Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
‘What’s up?’ Maureen asked as she joined Ciara on the old wall.
‘Message from Ronan,’ Ciara said. ‘Hold on, I’ll call him back.’ She pushed the call button and waited for Ronan to answer.
‘Hi, Ciara, how are you?’ he said.
‘I’m grand,’ she replied. ‘We’re still settling in and trying to decide what to do with the house.’
‘You got my text message?’
‘Yes, and now I’m near Enniskerry so I have a good connection,’ Ciara replied. ‘What did you find out?’
‘Just a few things,’ Ronan started. ‘Martha was born in nineteen twenty-seven in Cherrywood. Her father was the Garda sergeant there and her mother ran the bookshop that had been in her family since the mid-eighteen hundreds. The house was built to accommodate the shop, as a matter of fact.’
‘That’s what we thought,’ Ciara said. ‘So there was a police station in Cherrywood?’
‘Yes. It was first the one belonging to the Royal Irish Constabulary under British rule and then, after the War of Independence it became the Garda Síochána. Martha’s father must have experienced this transition. Exciting times in Ireland, I’d say.’
‘And scary,’ Ciara said.
‘Oh yes, that’s for sure. Orla, Martha’s mother, was actually a member of Cumann na mBan, the Irish women’s paramilitary organisation.’
‘Really?’ Ciara squealed. ‘That’s amazing. They played an important role during the War of Independence. But she was a wife and mother, too.’
‘Yes,’ Ronan said. ‘Martha’s sister, Madge, was actually born in nineteen twenty-three, just a year after the civil war ended.’
‘Gosh,’ Ciara said. ‘Orla must have been such a strong woman. Hold on a sec, I’ll put you on speaker so my mum can hear everything.’
‘What was that?’ Maureen asked. ‘About the guards and the mother?’
‘Martha and Madge’s mother was a member of Cumann na mBan,’ Ciara replied. ‘And Madge was born a year after the end of the civil war.’
‘Holy mother,’ Maureen said, looking shocked. ‘That’s some legacy.’
‘Yes,’ Ciara said. ‘And now I’m so proud of being a part of such a family.’
‘How do you mean?’ Ronan asked.
‘We think that Madge, Martha’s older sister, was my grandmother,’ Ciara said. ‘My father was adopted, you see, and…’ She stopped. ‘It’s a long story. I think you need to come up to Cherrywood and hear it all from us.’
‘I’d love to,’ Ronan said. ‘But I have another idea. I was going for a drive on Sunday with someone I want you to meet, so I thought we’d go to Powerscourt for lunch.
Could you meet us there and then we can talk about everything?
I’ve told her about you and your inheritance, and she found that very interesting. ’
‘Her – who?’ Ciara asked.
‘Elaine,’ Ronan said. ‘She really wants to meet you.’
‘Oh,’ Ciara said. ‘Well…’ Oh no, he wants me to meet his girlfriend, she thought, her spirits plunging.
Do I really want to? Is this because he wants me to be his friend and nothing more?
She glanced at her mother and then knew what she should do.
‘Ma and I will both come,’ she said, feeling she needed her mother’s support.
‘That would be lovely,’ Maureen said, interrupting Ciara’s musings. ‘We can have lunch outside and admire the gardens while we eat.’
‘That’s a plan, then,’ Ciara said.
‘Great,’ Ronan said, his voice warm. ‘We’ll meet in the lobby at twelve thirty.’
‘Okay,’ Ciara said.
‘Is there anything else I can help you with in the meantime?’ Ronan asked.
‘Yes, actually,’ Ciara said as an idea hit her. ‘Could you try to find out anything at all about a man called Jarlath O’Toole? I’d say he was born sometime in the early nineteen twenties, or even a bit earlier.’
‘Was he from Cherrywood?’ Ronan asked.
‘I think he was from Enniskerry,’ Maureen cut in. ‘He had a house here called Tír na nóg.’
‘Okay,’ Ronan said. ‘Anything else?’
‘Just that he had to leave the country in nineteen forty-five or so after some scandal,’ Ciara replied. ‘That’s all we heard.’
‘Did he have anything to do with Martha Fitzgerald?’ Ronan enquired.
‘Not as far as we know,’ Maureen said. ‘We’re just curious, to be honest. He seemed like an interesting character. A rogue who had to flee the country after committing a crime.’
Ronan let out a laugh. ‘You made me curious too now. I’ll do a little search and see what I can come up with. And now I have to go. See you Sunday.’
Maureen stared at Ciara when Ronan had hung up. ‘What was that all about? This nice young man wants you to meet for lunch and you tried to invent a reason not to?’
‘It’s not as straightforward as you think,’ Ciara said. ‘Ronan’s situation is really complicated. His mother is disabled and he has this girlfriend…’
‘Tell me, then,’ Maureen ordered, putting her hands in her lap. ‘I’m ready to hear his story.’
Ciara nodded and launched into what Ronan had told her, not leaving anything out, even her own feelings.
‘I see,’ Maureen said. ‘The poor boy, having put up with this for so many years. Surely his debt to his mother must have been paid by now.’
‘That’s what I think,’ Ciara said. ‘I feel she has stolen his youth. I feel so angry with her. Especially as…’
‘As you’re very attracted to him,’ Maureen filled in.
Ciara felt her face go red. ‘Oh, Ma, don’t make things up. Okay, so I might have found him attractive. But I’m sure he just sees me as a friend or someone he can confide in. He was very lonely, I think.’
‘Which makes you sad,’ Maureen said. ‘Don’t try to deny it.’
Ciara sighed. ‘Oh, okay. Yes, I feel very drawn to him. But if he wants to get back with his girlfriend, there’s nothing much I can do about it.’
‘Hmmm,’ Maureen said. ‘Well, I would like to meet this woman, even if you don’t.’
‘Why?’ Ciara asked as a sense of hopelessness settled on her like a dark cloud. ‘What’s the point?’
‘You never know,’ Maureen said. ‘There might be some kind of solution.’ She turned her attention to the house.
‘But here we are, at this wreck of a house that was someone’s home once.
’ She got up from the remains of the wall and backed away, studying the ruin.
‘It has the look of a place that was once quite grand, I think.’
Ciara looked up at the old house and only now noticed how lovely it must have been once.
But her mind was too full of what her mother had said about Ronan.
How could she feel happy about him being with someone else?
Ciara shivered at the thought of the meeting and wished she could find a way to opt out.
She waded through the tall grass, trying to concentrate on the garden that would have been beautiful and well-tended once.
But all she could think of was that she would be meeting Ronan’s girlfriend in only a few days.
How could she hide all her negative feelings and be polite about his new-found happiness?
How could she disguise how fond she was of Ronan, when all she wanted to do was to put her arms around him?
It was the worst dilemma she had ever been in.