Page 31 of The Widow’s Irish Secret (Magnolia Manor #4)

Sylvia’s Sunday lunch was not the quiet little family party it usually was.

Tricia was happy to see Nora there too. She would be a great support if things went south.

She had no idea what to expect. It started off very good-humoured and when Cillian arrived, the girls appeared delighted to meet him, with Sylvia introducing him as Fred’s best friend.

They listened intently all through lunch to him reminiscing about Fred as a young boy and then as a university student.

They laughed at the scrapes the two of them had been through and all the pranks and jokes they had played on other people.

Vi was especially entranced, hanging on every word about her late father who she had never known.

And no one seemed to notice Tricia and Cillian’s familiarity with one another – or the tension between them.

Did Sylvia know they had been together earlier that day?

And if she knew, was she upset? It was impossible to tell.

Tricia felt tears well up as she listened to Cillian’s stories, Fred suddenly so alive just for a fleeting moment.

It was like gazing through a looking glass at a time that had been so happy and carefree.

She noticed that Sylvia was equally moved and that Arnaud held her hand in a tight grip all through to the end of the meal.

Tricia wished she could hold Cillian’s hand, but even though they were sitting together, she had to appear cool and detached, just as a friend.

It was difficult but Tricia thought that they had managed it perfectly.

In any case, the girls were all listening to Cillian with rapt attention and didn’t notice anything at all going on between them.

The children – Naomi, Liam and Sophie – were running around the table laughing and shouting but nobody paid much attention to them as they listened to Cillian’s stories about Fred.

Tricia looked around the table at Lily, Rose and Vi, marvelling at how lucky they had been to marry such wonderful men.

It was a lovely moment, full of happiness despite the feeling that two people were missing.

But she felt that Fred was there and his father, Liam, too, as they all shared memories of them.

Was this all Sylvia had intended for the afternoon? An old friend visiting to share stories about Fred and the good times? It was a lovely thought and Tricia wished it would continue.

But then the spell was broken when someone arrived while Sylvia served dessert.

Tricia stared in shock at Ilse standing in the door of the kitchen.

‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Sorry to interrupt the family gathering. I just popped in to see Sylvia. But I don’t want to disturb you, so I’ll tiptoe out again. ’

‘What is she doing here?’ Tricia mumbled to Nora.

‘I have no idea,’ Nora said. ‘She seems to pop in to see Sylvia all the time.’

‘Annoying woman,’ Tricia muttered.

Sylvia got up and rushed over to kiss Ilse on the cheek. ‘Please stay, dear Ilse. We’re all so happy to see you. You’re not disturbing us at all. Get a chair, Arnaud, and then you can have dessert and coffee with us.’

Arnaud found a chair and Ilse squeezed in between Cillian and Vi, beaming at them both. She shook hands with Vi. ‘Hello, Violet. I’m Ilse, a friend of your grandmother. So lovely to meet you at last. You’re even prettier in real life than your photos.’

‘Thank you,’ Vi said primly. ‘You’re very kind.

’ She smiled politely but Tricia could tell she was uncomfortable.

That woman seems to have a talent for getting up people’s noses , Tricia thought.

And what is she doing here, pushing into a family gathering like this?

Most people would have felt embarrassed at arriving to a Sunday family lunch uninvited, but Ilse seemed delighted to be there.

Ilse turned to Cillian. ‘Hi, there. Nice to see you back. Did you have a good trip?’

‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Very good. I’ll tell you about it later.’

Ilse winked at him. ‘You can fill me in on your visit when we’re on our own.’

Cillian squirmed. ‘Okay,’ he said stiffly. ‘We’ll meet up tomorrow as we planned and then I’ll tell you about the meeting in Hamburg. I didn’t expect to see you here, to be honest.’

Tricia felt that the comment from Cillian was an implied criticism of Ilse having turned up like this uninvited.

But Ilse didn’t look put out in the slightest; she only smiled and then started chatting to Sylvia across the table.

Tricia looked at Ilse and wondered how she could appear so relaxed, gushing at everyone, pretending to be close friends with someone she had only met recently and trying to push into the family circle.

But that could be because of loneliness.

She didn’t seem to have any family and was all alone in a foreign country.

Not that her behaviour wasn’t intensely irritating, but Tricia suddenly felt sad for this brash woman and decided to try to be nice to her.

It would be hard but she had to grit her teeth and do her best.

‘You look suddenly very serious,’ Cillian mumbled in her ear. ‘As if you’re struggling with a problem.’

Tricia smiled. ‘Struggling with myself, I think. I’ll tell you later.’

‘Okay.’ He quickly squeezed her hand under the table for a second and let it go again.

It had been a fleeting gesture but comforting all the same and Tricia suddenly felt much better. It was a sign that things weren’t so bad between them. At least there was nothing going on between Cillian and Ilse; they were just working together.

But that was not what was bothering her – it was that Sylvia seemed to be so taken with Ilse.

Tricia found that odd. Sylvia was usually hard to please and Tricia found it difficult to deal with her.

There was tension between them despite Sylvia’s many acts of kindness to Tricia: having the cottage cleaned from top to bottom and the gifts of items of furniture.

But maybe that was because of Sylvia’s fear of losing the girls’ affections in favour of their mother.

‘Tricia, you’re not eating,’ Sylvia said, her voice cutting into Tricia’s thoughts.

‘Oh.’ Tricia looked at a plate with a slice of tarte Tatin that had been put in front of her. ‘Sorry. I was thinking about something.’

‘Something important?’ Sylvia asked, looking intently at Tricia from her place across the table. Had Sylvia noticed Cillian’s gesture towards Tricia?

‘Do you know who the first tenants of the gardener’s cottage were?

’ Cillian asked, changing the subject very suddenly.

Tricia glanced at him, and their eyes locked for a moment.

She could tell he wanted to save her by distracting Sylvia from Ilse, despite him making her promise to keep the drawings secret.

‘The O’Gradys,’ he went on and Sylvia nodded. ‘What do you know about them?’

‘Nothing much,’ Sylvia said. ‘They would be in the staff records. I think the house was built in eighteen sixty-nine, and they were the first family to live there.’

‘That’s right,’ Rose cut in. ‘I read through those records when I sorted everything out a few years ago. Mary and John O’Grady were the first tenants. He was head gardener then.’

‘They had a son called Kieran,’ Cillian said. ‘At least that’s what Tricia and I assumed from two drawings Tricia found in the cottage. Dated eighteen seventy-nine. Was he that famous painter?’

Sylvia shot a look at Cillian. ‘Drawings?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ Tricia said, realising the cat was out of the bag. There was no point keeping it secret. ‘Of a ship and another one of a family.’

‘Kieran O’Grady?’ Dominic cut in. ‘You mean the one who became famous? But he was from Tralee, wasn’t he?’

Lily picked up her phone. ‘Just a sec. I’ll google him. Yes,’ she said after a moment. ‘It says here he was from Tralee. So it can’t be him but someone with the same name. Would have been great, though, if you found drawings by him.’

‘Early work by Kieran O’Grady,’ Rose said with a wistful look. ‘How exciting.’

‘They’re just some scribbles by a child,’ Cillian interjected. ‘One of some stick figures and the other one a boat or something. Nothing that could point to a great artist.’

‘You’ve seen them?’ Sylvia asked, again fixing Cillian with a curious look.

‘Eh, yes,’ Cillian said with a quick glance at Tricia. ‘I saw them when I called in to see the cottage. Before Tricia moved in,’ he added.

‘I found the drawings in a wardrobe in the attic,’ Tricia cut in. ‘One of them said it was drawn in eighteen seventy-nine,’ she confirmed, hoping Sylvia wouldn’t focus on the news that Cillian had been to the house.

‘He was born in eighteen seventy,’ Lily announced as she looked at her phone.

‘That would fit as far as I remember,’ Rose remarked. ‘He would have been nine when he did those drawings. If he was the one, I mean.’

Lily put down her phone. ‘I’m sure he’s not the famous painter, but wouldn’t it be fun if he was? I mean, as Rose said, an early work by Kieran O’Grady – wow.’

‘Dream on,’ Dominic said. ‘That would be impossible to prove.’

‘Of course it would,’ Sylvia said and turned her attention to her tarte Tatin. ‘But we’re ignoring this wonderful dessert. Arnaud, you’ve surpassed yourself today. The whole meal was a masterpiece by a master chef.’

‘You are too kind,’ Arnaud said, looking pleased. ‘I’m glad you like it.’

‘Even the kids are quiet for once,’ Dominic remarked, looking to the end of the table where the three children were tucking into the dessert. ‘But it won’t last long, of course.’

‘They’ll soon be bouncing off the walls,’ Noel said. ‘I think we’ll let them out so they can run off the sugar fix in the garden.’

Rose joined Tricia in the living room while everyone else was having coffee on the terrace.

‘Just for a little peace and quiet,’ Tricia said.

Her mind was reeling. Sylvia and Rose had confirmed a Kieran O’Grady did indeed live in the gardener’s cottage.

It sounded like she’d be hearing positive news from the National Gallery.

She should have told everyone she had found a painting, too, and sent a photo off to be authenticated.

But she was glad she hadn’t. Sylvia’s reaction to the news of the drawings had been odd.

Tricia tried not to worry further about Cillian and Sylvia whispering in the kitchen earlier. She sat down on the sofa, happy to have a moment with Rose. ‘We haven’t had any time on our own for a while. Come and sit here with me. You do look a little tired, Rose.’

‘Well, yes, I am,’ Rose said as she sat down.

‘There was a wedding yesterday and I had to oversee everything because the wedding planner was off sick. It’s nice to have a moment on our own.

Mum,’ she continued, ‘I was thinking about what you said just now. About Kieran O’Grady, I mean.

I know it says on the various websites that he was from Tralee.

But it doesn’t say he was born there, does it? ’

‘How do you mean?’ Tricia asked.

‘Well, he could have been born here and spent his early years in the cottage. Then he might have gone to Tralee for school or something and stayed with relatives. That often happened in those days.’

‘I suppose,’ Tricia said. ‘But maybe your imagination is running away with you? I know how you love research but this might be an impossible task.’

‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ Rose argued. ‘There must be a way to find out. When you mentioned those drawings, I got really excited. I mean, Kieran O’Grady at Magnolia? How exciting is that?’

‘Yes, but it’s quite a common name,’ Tricia said. ‘And the biographies I’ve seen all say he was from Tralee.’ She was tempted to tell Rose about the oil painting she had found but decided to keep quiet for now.

‘Yes, but still…’ Rose insisted, ‘he could have said he was from Tralee when they asked about his education. He also went to study art in Dublin and then went on to Paris. He lived in an artists’ community there and then went to somewhere in Normandy to paint those lovely landscapes he was famous for.

He might have just told people he was from Tralee because he went to school there. ’

Tricia looked thoughtfully at Rose. ‘Yes, that’s possible, of course.’

‘I’d like to do some more research. I was wondering,’ Rose continued, ‘if you could mind Sophie for a day or two? Noel is going to Dublin for work next week and I thought I might go with him. I really need a break, Mum.’

Tricia patted Rose’s cheek. ‘Of course you do. I’d love to have Sophie for a few days. I could ask Lily to bring Naomi over so we’d have a little girly holiday.’

Rose brightened. ‘That’s a brilliant idea. Sophie idolises Naomi. She’s always talking about her “big girl cousin”.’

‘That’s settled, then,’ Tricia said, feeling excited at the thought of having her two granddaughters to herself. ‘When are you going?’

‘Tuesday. We have to be back on Thursday evening. There’s another wedding on Saturday, so I’ll have to be there to supervise.

Noel will be happy that we’ll get a few days on our own.

And I’ll go to the National Gallery while Noel is at the conference.

There has to be something about Kieran O’Grady in their records. ’

‘I’d be very interested to find out more,’ Tricia said. ‘I can’t wait to have the girls.’

Rose kissed Tricia on the cheek. ‘Thanks, Mum, you’re the best grandmother.’

‘Of course I am,’ Tricia said. ‘I love being with the kids. They make me feel young.’ She smiled fondly at Rose, looking forward to the visit.

She’d ask Ted if he could help her put together the bunk bed that had just been delivered.

Then the girls could sleep in the little box room next door to her bedroom.

She was sure he’d do it and then she’d be all set for a lovely few days with her little granddaughters.

She’d have to put Cillian on hold for a while, but with everything that had happened tonight, and Sylvia’s odd reactions, she thought that might be best.