‘Yeah, but I have to get back to prep for evening service.’
‘I know.’ She patted his shoulder. ‘That boss of yours is a slave-driver.’
‘Keep your voice down, Mum. You don’t want to put Lou off. She’s starting at Coast next week.’
‘Are you?’ Sheena beamed at Lou as she put the plate of brownies on the table. ‘That’s great. Are you a cook?’
Lou shook her head, wishing she could say yes. ‘Waiter.’
‘Well, I was only joking. He’s actually a very good boss.’
Aidan grinned. ‘Best boss in Ireland,’ he said, pouring them all tea. ‘I’ve even got a mug that says so.’
‘Now, tell us all about school,’ Sheena said brightly to the children as they all settled around the table. ‘Did you start today too, Jack?’
Bo nodded, answering for him. ‘He’s in junior infants same as me.’
‘And what’s your teacher’s name?’
‘Alice. She’s nice. She has a cat called Mittens.’ Bo chattered away happily to her granny and Lou was glad to see Jack joining in, shedding his shyness in the light of Sheena’s warmth and easiness.
‘You were right, Bo,’ Lou said to the little girl. ‘These brownies are amazing.’ She smiled at Sheena.
‘So you’ve just moved here, Lou?’
‘Yeah, from Dublin.’
‘And what brings you to Dingle?’
‘It’s a bit weird. I inherited a cottage here.’
‘Oh? Where’s that?’
‘Just off Green Street. It’s called Sea Haven. Do you know it?’
‘Oh, that’s Noreen Plunkett’s old place.’
‘Yes!’ Lou sat up eagerly. Maybe Sheena would be able to tell her more about the woman who’d left her the cottage. ‘Did you know her?’ she asked, eager for information.
‘Not well, I’m afraid,’ Sheena said with an apologetic smile. ‘Just to say hello to.’
‘Oh.’ Lou’s shoulders slumped.
‘Were you close?’
‘No. That’s the weird thing. I never knew her at all – not even to say hello to,’ she said with a wry smile.
‘Ah, that’s a shame.’
‘I didn’t even know she existed until I got a letter out of the blue from a solicitor saying that Jack was the sole beneficiary of her estate.’
Sheena’s eyes widened. ‘That sounds like something that’d happen in one of Carmel’s books,’ she said to Aidan. ‘That’s my friend,’ she added to Lou. ‘She’s a writer. I must tell her about this. She loves a good story.’
‘I couldn’t believe it. We’re not even related to her. Apparently, she was my father’s godmother and she never had any children of her own, so she left everything to him or his beneficiaries – and Dad had left everything to Jack.’ If Sheena thought that was odd, she didn’t say anything. ‘I thought you might be able to tell me something about her.’
‘Well, like I say, I didn’t know Noreen well. She was a quiet woman, kept herself to herself. I believe she’d come here fromDublin and the cottage had belonged to her husband’s parents. As far as I remember, she’d lived in London for a few years too.’
Lou thought of the photo of Noreen and Viv on the beach at Brighton.
