Page 59 of The Secret Bookshop in Ireland

‘He might have gone into the woods or maybe up to the tower,’ Maureen said. ‘Where is his lead?’

‘I hung it up on the hook in the kitchen,’ Ciara said, breaking away from her mother’s embrace. ‘I’ll have a look.’

The lead was missing and also the bag of dog treats that had been on the kitchen counter. ‘He must have taken the treats and then gone somewhere to eat them,’ Maureen remarked. ‘I think I know where he might have gone.’

‘Where?’ Ciara asked, feeling a ray of hope.

‘To Liz,’ Maureen said. ‘She’s besotted with that dog and spoils him rotten when she sees him. She thinks he’s magical.’

‘Oisín said Liz believes in the fairies,’ Ciara remembered.

‘She said she thought Brian belonged in the tower because her ancestors kept wolfhounds,’ Maureen filled in.

‘She might be at the tower with him now,’ Ciara said, moving towards the door. ‘I haven’t spent much time with him lately, so he could be looking for company. Come on, we’ll go up there in the van.’

‘Are you sure?’ Maureen asked, looking doubtful. ‘That lane is very rough and full of potholes. Maybe we should walk?’

‘It’s a sturdy van with strong tyres,’ Ciara argued, taking the keys from the hook. ‘I don’t fancy having to walk up that lane in the dark. Come on, Ma. Let’s go and find Brian.’ As they walked down the stairs, they found that the back door was open, a sure sign that the dog had been able to get out easily.

Minutes later, they were in the van and bumping up the rough track of the lane leading to O’Toole’s Castle. ‘What was that you said about the old lady you were talking to at the vicarage?’ Maureen asked. ‘And what did Ronan want?’

‘So many different things to tell you,’ Ciara muttered. ‘I don’t know where to start.’

‘Start with the old lady,’ Maureen suggested. ‘She looked very interesting.’

‘She was.’ Ciara cleared her throat and stopped the van, then turned to look at her mother. ‘That old lady happens to be none other than Sister Assumpta. Or used to be, actually.’

‘Sister…’ Maureen started, looking shocked. ‘You mean…?’

Ciara nodded. ‘Yes. The young nun who was present at my father’s birth. She is over a hundred years old now, but still sharp as a tack. Dad would have been eighty-three now, and she’s about twenty-one years older, so that fits. She was very young when she entered the convent, you see. She had just made her vows when she looked after Madge, hiding her from view to avoid gossip. Dad was a strong, healthy baby, she said.’

‘Incredible,’ Maureen said when she had recovered from the shock. ‘I wish Frank had met her.’

‘That would have been fantastic,’ Ciara agreed.

Ciara started the van again and drove slowly through the woods. ‘It was amazing to meet this old woman. She lives opposite us in that little white house with the dormer windows. I’m going to visit her soon and then you can come too.’

‘I’d love that,’ Maureen said. ‘So what about Ronan, then? You looked a little shaken when you came in.’

‘Well, he told me that Elaine has had some kind of brainwave and is now looking for a carer,’ Ciara started before she told Maureen what Ronan had said. ‘She wants Ronan to move out, or at least stop feeling guilty. All because of what you said to her, I’m sure. Well done, Ma.’

‘That’s fantastic,’ Maureen exclaimed. ‘And I thought I had overstepped the mark completely. But it obviously made her think.’ She turned to Ciara. ‘But why don’t you look happy? I thought you’d be over the moon about Ronan being free.’

‘Free to connect with his old girlfriend,’ Ciara remarked bitterly. ‘That’s what he said he wanted to do anyway.’

‘Oh.’ Maureen’s face fell. ‘I didn’t think of that. He seemed so taken with you. So delighted to be in your company.’

‘As a friend, I suppose. Nothing much else.’ Ciara swerved to avoid a boulder on the track. She sighed deeply, staring ahead. ‘I understand that he’d want to go out there and meet people now that he’s free. But I didn’t think one of them would be Angela.’

‘That’s her name?’ Maureen asked.

‘Yeah,’ Ciara replied in a flat voice. ‘Maybe they will rekindle their love, or whatever it’s called.’

‘After eight years of silence?’ Maureen asked. ‘Would she not have moved on?’

‘Maybe they’ve been in touch during that time,’ Ciara suggested. ‘They might get back together now that Elaine has decided she can cope on her own.’ Ciara felt immensely sad at the thought of Ronan and this Angela finding a way back to each other again.But what can I do?she thought.If he’s still in love with her, what hope is there for me?‘After all, we only just met,’ she said out loud. ‘So I shouldn’t feel there was anything important going on between us.’

Maureen put her hand on Ciara’s arm and gave it a squeeze. ‘I know you felt very attracted to him. But maybe it wasn’t meant to be.’