Page 33 of The Book of Irish Secrets (Magnolia Manor #5)

TWENTY-FIVE

Claire didn’t know how she got through the rest of the evening.

Jo had been sour and resentful as she ate her pizza.

Pierce had tried to calm Jo’s suspicions by joking that he had been trying to imitate Arnaud and be chevaleresque in a French way, but Jo didn’t buy that.

‘I thought you were just friends,’ she said. ‘But that was a lie, wasn’t it?’

‘It wasn’t a lie,’ Claire cut in. ‘We are very good friends. But maybe that’s not the whole story.’

‘What’s the story, then?’ Jo asked glumly.

‘We don’t really know,’ Pierce said with a quick glance at Claire.

‘It’s between Claire and me to sort out.

Can you accept that for the moment? I will spend as much time with you as I can while you’re here.

’ He grabbed Jo’s hand and looked into her eyes while he continued.

‘You are my number one priority and you always will be until the day I die. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ Jo muttered.

Claire felt awkward sitting at the table, wondering whether she should have excused herself and left so Pierce and Jo could have some privacy.

They all ate in silence for a while until Jo had finished her pizza.

Claire said goodbye to father and daughter and walked to her car shortly after, hoping that Pierce would call her as soon as he could.

They had hardly glanced at each other after Jo’s return to their table but Claire had enjoyed the feel of his warm hand on hers, and felt it was a sign that Pierce had feelings for her that matched her own for him.

But what use is it to think like that? Claire wondered as she drove away .

If I leave, I’ll have led him on and he’ll think badly of me.

Oh what a mess I’ve created, both with Pierce and the Fleurys.

When Claire arrived home to her flat, she threw her jacket and bag on the sofa, but picked up her bag again as her phone pinged. It was a text message from her sister, Marian.

Amazed at what you found out. Call me tomorrow so we can discuss.

Anxious to talk to Marian, Claire decided to call her straight away.

Marian answered immediately. ‘Hi there, where have you been?’

‘I was having pizza with Pierce and his daughter,’ Claire replied. ‘An evening full of tension, I have to say.’

‘Why?’ Marian asked. ‘Did the daughter feel you were getting too cosy with her dad?’

‘Something like that.’

‘Must be a tricky situation,’ Marian said.

‘To say the least,’ Claire said with a sigh.

‘I can imagine,’ Marian said. ‘But that’s not what you called about, is it?’

‘No, I wanted to talk about what I found in the attic room,’ Claire replied.

‘Me too.’ Marian paused. ‘So… You found Louis’ birth certificate? And a note from the doctor stapled to it. What a fantastic find. So Louis was the rightful heir – is that what you took from this?’

‘Exactly.’

‘That might cause a few problems if we act on it. I mean,’ Marian explained, ‘if Louis was the true heir, his great-grandson would now be the owner of Magnolia Manor. Patrick, I mean. Our brother.’

‘Yes,’ Claire said. ‘That’s what I was worried about. And when I finally reveal everything to the Fleurys they might think that it’s why I’m here.’

‘Exactly,’ Marian said. ‘So we’ll keep it between ourselves and not tell Patrick, don’t you think?’

‘Yes,’ Claire agreed. She could never imagine her brother claiming his right to the estate, but nevertheless it was safest to keep it a secret. ‘I can’t even begin to imagine what would happen.’

‘It would start a legal process that would take years and cost a fortune.’

‘I came here to make peace between the two branches of our family, not to start some kind of war.’

‘Of course you did,’ Marian said. ‘So let’s leave well enough alone.’

‘But I still need to find out what happened,’ Claire insisted. ‘And to get closure for Louis, even though he’s long dead. I can’t do that until I know the truth.’

‘I suppose that’s still possible,’ Marian said. ‘You have a lot of the facts, so you should try to put it all together, like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to find the missing pieces and put them in the right place.’

‘You’re right,’ Claire agreed. ‘And then I’ll leave,’ Claire declared.

‘Leave?’ Her sister sounded shocked. ‘I understand how awkward you must feel,’ she said. ‘Everyone has been so nice to you, especially the Fleurys, which makes you feel guilty. But you don’t have to leave, do you? What about Pierce?’

Claire didn’t know what to say, so she swiftly said goodbye and hung up, feeling upset. Then her phone rang and she saw that it was Pierce, which made her forget everything.

‘Hi,’ he said. ‘I hope it’s not too late to call?’

‘No, I just got off the phone with my sister,’ Claire replied.

‘Good.’ He paused. ‘I just called to say… well, that things are getting a little complicated. We were getting to know each other really well and I began to feel we had something good.’

‘I know. Me too.’ Claire felt suddenly cold. She knew by his tone that he was trying to halt things between them, maybe even breaking it off. ‘But maybe we were going too fast?’ she said in order to put his mind at rest. ‘I love being with you and our dates have been such fun.’

‘Yes, I know,’ he said quietly. ‘It was lovely. But as you said, maybe we should take a break and give each other some space?’

‘It’s Jo, isn’t it?’ Claire said without thinking. ‘She doesn’t like you being with someone other than her mother. Just a wild guess, but that’s the feeling I get.’

‘Yeah, well. Partly,’ Pierce said. ‘Other things too.’ He paused for a moment.

‘I have to confess that your actions since you came here have… surprised me. You’ve been telling lies to people who have been nothing but kind to you and I don’t want to be involved in that.

I think it would be best for us not to be?—’

‘Oh, okay,’ Claire interrupted, suddenly tired of the discussion.

‘I know lying to Sylvia, Lily, Rose and Vi was not quite nice, but I will tell them everything once I have all the facts. They might hate me forever after this, but at least they will know the truth. But if you can’t grasp what I’m going through, you’re not as understanding as you pretend. ’

‘I’m trying my best,’ Pierce protested. ‘But you might see that it’s not easy to…’

‘Goodbye, Pierce,’ Claire said and hung up. Then she threw the phone on the coffee table and burst into tears.