Chapter Ten
In the morning over breakfast, Nick watched in poorly disguised horror as her nephews tried with varying levels of success to eat their breakfast without making a mess. The twins would laugh uproariously every time Hector threw his spoon on the floor and the dogs would bound up ready to grab any morsels. He was now eight months and the change was dramatic. He stumble crawled everywhere and was now sitting in a high chair, not so much playing with his food as destroying it.
Everyone seemed happy, but dear God, the mess, and the noise. Why couldn’t they just enjoy their food in silence? And another baby was on the way; Nick loved her nephews, but she wondered if she could postpone visits for a few years. When precisely did children start to get clean and quiet?
A cat jumped up on the table causing Hector to reach out for it, his egg-coated hands knocking Nick’s orange juice into her porridge.
‘Oh dear,’ sighed Ari, ‘it’s not usually this bad. I think they are just a bit over-excited. Seb, I told you it’s not a good idea to have the animals in the kitchen when we’re eating.’
‘When you’re right, you’re right,’ agreed Seb getting up and shooing the dogs and cats outdoors.
Ari watched him indulgently as he got rid of the animals and then came back in.
‘Sorry about that, Nick. I thought it might be nice to have everyone together. Rose-coloured specs, I’m afraid.’ He leant forward and wiped the egg yolk off Hector’s face and carried on. ‘Why don’t you girls finish your coffee on the terrace? I’ll sort this lot out. Then what about a walk and after lunch I’ll drive you back to the city?’
***
As they settled down on the outdoor patio seats, Nick looked around at the gardens and decided that Ari had a decent life if you liked that sort of thing.
‘He’s like Da, isn’t he?’
Ari looked at Nick in surprise. ‘Impoverished Irish orphan?’
‘Kind and loving. Doting husband, wonderful father.’
‘I see what you mean and yes you’re right. When I think how badly I screwed up with Greg, I count my blessings every day that I met Seb.’
Nick nodded; the two men couldn’t have been more different. Seb wasn’t threatened by her intelligence; in fact, he regularly boasted to the boys about how smart their mummy was.
‘Yes, Mum and Da would have approved of him as well. Although I think Clem’s Rory would have been Da’s favourite. You know – what with the Celtic vibe and both being musicians.’
‘Yep. I think you’re probably right,’ said Ari thoughtfully, ‘although Hal is quite the party animal and I think Da would have liked him for that.’
‘But maybe not for his daughter?’ said Nick pointedly. Their father had always been very protective over Paddy’s ability to fall for every wounded animal or sob story .
‘True,’ laughed Ari. ‘It’s sad, isn’t it? We know so much about Mum’s family; I mean, my God, we know them all the way back to the Middle Ages, but we don’t even know who Da’s folks were. Oodles of generations on one side. None on the other.’
Both girls paused, thinking of the disparity in their knowledge of their parents’ backgrounds.
‘I think that’s part of Clem’s insecurities. She always felt so stupid at school and Da was the one person who convinced her that everything was going to be okay.’
‘I wish I had realised she was dyslexic,’ said Ari sadly.
‘It wasn’t your place, Ari. It was Mum and Da’s and you know back then dyslexia was generally ignored at school. And it’s not like Clem has suffered.’
‘Well, she’s successful, but that’s not the same thing, is it? She’s still massively insecure.’
‘She’s doing better with Rory, isn’t she?’
‘She is. It helps that he doesn’t pay any attention to her dramas.’
Nicked laughed softly, remembering her and Clem’s last conversation about Clem’s community enterprise. As with everything, it had had to be scaled back until the investigation was over. She had so wanted to get this up and running for Clem but once more she felt she was letting her family down. Thinking about Clem and their father an idea began to form.
‘There must be records in Ireland of foster placements, birth records and the like,’ said Nick thoughtfully. ‘We have his birth certificate. That should be enough to make a good start?’
‘What do you have in mind?’ asked Ari curiously .
‘I’ve time on my hands. Why don’t I spend it trying to find out a bit more about who we are? After all, we are all half Irish, and we don’t know a single thing about the place or any family we may have. What if Da had brothers and sisters?’
‘It might not be a very pleasant story, Letta?’ Ari was worried that her little sister was rushing into something that might uncover further misery. ‘You don’t give your child up unless there are serious problems in your life. Who knows what our grandmother was going through? Is that something that you really want to delve into?’
‘You’re getting more and more like Mum every day,’ said Nick fondly. ‘I like hearing Letta again. But I promise you, I won’t fall apart if I discover something unpleasant. I mean, it’s bound to be unpleasant – as you say, no one gives up their baby easily. Or if they do, then maybe they aren’t a particularly nice person. Either way, it will give me something to do. And I’d like to do it for all of us. I’d love Aster to have some new memories.’
‘Memories?’ asked Ari curiously.
‘Well, not memories as such but she had the shortest amount of time with them. I’d love for us all to know a bit more about him and his life before Mum.’
‘True, and with so many more additions to Clan Hiverton it would be nice to tell the little ones more about their other grandfather. Tony is lovely,’ said Ari referring to Seb’s father. ‘And we treat him as Leo and Will’s actual grandfather.’
‘I should think so,’ said Nick quickly. Lord Flint-Hyssop was a lovely man. Nigel, however, who was Greg’s father and therefore the boys’ biological grandfather, had first disowned them, and then tried to blackmail Ari and sue for custody when he discovered they would inherit Hiverton one day.
‘But I do miss being able to tell them more about my father.’ Ari picked up her cup and sipped it carefully. ‘Do you know, I think this is an excellent idea.’ She leant across and squeezed Nick’s hand. Then the two sisters watched as Seb played catch on the lawn with the boys.
***
By the time Seb dropped Nick back in London she had a hundred irons in the fire. She’d already started researching various genealogical centres and discovered a place in Cork that was a centre of excellence for family research. As well as distant family research the centre specialised in more recent records and was known for helping adoptive and foster children in recent history. Ballinfeen Hotel had once been a convent that had taken in orphans and foster children. When the convent was converted into a hotel, the centre had emerged as a sideline, paying for the accommodation to be first class. According to his birth certificate, their father came from Cork, and had been christened Michael O’Callaghan. The girls didn’t know why he had changed his surname to Byrne but maybe he felt he owed his parents nothing.
Nick fired up her laptops and started to research the matter in earnest and then got on the phone to the hotel. By the end of the call she was confident that this was the best place to start her hunt for her father’s history. With a room booked for the following night, she arranged a flight for the afternoon. Tomorrow morning she would tie off any loose ends in the office and head out. She dropped a text to Daisy to get her to give her a call but there was no reply. Reminding herself that it was a Sunday after all she dropped a quick text to Gyeong asking if she was free to talk. A minute later the phone rang. During the past week Gyeong had been in touch daily, suggesting ways in which Nick could get around the system and making suggestions for defence. She had also offered to help Nick look through the old paperwork. Nick was grateful for her support but there was genuinely nothing to be done until the FCA made a ruling.
‘Hi, boss. What’s up?’
Nick liked how Gyeong always went straight to the heart of an issue. In so many ways she was her right-hand and indispensable.
‘Nothing much but I’m off to Ireland tomorrow for a few days. I can’t get hold of Daisy – can you let her know that I might not see her tomorrow? I’ll text you the hotel’s address in case anything comes up.’
‘Okay.’ Gyeong sounded disappointed, but what else could Nick ask her to do? Gyeong was on furlough and she didn’t want to get any of her staff in trouble if they were seen to be working for the business. Only Daisy had a dispensation to help Nick until Monday, as De Foix Investments put all its operations on ice. After tomorrow, everything would be dormant until she was found innocent. Whenever that would be.
Hanging up Nick started to pack a suitcase then began to research the sorts of information that she would need for a proper genealogical investigation. For the first time in a week she had something else to think about and it felt good.