Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Marian squinted at Sean in the late-afternoon sunshine. ‘About what?’
‘A few things,’ he replied, his brown eyes slightly wary as he looked at her. ‘Would you have time for a drink? Maybe somewhere on the Strand?’
‘Oh,’ she said, trying to recover from the shock of seeing him there. ‘You gave me a fright, popping out from behind the bush. But yes, that would be great because I want to talk to you too.’
‘Wonderful.’ He beamed at her and opened the gate, ushering her through. ‘After you, pretty lady.’
She couldn’t help smiling at him as his eyes twinkled and a little smile played on his lips. ‘You’re very gallant all of a sudden.’
‘I want to make up for my behaviour,’ Sean said.
‘That’ll take you a while,’ Marian remarked drily. ‘I have already given out to you about recording me and then using what I said for the plot of your novel, so I’m not going to go on about that. It was sneaky and mean but you already know that.’
‘I do,’ he agreed cheerfully. ‘So now I’ll buy you a drink hoping you can forgive me sometime in the future.’
‘You mean when hell freezes over? I will when you rewrite the story to erase any trace of likeness to the Fleury family,’ Marian said as they started to walk down the street.
‘That’s a lot of rewriting,’ Sean said. ‘But maybe you could read the novel before you decide to hate me forever.’
‘I intend to,’ Marian said, beginning to enjoy herself.
‘Read the novel, I mean,’ she added with a chuckle, ‘not hate you forever.’ It gave her a little thrill to see the flirtatious look in his eyes.
It made her feel both young and pretty, something that hadn’t happened for a very long time.
She was angry with him for what he had done, but she decided to put all that aside for now and simply enjoy his company.
He seemed to be taking everything in his stride, not stuck-up at all about his success. And she liked that.
‘I should hope not,’ Sean said. ‘I’d be very sad to think you hated me forever.’
‘Forever is a long time,’ she quipped as they arrived at the Strand, the street that ran along the harbour.
She looked up at the blue sky where seagulls glided around, then out across the glittering water, and sighed happily.
‘It’s a lovely afternoon so let’s forget about hate and problems and just enjoy it. ’
‘I agree,’ he said and looked around. ‘How about a drink at that restaurant over there with a terrace that has lovely views of the bay?’
‘Yes, that’s a very good choice,’ she replied and turned to the left, walking towards the restaurant in question. ‘They have great seafood there too.’
‘Then we might stay for dinner,’ he suggested.
‘We’ll see,’ Marian said, laughing.
They went up the steps to the terrace and sat down at a small round table near the railings. A waitress appeared straight away and Sean ordered two glasses of rosé, asking if it was a French wine.
‘Yes,’ the waitress replied. ‘It’s from the South of France somewhere.’
‘Hopefully Provence,’ he said. ‘Okay with you, Marian?’
‘Yes, but just one glass,’ she said. ‘As I’m driving.’
‘You’re very well behaved,’ he remarked. ‘Not like that woman I met on the plane.’
‘Oh her,’ Marian said. ‘I think I’ve left her behind. She was getting on my nerves, actually. Feeling sorry for herself, drinking too much wine, and telling family secrets to a perfect stranger.’
‘I’m glad you think I’m perfect,’ he quipped.
‘Trying to trip me up, are you?’ she asked. ‘Like you did then.’
He folded his arms and looked at her. ‘No, I’m trying to make you smile. And it worked. I like to see you smile like that.’
Marian’s smile widened into a grin. Being with him like this, just chatting idly, made her feel so good. She knew she should be angry with him, but his good mood was so contagious. ‘I’m not always glum, you know. It’s just that life’s been hard for me for a while.’
‘Yes, I know. But I’m happy to hear that you have left that woman I met on the plane behind. You seem a lot more cheerful now. As if you’ve finally landed in a place called home.’
Marian laughed. ‘Gosh, you’re very poetic. You should write a book.’
‘I don’t know,’ he shot back. ‘It seems like a lot of hard work.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ Marian said. ‘I wouldn’t know where to start. And then doing all that editing and publishing all on your own. Your last novel, the one about a stranger coming home, really moved me. You’re such a talented writer. It’s quite amazing that no publisher has picked you up yet.’
‘Oh, they have,’ Sean said. ‘I’m approached all the time.
By publishers and agents. But I love being my own boss; I always have.
I even thought that asking a publicist to do the marketing for me was kind of lazy.
But I need to get my work out there more and not just be a local talent.
So Pierce seemed to fit the bill as I heard he had great contacts where it matters most.’
‘He does,’ Marian said. ‘He’s been editing and publicising non-fiction books for a long time, so he’s built up quite a network in Ireland.’
‘So I gathered,’ Sean said as the waitress arrived with their drinks. ‘Thanks,’ he said to her. ‘Could you bring us some menus? Just in case we get hungry.’
‘Of course,’ she said and walked away.
‘Not that you have to stay,’ he said to Marian.
‘I might, though,’ Marian said and picked up her glass of chilled rosé. She lifted it up. ‘Here’s to your continued success.’
‘And yours,’ Sean said and clinked his glass against Marian’s.
‘My success at – what?’ she asked when she had taken a sip.
‘At life,’ he said. ‘At being happy again.’
Marian put down her glass. ‘I’m not sure how to succeed at that. Right now, this moment, I’m enjoying myself, but there is some stuff I need to sort out before I can feel better about myself and my life.’
‘And your marriage?’ he asked softly, looking at her with sympathy.
‘Yes, that’s what I’m struggling with,’ Marian admitted. ‘But I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘In case I put your story into a novel?’ he asked.
‘I get that you wouldn’t trust me with anything confidential again after that episode on the plane.
But I would never put someone’s marriage problems into a book.
That’s a personal tragedy I would never reveal.
I’ve been through some heartbreaking things myself, so I have plenty to draw on without stealing anyone else’s misery. ’
‘You have?’ Marian asked, noticing that the light in his eyes had suddenly gone out.
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘So I know what you might be going through. I was married for over twenty years. Happy years,’ he added. ‘Until it all ended in tears – mostly mine.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Marian said. ‘That sounds a lot worse than what I’m going through.’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ he said. ‘Why compare things that make us sad? It’s like comparing the plague to cholera. Which is worse?’
Marian smiled at the comparison. ‘You’re right. No need to compete about who’s suffering the most. Let’s forget that for tonight.’
‘You’re right, we should.’ Sean picked up the menus that the waitress had just put on the table and handed one to Marian. ‘Will we stay on for dinner? God knows I could do with some decent food.’
‘Oh, me too,’ Marian said, pleased to see he was looking more cheerful. She picked up the menu and studied it for a while. ‘Oh, look, they have sole on the bone. I’ll have that. The fish here is very good, I’ve heard.’
‘Great choice,’ Sean said. ‘I’ll have that too.’ He waved at the waitress and placed the order when she arrived at their table. Then he turned back to Marian. ‘So,’ he said, ‘tell me about how you’re finding Kerry.’
‘It’s truly wonderful,’ she said. ‘My family came from here but I had never been here before, as I told you.’
He nodded, looking amused. ‘Because of that family feud, right?’
‘Yes. That’s what kept me from coming here.
It’s thanks to Claire that the two families connected again.
And now, here I am, with my own little flat at Magnolia Manor and I love it.
’ She paused for a moment as the waitress arrived back with cutlery, napkins and a carafe of water.
‘But now,’ she continued when they were on their own again, ‘my husband has arrived and he wants us to try to get back together. I think he’s going to try to talk me into going back to Australia. ’
‘But you don’t want to leave Kerry?’ Sean asked gently. ‘Now that you’ve discovered what a wonderful place it is.’
‘Exactly,’ Marian whispered. ‘I’m only beginning to settle in, to get to know the family and to find roots I didn’t know I had.’
‘Do you still love him?’ Sean asked.
Marian pondered the question for a moment. ‘I do,’ she said. ‘But so much has changed. I don’t know how to explain to him that this is where I want to live. Or to make him want to stay here too.’
‘Make him discover the magic of this place,’ Sean said. ‘Let him see what makes it so special and why you love it so much.’
‘Why do I love it? It’s hard to put a finger on it,’ Marian said. ‘Kerry is so many things all at once.’
Sean nodded. ‘Yes, that’s very true. I wrote about what this place does to me in that novel, the one that’s about to be published. I tried to put it in a nutshell.’
‘What did you write?’ Marian asked.
‘I can’t remember exactly, but it was something like this.
’ Sean leaned forward and said in a low voice: ‘“Kerry is not just a place. It’s the hush between raindrops, the light in a stranger’s smile, the lifelong friendship with people you know and love, and the wild heartbeat of the sea, whispering stories into the wind. ”’
‘That’s so beautiful,’ Marian said, feeling tears well up at his words. ‘It feels like a gift. Thank you.’
‘You’re very welcome,’ he said and straightened up. ‘But here is our dinner and it looks delicious,’ he added as the waitress approached with two plates loaded with sole on the bone, new potatoes and vegetables that she carefully put in front of each of them.
They both started to eat, enjoying the delicate flavour of the fish, the buttered new potatoes and vegetables that came with it. Then Sean looked up from his plate and fixed Marian with his gaze. ‘You said you wanted to talk to me. About the family secrets?’
‘Not the family secrets as such,’ Marian said when she had dabbed her mouth with her napkin. ‘It’s about Sylvia and what you found out about her. Or did you? I know she had some adventures in Paris when she was young, but then I wondered if you’ve made stuff up?’
He put down his knife and fork. ‘I haven’t made anything up, just changed things around to fit the plot of the novel.’
‘That doesn’t sound very reassuring,’ she said.
‘Oh, Marian,’ he declared, his eyes boring into hers, ‘I want you to understand that my novel is a declaration of love. For Kerry, for a family that is so embedded in the history of this town, and for my mother’s family and her connection to everything in it.
You’ll see what I mean when you read the novel.
I’m sure you will, because you said A Stranger Comes Home resonated with you.
Your story inspired me, that’s true, but there are so many other elements in the book as well.
So much of it is part of me and my own memories.
My childhood visits to my grandparents’ little cottage that I now own and all that is part of me and my growing-up years. ’
There was such passion his eyes that Marian forgot what she was going to say.
His words had moved her in a way she hadn’t expected.
‘I think I’ll have to read the novel as soon as possible,’ she said.
‘I have to try to grasp what you’re trying to express.
I have a feeling it’s much more than a story written for effect, or to destroy the reputation of a family everyone knows and loves. ’
He nodded. ‘That’s what I want you to discover. So can we leave this alone until you’ve read the story to the end?’
‘Okay,’ Marian said. ‘If you promise that the secrets about Sylvia aren’t detrimental.’
‘Of course,’ Sean said. ‘I tried to be as respectful as possible. You’ll see when you read the book. As soon as I get to my laptop, I’ll send you the manuscript and you can check for yourself.’
Marian smiled, relieved, believing what he said.
‘So, I think we’ll finish our dinner and I’ll go home and send it to both you and Pierce, who I think also has a vested interest in the book.’
‘In more ways than one,’ Marian said and got up. ‘Thanks for dinner, Sean.’ She waved at the waitress. ‘I’ll pay for my meal, of course.’
‘Of course not,’ Sean protested. ‘Dinner is on me and no arguments,’
‘I won’t argue,’ Marian said. ‘Thank you again. It was lovely. I’ll be in touch when I’ve read the novel.’
‘Bye, Marian.’ Sean rose and kissed Marian on both cheeks. Then he backed away. ‘Sorry, I’m so used to the French way of saying hello and goodbye. It’s not meant to be anything else.’
Marian smiled. ‘I know. Arnaud, Sylvia’s fiancé, does it all the time. I think it’s charming.’
‘That’s good to know.’ Sean smiled back at her. ‘I enjoyed the evening. And I feel as if a very special friendship has started between us.’
‘I think you’re right,’ Marian said, warmed by how his eyes sparkled when he looked at her. ‘Despite everything. Bye for now.’
‘See you soon, I hope,’ Sean said, sitting down as she walked away.
Marian continued up the street to where she had parked her car, her mind full of everything that had happened tonight.
The sun was slowly slipping into the sea, colouring the sky in a riot of red, pink and orange and the breeze gently ruffled her hair.
What a lovely evening it had been, despite her concerns.
As she drove off all she could think of was what Sean had said about Kerry.
It is not just a place, it’s the hush between raindrops, the light in a stranger’s smile, the lifelong friendship with people you know and love, and the wild heartbeat of the sea, whispering stories into the wind.
Beautiful words and such a gorgeous description. But how could she make Theo see and feel it in his bones the way she did?