Page 230 of The Missing Sister

‘Surely they had the name of whoever had opened that PO box account?’ Mary-Kate asked.

‘They did, but as Mum just explained, the whole point of having a post office box is to remain anonymous. They weren’t going to give the owner’s name out to a stranger over the telephone, that’s for sure,’ said Jack.

‘This is such a beautiful house,’ Mary-Kate said dreamily.

‘My grandmother Nuala looked after a young British officer who lived here and who’d been injured in the First World War. She talked in her diary about how wonderful the gardens used to be. Sadly, he committed suicide soon after Nuala left.’ I shuddered then and turned away from the house. ‘I’m going back to the car. I’ll see you there.’

As I trekked through the undergrowth, I could hardly believe that the story which had moved me so much and had taken place here had possibly been part ofmyhistory too. Yet, there was just something about the house, an atmosphere – an energy – that was unsettling me.

Not prone to anything spiritual, even I felt as if a darkness hung about Argideen House; although there was no doubting it was – or had once been – beautiful, I knew that tragedy had taken place within its walls and still left its mark until this day.

I began to run, tripping over the weeds and the roots that had pushed up along the drive, until I passed through the gates panting, and taking gulps of fresh air.

Whatever my connection was with Argideen House, I knew I never wanted to pass through those gates again.

Having dropped Mary-Kate off in Clonakilty, where she’d arranged to meet her new friend Eoin at his studio, Jack and I went to collect Ambrose.

‘You’re upset, aren’t you, Mum?’

‘A bit,’ I admitted. ‘I can’t really say why. But seriously, Jack, it’s nothing you’ve done. I just don’t like Argideen House, that’s all.’

‘But you’ve never been inside the walls before today?’

‘No, never.’

‘By the way, when are you thinking of leaving?’ he asked me.

‘I haven’t thought about it, to be honest. I think it depends on Ambrose. We can take him back to Dublin with us.’

‘Okay. Well, if it’s all right with you, MK and I are thinking of going to Dublin tomorrow, then flying on to Nice via London. You know that all of us have been invited on the cruise down to Greece. I get that you don’t want to go, but...’ – Jack shrugged – ‘I’d like to. Maybe I could investigate for you, Mum, find out what all this missing sister stuff is about, if that’s all right with you?’

‘Of course it’s all right, Jack. You’re a grown man and you can do what you want. As Mary-Kate pointed out to me, if I’m related to them in some way, then so are you.’

‘Yeah, I would be.’

‘So, be honest, Jack, how much of your eagerness to go is to do with Ally?’

There was a pause as he thought about it. Or at least, thought about what to say tome.

‘Quite a lot, actually. I mean, I’m obviously interested in finding out more about the whole situation, but yeah, it’s been a long time since I met a woman who I just felt... well, an immediate bond with.’

‘Do you think she feels the same way about you?’

‘I don’t know; she might just be texting me because of the whole missing sister thing, but when we spoke last night, we laughed, y’know? I get her and she gets me and that’s all there is to it.’

‘Then you absolutely must go, Jack. Right,’ I said as we pulled up in front of the old people’s home. ‘I’ll go in and get Ambrose.’

Katie came out to reception to meet me. ‘How have they been?’ I asked her.

‘Ah now, I’d say they haven’t stopped chatting since Mr Lister sat down.’

‘They’ve had a lot to catch up on.’

‘They have, so. I’ll go fetch him now.’

‘Oh, by the way, Nora worked at Argideen House when we were younger, didn’t she?’

‘She did, yes.’