Page 64 of Heart of the Wren
“Fairies. I can’t believe it.” Carol picked up the poker. “This was all just a joke?”
“They were pretending to be Mairead, and Clíona, and theWrenboys, but they genuinely would have taken Lorcan through the portal in the holly tree and over to the Otherworld.” I held his hand. “You would have been gone. For good. Or they would have cracked your skull open and strung you up in the tree.”
“How is any of that a joke?” Carol asked.
“They’re not human. They have a very different sense of humour. Lorcan’s missing shoes, the breakages, the phouka chasing him across the field: they did it all.” I took her free hand and we formed a circle under the holly tree. “The rumbling we felt — and the voice you heard, Carol — now that was all really Clíona. We did encounter a goddess here today. An actual, real, divine goddess who became aware of us and our actions. And in doing so, the three of us have made a new pattern. A new story. One that will repeat in some fashion, somewhere, somehow. Most probably through your descendants, Carol. If you have any, of course. You’re a seventh daughter. You have the eye. ESP. The gift. Whatever you want to call it. You’re connected to the world in a way neither Lorcan nor I are. Imagine how powerful your seventh daughter would be.”
“Don’t lose the run of yourself,” Carol said. “I’m only 17. I’m not having any kids anytime soon. I told Eddie we’re not doing anything until we’re married.”
“What about what I caught yis doing in my hay barn?” Lorcan asked.
“Ah, would ye stop,” Carol said. “It was only the tip. We’re not doing it properly until he walks me down the aisle and I stop being Ms Carol Dolan and become Mrs Carol Chorus.” She wiggled. “I haven’t said it outloud before. I quite like the sound of it.”
“Eddie’s last name is Chorus?” I hadn’t thought to ask before.
“What your last name, come to think of it?” Carol asked.
“He doesn’t have one,” Lorcan said. “He’s like Cher.”
Chapter 37
LORCAN
WE MET Eddie and Bullseye in the back yard, by the old cottage. They were running at full speed towards us, having finally been let out of the living room.
“The door opened by itself.” Bullseye hugged Carol. “I didn’t know what was after happening to you. Are you alright?”
Carol assured him she was fine and did her best to explain what had happened.
“The whole thing was a joke?” He blew on hishands for warmth. “It doesn't sound very funny to me.”
I showed him the brooch. “This is what started it all and now it’s mine. Officially, this time.”
“You can sell it and fix the kitchen window.” Bullseye nodded to the hole in the wall of the kitchen. The shredded tarpaulin lay bundled on the ground, gathering snow. “And everything else that needs fixing around here.”
After letting the dogs out of the greenhouse and assuring them I was okay, I walked into the kitchen, surveying the damage. Overturned chairs, broken cups, and doors off their hinges. Every plate smashed on the floor. The Super-Ser heater dented and lying on its side. The patch of mould still clinging to the corner of the ceiling.
I walked on. The floor still creaked. The handrail still wobbled. The wallpaper in the living room was still peeling. I bent down to retrieve my book on Ross Castle — my thoughtful gift from Dara. In the melee, it had been trodden on and the cover torn. I clasped it to my chest.
I could sell the brooch, get it all repaired, and do what needed doing to the farm sheds. And then I’d be back to where he was. Then I’d repeat my own pattern. Working day and night to keep the farm going. Alone.
???
It took us an hour to find another tarpaulin and recover the kitchen window, during which hardly anyone spoke. When we were done, we sat at the table. Dara began tidying up the broken pieces of delf but I told him to leave it until the morning.
I picked up my binoculars. What remained of the lenses fell out. “Do you want to stay the night?”
Bullseye drummed his fingertips on the table. “Ah, no, I won’t. I’d better get back. Aine will be wondering where I am. Carol, are you coming with me?”
Carol and Eddie exchanged glances. “Are you still mad at me, Daddy?” she asked.
Bullseye stopped drumming. “I saw how Eddie tried to protect you. I still don’t like the idea of you moving so far away. But if you’re going to do it for anyone, I’m glad it’s for him. I suppose.”
Carol squealed and hugged his neck, making him gag.
He held out his hand. Eddie shook it.
???
