The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club(14)

‘Ah, I see you’re a twitcher,’ Lucy said bringing the tray across to the kitchen table and settling just opposite the window where there was a decent view of the fat balls Elizabeth had hung out for the birds against the wall opposite earlier.

‘Well, it passes the time, doesn’t it? My husband was never an animal lover, but our garden is such a wilderness; there have always been lots to watch out there.’ It was probably the thing she liked most about this house: the fact that they had a constant trail of foxes, hedgehogs, weasels and all sorts of birds passing through at different times of the year.

‘You’re lucky. My house in Dublin hardly sees daylight, never mind actually allowing a view of anything much more than a courtyard preened to within an inch of existence.’ Lucy laughed, but the sound was empty.

‘I couldn’t imagine living in the city,’ Elizabeth said as she popped the lid on the teapot and set it down on the kitchen table.

‘Yes, I suppose I sort of fell into it. There was no great master plan.’

‘It’s never too late to make one, though, is it?’ Elizabeth said lightly and she wondered if that was really true.

‘That’s what I’m hoping at least.’ Lucy sat back a little in her chair, sighed softly. ‘I should be honest with you, Mrs O’Shea.’

‘Please, I’d like you to call me Elizabeth.’ This surprised even herself, but the truth was, she didn’t feel like the doctor’s wife anymore and anyway, it was madness not to be on first-name terms. She wasn’t entirely sure who she was now, not with the way things were really, since she’d found those letters from the bank.

‘Okay, Elizabeth.’ Lucy smiled. ‘I know my mum would love to see me work as a GP here. Honestly, she’d love to see me settled down close by with Niall and a job that made me happy, but…’

‘You’re not sure this is the place you want to settle?’ Elizabeth asked softly.

‘A lot has happened over the last year or two. Everything I thought my life would become has changed. Niall’s world has already been turned upside down,’ Lucy said and there was no mistaking the fact that there had been heartbreak. You could so easily miss it, if you looked away, but it was there in spades. Lucy Nolan was giving up her free time because she sensed the utter loneliness that stretched before another human being and that was something that made Elizabeth feel as if she was unexpectedly privileged. ‘My mum has probably told you?’

‘No, Jo would never discuss anything private, beyond how proud she is of you.’ Elizabeth smiled sadly, realising that it was a quality she’d probably overlooked in Jo, but one to be admired.

‘Well, she’s been a rock, but it’s not exactly a secret. My marriage broke up, just over a year ago. My husband met someone else and now…’ She smiled sadly, bravely. ‘He’s moved to Australia and it’s hard, you know?’

‘I’m so sorry.’ And Elizabeth felt she really was, because at least up in Shanganagh Cemetery, Eric may have left an empty space in their home, but he wasn’t creating pain in her heart each day by making her feel as if she was somehow less than someone new. ‘That’s really hard. You’re…’ Elizabeth broke off, because she wasn’t sure what to say next, fearing that she may sound condescending or worse, perhaps a little pathetic.

‘It’s just the way things worked out.’ Lucy smiled then, a brushing together of her features; probably one she used when she needed to face a patient who would have to be courageous. ‘I haven’t been particularly brave or resilient, but I’ve tried to be dignified. I think sometimes, that’s as much as you can manage.’ Her voice had softened and there was no mistaking the vulnerability. ‘So—’ her smile this time managed to reach her eyes ‘—shall I be Mother, or do you want to pour?’

They drank their tea in the kind of easy silence that passes between people who may not yet be friends, but if time allowed, they might be.

‘When the sun is shining out there, it’s really quite lovely,’ Elizabeth said eventually. They were both watching a pair of doves tracing their way along the overgrown path.

‘I think the rain is gorgeous; everything is so lavish and verdant,’ Lucy said softly. ‘I never realised that these properties extended so far out the back. It’s quite the revelation.’ She laughed now. ‘Are they old coach houses along the end?’

‘I believe they are. There was a line of houses just like this running to the end of the street once. They’re Georgian, of course, so the attics would have been home to the servants and the stables and the coach house at the back would have seen the family’s livery settled in. I suppose, we’ve let it go to rack and ruin, but it all takes money and I’m afraid Eric never really saw the point. In the beginning, when I first married him, I tried to convince him to…’ She laughed, a gentle sound that held precious fond memories in its marrow. ‘I was young and enthusiastic; I thought that they’d make a far better surgery than the old rooms he settled for. Eric liked the idea of being on the main street – whereas I always thought that we could open up the entrance at the back. There’s plenty of parking, just opposite, and room for a good size waiting room and maybe an extra surgery too.’ She shook her head then; it was a lifetime ago.

‘I remember visiting your husband before I applied for medical school.’