Page 14 of The Book of Irish Secrets (Magnolia Manor #5)

‘Of course we will.’ Pierce winked at Claire and dug into his plate of stew, Claire doing the same. They ate in silence for a while, their eyes meeting until Pierce put down his fork and let out a huge sigh. ‘Oh wow. That was some stew. What do you think?’

‘Unbelievable,’ Claire said, still savouring the last few bites of succulent lamb and the rich taste of carrots and onions.

It was truly the best Irish stew she had eaten for a very long time.

‘That mammy, whoever she was, cooked a mean stew. I think I might have had something similar at a Sunday lunch at my granny’s when I was ten. ’

‘Yeah, me too.’ Pierce took a swig of his pint. ‘It made me remember my mother’s cooking. But I think it has to do with the Kerry lamb. It has a particular flavour you don’t get anywhere else. I must get Karina to try it and then do her own version. I’m sure she could pull it off.’

‘She probably could,’ Claire agreed. ‘And turn it into a huge success.’

‘Of course she will. She has that knack. Not something I’m that good at.’ Pierce pushed away his plate. ‘After that, I need to take a break before we have the apple crumble with vanilla ice cream.’

‘Oh gosh, I’m not sure I have room for that,’ Claire exclaimed. ‘I’m stuffed.’

‘Yes, me too. But the apple crumble is delicious and not to be missed. How about we share a portion?’

‘Great idea,’ Claire said, beginning to enjoy her impromptu meeting with this nice man. There was a warmth to him that she found both attractive and comforting. ‘I have to watch what I eat. I gain weight easily.’

‘So do I.’ Pierce patted his slight paunch. ‘I indulged a bit over Christmas and now look at me. Can’t get rid of it. All Karina’s fault, of course.’

‘Do you live with her?’ Claire asked.

‘Yes and no.’ Pierce drained his pint. ‘I live in what was supposed to be the granny flat at the back of the house. Karina built it for our mum. But she died before she could move in so then when my wife and I split up, Karina offered it to me. It was good for us both and we could comfort each other after a hard time with Mum’s illness and my divorce. ’

‘That must have been so sad to cope with all at once,’ Claire said.

‘I know a little of what you must have been through. I…’ She stopped.

‘Oh, never mind,’ she added, feeling this was not about her.

Pierce had looked so sad and lonely when he spoke about his mother and his divorce and she didn’t want to add her own sorrows to the conversation.

‘Go on,’ he urged, looking intrigued. ‘You’ve been there too?’

‘Yes, but let’s not go into all that.’ Claire sipped the last of her Guinness. ‘I don’t want to get into a pity party.’

‘Or a competition about who’s the most miserable?’ Pierce filled in, shooting her that lovely smile. ‘You’re dead right. Let’s talk about something less depressing.’ He waved and shouted: ‘Hey, Brian, bring us some apple crumble, willya? With two spoons.’

‘Coming up,’ Brian shouted back.

‘He’s a great lad,’ Pierce said and turned to Claire. ‘So tell me, what brought you to Dingle?’

‘I wanted to run away from home,’ Claire replied. ‘I mean, I felt I needed to change my life for the better. And I had always wanted to come to Kerry so I thought I’d get away from Dublin for a while.’

‘No kids, then?’ Pierce asked.

‘No,’ Claire said. ‘I’ve never been that lucky.

Anyway,’ she breezed on, not wanting to get into the subject of children, or the real reason she had come to Dingle.

‘My best friend Finola saw Karina’s ad and told me I’d be perfect for the job.

Not that I am, but the job is perfect for me, if you see what I mean. ’

‘I think you are perfect for Karina,’ Pierce said. ‘She’s very unpredictable and chaotic. You seem very organised and a little driven. And you also seem to be able to cope with the unexpected and can handle difficult people. Those are rare talents.’

Claire stared at him. ‘How do you know I can handle difficult people? Did you read my covering letter?’

Pierce smiled. ‘I did. That bit about making people feel everything is your fault was a real punchline. That’s the best way to handle an angry client. With a little bowing and scraping and a touch of irony that they usually don’t get.’

‘Well, I worked at an insurance company,’ Claire said. ‘That method worked well then. Both with clients and mean bosses. Of which I had many in the twenty years I worked there.’

‘I’m sure,’ Pierce said at the same time as Brian arrived with a plate of apple crumble topped with a scoop of ice cream, and two spoons.

‘Thanks, Brian,’ Claire said. ‘That looks delicious.’

Pierce grabbed a spoon. ‘Let’s see who gets to the middle first.’

‘I bet you will, Pierce,’ Brian said. ‘But I won’t put any money on it.’ He winked and disappeared.

Claire picked up her spoon and took a small scoop of apple crumble with a little ice cream.

It was truly delicious, the slightly tart apple combined with the crumble topping that had a caramel crunch and then the vanilla ice cream adding a further taste sensation.

‘Delish,’ she mumbled through her mouthful.

‘Oh yeah.’ Pierce was already into his third spoonful and pulled back and swallowed. ‘I don’t want to make a pig of myself, so I’ll slow down.’

Claire took another spoonful and savoured it slowly but then felt so full she had to give up. ‘Sorry,’ she said, putting her spoon on the plate. ‘That’s all I can manage.’

‘Don’t apologise.’ Pierce smiled and put down his spoon. ‘I give up too. We’re not very good at pigging out, are we?’

‘Not really,’ Claire agreed, smiling back at him.

‘Would you like another Guinness? Or something else to drink? A cup of tea?’

‘Actually, a cup of tea would be nice,’ Claire said. ‘Then I think I’ll get back to the B&B. I don’t want to be out too late as I have to get up early tomorrow.’

Pierce nodded. ‘Yes, me too. I have two business meetings one after the other on Zoom tomorrow morning. Let’s have tea and then call it a night.’

They ordered tea which arrived promptly and then they continued chatting, forgetting the time and that they both had to get up early the next day. It wasn’t until the shout of ‘Time, ladies and gentlemen’ that signalled the pub closing for the day that they realised how late it was.

‘I can’t believe it’s this hour,’ Claire exclaimed, checking her watch. ‘I forgot all about the time while you were talking.’

Pierce grinned. ‘I take that as a compliment. It’s not often someone is so interested in my early childhood.’

‘It sounded like so much fun,’ Claire said, gathering her handbag and her jacket. ‘My childhood was pretty boring compared to yours. But then my parents were a lot less interesting and quite strict. Especially my father.’

‘My parents were bohemians.’ Pierce went around the table to pull out Claire’s chair. ‘It was all about music and dancing and reading books. My mother played the harp quite beautifully. And we were taught to play the piano and all kinds of other instruments.’

‘I used to take piano lessons,’ Claire said as they walked together to the entrance. ‘But it wasn’t because of my parents but my grandfather and then his sister, my great-aunt. They were very talented musically. I actually love playing the piano.’

‘I’m sure you’re very good at it,’ Pierce said as he held the door open for Claire. They waved at Brian as they went out and said goodbye.

‘Bye, lads,’ Brian called back from behind the counter.

They walked out into the street. Claire looked up at the dark sky and the stars twinkling above them, breathing in the mild air laced with salt and a faint whiff of woodsmoke. ‘It feels like spring.’

‘So it does,’ Pierce agreed. They looked at each other for a moment. ‘This was an unexpected surprise,’ he said. ‘I really enjoyed your company and the chat and the fact that you laughed at my jokes.’

‘I did so because they were funny,’ Claire said, not wanting the evening to end despite being tired.

‘That’s nice to hear.’ Pierce looked at her for a moment.

‘I was wondering, though, if you have any Kerry ancestry? You have a kind of Kerry aura about you. Something familiar that resonates with something in my memory.’ He stopped and shook his head.

‘Oh, forget it. Just a passing fancy, really. I’m sure Dublin girls are just as friendly and fun. ’

‘Maybe you should go there and find out?’ Claire said.

‘No. I’m happy where I am. And now that you’re here, things are looking up.’ Then he looked suddenly shy. ‘Well, time to go. Goodnight, Claire. See you tomorrow.’

He walked away before Claire had a chance to say goodnight back.

She watched him walking up the street, trying to figure out what he had meant.

There was something familiar about her, he had said.

Could that be her Fleury traits again? She shrugged and walked across the street to the B&B, using her key to let herself in.

She had thoroughly enjoyed the evening after accidentally bumping into Pierce.

What a nice man , she thought. And how utterly comfortable I felt in his company.

No tension or drama, just a meeting of minds, having fun without pressure.

Or it would be, if she didn’t feel she had been lying to him by omission.

But she couldn’t tell him the real reason she had come to Kerry, or why she had jumped at the chance to work for Karina when she had learned that she catered for the events at Magnolia Manor.

She couldn’t allow herself to get involved with anyone right now.

It carried with it risks she didn’t want to take.

She couldn’t quite explain to herself why she felt so attracted to him, or why she was upset that she couldn’t let it go any further than a casual friendship.

It could have been the start of something new and exciting, but she knew she’d have to hold back.