Jean Grainger Box Set: So Much Owed, Shadow of a Century, Under Heaven's Shining Stars

by Jean Grainger

  ‘Maybe, Father Liam so,’ she said with a wink and patted his hand.

  They shuffled on out the door.

  Eventually, the crowd thinned and the small group stood together.

  D’Alton was placing his papers into an expensive leather briefcase, engraved with his initials in gold on the top.

  Hugo and Liam stood and were each waiting for the other to speak. Liam cast a sidelong glance at his friend and was surprised to see a peculiar look on his face. It was as if Hugo didn’t know what to say.

  ‘Thank you, Mr d’Alton, for all you did...’ Liam began.

  D’Alton looked up from his papers and smiled.

  ‘Well, as I said to you before the trial, this is as good an outcome as we could have expected. A sensible judge who did the right thing, it’s an eventuality rarer than you’d imagine.’ He grinned wryly. ‘I think the judge is quite convinced of the inherent goodness in your friend, but justice must be done, and more importantly, justice must be seen to have been done. The fact that he has already served some time in prison means he should be out with good behaviour within six months, I would imagine.’

  ‘Six months? Really? That’s incredible. Can we take you to lunch? To say thank you,’ Hugo asked, praying his voice sounded normal. He was filled with a sudden terror that even after everything that had happened between them, d’Alton was about to walk out of his life forever. He felt in his pocket. All day, he’d been turning the key d’Alton had given him round and round in his pocket. Suddenly, it didn’t feel like enough.

  Liam noticed the way Hugo was acting and couldn’t figure it out. Normally, he was confident and when it came to the barrister, he was business-like and almost curt, barely hiding his dislike for the man.

  D’Alton smiled at them, and for the first time, it seemed genuine.

  ‘I would love to, I really would, but I’m needed in London this evening. I was due to appear at the Old Bailey and luckily the case was adjourned, which allowed me to come here, but I do need to get there as soon as possible. I will telephone you in the coming days to answer any questions you might have and to discuss anything you are unsure about. I’ve come to have quite a personal interest in this case, and I’d like to see your friend freed as soon as we can. In the meantime, you will be able to visit him, keep his spirits up, and tell him I said that it went very well indeed. Now, gentlemen, I believe my car is waiting to take me to the airport and so I’ll take my leave. I will speak to you soon,’ he said again, looking directly into Hugo’s eyes. And then he was gone.

  Father Aquinas left to say Mass, and Mam and Helen made for Chapel Street. Helen had promised the girls she’d take them for a puck around with their hurleys. She was determined to make great hurlers of them, and they wanted to show Patrick how good they had become in his absence. They practiced every moment they could, and Mrs Tobin sighed in mock despair at her gable end being used as a target once again. In reality, Liam knew she loved to hear the constant thudding of the leather ball against the wall, being ‘pucked’ as it was known, with great strength. It reminded her of the days when Liam and Con were doing the same thing.

  Eventually, having shaken hands with countless neighbours and friends, old schoolmates and total strangers, Liam and Hugo stood alone in the courtroom.

  ‘Would they let us see Patrick, do you think?’ Liam asked. Hugo was lost in thought.

  ‘What? Sorry, I wasn’t listening, what did you say?’ Hugo turned back to him.

  ‘I said do you think they’d let us in to see Patrick this afternoon.’

  ‘I don’t know, we can try I suppose...’

  ‘Hugo? Are you all right? You seem a bit...distracted or something.’ Liam was worried.

  ‘Me? No, no, I’m fine, really. I...I’m just relieved this whole thing is over, you know. Patrick soon to be a free man and the girls back with him and everything as it should be, you know?’

  Liam nodded understandingly, but he knew with certainty that for the first time ever, Hugo was lying to him.

  Chapter 27

  Patrick was no longer a remand prisoner having been sentenced so when Liam and Hugo requested a visit they were surprised to be given permission. Mr O’Kelly had explained to them outside the courthouse that even with a remand prisoner, visitors can’t just turn up whenever it suited them, all the more so with a convicted felon. But Patrick’s case had caught the imagination of the whole city and the governor had once played hurling for Glen Rovers, Patrick’s team, so he was being particularly lenient. Liam didn’t care why they were allowed in, but he was glad they were. He had to go back to the seminary in the morning, and he wanted to talk to his friend before he left.

  ‘So, d’Alton reckons this is the best possible outcome...’ Liam was saying.

  ‘Yeah, that’s what he told me would happen. He came to see me last night and spent ages coaching me on what to say. I’m so grateful to him, honest to God, I am, like, without him, I’d be looking at life in jail for murder. He’s one in a million, you know, you’d think a fella like him would be all stuck up and full of himself, but he’s so normal, like one of us, y’know?’ Patrick looked exhausted.

  ‘You look like you haven’t slept for days,’ Liam said.

  ‘A combination of worry about the trial and some eejit roaring his head off all night in the next cell. I think they sedated him in the finish, probably for his own good, because if the other fellas got hold of him in the morning he’d be a dead man,’ Patrick said with a huge yawn. ‘What I wouldn’t give for a night in my own bed.’ Changing the subject, he asked, ‘Was Helen gone straight way after? Was she all right?’

  ‘She was grand, she said to tell you she was thinking of you and that Connie and Anna are getting to be brilliant little camogie players. They’re driving Mam half-cracked pucking the ball against the wall all day and night, too, if they were allowed.’ Liam grinned. ‘Oh, and she mentioned that ye were engaged...’ he added with a chuckle.

  ‘Did she?’ His face lit up. All night he was hoping that his sentence would be light, not just for himself, but for Helen and the girls as well. She mustn’t have changed her mind then, he thought gleefully.

  ‘Yeah, I can’t wait. She’s great, isn’t she?’

  ‘She’s wonderful and far too good for you!’ Liam joked. ‘But we told her she was getting the three of us for the price of one, she seemed relieved.’

  I hope the girls are not too much of a bother for your mam, she’s been so good...’

  ‘Don’t be mad, she loves having them, and she secretly loves the sound of the sliotar on the gable. I was telling Hugo earlier, it brings her back to the time when we were small before everything went wrong. Helen said she’s got the afternoon off on Friday so she’ll be in to see you then. She’s a great girl, Patrick, she really is...’

  ‘I know, she’s lovely. I’m mad about her, to be honest. I can’t imagine anyone sticking by a fella like me, but now it looks like I might have a bit of a life, y’know? I used to think what was the point? Like, even if I did get out in a few years and she waited for me, sure what prospects have I then with a criminal record? She deserves better, I thought the right thing to do was end it before we even began, and let her meet someone who has a brighter future...but now, things look so much better. Mr O’Neill came to see me a few days ago and told me there would always be a job for me in his office so at least we won’t starve when I get out, and I’m going to do up the house properly and make it really nice for Helen and the girls, and we can live in peace for once, with no fear that he’s coming back.’

  ‘I’m so glad you said you had remorse, but how come you decided to, at least partially, admit you were sorry? You were adamant you wouldn’t when I spoke to you last week,’ Liam asked.

  ‘I know, sorry about that, Liam. I shouldn’t have been so snappy with you. Mr d’Alton talked sense to me. He explained that the judge wanted to give me a really light sentence, it’s what the public wanted too but by me refusi
ng to say I was sorry, he’d have to take it into consideration when he was sentencing me. He convinced me into it if I’m honest, asking me did I want to miss the girls’ communion or your ordination, Liam. That my stance would be cold comfort day after day in this place. He’s persuasive, I can tell ye that.’

  ‘He’s a bit of a mystery that Mr d’Alton, all right. Still, I’m glad he was on our side. I bet that young Delany lad is licking his wounds somewhere today. Isn’t that right, Hugo?’ said Liam, kicking Hugo under the table. He’d not said a word since they got in and had been behaving like a sick calf all day.

  ‘Ow! Yes, absolutely, I totally agree,’ Hugo responded, rubbing his ankle and wincing in pain.

  ‘With what?’ Liam asked him.

  ‘What?’

  ‘What do you totally agree with?’ Liam winked surreptitiously at Patrick, involving him in the joke.

  ‘You, what you said,’ Hugo said defensively.

  Patrick smirked. ‘Okay, out with it, what has you on another planet today?’

  ‘Nothing, I’m fine.’ Hugo sighed in exasperation.

  ‘Hugo, we know you, and we know something happened so you better tell us or we’ll be imagining all sorts...and that’s worse.’ Patrick nudged Liam. ‘Isn’t that right now, Father Tobin?’

  ‘Oh undoubtedly, Mr Lynch,’ Liam went on. ‘On top of that, it’s the height of bad manners to keep secrets from your best friends.’

  Hugo sat back in the hard tubular steel chair and looked keenly at both of them.

  ‘I don’t even know where to start,’ he said quietly.

  Liam and Patrick exchanged a glance, whatever it was, it was serious.

  ‘The beginning is usually a good place.’ Patrick smiled.

  ‘Right, well...’ Hugo took a deep breath. ‘You remember Martha? That I grew up with?’

  ‘Yeah, what about her?’ Liam was confused.

  Hugo told them about the day in the tree house and the letter and photograph arriving.

  They were stunned into silence. Patrick being first to recover said, ‘Well, Hugo, em...this is good, isn’t it? Like, you hated the fact that you wouldn’t have a family of your own because...well because of everything, so now you have a son and the title and all that stuff is safe, so it’s good, isn’t it?’

  Hugo nodded. ‘Yes, it’s great, and Martha said she and her husband would be happy for me to be involved in William’s life and everything. I wrote, and she replied immediately, I’m going over to see him next week. I just can’t believe it. I mean what are the chances...’

  Liam asked the question that was on his and probably Patrick’s mind.

  ‘And did the...experience with Martha, you know...change your mind?’ He prayed Hugo was going to say it did because his friend’s life would be so much easier.

  ‘No, quite the opposite, actually. It was awful. And there’s something else I need to tell you both. I’ve met someone.’

  ‘I knew it!’ Patrick exclaimed. ‘Well? Who?’ he whispered.

  ‘Don’t go mad now, and it’s very early days,’ he registered their shocked faces. ‘But we talked a lot about everything, and we both, well we like each other, and we’re going to try to see each other again and see what happens...’ Hugo’s face was lit up, and Liam suddenly knew what he was going to say.

  ‘It’s d’Alton,’ he added barely audibly.

  Liam and Patrick were stunned. All joking gone as the seriousness of what Hugo was telling them sank in.

  ‘Well, Hugo boy,’ said Patrick. ‘He’s sound out! I don’t know what ye were going on about him being all stuck up and all that, he was always great to me, talked to me in a way I understand and all that. I wouldn’t have had him down as being...that way...but you couldn’t have picked anyone better. Hey,’ a thought suddenly struck Patrick, ‘does he know about the baby, about William and everything?’

  ‘He does. He’s going to come with me. Not to see him the first time, obviously, but to England, just for moral support, I suppose. He’s really happy for me. He knew how much not having someone to pass it all onto was destroying me. I don’t want to burden the little chap if he doesn’t want it, then that’s sad but his choice, but I’d like him to have the opportunity at least.’ Hugo sounded relieved to have told them.

  Liam struggled to find the words. He could never tell Hugo, or even Patrick, of the internal conflict raging within him. There was so much to process, extramarital relations resulting in a child out of wedlock, knowing his friend was a homosexual was one thing, but congratulating him on actually pursuing that life, condoning the actual act, it was all flying in the face of everything he was being taught by the church that he loved. He knew that the next thing he said would never be forgotten by either of them, so he chose his words as carefully as he could.

  ‘He’s a great man and a decent human being and you are too, you deserve to be happy, and I hope that you will be.’

  ‘As I said, I don’t know yet, but it turns out he knows my uncle in France, just as acquaintances, really. Piers—that’s my father’s brother over there—asked him to take this case and to help me out if he could. Apparently, my uncle wanted to be in touch with me for years, but it’s been so long and since my father died, he didn’t know what kind of a reception he’d get. I’m going to visit him for a few weeks when all this is over. Maybe go to see d’Alton as well...’

  Hugo looked to Liam, just like the unsure-of-himself little lad they met that first morning in St Bart’s, trying desperately to look calm but in turmoil inside. All the teachings of the church seemed irrelevant in an instant. Hugo was his friend, he was a good, kind, generous man, and he clearly loved another man of equal quality. What could possibly be wrong with that? They weren’t hurting anyone, they were bringing joy and relief to so many people. Surely they deserved a little happiness for themselves. The biggest source of distress to Hugo was the lack of an heir and now that was solved, as well. None of this was orthodox and was breaking every rule, but Liam thought back to that day all those years ago when they were out on the horses on his and Patrick’s first visit to Greyrock, and how lost and alone his friend seemed then. He wished him all the happiness and luck in the world. He recalled Father Aquinas’s chat this morning, the reference to Corinthians, saying that love is the most important thing of all and all his doubts melted away.

  ‘Maybe Patrick and I will come to visit too for a day or two sometime if it wouldn’t cramp your style?’ Liam asked.

  ‘Oh yeah, a Catholic trainee priest and an ex-con will do wonders for your image, Hugo. We’d blend right in.’ Patrick smiled ruefully.

  ‘You will, d’Alton will see to that.’ Liam smiled at the pride in his friend’s voice. ‘And we’ll definitely go to France, I’d love that.’

  Epilogue

  Seven months later

  ‘Well, are we ready?’ Helen fixed the ribbon on Anna’s hat and checked Connie’s patent leather shoes for shine. She knelt down in front of them. ‘You girls look so beautiful. I know for a fact that your mammy is looking down at you from heaven, and she is so proud of you both. She’s showing you off to all her friends up there, saying, “Look at my Connie and my Anna, aren’t they the most gorgeous girls in the whole of Cork?”’

  ‘Or the whole of Ireland,’ Anna added as she always did.

  ‘The most lovely in the whole entire world,’ said Patrick, giving them a squeeze.

  ‘Here, let me do that.’ Helen smiled, brushing Patrick’s hands away as he was fumbling with his tie.

  ‘I’ll soon be going back to a collar and tie every day. I can’t believe that by Monday I’ll be back in O’Neills. It’s going to be great; I hated that scratchy prison material. Mam always washed my clothes, and they were always lovely and soft and smelled nice, too. I’ve very sensitive skin. I hope you know, the future Mrs Lynch, so you better figure out how to keep all my shirts nice and soft.’ He laughed, dodging a swipe from the damp tea towel Helen was using on a stain
on her skirt.

  ‘We’re modern women, Patrick, isn’t that right, girls? He’ll be doing our laundry while we’re out training to win all Ireland medals for camogie. We’re too busy for cooking and cleaning and all that,’ Helen said, mock stern, and the girls giggled again. They loved the banter Patrick and Helen shared.

  ‘But you make lovely things to eat, Helen, nearly as nice as Mrs Tobin, doesn’t she, Patrick?’ Connie insisted.

  ‘Praise indeed, Miss Connie.’ Helen smiled affectionately.

  ‘She certainly does. Helen is the best cook, the best girlfriend, and the best hurler in the whole of Cork, and we are very, very lucky to have her.’ He put his arms around her waist and drew her in for a kiss.

  He’d been out of prison a week and everything seemed new and shiny to him. The old shabby streets of his childhood now looked warm and welcoming, his neighbours were all happy to see him back among them. Connie and Anna couldn’t bear for him to be out of their sight even for a moment in case he left again, but he and Helen reassured them that he wasn’t going anywhere. They were getting married in September and spending their honeymoon in Greyrock, complete with all the servants. Hugo was going to France so they’d have the place to themselves. It was all arranged, and they couldn’t wait.

  ‘We’d better go,’ said Helen, getting up on her tip-toes and kissing him on the nose, ‘before these two little women decide they want to go hurling in their best frocks.’

  Connie and Anna giggled. They loved Helen so much, it was clear to everyone who saw them together. She had worked hard with the help of the neighbours to get the house painted and looking welcoming before Patrick came home. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he was released. He came into a bright, clean, little home with a stew bubbling on the stove and the firewood crackling. The weather was chilly even though it was summer, but he was secretly delighted. He could sit on the sofa cuddling Helen on summer evenings when the girls were gone to bed upstairs, though she always left before eleven. Times were moving forward under the Goldie Fish but not so fast that a single man and woman could spend the night together without tongues wagging. He wished she could stay but, at least, they didn’t have long to wait.