The Boatman's Wife(50)

‘It’s okay,’ Lily said, her appetite waning as she felt Aisling’s curious eyes on her wedding ring. She selected a pancake and placed it on her plate, squeezing a quarter of lemon over it. Aisling grabbed one after her.

Noreen sat down at the table and took a pancake. Lily noticed she was wearing a wedding ring, too.

‘She’s always asking guests private questions, so embarrassing,’ Saoirse explained to Lily, sighing. ‘It’s because she wants everyone to know about Daddy and feel sorry for her.’

‘That’s not true.’ Aisling went pink.

‘Honest to God, you’re mortifying,’ Saoirse declared. ‘Just so you have the heads-up, our dad is dead, okay?’ Saoirse’s eyes were sharp with emotion, and her shoulders hunched.

‘Oh, I sure am sorry,’ Lily said.

‘Lily doesn’t need to hear all this. Off to school, girls, you’re going to be late,’ Noreen said briskly, but Lily could hear the upset in her voice.

Aisling snatched up another pancake before running out the door, while Saoirse slipped her phone into her pocket and sauntered after her sister.

When both the girls were gone, Noreen took a big sigh.

‘Oh, my goodness, sometimes I really feel I’m not doing too good a job.’ Noreen turned to Lily. ‘I do apologise.’

‘They’re great,’ Lily said, nibbling on her pancake.

Noreen took a sip of her tea, and then sighed, clearly building up to something. ‘Their daddy passed away three years ago, and well, it’s been tough ever since,’ she confided. ‘The girls really miss him.’

Lily stopped eating. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said.

‘Finbar was only forty-one,’ Noreen continued, her eyes swimming with tears. ‘Too young. Sometimes we just feel like we have a great big hole in our home. Us girls need someone to look after, you know?’

Lily took a gulp of her coffee. Something about Noreen made it feel as if it would be so easy to talk to her. Easier than her own mother, for some reason. Was it because she might understand how Lily was feeling right now? Though Lily was terrified she might fall apart, she wanted so badly to tell someone.

‘Actually,’ she said, dredging up her own loss, ‘my husband’s dead, too.’

Noreen looked aghast. ‘But you’re so young!’

‘It was an accident,’ Lily explained, although in her head the phrase ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ kept rolling over. She imagined how Noreen might react if she told her that her own father had been accused of killing her husband.

‘I am so sorry,’ Noreen said.

‘Thanks,’ Lily said, feeling tears begin to rise. ‘I’m sorry, it’s not been long.’

‘Darling, you cry if you need to,’ Noreen said, handing her a box of tissues. Lily wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

‘So, how long has it been?’ Noreen ventured.

‘October,’ Lily said.

‘Last year?’

‘No, just past,’ Lily told her.

Noreen looked horrified. ‘But that’s only a few weeks ago. What are you doing here in Mullaghmore? Miles away from your family and friends? Oh my Lord, it’s hardly a holiday now, is it?’

Lily shook her head. It felt so good to confide in someone, and maybe Noreen could help her.

‘That’s why I’m here,’ she said. ‘My husband was from Mullaghmore.’

‘He was?’ Noreen said slowly, looking at her in surprise. ‘Well, I must have known him. Sure, we all know each other. What was his name?’

‘Connor Fitzgerald.’

Lily saw it. A minute jolt, and a flicker across Noreen’s eyes, before she spoke.

‘Oh, no, I never heard of Connor Fitzgerald,’ she said, looking uncomfortable – and to Lily’s eyes, clearly lying.

‘Are you sure?’ Lily pushed the other woman. ‘I really want to find his family. I know he’s a maternal grandmother called Rosemary living here. But I don’t know her second name.’

She saw Noreen hesitate, but then she shook her head again.

‘No, sorry, no, he’s not from these parts. I’ve never heard of Connor Fitzgerald or his grandmother. You must have it wrong.’

‘Are you sure? His grandmother doesn’t know he’s passed away. I do need to find her.’

Noreen shook her head, biting her lip and not catching Lily’s eye.

Lily was tempted to force Noreen further, accuse her of lying, but the other woman was already stacking their breakfast things up.

‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to go out,’ she said, stumbling out of the conservatory and back into the kitchen.

Lily sat at the table, feeling a little stunned by Noreen’s reaction to the mention of Connor and his grandmother. She heard plates clattering in the kitchen and thought about following Noreen in, demanding she tell her everything she knew. That was how she would have done things in the old days. But before she had a chance, she heard the back door slam and saw Noreen walking fast down the drive and along the road into town.

It was all very strange indeed. But one thing Lily was sure of: Noreen knew exactly who Connor and his grandmother were.



Lily sat in the rental car, gripping the steering wheel. She felt so confused. Noreen and her daughters had been so welcoming, and yet as soon as she’d mentioned Connor’s name, Noreen had changed. There was something bad the woman wasn’t telling her. Lily sensed it. All she had to do was ask in the shop or the pub. Surely someone could tell her where she could find Connor’s grandmother?