The Boatman's Wife(67)

There was another letter waiting for her on the hall table of the B&B. Lily tore into the envelope, tension rippling through her body.

Leave the past well alone, Lily Fitzgerald. Go home before you regret it.





Lily’s anger flared up again. No way was she going to be intimidated. Besides, this second letter only served to fuel her suspicion that she hadn’t had the whole story from Noreen. Connor was dead; why would any of the Malones care about Lily being in Mullaghmore? Unless there was something they were trying to keep from her.

Without thinking, she shoved the letter in her coat pocket and went back out again, down the hill into town. If the brothers weren’t in the pub, she’d find out where they lived and drive on out there. But as she walked back into the same dim pub as the night before, she saw the Malones sitting up at the bar, eating sandwiches. Sean had a glass of Coke, but she could see Daniel was already at the Guinness. When he caught sight of Lily, he had the decency to blush. She gritted her teeth. She would not be embarrassed. He had deceived her, got her drunk, and tried to take advantage of her, all along keeping from her that his sister had been married to Connor.

She pulled the letter out of her pocket and tapped Sean on the shoulder. Lily had worked with brawnier fishermen than him and been treated as an equal. She had held the respect of every guy in her fishing community, and she wasn’t going to let this bastard get the better of her or run her out of town.

Sean turned round and looked down at her. As soon as she saw the expression on his face, it was clear he knew exactly who she was.

‘If you’ve something to say to me, you should have the balls to do it in person,’ she said, waving the letter in his face. ‘I won’t be intimidated by your pathetic threats.’

Sean’s cheeks turned a deep shade of reddish purple. It was clear to Lily that she had poked the bear, but she didn’t care any more. She’d had enough of men and their lies.

‘Don’t know what you’re talking about, you mad bitch,’ he said.

‘Admit it,’ Lily said. ‘You know I’m Connor Fitzgerald’s wife, and you sent me those letters warning me to get out of town, but I won’t – not until I get to the bottom of things.’

‘Wife? Don’t you mean widow?’ Sean sneered at her. ‘You’re Connor’s widow.’ He got off his stool and towered over her. Bits of bread were stuck between his teeth, and his breath smelled. ‘I don’t give a shit about what you’re doing here,’ he said.

‘What about the letters?’ Lily waved them in Sean’s face again. Daniel got off his stool, taking an uncertain step towards her and his brother. She felt a shiver of repulsion. How could she have let this man kiss her last night? In daylight, she could see he had the face of a heavy drinker: red, bloodshot eyes and thick jowls.

‘I didn’t send you any letters, you crazy woman,’ Sean said, but then his eyes narrowed. ‘I did send your husband an email though, warning him not to ever set foot here again. Else I would kill him.’ His tone was so harsh, so laced with hatred, it made Lily step back. ‘But I don’t need to now,’ he said, giving her a cruel smile, ‘because Daniel here told me what you confided in him. Connor’s dead anyways. Good riddance. I hope he rots in Hell.’

Before she could stop herself, Lily’s arm shot out and she gave Sean a resounding slap on the face. But instead of getting angry or hitting her back, he just started to laugh at her.

‘Hey, what’s going on?’ said the barman, coming over.

Lily went again for Sean, but Daniel caught her arm.

‘Come on, now, Lily, calm down,’ Daniel said, before twisting around to Sean. ‘Have you no heart, Sean? The girl’s in mourning.’

‘Well, she’s better off without that bastard, Connor Fitzgerald,’ Sean said, sitting back up on his stool and taking a sip of his Coke.

‘He was my husband!’ Lily started to go for Sean again, but Daniel dragged her away. She was furious with him, too.

‘Eve was my sister, too, you know,’ Sean snarled back at her.

‘Come on,’ Daniel said, veins bulging in his forehead with the effort of restraining Lily. ‘Come on, let’s go; you don’t want Ted to ring the guards, now.’

‘Yeah, off you go now,’ Sean heckled them. ‘Pair of losers.’

Before she knew it, Daniel had pushed her out of the pub, and they were standing on the street outside. She was still furious.

‘I won’t have him saying things like that about Connor,’ said Lily.

‘Leave it,’ Daniel said, putting a hand on her arm. ‘You’ll get nowhere with my brother. He hated Connor even before he married Eve.’

Lily turned on Daniel. ‘And you,’ she said, her eyes blazing. ‘Kissing me, when all along you knew who Connor was, and who I was!’

‘I’m sorry,’ Daniel said, looking shaky. ‘I was drunk!’

‘Your brother can’t threaten me like that, send letters,’ Lily continued to rant. ‘I’ll go to the police.’

‘It wasn’t him,’ Daniel said, shoving his hands in his pockets, and looking sheepish. ‘I sent you the letters.’

‘But why would you threaten me on the one hand, and try to get off with me on the other?’