Page 6 of The Book of Irish Secrets (Magnolia Manor #5)

FOUR

Claire kept staring at the photo of the young men.

They were so alike, it was as if she was seeing double.

‘Identical twins,’ she mumbled to herself.

‘That must be Cornelius and Louis.’ She studied every detail of the photo and saw that they were standing against the backdrop of the front of the manor, the massive oak entrance door clearly visible.

The shadow of the magnolia tree that gave the manor its name at the side of the steps cast a dappled pattern on the two young men.

It was eerie to see the faces looking straight ahead and the eyes she assumed were either blue or green – or blue-green like hers?

And that lock of dark hair falling down at exactly the same spot on both foreheads…

How amazing. They were attractive in a romantic way and Claire could imagine the young ladies in the area swooning at the sight of them.

The photo would have been taken around the beginning of the twentieth century, she assumed from the clothes and the youthful appearance of the young men, just out of their teens.

Cornelius and Louis , she thought. What happened to you?

What sparked the rift between you and why did you never meet again?

Claire felt suddenly sleepy again and decided to go to bed.

She had to look her best for the interview with Karina Flavin tomorrow morning.

She put the big old book back into her tote bag and got into her pyjamas.

Tomorrow was another day, after all, and she wouldn’t be much wiser by straining her eyes looking at faded old photos full of strangers.

She had to do more research into the Fleury family which might lead to more clues.

She rinsed her mouth and looked at herself in the mirror above the basin as she applied moisturiser.

She didn’t look too bad for her age, despite being tired after the long drive.

Her dark curls that tumbled to her shoulders needed to be tamed and her face could do with a little foundation and blusher.

A touch of mascara would bring out the green in her eyes but she wouldn’t use too much makeup, just enough to look fresh faced and in good health.

A little spit and polish was all she’d need tomorrow.

She yawned and got into bed after closing the curtains, snuggling under the warm duvet as she listened to the wind and the smatter of rain against the windows.

Tomorrow would be both exciting and nerve wracking.

What was Karina Flavin like in person? she wondered.

Possibly a little scary judging by her snappy tone on the phone.

Claire decided to play it by ear and try her best to impress.

It couldn’t be that hard to be assistant to Karina Flavin. Could it?

Claire woke up early, and after a delicious breakfast of porridge, bacon and a fried egg, a cup of Barry’s tea and a slice of home-baked soda bread, she was ready for the job interview with Karina Flavin.

Her house was ‘just up the street’, she had been told by Mrs Madigan.

‘It’s the big Victorian pile of bricks with the monkey puzzle tree in the front garden.

’ Mrs Madigan had been hugely interested in Claire and why she was in Kerry.

Claire had given her a little basic information about herself without giving too much away, at which Mrs Madigan had looked disappointed.

Walking up the hill, Claire found herself buffered by the gale-force winds.

Despite the chilly wind, she had to stop now and then to admire the view of the harbour and the blue waters of the ocean beyond.

It felt wild and cold and wonderful at the same time and Claire felt a sense of elation as she gazed at the beautiful seascape, the mountains beyond and the seagulls soaring above her.

She kept taking in gulps of the fresh air, feeling that she couldn’t get enough of it.

How invigorating this place was. Why had she waited so long to come here?

Because she might not be welcome, she reminded herself.

She knew the other Fleury women might have inherited the generations-long feud, if they knew about it.

Did they know about Claire’s side of the family and not want to meet them?

Uncovering what happened was the only way she could be confident she’d be accepted through the front door of Magnolia Manor. She needed to find out more.

On the dot of nine o’clock, breathless and windblown, Claire rang the doorbell of the big house that had been easy to find.

Nobody came to open the door, so Claire pressed the button again, listening to the jingle inside.

Still no reply, so Claire pushed at the door and it swung open to reveal a neat hall with black and white tiles on the floor and a beautiful arrangement of dried flowers on a console table below an ornate mirror.

Claire stepped inside, calling, ‘Hello?’ As there was still no response to her call, she walked in and looked around. Then she heard a voice down the corridor that she could glimpse through another door, a voice shouting: ‘No! You evil monster! How dare you do this to me just now?’

Slightly panicked, Claire backed away for a moment, wondering what was going on.

Was someone being attacked? Should she leave?

Or call the police? The shouting came from a room at the end of the corridor, which was half open.

In order to find out what was going on, Claire tiptoed to the door and peered inside.

There was only one person in the room: a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.

She tapped at the keyboard and then let out a huge groan and then a string of swear words.

‘Hello?’ Claire said. ‘Do you need help with anything?’

The woman turned around and stared at Claire with a shocked expression. ‘Who are you?’

‘Claire O’Hanlon. You asked me to come at nine o’clock.’

‘Claire O… Holy mother! Are you the girl who applied for the job?’

‘Eh,’ Claire said, startled to be confronted by a stressed Karina Flavin dressed in a white hoodie sweatshirt and jeans. ‘Yes, that would be me.’

‘Wonderful.’ Karina got up and gestured at the chair. ‘Well, here’s your first test, then. If you can fix my dratted laptop, the job is yours.’

‘Okay. I’ll take a look.’ Claire went into the bright room which was furnished with a desk by the tall window and two easy chairs on either side of the small fireplace.

The parquet floor creaked as she approached the desk and sat down.

‘I’ll see if I can do anything,’ she said. ‘What’s the problem with it?’

‘I can’t get the keyboard to work,’ Karina said. ‘I hit the letters but nothing happens.’

Claire looked at the laptop and discovered it was the same model as her own. ‘Oh, I see. The keyboard is stuck. It’s a software problem. I think I know what to do… Can you disconnect it from the electric power, please?’

‘Sure.’ Karina went to the wall and pulled out a plug from the socket. ‘Done. Now what?’

‘I will hold the function, S and V keys at the same time for a few seconds,’ Claire explained and proceeded to do just that.

‘It will trigger a reset that is linked to the keyboard.’ Claire then went through what she had done herself when she’d had that problem a few months ago.

‘I’m holding down the power button for a minute,’ she continued, ‘and then I’ll release it.

You can plug it in now and I’ll start it up,’ Claire said after the stipulated minute had passed.

The computer screen lit up again and Claire got up from the chair.

‘Try it now. Put in the password and then it should be fine again.’

Karina sat down with a sigh. ‘Okay. I don’t believe it’ll work but at least you tried.’ She tapped in the password. ‘Oh, wow!’ she exclaimed when the screen lit up. ‘You did it! Well done, my dear. Sorry about the swearing earlier.’

‘Oh, don’t worry,’ Claire said. ‘I called mine all sorts of names when this happened to me.’

Karina turned from the screen and studied Claire for a moment. ‘I like that. And I also like that you look like you can take things on the chin. And that you had the guts to come in here when you heard me scream.’

‘I thought someone was being attacked,’ Claire said. ‘So I had to see what was going on before I called the Guards.’

Karina let out a guffaw. ‘Ha, ha, I wonder what they would have said? Karina Flavin attacking her computer? Anyway, you got the job, if you want it. Your letter made me laugh too.’

‘Oh, that’s wonderful,’ Claire said, taken aback. ‘Of course I want the job. I promise you won’t be sorry you hired me.’

‘I’ll hold you to that,’ Karina said. Then she got up from the chair and stuck her head out the door, shouting: ‘Hey, Pierce! I got myself an assistant. Come down here and meet her. She’s terrific.

’ She withdrew her head and smiled at Claire.

‘Pierce is my younger brother and also a publicist and editor of cookbooks. He’s been trying to get me to publish one and we’re putting all the recipes together and having the photos done and so on.

I’m not sure I’ll do it, but he tries to talk me into it. ’

‘I think that would be a good idea,’ Claire said, still standing by the desk. ‘Your recipes are terrific. So… when do you want me to start?’

‘How about right now?’ Karina said. ‘I know it’s a bit soon but I need help with everything.

This week is very hectic. We have that birthday party at Magnolia and Sylvia is breathing down my neck.

That’s Sylvia Fleury,’ she explained. ‘We do all the parties there. Sylvia and I are related, you see, so she thinks she can order me around like some kind of housemaid.’

Claire stared at Karina, her heart beating faster. ‘You’re related?’

‘Yes. Our mothers were first cousins.’

‘So you’re a Fleury?’ Claire asked, feeling confused. She hadn’t seen Karina’s name on the family tree.