Chapter 12 #2
‘I’d say he wouldn’t be much of a guard dog,’ Ronan suggested.
‘No, if anyone broke in, he’d wag his tail,’ Ciara said. ‘But his sheer size scares a lot of people. And his bark,’ she added.
‘Which is bigger than his bite,’ Ronan suggested with a smile.
‘Oh yes, he wouldn’t bite anyone except if he found them tasty,’ Ciara joked, returning his smile.
They went back to the shop accompanied by Brian.
Ciara stopped for a moment at the door as she heard voices inside.
‘I wonder who Ma is talking to,’ she said and opened the door, finding her mother having a lively conversation with a white-haired man and a woman holding a small girl in her arms. They all turned around as Ciara and Ronan entered.
‘There you are,’ Maureen said, beaming at them. ‘I’m just getting to know the neighbours. This is Mr and Mrs Lincoln and their granddaughter Nancy.’
‘Hello, there, Nancy,’ Ciara said, smiling at the little girl, who was about two or three years old. She had dark hair in a ponytail and wore sunglasses perched on her little nose. ‘I love your sunglasses.’
Nancy took them off. ‘It’s not sunny in here.’ Then she squealed and tried to get down from her grandmother’s arms as Brian trotted into the shop. ‘Doggy! I want to pat him.’
‘He’s very big,’ her grandmother protested, holding Nancy tighter.
‘But really gentle,’ Ciara assured her. ‘He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s especially good with children. You can let Nancy pat him.’
‘Well, if you’re sure,’ Mrs Lincoln said and lowered Nancy to the floor. Then she watched nervously as Brian sniffed at the little girl and then sat down as if to make sure she wasn’t frightened.
Nancy put her arms around the dog and leaned her head against his chest. ‘He’s very cuddly,’ she said. ‘I love him.’
Mrs Lincoln laughed, looking relieved. She had a jovial face under curly grey hair and kind eyes behind glasses with bright blue frames.
‘How nice to see a dog with good manners.’ She turned her attention to Ciara and held out her hand.
‘I’m Mary Lincoln. So you’re the new owner of Martha’s bookshop?
I’ve heard you’ve come to shake us up and give this village a bit of life. ’
Ciara shook hands and smiled. ‘Well, not quite. I’m just going to… Well, I don’t know. It has all been so overwhelming and confusing. We’re just cleaning it up and then I might put it on the market.’
‘That’s to be decided,’ Maureen cut in. ‘We might just use it as a space to rent out.’
Mrs Lincoln’s face fell. ‘Oh. That’s disappointing.’
‘Where do you live?’ Ciara asked. ‘It’s so nice for us to meet someone in the village. It was so quiet when we came.’
‘A lot of people who live here like to stay, well, private,’ Mr Lincoln cut in. ‘Some of them have what you’d call interesting pasts,’ he said with a wink in his wife’s direction. ‘Isn’t that so, Mary?’
‘That’s true,’ Mary Lincoln said. ‘But Liam and I are not very interesting, I’m happy to say.’
‘We’re positively dull by comparison to some,’ Mr Lincoln agreed. ‘We’ve lived here for a few years now and love the area and the peace.’
‘My husband retired a few years ago,’ Mrs Lincoln said. ‘And we found this old house down the street that needed a little work but now it’s perfect.’
‘Until something breaks down again,’ her husband interjected.
‘Oh, stop that glooming and dooming, Liam,’ Mrs Lincoln chided. ‘We’re fine and nothing is wrong at all.’
‘Today, anyway,’ Liam mumbled. Then he looked across the shop at Ronan, who had hung back during the conversation. ‘You haven’t introduced us to your boyfriend, Ciara.’
‘He’s not my boyfriend,’ Ciara protested as Ronan approached. ‘This is Ronan Burke and he’s the solicitor who handled Martha’s will.’
‘Hello,’ Ronan said shyly and shook hands with the couple. ‘Nice to meet you.’ Then he leaned down and took little Nancy’s hand. ‘How do you do, young lady?’
Nancy giggled. ‘I’m not a lady, silly, I’m Nancy.’
‘And my name is not silly, it’s Ronan,’ he countered. ‘How old are you?’
‘Free,’ Nancy lisped. ‘How old are you?’
‘Thirty-four,’ Ronan replied, crouching beside Brian. ‘Isn’t Brian a lovely fella?’
‘He is the beautifulest dog in the world,’ Nancy said with a happy sigh.
‘I like that word,’ Ronan said, smiling. ‘Not really in the Oxford Dictionary, but it should be.’ He rose and looked at Ciara. ‘And now I have to say goodbye. I have to get back and do a few things in the office and then head home.’
‘I’ll see you to your car,’ Ciara said, feeling she needed to talk to him alone after what he had told her.
‘Thanks,’ Ronan said. ‘Bye, Mrs Doyle.’
‘Bye, Ronan,’ Maureen said, smiling at him. ‘Come back to see us soon.’
‘I will,’ Ronan promised. ‘Nice to have met you, folks,’ he said, before he leaned down towards Nancy. ‘Bye, Nancy.’
‘Bye, bye,’ Nice said and waved her little hand.
Ciara followed Ronan to his car. ‘Well, it was great to see you here,’ she said.
‘I’m glad I came. There is so much more I’d like to say to you, but for now, I just want to thank you for listening. And I’d love to know how you get on and what you’re going to do with this place.’
‘I’ll keep you posted,’ she promised. ‘Whenever I have a signal.’
He nodded, looking more cheerful. ‘Great. You know where to find me. I’ll send you a text so you have my mobile number. We could chat on WhatsApp, if you like.’
‘That would be great. I have a feeling I’ll need lots of advice. I was wondering, actually if…’ She paused for a moment.
‘If what?’ he asked.
‘If you could find out more about Martha Fitzgerald,’ Ciara said. ‘I mean, you’re a genealogist, so you must know where to look.’
‘I could do that,’ he said. ‘But it could be hard to find. Martha didn’t leave many traces.
She seemed to not have wanted anyone to know much about her.
A real mystery woman, that’s for sure. You know what?
’ he said after a brief pause. ‘I actually think that you will find most of the clues to Martha Fitzgerald’s past in the house you have just inherited.
Look around the shop, the house and even the garden.
Ask around, try to get to know people in the village.
That couple in there talking to your mother, for a start. They must have known her.’
‘Yes, that is probably true,’ Ciara said. ‘I’ll ask them what they know.’
‘I’m sure they’ll be able to tell you something,’ Ronan said. Then he stopped for a moment. ‘I envy you, you know. I have a feeling there is a whole new adventure waiting for you here. If you want to take a few risks.’ He opened the door of his car. ‘I have to go. See you soon, I hope.’
‘Come back when you can,’ Ciara said as he got into the car and started the engine.
‘I will,’ Ronan said through the open window. Then he put on a pair of sunglasses, smiled and waved as he pulled away from the kerb.
Ciara stood there for a moment, looking at the car slowly disappearing from view, thinking about what he had just said.
It’s true, she thought, I’m young and free with nothing to tie me down.
Why shouldn’t I stay in Cherrywood and solve the mystery?
It’s waiting for me to be solved. All I have to do is to set it in motion.
I can put the rest of my life on hold for a while.