‘You’d better behave then.’
He did that funny thing with his eyebrows that always made her laugh. ‘Anyway, Aunt Bead’s sister’s daughter, Fiona, has agreed to be a bridesmaid. We haven’t seen each other since we were nine or ten.’
‘Well, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know her again.’ He stood up. ‘Let’s walk. Who else are you inviting, apart from Mary and her sister?’
‘Oh, there won’t be that many. What about you?’
‘Mam was saying she’d like to invite Meredith and the family. There’ll be quite a few of them.’ He frowned. ‘Is that okay with you?’
‘Grand, I’d love to meet them.’
‘Aunt Meredith will be looking forward to the wedding. It will give her something to focus on.’
‘In that case, we should go ahead and book the church. You need to give at least six months’ notice for a church wedding.’
‘Really! Look, why don’t we make it a spring wedding? What do you say?’
‘I’d love that, Dermot. Will the house be ready by then?’
‘Well, sure if it’s not, we won’t be stuck for somewhere to stay now, will we?’
She linked her arm through his, and they walked towards the small stone bridge that spanned the pond. They stood a while looking down at the water. ‘Dermot, would you mind if I was to meet Tom a couple of nights a week? There’s still so much I want to learn about him.’
Dermot’s jaw dropped. ‘You mean as well as the night to stay in to wash your hair?’
‘Oh, don’t be like that.’
He paused and drew her close, caressing the side of her face with his fingertips. ‘Of course, I don’t mind. You’re a terrible temptation to me anyway.’ He glanced up at the now overcast sky. ‘I guess we’ve soaked up all the sun for today. Right, no more worrying about weddings and stuff. I’m taking you for a coffee if I can find somewhere open, and then you can drive me home.’
Smiling, they walked out of the park. Traffic was building up, and a bus filled with passengers turned down Grafton Street. Distant church bells rang out the Angelus. ‘Is it twelve o’clock already?’
‘There’s no time for coffee then. I told Da I’d cook him lunch.’
Dermot looked disappointed. Drawing her into a shop doorway, he said, ‘I love you, Aileen Maguire. I can’t wait to make you my wife.’
‘I love you, too.’
He encircled her in his arms, and as his lips crushed hers, she felt a warm glow run the length of her body.
She drew back. ‘I can’t wait to be Mrs Brogan, and I promise to be the best wife I can be.’
‘What more could a man want?’ Smiling, he took her hand and they headed back towards the car as drops of summer rain began to fall.
Chapter Sixty-Two
With her wedding plans in place and her business making a small profit, Aileen couldn’t have been happier as the weeks flew past.
Tom and Aileen were in constant touch, and their closeness grew. At times, she felt that she almost knew what he was thinking. Yet Tom had never said he had forgiven their mother for leaving him behind at the baby home. Nor had he made any attempt to visit her grave.
Alone in bed at night, she acknowledged that sometimes you had to accept that things didn’t always work out the way you would like them to. Right now she was happy to have found her brother and fulfilled part of her mother’s last wishes.
Tom had at least stopped referring to their da as sir, and sometimes called him Jonny. They had all come a long way in a short space of time. At best, the three men she loved were close.
* * *
It was the first anniversary of her ma’s passing. Aileen arranged for a special mass to be said for the repose of her soul, and later she would visit the graveside.
As far as she knew, her da hadn’t visited the cemetery since the funeral. She had assumed he had stayed away because of his guilt over Lizzy.
The night before, after tea, he said, ‘It’s been a sad yet wonderful year, Aileen.’ He paused. ‘Jessie, your ma, would be proud of you—and Tom, had she known him.’ He drew in his breath. ‘Did you remember to order flowers for the altar, love?’
‘Yes, don’t worry, Da. Will you visit Ma’s grave with me tomorrow after the mass?’
He nodded. ‘Paddy and Bead are attending the mass and said they would meet us back at theirs later for something to eat.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Has Tom… you know? Has he said anything about his mother?’
Aileen shook her head. ‘We should leave him, Da. He’ll come to terms with things in his own time.’
* * *
It was warm and humid the following morning as Aileen and her da placed white lilies and red roses on the grave.
They stood in silence, their heads bowed, deep in their own private thoughts. Aileen sniffed back tears of utter sadness. Her father’s shoulders shook, and he took out his handkerchief and blew his nose.
Aileen felt a lump in her throat. It was the first time he had shown any outward sign of grief in front of her, and it stirred her deeply. She moved closer and linked her arm through his. When she glanced up, Tom was walking towards them carrying a wreath made of fresh lilies—her mother’s favourite flowers.
As he bent down and placed the wreath alongside theirs, tears of joy ran down Aileen’s face, and her da gave a little cough and straightened his shoulders. Tom lowered his head and held his hands as if in prayer. Then he turned to face them.
‘Da… Aileen.’ His eyes fixed on them both. ‘I’m sorry I’m late. The bus broke down, and we had to wait ages for a replacement. That must sound like a cliché.’
His father smiled. ‘Sure, not at all, son. That’s Corporation buses for you. Thanks for coming. It would have meant a lot to her.’
He placed his hand firmly on Tom’s shoulder and the other around Aileen.
The three of them stood close together. Aileen sniffed back tears. No-one spoke for a very long moment. And in that miraculous few seconds, Aileen knew that her Ma’s last wish had finally been fulfilled.
‘Rest in peace, Ma,’ she murmured.
ABOUT CATHY MANSELL
Cathy Mansell writes romantic fiction. Her recently written family sagas are set in her home country of Ireland. One of these sagas closely explores her affinities with Dublin and Leicester. Her children's stories are frequently broadcast on local radio and she also writes newspaper and magazine articles. Cathy has lived in Leicester for fifty years. She belongs to Leicester Writers' Club and edited an Arts Council-funded anthology of work by Lutterworth Writers, of which she is president.
Get in touch with Cathy Mansell:
Cathy Mansell (http://cathymansell.com)
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cathy.mansell4)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/ashbymagna)
Tirgearr Publishing (http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Mansell_Cathy)
OTHER BOOKS BY CATHY MANSELL
SHADOW ACROSS THE LIFFEY
Released: February 2013
ISBN: 9781301231720
Life is hard for widow, Oona Quinn. She's grief-stricken by the tragic deaths of her husband and five-year-old daughter. While struggling to survive, she meets charismatic Jack Walsh at the shipping office where she works.
Vinnie Kelly, her son's biological father, just out of jail, sets out to destroy both Oona and all she holds dear. Haunted by her past, she has to fight for her future and the safety of her son, Sean. But Vinnie has revenge on his mind . . .
HER FATHER'S DAUGHTER
Released: November 2014
ISBN: 9781301256402
Set in 1950s Ireland, twenty-year-old Sarah Nolan leaves her Dublin home after a series of arguments. She's taken a job in Cork City with The Gazette, a move her parents strongly oppose. With her limited budget, she is forced to take unsavory accommodations where the landlord can't be trusted. Soon after she settles in, Sarah befriends sixteen-year-old Lucy who has been left abandoned and pregnant.
Dan M
adden is a charming and flirtatious journalist who wins Sarah's heart. He promises to end his engagement with Ruth, but can Sarah trust him to keep his word?
It's when her employer asks to see her birth certificate that Sarah discovers some long-hidden secrets. Her parents' behaviour continue to baffle her and her problems with Dan and Lucy multiply.
Will Dan stand by Sarah in her time of need? Will Sarah be able to help Lucy keep her baby? Or will the secrets destroy Sarah and everything she dreams of for her future?
GALWAY GIRL
Released: May 2014
ISBN: 9781310901614
Feisty Irish gypsy girl, Tamara Redmond is just sixteen when she overhears her parents planning her wedding to the powerful and hated Jake Travis. In desperation, she leaves Galway, a place she loves, and stows away on a ship with disastrous consequences. On her release from a cell in Liverpool, she takes refuge in a travelling circus and falls in love with Kit Trevlyn, a trapeze artist.
Accused of stealing, she is thrown out. She sleeps rough in Covent Garden where her fear of Jake Travis finding her dominates her waking hours. When he kidnaps her and keeps her captive, her life spirals downwards. Then Tamara hears a truth, a truth that will change her life and her very existence forever.
WHERE THE SHAMROCKS GROW
Released: September 29104
ISBN: 9781311081100
Set in 1917 against the backdrop of the Irish civil war, young Jo Kingsley is transported from her turbulent childhood of domestic servitude, to the sophisticated life of the upper classes at the beautiful Chateau Colbert. Here she meets Jean-Pierre, the grandson of her employer, Madame Colbert, and visits Paris where she discovers the desires of men. But Jo’s destiny takes her to America where she experiences more than her dreams of becoming a music teacher.
During prohibition, in the mysterious haunts of Greenwich Village, she falls deeply in love with Mike Pasiński, a free-spirit; and a son of Polish emigrants. However, loneliness, loss and hardship follow during the Wall Street crash.
Will the beautiful Jo let go of her demons and learn to love again?
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