Page 7 of The Book of Irish Secrets (Magnolia Manor #5)

‘No, of course not,’ Karina scoffed. ‘Sylvia is an O’Farrell by birth just like me, and a Fleury only by marriage, you see.

Everyone seems to forget that. But, of course, that Fleury spirit has been in her since she married the late Liam all those years ago.

We get on quite well and I work with both Rose and Sylvia.

And I use the new kitchen over at Magnolia for my catering. So you’ll be there quite a lot.’

‘I thought you were from Dublin,’ Claire said.

‘I lived in Dublin for many years,’ Karina explained.

‘But I’m Kerry born and bred. I came back here when my mother died three years ago and took over the house.

My Kerry roots are strong and I always wanted to come back.

So I moved home after many years away and did up the house, including the kitchen.

Now I’m based here, mostly at the beck and call of the Fleurys.

Not that I mind. They have been very good to me and we work well together.

So I’m hoping you’ll help out over there so I have more time to concentrate on my other activities. ’

‘I see,’ Claire said, her mind buzzing with excitement. This could be a great introduction to the Fleurys and maybe even add to what she already knew about the history of the manor. ‘That’ll be interesting,’ she added.

‘I think you’ll love it,’ Karina said. ‘They have made some amazing renovations in the past year. The new catering kitchen is truly wonderful.’

‘I can’t wait to see it all,’ Claire said.

She’d assumed she wouldn’t have much to do with the Fleury women at first. The manor was surely big enough for her to be able to move around fairly unnoticed.

At least that’s what she hoped. She was going to try to be as incognito as possible while she searched for clues to the past.

‘Well, hello,’ a deep voice interrupted them. ‘So this is the new personal assistant?’

Claire turned to discover a tall man with broad shoulders, dark blond shaggy hair that nearly touched the collar of his blue shirt.

He wore horn-rimmed glasses but she could see that his eyes were very blue.

He wasn’t conventionally handsome but his dazzling smile seemed to light up the room as he grabbed Claire’s hand in a tight grip.

‘I’m Pierce O’Farrell,’ he said. ‘You must be the new assistant, am I right?’

‘Yes,’ she replied, returning his smile. ‘I’m Claire O’Hanlon,’ she continued, feeling like a whirlwind had just entered the room. ‘From Dublin,’ she added. ‘I arrived yesterday.’

‘And you’re staying at Madigan’s, I heard,’ he filled in and she nodded as he released his warm grip on her hand.

‘Welcome to Dingle and this madhouse. I hope you know what you’re in for, working with my big sister,’ he continued, turning his attention to Karina.

‘She might look like butter wouldn’t melt but she’s a bit of a nightmare.

I’d say you can take it, though. You look both strong and smart. ’

‘Well… I…’ Claire stammered as their eyes met again. Yes, his eyes were very blue. She felt mesmerised by them. ‘I’m not a genius or anything,’ she said, feeling something akin to attraction to him. She also had an odd sensation of meeting a kindred spirit as his eyes lingered on her.

‘She fixed my computer,’ Karina cut in. ‘So she’s smart, that’s for sure. Time will tell if she’s strong, but I’d say she’ll be fine.’

‘Well, a computer expert is a rare find,’ Pierce said, looking at Claire with even more appreciation in his eyes. ‘So I’d say hang on to her as long as you can. But…’ he paused, ‘what about marketing? Do you have any experience in that field?’

‘Not much, but I’m willing to learn,’ Claire replied.

‘I see. Here’s a little test of your marketing ability, just to see if you might have any talent in that area,’ Pierce said. ‘I’m trying to come up with a catchy title for Karina’s new cookbook. Something with “chef” in the title. Would you have any ideas?’

Claire thought for a moment. ‘Hmm. The Naked Chef ,’ was all Claire could think of saying as she continued to feel flustered by Pierce’s eyes on her.

‘But that has already been done. So how about… “The Hungry Chef”?’ she suggested.

‘I mean, what does a chef eat when he or she is hungry?’ She laughed awkwardly, trying to avoid Pierce’s gaze.

‘Wouldn’t that be something people would want to know? ’

Pierce stared at Claire for a moment. ‘That is quite brilliant, actually,’ he said. ‘Very catchy. It has no real meaning but it sounds good. Why didn’t I think of that? How about it, Karina?’

Karina looked a little doubtful. ‘Yes, it could work. But I’m not even sure I want to do it. I thought it should have my name in it somewhere.’

‘This is better, though,’ Pierce argued.

‘It has a little mystery in it. Who is this hungry chef, they’ll want to know, and then they’ll pick up the book and look at it and discover who it is from the photo.

We should go with that, sis, believe me.

Much more marketable, in my very humble opinion. And of course you’re going to do it.’

Karina let out an ironic laugh. ‘Humble? You? That’s an oxymoron if ever I’ve heard it. But okay. We’ll go with that. If it happens. You know better than me what sells.’

‘Good,’ Pierce said. ‘I’d better get back to work. You’re not my only client, you know. Lots to do before Jo arrives for her study break, which will shake us all up for a few weeks.’

‘That’s not until after St Patrick’s,’ Karina remarked. ‘Weeks and weeks away.’

‘I know,’ Pierce said. ‘But I want to have a lot of work out of the way before then. Got to go. Nice to meet you, Claire, and good luck.’ He made a mock salute and walked out of the room.

Karina laughed and got up from the desk. ‘So now you’ve met my baby brother. Still a kid at the age of fifty-two.’

‘Who’s Jo?’ Claire asked, still a little dazed after the encounter with this very unusual man.

‘Jo, short for Josephine, is Pierce’s daughter.

She is fifteen and usually lives with Yvonne, her mother, in Cork, but Yvonne is going on holiday with her new partner.

Pierce and Yvonne divorced when Jo was ten.

She is doing her Junior Cert soon and has a few weeks off to study.

Pierce is supposed to make sure she sticks to the books, which is a tall order.

Teenagers, huh?’ Karina looked at Claire as if she expected an answer.

‘I wouldn’t know,’ Claire said. ‘I don’t have any children. But I believe that age can be tricky. Especially for girls.’

‘That’s for sure,’ Karina said. ‘I had two of those, now all grown up, thank goodness. Anyway, here you are, standing around. Let’s go into the kitchen and we’ll talk about your job over a coffee. Okay with you?’

‘Great,’ Claire said. She was tired of standing around and was actually dying for a coffee. ‘I usually have a break around this time.’

‘Me too. Come this way,’ Karina said and led the way down the corridor and opened the door to a bright and airy kitchen. ‘My domain.’

‘Wow.’ Claire looked around at the beautifully crafted cupboards, the flagstone floor, the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling above an island with a gas hob in the middle.

One whole wall was taken up with various kinds of ovens and there was a huge spice rack on the wall beside it.

Sunlight streamed through the tall windows at the far side and a smell of herbs and spices permeated the air.

‘This is beautiful. Of course, I recognise it from your Facebook page.’

‘I’m sure you do,’ Karina said, pointing at the island. ‘That’s where I stand, cooking up a storm, not a hair out of place and my face done to perfection. Smiling and looking as if it’s easy to cook. Little do they know it’s a total nightmare.’

‘You never spill on your white shirt either,’ Claire said.

‘I should hope not.’ Karina walked to the counter beside the ovens where there was a barista-style coffee machine. ‘What will you have?’

‘Just a black coffee, please,’ Claire said.

‘Like me. I feel we think alike, which is a great start. How about a macaroon?’ Karina asked, producing a plate with small round cakes in different colours. ‘I made these for the photos on my page. They look nice and they’re quite tasty too.’

‘I’d love one,’ Claire said.

‘Sit down over there,’ Karina said, indicating a table by one of the windows. ‘And I’ll bring it over to you. This will be part of your job once we get started, but I’ll do it today.’

‘Thank you.’ Claire sat down at the table and looked out the window that overlooked a small garden where she saw a camellia bush covered in dark pink blooms. ‘Lovely garden,’ she said. ‘That camellia is amazing. In full bloom already.’

‘It’s a bit late this year, actually,’ Karina said from the coffee machine.

‘And the magnolia at the manor is late too. But it will be out by the time we do the Magnolia party. It’s a cold winter here so everything got delayed.

My herb garden is looking quite sad right now, except for the rosemary bush that seems to survive even the coldest temperatures.

But I grow some herbs indoors too.’ She pointed at a row of little pots with all kinds of herbs perched on the windowsill.

‘They make the kitchen smell lovely,’ Claire said, breathing in the scents of basil, mint, oregano and thyme.

‘They do.’ Karina carried a small tray with two mugs of coffee and a plate of macaroons to the table and sat down opposite Claire. ‘So,’ she said as she pushed one of the mugs towards Claire. ‘The job. Let’s go through everything. I take it you’re ready to do most tasks except cooking, of course?’

‘Oh yes, absolutely.’ Claire took a sip of coffee and reached for a macaroon.