Leaving clare, p.37
Leaving Clare, page 37
“Actually, I must go now,” he told her, as if suddenly realising the time. “I really hope the situation works out well for you.”
She felt a little flustered at the abrupt change in his tone. “Thank you. I’m very grateful to you for both your advice and for your time.”
“There’s no need for any thanks. We’re old friends, Leonora, and it’s what Andrew would have expected of me.”
* * *
That evening, after spending some time among the things that gave her solace – the trees, the shrubs and the flowers – Leonora felt more relaxed and in control than she had for days.
After waving away any offer of help in the kitchen from her housekeeper, she had come up with a very reasonable dish of macaroni cheese – an old favourite of her eldest son’s. Then, remembering a plate of leftover boiled potatoes in the fridge from the previous day, she sautéed them in a pan with onions and some of the herbs that she had bought the day she and Edward went to the Italian stall in the city market.
She had just put both dishes in the oven on a low heat when she heard the car wheels crunching on the gravel at the front of the house.
The calm she had felt after the phone call evaporated when she saw Edward’s tired and weary face as he came down the hallway. She pinned a smile on her own.
“How did it go?” she asked.
“A total waste of time,” he said, dropping his briefcase onto the floor. “I don’t know why I even thought it worthwhile going.”
Leonora’s heart sank. She knew it was unlikely that he was going to walk straight into a position but she hoped that he might have made some contacts – got a foot in the door. “What was so bad?” she asked, moving towards the kitchen.
“It’s a closed shop,” he told her, loosening his tie and following her. “They’re not open to any new ideas and they’re about fifty years behind the Americans.” He shrugged. “It was okay starting off in Dublin as a newly trained architect, when I didn’t know any better, but I just can’t imagine fitting in here ever again.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit early to say that?” she ventured. “Maybe in a few weeks’ time you’ll feel different.”
He raised his eyebrows, but before he had a chance to reply, the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” he said, moving towards the hallway again.
Leonora’s heart quickened. She hadn’t even had time to tell him about Christopher Hennessey’s earlier call. She held her breath for a few moments and then she heard Edward call, “Mother, it’s for you!”
As she went out to the phone, she smiled at him and said, “You had a call from your old school friend in America.”
Edward’s whole face lit up. All the weariness and disappointment he had poured out a few minutes ago had instantly vanished. He put his hand over the mouthpiece on the phone receiver so that the caller couldn’t hear them talking “Christopher?” he said.
The way he said his friend’s name brought an ache to Leonora’s heart. She nodded.
“Did he say if he’d call back later?” he asked eagerly.
“Yes,” she said, reaching forward to take the phone from him. His obvious delight caused a wave of anger to wash over her. Why can’t he just be a normal man, she thought.
Terry Cassidy spoke in a low voice. “I’ve been thinking about you and I just wanted to apologise again for not being available earlier on. I still have a very busy house, but I’m looking forward to catching up with you when everyone has gone.”
Leonora quickly reassured her artist friend that there had been no problem and Terry’s soothing tones helped her relax and feel more normal. They chatted for a few minutes and then the front doorbell sounded. “I’m sorry, Terry, but I hear someone at the door and I must go,” she said, feeling slightly flustered again. She had no idea who could be calling at the house this evening and unexpected guests were the last things she felt she could cope with.
As she walked down the hallway towards the door, Leonora felt an ache across her shoulders and a tight feeling in her head and she knew that it was from all the tension. She suddenly wished she could detour into the sitting room and pour herself a very large whiskey.
When she opened the door and saw Daniel Levy standing there – dressed in casual trousers and a dark blue shirt and a tartan tie – she felt both surprised and hugely relieved at the same time.
“I hope you don’t mind me turning up un-announced,” he said, “but my meeting finished much earlier than expected and I felt you could do with a little support at this time.”
Leonora looked back at him for a few moments in silence and then she said in a low voice. “I’m very grateful that you have turned up, Daniel. I think you’re the only person who could possibly help me.” She opened the heavy wooden door wide for him to come through.
As he passed he held out a bottle of very good white wine – one which Leonora had chosen in a restaurant when they were out together. “I thought a glass or two of this might help things to look a tad rosier,” he said, giving a wry smile.
Leonora recognised the wine. She looked up at him and smiled, “that’s very kind of you.” She lowered her voice. “You bring it in, and please suggest to Edward that we have a glass straight away, because I’m feeling more than a little fraught at the moment.”
He put his hand on her arm. “Things are never as bad as they seem.”
“Edward!” Daniel said in a warm, friendly voice when he walked into the kitchen. “I heard you were back home and, since I was out this direction, I thought I’d look in on you all and see how things are going.” He held the bottle of wine out. “It’s already chilled, so I’ll let you be the barman.”
Leonora felt grateful to Daniel when Edward passed her a generous glass of wine and soon she felt reasonably relaxed as they sipped their wine in the sitting room. Edward had just started to explain how difficult he was finding the return to Ireland professionally when Leonora heard Mrs O’Shea moving around upstairs, so she excused herself and left the two men chatting together. As she went into the hallway, it dawned on her that she felt lighter than she had ever felt since Edward had come back home – as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And in a way it had. Daniel Levy’s presence in Glenmore House had made a big difference. To have another person there who she could trust with Edward’s very fragile situation was a great comfort to her.
As Mrs O’Shea came carefully down the stairs, Leonora thought she looked a little brighter.
“How are you feeling?” Leonora asked.
“I had a wee sleep,” Mrs O’Shea replied, “and I feel the better for it.”
“That’s great to hear!” Leonora looked towards the sitting-room and lowered her voice. “You’ll be pleased to know that I took your advice.”
The housekeeper looked at her sharply. “And what advice was that?”
Leonora leaned in closer. “Daniel Levy,” she said, whispering now. “He’s in there chatting to Edward.”
Mrs O’Shea put her hands together in a praying gesture. “Thanks be to God! He’s the very man that might just help to put things right.” She paused, thinking. “Is he here for dinner?”
Leonora looked flustered for a moment. “I hadn’t really thought . . .” She looked at her watch. “I suppose we should ask him.”
“Right,” said Lizzie. “What’s that I can smell in the oven?”
“Macaroni cheese – with sautéed potatoes.”
“Vegetables?”
“No – I didn’t bother.”
“We can do mushrooms and tomatoes in the pan,” said Lizzie, all business now. “I take it you’ll be eating in the kitchen?”
“Should we?”
“Well, I know for a fact that Daniel enjoys eating there – he’s told me that on many an occasion.” She raised her eyebrows in a meaningful manner. “It might feel more relaxed for everybody.”
“Okay – but on one condition: that you join us.”
“Not at all! I can eat later when you’ve all finished.”
“No, Lizzie, I insist! Daniel has been asking about you – he’ll be delighted to see you up and about on your feet.”
“Well, it looks as though I don’t have much choice,” the housekeeper said, but there was a pleased tone in her voice.
* * *
They had just finished their main course and Leonora was in the middle of taking a warmed apple pie out of the oven when the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Edward immediately said, getting to his feet.
Leonora glanced over at Daniel and when she caught his eye he winked back at her.
“Well, Mrs O’Shea,” he said, turning to the housekeeper now, “I’m delighted to see you’re on the mend. You’ve made a good recovery already.”
As Daniel and Mrs O’Shea chatted about her health and the upcoming visit to Clare, Leonora put the apple tart in the middle of the kitchen table and took the cream from the fridge. Then she laid out dessert plates and cutlery.
“It’s a while since I’ve been to Clare,” Mrs O’Shea was saying, “and Diana is always asking me to go. At my age, if I don’t go now when I have the time on my hands, I might never get to see it again.”
Daniel leaned over to pat the housekeeper’s good arm. “You’ve more than a few years left in you yet, Mrs O’Shea. But you’ve made a good point there that applies to us all.” He looked directly at Leonora now. “There’s an old Latin saying, which I think is a very true one: Carpe Diem. ‘Seize the day’.”
Leonora could feel his gaze on her. “Would you like cream on your apple pie, Daniel?” she asked.
“Yes, please. As I just said, we must seize all the little pleasures that life offers us.”
The others laughed and Leonora passed him the cream.
She was just pouring tea for the three of them when Edward came whistling into the kitchen and she immediately knew what he was going to say.
“Christopher is planning a trip over to Dublin in a couple of weeks,” he said casually, “and I said he was welcome to stay here. He said he mentioned it to you when he rang earlier, so I presume it’s okay?”
Leonora felt her throat tight and dry. She took a sip of her tea. “Of course,” she said, feeling her reaction was being discreetly watched by both Daniel Levy and Mrs O’Shea. “Christopher has always been welcome here.”
Edward leaned over and lifted the teapot to pour himself a cup. “Actually, I’m delighted because I wouldn’t mind catching up with him, and getting his opinion on the business situation over here.” He poured milk into his cup and then sat back down at the table. “I was explaining the situation to Daniel earlier and he could see the difficulties of slotting back into the system here after being out in America.”
“Definitely,” Daniel agreed. “Being in such a huge, progressive country for a few years must make it hard to return in any business, especially something like architecture.”
Edward nodded. “Can you imagine working in the country that produced someone with such advanced ideas as Frank Lloyd Wright?”
“That’s the chap who designed Fallingwater, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed.” Edward sucked his breath in through his teeth. “Can you believe that he designed that building back in the 1930s?” He gave a little sigh. “Lloyd Wright is Christopher’s biggest hero – there’s nothing about his work that he doesn’t know – and I have to admit I’m a great admirer of him myself. We had actually planned to travel to Pennsylvania to see Fallingwater together some time.”
“Perhaps you’ll get the opportunity to do that in the future,” Daniel said.
“Who knows?” Edward shrugged. “I might mention it to Chris when he’s here.”
Leonora felt a little flutter in her chest now and she felt conscious of not being able to add a single thing to the conversation.
Mrs O’Shea put her teacup down now. “If you’ll all excuse me,” she said, standing up, “I’m just going to go back upstairs as I want to finish writing a letter.”
Leonora knew that the housekeeper was just being discreet. She had always had the knack of knowing when she should absent herself.
Leonora stood up now as well. “And I think I’ll leave you two men chatting, as I must go out and give my poor rose beds a drink of water.” She put her hand on her son’s shoulder. “There’s brandy and cigars in the cabinet in the sitting room if either of you feel so inclined.”
A half an hour later, Daniel strolled across the lawn to where Leonora was checking out a row of lettuces in the vegetable patch. She lifted her head and, when she saw him coming towards her, she felt her pulse quicken.
“Thank you for such an unexpectedly lovely evening,” he told her, smiling warmly. “Your meal was excellent as was all the company.”
“It was very basic,” she told him, “but thank you for being so polite about it.”
“I wasn’t just being polite. It was really delicious – another hidden talent you have that I didn’t know about.”
Leonora looked back with a quizzical look on her face.
“Your art – Edward told me all about it. I believe you’ve had a number of commissions.”
Leonora’s hand came up to cover her face. “You’ve embarrassed me now,” she said, her face flushing. “I’m only dabbling at it and the people who bought the paintings probably don’t know the first thing about art . . .”
Daniel shook his head. “You’re an extraordinary woman, Leonora.”
They started to walk back in the direction of the house. “It’s me who should be thanking you,” she told him. “Having you there when Edward was discussing his friend really made things seem more normal.”
“But they are normal. Edward’s relationship is very normal for him. It’s just unfortunate that society in the main doesn’t see it like that, but I’m quite sure that in the future it will all change and people will have a greater understanding about these things and accept same-sex relationships much more readily.”
“I wish it was now,” Leonora said. “And I wish it wasn’t my son.” She paused. “Did he say anything to you about Christopher Hennessey?”
“He talked about him all the time and he confided in me about his friend’s marriage difficulties – and how his wife felt that America wasn’t working out for them.”
Her head jerked up. “Really? Did he say anything about their friendship?”
“No, and I wouldn’t have expected him to. He doesn’t have a deep enough relationship with me to divulge something so personal and know it won’t go any further. Years of keeping that relationship secret will be deeply ingrained in both men. They have a lot to lose by telling it to the wrong person.” Daniel ran a hand through his silvery hair. “I think he will have to admit it to someone closer to him – someone he loves and trusts. Do you think he might talk to Jonathan or Diana?”
Leonora thought for a moment. “Maybe he’ll speak to Diana about it over the next few days when we’re down in Clare.”
“If they care about him, they’ll accept it. It might come as a shock to them at first, but they’ll gradually come around to it.”
“I hope they do, because I’m afraid I don’t feel that I will ever be able to cope with it.”
“You will,” he said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You’re much stronger than you think.”
“You have been so good – you’ve got me through a very difficult evening. You came out of a meeting and drove all the way out here just to help me out. ” She looked up at him. “I honestly can’t thank you enough.”
“Well,” he said, “I can think of a way you can repay me. I have two tickets for the Czech National Orchestra in the Concert Hall in Dublin the Sunday after next, and I could do with a partner to accompany me.” He saw the hesitation in her face. “You’ll be back from Diana’s before then, so hopefully you’ll be free. And before you say anything, I’m not presuming anything more from the occasion than your excellent company. I’m perfectly aware that you don’t see us as anything more than friends and I hope you can put any awkwardness you feel about our previous relationship behind you and enjoy what we have now. And,” he added, “I think a night listening to some inspiring music might just give you a break from worrying about Edward and Mrs O’Shea, and help you to relax.”
Leonora felt herself tense up at his suggestion. “Thank you for asking me, Daniel but with everything that’s happening,” she said, affecting a certain vagueness, “I just don’t know if I’m free. I’ll have to give it a few days to see how Mrs O’Shea is and that kind of thing.”
“Perhaps you could ring me from Clare when you know where you’re up to?”
Leonora nodded. “That might be best.” she said. She lowered her gaze. “But if you have someone else in mind who might be free, I perfectly understand.”
Chapter 39
Hannah paused at the door of the bedroom and then, with a very critical eye, looked slowly from left to right – checking that every single thing was in exactly the right place. After several weeks of working in the hotel, she had adopted a standard that was even higher than Mrs Slattery’s and prided herself on being the fussiest chambermaid in the group of four who worked on the rooms. A solicitor and his wife were staying in the room and every morning they had left it in a terrible mess which had really annoyed her.
Satisfied the job had been done well Hannah closed the bedroom door and went out into the hallway to pick up a tray full of used tea things and glasses that she had cleared before starting to clean the room. She was just bending over when she heard footsteps coming along the corridor behind her. She turned to see the good-looking, well-dressed man who was staying in the room she had just cleaned.
“I’ve forgotten my watch,” he told her. “It’s in my other jacket pocket.” She let him into the room and when he came out he halted at the door. “Actually, I’m delighted I’ve caught you, Hannah,” he said, smiling warmly at her. “Sarah and I are heading off tomorrow and we wanted to give you a small token to say thanks for all the hard work you’ve done cleaning the room after us.” He gave a small laugh. “It’s been a pleasure coming back to a tidy room every afternoon. As you can see by the disorganisation, we’re too used to having other people helping us out.”
