A Great Beauty

by A. O'Connor

  “Gearóid said Mick wept like a baby when he heard the news – he’s inconsolable,” said Maud.

  “Oh, that it has come to this!” sobbed Kitty.

  As she looked around the parlour through her tears, she had a flashback to three years before. They were all there – Harry and Michael, Gearóid and all the family, laughing and dancing to music. She had a vision of Michael and Harry sitting on the couch together, roaring with laughter over some long-forgotten joke.

  CHAPTER 72

  Hazel and John disembarked at Kingstown Harbour in Dublin. It was a beautiful sunny August Monday. As they made their way through the crowd of passengers Hazel felt a burgeoning sense of excitement to be in Ireland again. She could not wait to see Michael.

  She desperately wanted to be with him and to support him. The civil war had put him under more pressure than ever before. The deaths of former friends and colleagues were having a severe impact on him, particularly the death of his close friend Harry Boland. As if the civil-war casualties were not bad enough, news had come that Arthur Griffith, the man who replaced De Valera as President, had died the previous day. Hazel herself felt very saddened to hear of Arthur’s death as she had entertained him at 5 Cromwell Place many a time during the treaty negotiations the previous year. And she knew it would be another bitter blow to Michael to lose the steady hand of friendship Arthur provided. It meant Michael was even more isolated and the success of the fledging assembly rested firmly on his shoulders.

  There was a group of dignitaries waiting for them at the port.

  “Welcome to Dublin, Sir John and Lady Lavery. Your car awaits, if you would care to follow me?” said one of the men as his colleagues rushed to take the luggage from the boat’s porters.

  “We are delighted to be here – to be home,” said Hazel as she followed the men to the government car awaiting them.

  The government car brought John and Hazel to the Royal Marine Hotel in Kingstown where they were shown to their suite which had views out across the lawns to the sea. Hazel waited anxiously for Michael – they had agreed to meet for dinner at the hotel that night. As the evening drew in, she changed into as sequinned black gown and brushed her hair out while John changed into his suit.

  “How do I look?” Hazel asked, spinning around.

  “You look beautiful, Hazel, as always,” he assured her.

  She turned and checked her appearance in the mirror again.

  As John watched her, he believed it was not for him that she was checking her appearance.

  Finally, there was a knock on the door. Clutching her evening bag, Hazel rushed to answer it.

  “General Collins is waiting for you downstairs, ma’am,” said a porter.

  “Excellent, thank you,” said Hazel as she swept past the porter and down the corridor to the staircase.

  John reached into his pocket and tipped the porter as he left the suite.

  Hazel reached the foyer and anxiously looked around but couldn’t see Michael.

  “Where is he? General Collins?” she demanded of a passing porter.

  “I believe he is in the reception room,” said the porter, pointing to a closed door where two policemen were positioned.

  “I am Lady Lavery,” she said, walking past them, pushing at the door and swinging it open.

  A lone figure was standing in the bay window, looking out across the lawns to the sea, his back to her.

  “Michael,” she whispered, closing the door behind her.

  He turned around and they stared at each other before she turned the key in the lock behind her. Then he strode to her and they embraced and kissed.

  “I have missed you so much,” he whispered to her.

  “And I you. The only thing that kept me going was receiving your letters.” She pulled away from him and looked at him. “You poor thing! Between losing Harry and now Arthur dying – I know how much both of them meant to you.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her again.

  Then they heard voices outside and she pulled away from him.

  “John is on his way down,” she hissed. “Unlock the door! Hurry!”

  She quickly went to the mirror and checked her make-up as Michael unlocked the door.

  Hazel swung around from the mirror and adopted a light-hearted tone. “I am famished and I know John is as well so let’s hope the food is good here!”

  “I believe it’s the best,” said Michael and the two of them walked out into the foyer where John had just arrived downstairs.

  “John, it’s so good to see you again!” said Michael, approaching him and shaking his hand.

  “And you, Michael. I am so sorry to hear about Arthur Griffith,” said John with a sympathetic smile.

  “Thank you, John. I know he thought very highly of you during our visits to 5 Cromwell Street last year.”

  “It all seems so long ago,” said Hazel as she looked happily at Michael.

  In the dining room they sat at a table inside the window. It was now dark outside.

  Dinner was served and they began to eat.

  “Winston and Lloyd George are very happy, Michael, that you’ve restored law and order to Dublin and are sure to have the entire country under your control soon,” said Hazel.

  “They forced my hand – what choice did I have? And I’ve lost friends – good friends,” said Michael sadly as he looked down at his plate.

  Hazel reached over and placed her hand on his. “Everyone knows the sacrifices you’ve made.”

  “Do they?” asked Michael, looking up into her eyes.

  John looked uncomfortably down at his wife’s hand on that of their dinner guest.

  “Any word of Mr. De Valera?” he asked quickly.

  Hazel removed her hand from Michael’s and, taking up her glass of wine, took a sip.

  “I believe he might be in Cork, with the insurgents,” Michael said. “I am still trying to negotiate a peace with them – to give them a way out with pride – rather than for this battle to drag on with more death and casualties.”

  “Well, yes,” Hazel put her hand on Michael’s again, “but they must understand there is no going back now. They must accept things as they are, as negotiated by you and Arthur, bless him, and the rest last year in London.”

  Outside, in the grounds of the hotel, the night air was warm and humid as an insurgent lay hidden in the trees. His gun was aimed squarely at the dining-room window inside which Michael, Hazel and John were having dinner.

  He waited impatiently to get a clear shot at Michael, but Hazel was seated next to him nearest the window. Every time the sniper had Michael in clear view, Hazel leaned forward, blocking it. The sniper took aim again.

  “What of your fiancée?” asked John, the question prompting Hazel to remove her hand from Michael’s again.

  “Kitty – I haven’t seen her for so long. It was too dangerous for her to travel to Dublin while the city was under siege and I couldn’t get down to visit her. We write all the time. She’s been badly affected by Harry’s death – they were very close.”

  “Of course,” said Hazel sympathetically, hiding her guilty pleasure at the news Michael and Kitty had not been seeing each other regularly. But she was also uneasy that she should feel pleasure on hearing this.

  “But I am seeing her tomorrow,” said Michael.

  “Oh?” Hazel was surprised.

  “She’s coming to Dublin – well, just outside Dublin – to Greystones, down the coast from here. It’s finally safe for her to travel.”

  John smiled. “Excellent! I’m sure you cannot wait to meet her after the prolonged absence.”

  “Absence does make the heart grow fonder, as they say,” said Hazel. “She was the – sweetheart, to use that dread word – of Harry before you, was she not?”

  “That she was. So, tomorrow, our meeting will be tinged with sadness for both of us. We were great friends, the three of us.” His eyes welled up.

  “This tragedy will probably bring you and Kitty c
loser,” said John. “Tragedy can do that.”

  “Or tear people apart – one or the other,” sighed Hazel.

  Michael nodded sadly and was about to speak when two policemen came up to their table.

  One bent down to speak to Michael.

  “We have found an enemy sniper in the grounds of the hotel, General,” he said quietly.

  “What?” Hazel looked out the window into the darkness.

  “He is under arrest. You were the target, General, but Lady Lavery was obstructing his view.”

  “Oh my!” said Hazel excitedly.

  “Can we close these curtains, please!” John urgently called to one of the waiters.

  The waiter quickly obliged.

  “We could have all been shot dead!” exclaimed John, horrified.

  “Not all of us, John!” said Hazel. “They were just after Michael. If they wanted to shoot us all then they would have shot us all! I was obstructing the view, did you not hear?”

  “General, you need to return to barracks without delay, in case there is another attempt on your life tonight,” said the policeman.

  Michael turned to Hazel. “I had better go. I’ll telephone you tomorrow to make our next arrangement … I think you might have saved my life tonight.”

  Hazel’s eyes widened in amazement. “Yes, you need to go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  Michael nodded at her and then at John before marching out of the restaurant with the police officers.

  “How remarkable!” said Hazel, her head in a spin from it all.

  “Hazel, let us go to our suite – I really cannot endure any more drama for tonight!”

  “Yes, of course,” said Hazel.

  As they emerged into the foyer, they heard gunfire from not too far away.

  “Michael!” gasped Hazel.

  It was two in the morning and Hazel was sitting at the window in their suite, looking out at the moon’s reflection in the sea. John was asleep, but she was unable to. News had come earlier that the gunfire they had heard was an ambush on Michael’s car. Hazel had desperately tried to find out more but was unable to.

  There was a knock on the door, and she went quickly to answer it.

  “General Collins in on the telephone in reception for you, Lady Lavery,” said the porter.

  Hazel was overwhelmed with relief as she made her way down to the reception and took the phone.

  “Michael?” she said urgently down the phone.

  “Hazel, I’m fine – my car was ambushed down the road from the hotel, but I was travelling in the next car. Two lucky escapes in the one night.”

  “Oh, Michael! I was terrified something had happened to you. Terrified, I tell you!”

  “I knew you would be worried, so I thought to telephone you. I’m sorry I had to rush off earlier from the meal – little did I know I was rushing into an ambush.”

  “You must remain strong, Michael – don’t let them frighten you – that is what they are attempting to do!”

  “I know. I can only marvel at you, Hazel. Being told there was a sniper outside, and you didn’t show any fear at all.”

  “It is only you I have concern for, Michael.” She paused and then whispered, “I love you!”

  There was a silence on the other end of the line before he said, “I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Hazel.”

  The telephone went dead.

  CHAPTER 73

  Michael made his way down the corridor to Kitty’s room in the Grand Hotel in Greystones. He remembered the argument he had with Kitty in London when she predicted his would be a life of hotel rooms, never having a proper home of his own – of their own. As he went from the Laverys’ hotel last night to Kitty’s hotel the next day, he thought she might be right.

  He steadied himself at her door. It had been so long since they had met that he was overcome with nerves at seeing her again. He took a deep breath and knocked.

  A few moments later, Kitty opened the door.

  “Kitty,” he whispered as she fell into his arms.

  As they moved inside the room and closed the door, she started to cry.

  “Will you stop – or you’ll set me off as well!” he demanded, his eyes welling up.

  “I’m just so glad to see you, Mick, and so lonesome after Harry,” she said through her tears.

  “I know, I’m the same,” he said, sighing heavily,

  They walked down the beach across from the hotel in Greystones, arms around each other.

  “I wanted to go to Harry’s funeral,” said Kitty. “I desperately did, but I felt I wouldn’t be welcome. Why would I – after what I did?”

  “I wanted to go too – or at least send a letter of condolence, but it would have only hurt his family – no doubt they blame me for ruining his life and taking his life. To tell the truth, I blame myself as well. The guilt is mighty.”

  “I go to Mass each morning and pray for him and pray for you – that nothing will happen to you.”

  “Ah, sure they couldn’t catch me! They tried last night and got themselves arrested for their attempt.”

  “Last night!” said Kitty alarmed. “What happened?”

  “They ambushed a car they thought I was in, but I wasn’t in it.”

  “Where was this?”

  “Kingstown. Coming back from dinner with the Laverys.”

  “The Laverys!” she said, suddenly halting. “What are they doing in Dublin?”

  “Over to support me and the Irish,” he said.

  “Support you! Isn’t that what I’m here for – to support you? You don’t need Hazel Lavery for that!” she said angrily.

  “I need all the support I can get, Kitty!”

  “And how long is she here for?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it.”

  She shook her head as she walked on. “I don’t know, Mick, I really don’t know what’s going on with you!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “If somebody told me a year ago that Mick Collins would be out with a London society lady, I would say they were crazy! And here you are!”

  “She has been a very good friend to me and to Ireland.”

  “Oh, don’t we know! She’s a real sweetheart!” She spat the word out.

  “Oh, so this is all about what they wrote in the newspaper – I thought I dealt with all that in my letters!”

  “Because of everything that has been going on and the pressure you have been under, I have forced myself to remain quiet about the whole situation with Hazel Lavery. But enough is enough! Here she is now, over in Dublin! It’s not just about the article in the paper calling her your sweetheart, although that is bad enough! You’re the talk of London! I’ve heard it back from people. You’ve let your celebrity go to your head. I’ve heard there is a society lady in London who would give anything for the notoriety of having one night with Mick Collins! How does that make you feel about yourself? Proud or embarrassed? I hope for your sake it’s embarrassed!”

  “It is neither as it’s a lot of nonsense! Hazel said there is always gossip in London as it’s just the kind of place it is!”

  “Well, if Hazel says it then it must be correct! I take it that Hazel is the society lady they are all gossiping about!”

  “Kitty! Will you stop with your smart mouth!” he pleaded.

  She waved her hands in the air. “I can see the change in you, Mick! The letters – they get shorter and shorter – the frequency less and less!”

  “I am so sorry that I do not have time to sit down and write you a letter several pages long when I am trying to win a war and under threat from snipers!” It was his turn to be sarcastic.

  “But you have time to go for dinner with Lady Lavery!”

  “Her husband was there sitting across the table from us!”

  “And what of your letters to her? I bet they aren’t a few lines written as an afterthought, are they?”

  His face went red with embarrassment.

  Her eyes
widened as she marched off down the beach “The look of guilt on your face!”

  “Kitty!” He raced after her, catching up with her and putting his hands on her shoulders. “My letters to Hazel are different as I’m talking about politics with her and passing on information to hand to the British government.”

  “Whereas I am just your fiancée.” Her voice was low and sad.

  “Kitty – I love you!” he said.

  “Do you, Mick? Do you really love me anymore? Or are you just in too deep and you feel you can’t get out? If you could – if you had the option – who would you choose? Hazel or me? And I don’t want to even hear your answer to that question.”

  She shook him off and began to march along the beach back to the hotel.

  “Kitty!” he shouted after her.

  Kitty was in her room in the Grand Hotel with the door locked while Michael knocked loudly on it from the other side.

  “Kitty! Will you open this fucking door!”

  She walked quickly to the door and unlocked it.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

  “Will you let me come in, please?”

  “No, Mick! We’ve said enough for one day. I’m tired and not feeling well. We’re both shell-shocked after Harry’s death and you’re now in grief over Arthur’s death as well. I need some time and you need rest before you give your speech at Arthur’s funeral tomorrow.”

  “But we need to talk, Kitty!”

  “I’m here for the week – we’ll have plenty of time to talk,” she said as she closed the door and locked it.

  She leaned against the door, her face creased in worry. She was filled with terror. The truth was she was too frightened to talk further with Michael that night, too frightened of what might come out in anger and what might never be able to be repaired. As it was, she had barely restrained herself from attacking him about the letter to Hazel that she had actually read.

  CHAPTER 74