Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
After a brief pause, Sean shook his head. ‘As a journalist, I never reveal my sources and that applies to my role as author too. So that will remain a secret between me and my informant.’
‘I see,’ Pierce said, looking disappointed. ‘I thought that might be a good backdrop to your interviews, that’s all. The story of the story, so to speak.’
‘I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on that particular detail, even though it’s quite an interesting tale on its own,’ Sean said, standing by the door.
‘Goodbye for now, Pierce.’ He shook Pierce’s hand.
Then he kissed Marian on both cheeks, walked out the door and ran down the stairs, leaving Pierce and Marian staring at each other in shock.
‘Well, that was not at all what I expected,’ Pierce said, sitting down again.
‘Nor me,’ Marian said as her knees gave way and she sank down on the sofa, heaving a secret sigh of relief. At least nobody will know my part in this mess.
‘Marian?’ Pierce said, looking at her with concern. ‘You’re suddenly very pale. Are you not feeling well?’
‘I’m grand,’ Marian said. ‘Just a little overwhelmed by everything. I think my blood sugar is a little low too.’
‘You didn’t have any cake,’ Pierce said and slid the plate with her untouched slice of cake towards her. ‘Have some now and I’ll make another cup of coffee for you in the Nespresso.’
‘Thanks, Pierce.’ Marian picked up the plate with the cake and took a bite. It was truly delicious and she started to enjoy it, feeling much better about everything. ‘It went well, don’t you think?’ she asked as she finished her slice of cake.
‘Yes,’ Pierce replied as he busied himself with the coffee machine. ‘At least we’ve bought a bit of time. Now we have to read the book and then assess what to do about whatever secrets it reveals.’
‘All the misbehaviours of my great-grandfather’s brother, for a start,’ Marian said. ‘It’s hinted at in the description, anyway.’
‘That’s bad enough, of course,’ Pierce said. ‘If the stuff about the feud and the gambling debt comes out, it’s going to create a stir. But it happened so long ago. It’s Sylvia’s “dubious past” we have to worry most about.’ He handed her a steaming cup. ‘Here, a fresh cup of coffee.’
Marian smiled at him as she took the cup. ‘Thanks, Pierce. I’m feeling much better now.’
‘Good.’ He sat down again and smiled back at her. ‘You were looking really peaky there for a while. Now, where were we?’
‘Sylvia’s frolics in the sixties,’ Marian said with a chuckle. ‘I’d say it’s something racy, whatever it was.’
Pierce nodded. ‘Possibly. But whatever it was, we have to stop it coming out or the gossip and the finger pointing will never end. Sylvia might have a lot of friends but there are people in town who resent all the power she has in all the committees. She also has a lot of clout in the County Council and has been involved in many a row about planning and other things they decide.’
‘It’s amazing she does all that at her age,’ Marian said.
‘She’s a real powerhouse,’ Pierce said. He shook his head and sighed. ‘I wish I knew who told John Peters all that stuff in such a way that he got interested. Must have been a long and detailed conversation.’
‘Yes, wherever he heard it,’ Marian agreed, her heart beating at the lie. She finished her coffee and stood up. ‘Anyway, he’ll sign the agreement and we’ve got him to delay the publication, so that’s a good start. I’m glad you didn’t tell him that you’re my brother-in-law.’
‘That might have made him pull out of dealing with us altogether,’ Pierce said.
‘But I think I told him I was working for my brother-in-law the last time we met,’ Marian said as the memory of the lunch in Anascaul popped into her mind. ‘But he doesn’t seem to remember that.’
‘I hope he never does,’ Pierce said. ‘Now all we have to do is get him to rewrite bits of the novel so nobody knows who he’s writing about,’ he remarked, his voice heavy with bewilderment. ‘How do we do that? Any ideas?’
Marian shrugged. ‘Not at the moment. I’ll think about it.’
‘So will I,’ Pierce said. ‘Maybe you could have a chat with him on your own? He seemed to like you.’
‘Maybe,’ Marian said. ‘We’ll see. In the meantime there’s your party and my husband, who has just arrived. Sylvia said to bring him so he can meet everyone and I’ve invited him. But…’ she paused, ‘we’re in the middle of a bit of a crisis at the moment, so I’m not sure that was a good idea.’
‘Yes, Claire told me,’ Pierce said. ‘But why not? It might be good for the two of you to have a little fun. Forget your troubles for a while in all the chaos of the Fleury family barbecue with kids and dogs, beer, burnt food and all sorts of other mayhem.’
Marian smiled. ‘That sounds like a lot of fun, I have to say. Kids, dogs, beer, food, chaos. That could be just what we need to shake us up. Okay, I’ll have a chat with Claire and then I’ll tell Theo we’re definitively going.
’ She picked up her bag. ‘I’ll see if she’s still downstairs in Karina’s office. ’
‘She is,’ Pierce said. ‘We’re going home together. Anyway, I’ll finish up here. Go and talk to Claire.’
‘I will,’ Marian said. ‘See you Sunday.’
‘Bye, and thanks for coming in. Let me know if you have a brainwave about John Peters,’ Pierce said.
‘Okay. But don’t hold your breath.’
Marian went downstairs and found Claire in Karina’s office, busy at the computer. She turned around as Marian knocked on the open door. ‘Hi, how lovely to see you. I was just going to see if you were still upstairs. I heard you have a very exciting new client.’
‘Yes,’ Marian replied. ‘You’ll be excited to hear that it’s John Peters.’
Claire’s eyes widened. ‘Wow, that is fabulous. You must be so thrilled to work with him.’
‘Yes, well, in a way. But there are some problems we need to sort out,’ Marian said. ‘But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. We haven’t spoken for a few days so you might not know that Theo has just arrived.’
‘Sylvia told me,’ Claire said. ‘How do you feel about him arriving out of the blue like that?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Marian said. ‘In way I wish he hadn’t come just now. But he’s here and I have to deal with our problems. What I wanted to tell you was that Sylvia thinks I should bring him to your party on Sunday. Would that be okay?’
‘Of course,’ Claire said and got up from her chair. ‘If you want to. It’ll be fun, I think. A good way to see how he fits in with the family. A real baptism of fire,’ she added with a chuckle.
‘He’s Australian,’ Marian said with a wry smile. ‘He’s used to heat.’ She sighed. ‘But okay, I’ll bring him.’
‘Don’t look so glum,’ Claire said. ‘We’ll cheer you both up.’
‘That’ll take you a while.’ Marian couldn’t help smiling at Claire’s enthusiasm. ‘But thanks. I didn’t want to ruin your happy moment, that’s all.’
‘Nothing can,’ Claire said. ‘I know I’ve kept you away from the house while we were doing all the work, but now that it’s finished, I can’t wait for you to see it.
It’s a small house with a huge garden, as you’ll discover.
Plenty of lawn for all the Fleury kids to run around on and lots of flowerbeds for me to weed. ’
‘I’m so looking forward to seeing it all,’ Marian said. ‘But now I’m going home to have a bit of a break before I see Theo tomorrow.’
‘Okay,’ Claire said. ‘I have a few things to do here and then Pierce and I will go home together.’
‘See you Sunday, then,’ Marian said and left, walking out of the house feeling happier than before. Sunday would be a nice day. But first she had to get through Saturday.
She stood for a moment on the doorstep, looking down the leafy street at the view of the ocean and then up at the sky where clouds were drifting across the sun, changing the light from time to time.
She breathed in the fresh, salt-laden air and wondered if Theo would one day feel as at home here as she did.
Or would he always long for the intense tropical heat and humidity of Queensland?
She knew that he was more adaptable than she was and usually settled in quickly in a new environment.
He’d liked living in Dublin, but would he take to the wildness of Kerry where the weather was so unpredictable?
She hoped he would and that the Fleurys would be as friendly and welcoming as they had been to her.
But if they found out how she had given away all their secrets, they might not be willing to have either of them stay around.
That thought was worrisome, but she pushed it away as soon as it appeared and closed the door behind her.
Someone was waiting for her in the front garden. Having been lost in her musings, Marian gave a start as Sean emerged from behind the rhododendron bush beside the gate.
‘Marian,’ he said, touching her arm. ‘I want to talk to you.’