Page 21 of The Book of Irish Secrets (Magnolia Manor #5)

Claire went to the far end of the room, the part where there was even more of a mess, and papers and documents had been dumped in no particular order.

As the other papers had been at least organised with dates and years, they had to have had someone’s eyes on them, probably Rose’s.

But here there was a huge mess of things that had no dates and were stuffed onto the shelves randomly.

She flicked through a few of the papers and saw that they were of little importance.

She pulled out a few of them to look at in her flat, but felt suddenly so tired and overwhelmed that she decided to leave her research for another day when she could look at things properly.

When Claire got back to the flat, she looked at what she had pulled out at random.

They were household bills with dates from the beginning of the last century, that had ‘paid’ stamped across most of them.

Nothing much that would give any clue. But then she saw something at the bottom of one of the bills that was dated 1910.

It was from a shop that sold musical instruments.

It said that a violin had been purchased and a Steinway grand piano had been tuned.

It also had ‘paid’ stamped across it and then a signature…

Claire peered at it under the light of her bedside table.

The signature was by ‘Louis Fleury’. Claire blinked and stared at it, breathless with excitement.

‘Louis Fleury,’ she murmured. ‘Oh, how incredible to see something actually written by him.’ It was a tiny clue, not to the actual feud but to the fact that he had been real and lived in this house.

She kept looking at it and felt nearly dizzy with excitement.

She had to try to get back to the little room and do a more thorough search as soon as she could.

Claire shook her head, trying to clear her mind and return to the present.

She had a job to do, after all, and it was important to do it well.

Sylvia’s birthday party was her first task and she was determined to meet the challenge.

It was important both for her and for Karina.

Sylvia wanted her party to be a success and Claire promised herself it would be, come rain or shine.

It was important to get into Sylvia’s good books.

Then, maybe, she wouldn’t be angry when Claire told her the true story about who she really was.

On Tuesday morning, the day of the birthday party, Claire woke up to the sound of something smattering against the windows.

She sat up, and listened. Oh no, that sounded like heavy rain.

That was not good news. She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was already eight o’clock.

Time to get up, dress and go down to the kitchen and help Maura prepare the food.

The guests were arriving at five and there would be champagne and nibbles on the terrace, then the doors to the ballroom would be thrown open and everyone invited to find their places around the five round tables, each set for ten people.

Claire also had to check the table settings, the flowers, the candles and make sure everything was absolutely perfect, just the way Karina would do it if she were here herself.

But the rain would mean that the champagne and nibbles on the terrace was a washout.

‘What are we going to do?’ Claire asked Maura when she arrived in the catering kitchen half an hour later.

‘We’re going to have the champagne reception in the large hall,’ Maura replied, looking completely unflappable.

‘Drinks on the terrace was never going to happen, anyway. Nobody in their right mind would plan something like that in the month of February. No idea why Sylvia thought it would be possible. But the plan B will be fine, so don’t worry. ’

Claire relaxed. ‘Okay, I won’t, then. You seem so calm but I’m feeling like an acrobat without a security net because I have to stand in for Karina.’

Maura smiled. ‘I know how you feel, but trust me, we’re better off on our own.

Karina is always so nervous around Sylvia.

We can do without that kind of tension when we cater for fifty people.

I have it all in hand and Ronan and I have done it all according to Karina’s recipes.

The finger food for the champagne reception is ready and in the fridge.

Five different kinds of canapés: shrimp with a mayo dip, mini cucumber sandwiches, devil on horseback which will be done in the oven just before the guests arrive, cheese twists and cocktail tomatoes with mozzarella and basil.

You and I will pass it all around and Rose is going to help out too. ’

‘Oh, I didn’t know I had to do that,’ Claire said. ‘Do we wear waitress uniforms?’

‘No,’ Maura replied. ‘Just a white apron over a dark T-shirt and trousers or a skirt, whatever you have. The apron will cover most of it anyway. There are aprons on a hook in the laundry, so you can go and take one when you need it.’

‘And the dinner?’ Claire asked. ‘Do we serve that as well?’

‘No, it’s a buffet, so we just put everything on the long table and then the guests help themselves.

Then Sylvia will cut the cake and Rose and Lily will hand out the slices.

When the guests are having coffee in the library, we tidy up and put everything in the dishwashers.

We’ve done it all before, so there’s nothing to worry about. ’

‘Oh, good,’ Claire said, feeling better at Maura’s calm voice. It was going to be fine and there was nothing to worry about.

Everything went like clockwork, according to Maura’s plan.

The champagne reception in the hall was a great start to the evening and the guests, all dressed up, were soon chatting and laughing and enjoying the finger food that Maura, Ronan and Claire handed around.

Then followed the buffet in the ballroom, which looked wonderful with white tablecloths on the round tables, decorated with beautiful flower arrangements.

Claire found that she was oddly proud of Magnolia Manor and the way it looked tonight.

The soft light of the many candles made her feel she was transported in time to a bygone era and she felt as if she was part of the house, the family and its history.

She gave a start as Sylvia walked past her on her way into the ballroom with an older woman who stared at her and then took her by the arm.

‘Hello,’ the woman said. ‘You must be a relation. You have that Fleury look about you.’

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Claire stammered, casting a look at Sylvia. ‘I’m just one of the staff here.’

The woman studied Claire for a moment. ‘Yes, but you must have some family connection. You have the Fleury look.’ She turned to Sylvia. ‘Doesn’t she?’

Sylvia looked intently at Claire. ‘Yes, there is something about that face that I thought I recognised. But Claire is from Dublin and has never been to Kerry, so that’s just coincidental.

’ She smiled at Claire. ‘You’re doing a wonderful job.

I will tell Karina when she comes back from whatever she thought was more important. ’

‘Thank you,’ Claire said. ‘I’m really enjoying it too.’

‘Wonderful,’ Sylvia said and waved her hand. ‘Carry on.’

Claire went into the ballroom ahead of them, nearly feeling the woman’s eyes boring into her back. She turned and met the woman’s gaze and smiled. The woman didn’t return her smile, giving Claire an odd look before she turned back to Sylvia.

The moment passed but Claire had a feeling the woman was still trying to connect her to the Fleury family. She hadn’t realised that her family likeness to the Fleurys would be so noticeable to some people.