Behind Every Cloud

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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names,

characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the

author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons,

living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Published 2012

by Poolbeg Press Ltd.

123 Grange Hill, Baldoyle,

Dublin 13, Ireland

Email: [email protected]

© Pauline Lawless 2012

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Copyright for typesetting, layout, design, ebook

© Poolbeg Press Ltd.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-78199-026-1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

www.poolbeg.com

About the Author

Pauline Lawless was born and reared in Dublin but spent her adult years in the midlands. This is her fourth book in as many years. Her previous three have all been bestsellers.

She has a Diploma in wine studies from the British Wine & Spirit Education Trust and lectured and ran courses for them in the midlands for many years. This is the background of her latest novel Behind Every Cloud
.

She now lives between Belgium and Florida and enjoys playing golf and bridge and drinking wine with good friends.

Her previous novels, Because We
’
re Worth It
,
If the Shoes Fit and A Year Like No Other
,
were also published by Poolbeg.

Also by Pauline Lawless

Because We
’
re Worth It
,

If the Shoes Fit

A Year Like No Other

Published by Poolbeg

Acknowledgements

To all those who helped me get this book on the road, a big thank
-
you. That includes the good people at Poolbeg Press: Paula, Kieran, Sara, Ailbhe and David
,
and also my
editor, Gaye Shortland.

Thank you to Ciara, once again
,
for your proofreading, critique
,
sound advice and support. I couldn
’
t do it withou
t you.

To all the friends who have shared many a bottle of wine with me in the name of research for this book (that
’
s my excuse and I
’
m sticking to it!), I look forward to sharing many more with you in the future. Foremost of these and special mention must go to the Alexanders of Gloster and of course, my beloved JM. A big thank
-
you also to my lovely friend, Annie Parham, for the great book party she threw for me in Florida. What a fun night we had!

To my fellow writers who give such constant help and encouragement, in particular Shirley Benton, Mary Malone, Elizabeth Jackson and Sheryl Browne.

I
’
m very grateful to Paddy Keogh of Wines Direct,
Mullingar, Co. Westmeath for his generous donation of wine for the promotion of this book. I know whoever wins the competition will get great enjoyment from his wines.

Many thanks to Garda Damien Hogan of the Garda Press Office who so kindly and patiently answered the questions I had re Garda procedures.

Last, but not least, thanks to you the readers
.
I appreciate that you made my last novel A Year Like No Other a top bestseller. I hope you enjoy this book equally well and I look forward to hearing from you at www.paulinelawless.com.

For three dear friends who sadly passed

away in 2011 and are very much missed
.

Bob Marsh

Mona Gay

Brigitte Risselin

1

E
llie Moran loved weddings despite the fact that she cried through most of them. She sat beside her mother now, tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched Kate Middleton walk down the aisle on her prince
’
s arm. The new Duchess of Cambridge looked radiant and was positively
glowing with happiness. Ellie dabbed at her eyes as she watched them come out of Westminster Abbey and wave to the cheering crowds. Ellie had taken the day off
work
from the beauty salon to watch the wedding
on TV and she was
loving every minute of it. Kate
’
s dress was fabulous and
,
as for Pippa
’
s
–
there were just no words to describe it. It was all so romantic and perfect.
She sighed
,
reaching for another Kleenex.

Ellie had dreamed of being a bride
ever since she was a little girl. Her favourite game back then had been
‘
getting married
’,
when she would cajole her friends into taking turns to stand in
as the groom. Ellie was always the bride, walking down the garden path, a bunch of daisies in her hand and her mother
’
s discarded net curtains trailing behind her. She still dreamed of being a bride and had expected that she would by now have met her prince
.
Not
a real prince like William, of course – but a dashing, handsome man who would sweep her off her feet and down the aisle for the most wonderful wedding imagin
able. However, this was beginning to look more and more unlikely. She was twenty-three now and the only man in her life was David – not exactly the sweep-you-off-your-feet type!

He was an accountant and ten years older than Ellie
.
She
’
d met him in Gibneys pub in Malahide where she and her girlfriends went for a drink every Friday night. She
’
d noticed him there before – all the girls had. He was hard to miss with his height and dark George Clooney
looks. Initially, she
’
d refused to go out with him thinking he was too old and mature for her, but eventually on her twentieth birthday, after far too much champagne, she
’
d caved in and agreed to go on a date with him.

To her surprise they got on well
,
although
unfortunate
ly h
e
had none of the actor
’
s famous sense of humour. However, he
was very gallant and protective of her and treated her like a princess
.
Somehow he had grown on her
and she
felt comfortable with him. However, there was none of the va-va-voom that she had expected would happen when Mr Right came along.

She
’
d made it clear from the start that she did not want an exclusive relationship and that they would both be free to date others. David agreed to this and
,
although Ellie did go out from time to time with other guys, David stayed faithful to her alone
.
He was such a workaholic that she couldn
’
t imagine how he
’
d find the time to date other women in any case
.
Most of the men she met
in pubs and clubs were interested only in beer, football and sex
,
not necessarily in that order. Not exactly prince material
!
Eventually she
’
d given up on them and now she and David were considered a couple. She
’
d begun to accept that va-va-voom was the stuff of romantic novels and films
.
They
’
d settled into a comfortable relationship. She did
,
however
,
continue to go drinking and clubbing with the girls on a Friday night
,
but more for the craic than in the hope of meeting
‘
the one
’.

“
I do hope they
’
ll be happy,
”
Ellie
’
s mother
,
Marie-Noelle
,
said to her in French, as they watched the royal couple drive along the Mall in the magnificent carriage.

Marie-Noelle had been born
to French parents who h
ad both sadly died in an accident shortly before her marriag
e. They
’
d left France as a result of a family feud and moved to Ireland where she
’
d been born. She
’
d been raised speaking French
and she in turn had always spoken French to her two daughters
,
wanting them to know of their heritage. She had sent them to a school run by an order of French nuns and as a result both Ellie and her sister, Sandrine,
were now
bi-lingual.