Twisted Love and Money (39 page)

“And the
general guests will arrive from eight o’clock onwards, with a
sherry reception. We will have about a hundred friends.” Ann
explained to her husband. “Don’t take all night on business”

“Don’t worry.
We will only seek agreement in principle today. What Dorothy calls
‘Heads of Agreement.’ After that there will be due diligence and so
on. I intend a swift clear cut auction and agreed price within a
few hours.”

“Good,” Ann
said. “Don’t forget we have to announce to our guests that we are
going to the south of France.”

“Yes Ann,”
Michael said gently. “And Ann take your tablets and stay off the
drink. I don’t want you to be tired before the evening gets
underway.”

“I'm off to the
horses,” Dorothy announced. “We have about an hour and a half to
spare. When Jeremy and David arrive tell them I am at the stables.
I'll take the dogs and my horse for a trot. If I stay here much
longer I'll be too tipsy for anything.”

With smiles
Dorothy departed.

“I'm off to
visit Nana,” Ann-Marie announced, seeing an opportunity to take her
leave.

“Just a minute,
young lady,” Michael intoned solemnly. “I need to talk to you.”

“Yes
Daddy?”

“I don't object
to the time you spend at Nana’s. But you can't today.”

“Why ever not?”
Ann-Marie pouted.

“Because we
expect the house to be full of guests. There’s Dorothy’s fiancée
Jeremy and his partner David. And I have a number of important
business people. And we have invited another hundred or so. We have
guests to entertain. All hands to the deck... Duty calls, old
girl.”

“Yes dear,” Ann
said in support of her husband.

Ann-Marie went
pink. She stamped her foot. “Guests. They are your guests, not
mine. I want to go out.”

“Don't speak to
me in that tone,” Michael said tensely.

“I'm going out
this evening,” Ann-Marie added.

“With whom?”
Ann asked archly.

“Never
mind.”

“You never mind
young lady. You are grounded,” Michael thundered. “You will turn up
to the dinner tonight. And you will endeavour to be civil.
Understood?”

Ann-Marie went
redder. “I don't want to meet hoary old guests, I want to go to
Nana.”

“Disobey me and
I'll see Nana off the premises.”

“Bastard!”
Ann-Marie shouted and ran in tears to her room.

Michael sniffed
and shrugged at Ann.

“Don't worry,”
he said. “I was only bluffing about Nana. That young lady needs to
remember her manners.”

“I shouldn’t
have given her Champagne,” Ann said.

“Oh why not,
it’s a joyous occasion, come on let’s have another,” Michael said
and proposed a toast.

The parlour
maid announced the arrival of two guests.

Jeremy and
David arrived in their large Mercedes, gliding into the driveway.
There was an uneasy silence between them and David had come along
‘to see the whore in her den.’

“Greetings,”
Michael said coming down the steps as Jeremy brought the car to a
halt taking in the broad sweep of the driveway in front of the
house.

“Welcome,
welcome,” Michael was effusive. “The chamber maid will show you to
your rooms later. Leave your bags in the hall. Come in and have a
little refreshment after your drive down. We have another
engagement, my son Peter. Come in come in.”

Ann was equally
welcoming and she joined them in a drink. Then she ordered some tea
and scones.

“Dorothy took
the dogs and her horse for an outing, she will be back soon,” Ann
explained.

“I've always
admired these country houses,” David said, looking at the ornate
plasterwork on the ceiling.

“Me too,”
Jeremy agreed.

The ceiling
reminded him of some of the tenements in the city near his home,
derelict Georgian houses. Those houses were past their old glory.
However it was obvious that the O’Byrne house was well maintained
and decorated.

“Do let me show
you around,” Michael offered. “There is some very delicate
plasterwork in the Library.”

“Yes please,”
Jeremy said agreeably, anxious to connect with his prospective
father-in-law.

“Not me,” David
declined. “I feel I need a walk in the fresh country air. Maybe
I'll take a stroll to the stables... To clear my head after the
drive down... I like horses.”

David was
seething. Last thing he wanted was going around the house ooh’ing
and ahh’ing at plasterwork with Jeremy.

“Sure fire
ahead,” Michael was expansive. “Gives me a few moments with my
future son-in-law. Dorothy is down at the stables. She said to send
you both down. You go ahead and Jeremy can follow later.”

Jeremy smiled,
but he looked worried.

Michael thought
it was the prospect of a talk with his father in law. But Jeremy
was worried about letting David wander out of his sight.

“Don’t worry,”
Michael reassured him. “I don’t bite. Come along.”

Michael
indicated to Jeremy without touching him, in the sense of a pushing
movement of the hands that said go ahead, lead towards the door.
Jeremy and Michael moved towards the library and Michael took over
the lead. Pointing out paintings and other ‘object d’art’ as he led
the way. Jeremy nodded agreeably as he followed.

David smiled at
Ann and handed her the glass. “Thank you,” he said politely and
went into the hall and down the steps.

“Stables out
and around to the right, follow the path,” Ann threw after him.

From the window
Ann watched him go. Definitely the better looker of the two. A bit
foppish maybe? She wondered…

Ann sipped her
champagne and sat at the window seat where she would have a good
view of the driveway and arriving guests.

Chapter
forty-two

David made his
way as directed. He had seen the stables, or what he had taken to
be the stables as they arrived. Ann’s directions confirmed their
location. His feet crunched on the gravel driveway as he
walked.

There was a lad
throwing hay into the loft but otherwise the stables were quiet. He
could hear horses chomping and stomping in their stalls.

“Hello there,”
he called in his respectable English accent.

“Afternoon
Sir,” the boy said respectfully.

He had been
advised that there were guests expected for the weekend.

“I fancy a
ride, is there a spare horse?”

“Three sir. One
was out with Ann-Marie early this morning. Peter’s horse is there
but he may go out later. What about ‘Lucy Bell’, the mistress’s
horse? She doesn’t get out much these days. The horse is gentle and
needs a bit of exercise.”

“Saddle her
up.”

“There's some
boots in the loft sir. I expect that one pair will fit you. And
there is some Wellington boots. You'll find a hat on the shelves
and there is a selection of riding crops if you want one.”

“Great.”

David climbed
up the stairs into the loft. It was empty other than for a number
of young cats. He found a tack room with helmets, boots and other
equipment. Five minutes later he emerged kitted out. He had worn
corduroy trousers and a sweater for the drive down to the house and
it matched well with his borrowed gear.

The stable lad
had the horse ready.

Expertly David
mounted. Appreciatively the boy watched. No need to worry about
this one he thought, he knows how to sit a horse.

“Which way did
Miss Dorothy go?” he asked.

“Out the north
meadow, towards the gallops, down to the woods towards the river, I
expect.”

David nodded
and went in the opposite direction down towards the entrance gate.
He had seen a gallop through the woods on his way in and he decided
to have a bit of a run before he tried to cross Dorothy's path.

As he rode
David was amused to see a splendid old Rolls Royce make its way
majestically down the driveway towards the house.

In the car Colm
O’Donoghue looked earnestly at his young grandson. “Now Seamus. I
don’t want you letting me down this is a very important occasion
with major implications for your future.”

“I know
Granddad...But I have a date with my girl friend tonight. She’ll be
mad.”

“Is this the
girl you met at the parade, the one on the O’Byrne float, you are
crazy about?”

“I love
her.”

“And her?”

“Likewise... I
think.”

Colm
smiled.

“Come on, cheer
up Seamus. Stand up to her and she will appreciate you more. If she
loves you she will make up. The fact is Seamus that you have to be
with me. I need you. I don’t ask a lot of you.”

“I know
Granddad,” Seamus said miserably.

But his
granddad was right. He rarely asked much of him. And Seamus was
interested in the business, it had been made clear to him often
enough that it would be his when he was older.

Seamus was in
dread, but in hope. They were going to the O’Byrne house where he
understood Ann-Marie worked as a maid. If she saw him arrive in a
Rolls she would be mental.

He had
contacted her by mobile to put off their date, but at that time he
had not known he would be going to the place where she worked.

He wanted to
prepare her. She needed to know. He didn’t want to tell her by
text. He kept his head back on the journey to be less visible,
knowing Dwyer would deliver them and while he tried to argue his
granddad out of insisting on his company.

“I hate suits,”
he said fidgeting with his shirt collar.

“We’re here,”
Dwyer growled.

For the first
time Seamus looked out of the car window. He saw the big house. A
woman was coming down the steps. With a shock Seamus realised he
recognised her.

“Welcome, I’m
Ann O’Byrne. Welcome. My house is your house. I hope we will have
an enjoyable weekend. We have tennis and horse riding for the young
man, if he is interested.”

They shook
hands. Colm introduced Seamus and then Dwyer. A little uneasy, Ann
shook hands with Dwyer. It was unusual for guests to introduce the
chauffeur.

Seamus was
pleased she had not recognised him in a suit. He had realised with
a shock that this was the ‘older’ woman he’d met after the St.
Patrick’s day parade when she had climbed out of the cab of the
lorry, leaving him to look in and see Ann-Marie.

“Mr. Dwyer,
cook has a cup of tea for you around at the kitchen and she will
show you where you sleep. Mr. O’Donoghue please come with me?”

Seamus took the
suitcases and followed Ann and Colm, while Dwyer was left to park
the car and find the cook.

“Young man,
I'll get one of the maids to show you where the rooms are. You can
freshen up and come down to the drawing room,” Ann explained and
led them into the hall.

“The parlour
maid will show you,” Ann added to Seamus, as a maid appeared and
smiled.

And Mr.
O’Donoghue…” she continued.

“Please call me
Colm,” he interjected agreeably.

“Colm, my
husband is in the library. If you come with me I’m sure he’ll want
to meet you straight away. He is just showing the house to another
guest.”

Michael
introduced Colm to Jeremy and fixed a couple of drinks and they sat
down.

“I’ll leave you
to it, I can see you are busy,” Jeremy offered and made a quick
exit.

“Good of you to
see me,” Colm said stretching his left leg to ease an ache.

“I'll always
listen to a proposition. We have met over the years Colm and I
respect our relationship. I always appreciated that O’Donoghue was
one of our better distributors.”

“So much that
you wanted to take us over?” Colm growled a little.

“Just
exploratory. No offence. I believe you hope to turn the offer
around?”

“Indeed,” Colm
said and sipped his drink.

There was a
silence. They could hear the old clock ticking in the corner.

“Will I go
through it now?” Colm offered. “Although I’d rather wait until
Andrew Kenny arrives. He should be here shortly.”

“No, no, let us
relax, be friends. Later we can cut each other’s throats. And still
be friends tomorrow morning.”

“Fair enough,”
Colm smiled, happy at the friendly tone, and looked at his empty
glass. Michael rose to get him another whiskey.

Jeremy left
them to it and made his way to the stables. He wanted to ensure
there was no trouble between David and Dorothy.

It was starting
in to light rain and Jeremy was damp by the time he arrived.

“Anyone here?”
he shouted.

The stable lad
stuck his head over the top of a stall. “Yes sir, just me.”

“Did you see a
man about my age, and Miss Dorothy?”

“Yes sir, they
have both gone riding at different times. I expect they will be
back with the rain like it is.”

“I’ll wait,”
Jeremy said.

The stable boy
went back to his work. Jeremy went to stroke the noses of the two
horses in the stalls.

Seamus found
the house very like the one he lived in at home, except bigger. And
they seemed to be well equipped with servants. He almost asked the
maid if she worked with Ann-Marie but decided to be discreet.
Hopefully he would find her, even in such a big house.

The parlour
maid left him in his room and said the chambermaid would be up
shortly to turn down the sheets.

“You'll find
the fire is lighting sir,” she added, “if it goes low put a bit of
turf on.”

Under a
spreading chestnut tree David sat on his horse in the shelter of
its branches, watching the rainfall. He breathed the fresh country
air while his horse champed on his bit and nibbled the sparse grass
under the canopy of the large tree.