped the page.“The Quinn family certainly lived there for a time.”
He frowned.“Lived there?Or owned it?”The question of legal ownership was what everything hung upon.
Mary flipped over a page.“I’m afraid there has always been some debate about the true ownership of the place.”
Which was exactly why his grandmother had sent him on this quest.If his family had been manipulated or unlawfully evicted then he, as the first lawyer in his family, was charged with the special responsibility to see things set right.Even if it upset the woman sitting next to him.
“But I… I don’t understand,” Rory murmured.“I always understood the ruined castle to be part of the Griffin estate.”
Hmm.Clearly she hadn’t known.But that didn’t mean he’d meekly pack up stumps and head home.No, even historical wrongs needed to be made right, and those affected compensated accordingly.
His attention returned to Mary.“How do we find out about the true ownership?”
“You would need to search the parish records, and I’m sure there will be title deeds and other appropriate legal documents that can show exactly how things are situated.”
“So why is there still a question about the legal ownership?”
She sighed, glanced at Rory, then back at him.“Because I think you’ll find there are two sets of those documents, and therefore there are concerns about which are the most accurate ones.”
Rory stiffened.“Do you mean to imply that the set held by my family are false?”
“No, not at all,” Mary soothed.But the flick of her gaze at Aidan didn’t exactly support that.“It’s just that there has long been a question mark over what is the most accurate rendition of the land titles.”
“I can’t believe this,” Rory muttered.She pushed back her chair.Glanced at him.“I can’t believe you,” she murmured, for his ears only.“What kind of person pretends to be nice when really he’s trying to steal my family’s land?That’s reprehensible.”
“It’s not reprehensible to want the truth to come out,” he said gently.“And that’s all I’ve been tasked to do.”
“Tasked by whom?”she demanded.
“By my grandmother.She recalls stories told by her mother of her family living there before the Troubles that saw the place burned in the early 1900s.”
She shook her head.“She’s mistaken.”She glared at Mary.“And I can’t believe you are supporting him in this.What about my family?We’re the ones who have lived here for generations.We haven’t hoofed off to the other side of the world then suddenly shown up demanding ownership.Why would you support him when this is clearly based on something other than the facts?”
