‘You’re bound to find someone.’ Lillian was patronising.
‘I was thinking that perhaps Teddy would come with me,’ she said, emboldened by drink and brave as a lion.
‘Teddy!’ Lillian seemed as alarmed as if the name of an international war criminal had been suggested.
‘What a wonderful idea!’ Teddy said, delighted. ‘That part of the country is very unspoiled, and winter would be much more attractive than going with the crowds in summer. Will we be able to get a booking, do you think?’
‘It won’t be any problem,’ Winnie said.
Teddy looked as if all his birthdays had come at once.
‘Why don’t we all go?’ he said. ‘It sounds so wonderful, and now that you’ve got to know each other, wouldn’t it be great if the three of us went?’ He looked from his mother to his girlfriend, enchanted with the way things had fallen out.
How could he have been unaware of the stunned silence that greeted his remark? But it seemed to have passed him by.
‘I can’t think of anything I would like more,’ he said, looking again from one face to the other.
It was Lillian who first found the breath to speak. ‘Of course, as you just said it might in fact be difficult to get a booking,’ she began tentatively.
It was now up to Winnie. Any intelligent response deserted her. She found herself only able to speak the truth. ‘I sort of provisionally booked a week already.’ Winnie looked at the ground.
‘Well isn’t that just great?’ Teddy was overjoyed. ‘Now it’s settled. What date is that?’
Winnie stumbled out the date. This could not be happening. He could not want to bring his mother on their holiday? If they ever did marry, would he invite her on the honeymoon as well? Please God make the date impossible.
She saw Teddy’s face had clouded over.
‘Oh no! That’s the week of the cheesemakers’ conference. That’s the only week in the year I can’t make,’ he said.
Winnie thanked God from the bottom of her heart, and said she would pay much more attention to Him in future.
‘Oh well, it was silly of me to make a booking without checking but it was only a vague arrangement. I’ll call them and tell them . . .’ Winnie was apologetic, and hoped that her relief didn’t show.
‘And it might have been very cold – damp, even,’ Lillian chimed in quickly.
But Teddy was having none of it. ‘The two of you must go together.’
Lillian coughed, but appeared to give the matter some thought. ‘No, darling, we’ll wait and set it up another time.’
‘It would be a bit like Hamlet without the Prince,’ Winnie said with a terrible forced smile that she felt must look like a death’s head.
‘There are other weekends, other places,’ Lillian pleaded.
‘Let’s not even think of going without you.’ Winnie practically tore Lillian’s good linen table napkin into shreds.
‘But what would I like better when I am away than to think of the two of you having a holiday together? Getting to know each other properly. The two people I love.’ He was clearly sincere, and both women were trapped.
‘Well, of course we will get to know each other, Teddy, it’s just that we don’t want you to lose out on a holiday,’ Lillian began.
‘Your mother could come to Dublin, and I would take her on a day out while you are away.’ Winnie felt a whimper in her voice.
‘This place sounds so right for you both, and it’s booked. You must go,’ he said.
‘It might be the wrong age group for us. There could just be a house full of young people.’ Lillian was grasping at straws. ‘It’s not a holiday that would attract young people, of course,’ she said eventually.
‘Yes, we might be out of place.’ Winnie nodded so fervently she feared her poor, tired, muddled head might fall off.
But these were just the dying gasps of beached fish. They looked at each other. They both knew that to refuse would be to lose him. And neither of them was willing to take that step. They began to backtrack.
Lillian caved in first.
‘But if it’s what you really want . . . Yes, all in all, it has a lot going for it. Certainly, I’d be very happy to go with you, Winnie.’
‘What?’ Winnie felt as if she had been shot.
‘Teddy is right. We do need to get to know each other. I could easily go with you then. And, do you know, I think I’d enjoy it.’
Winnie felt the room tilt around her.
She must speak this very moment, or else she had agreed to go on a week’s holiday with this hateful woman. But her throat was dry and she could not find her voice. She felt herself nodding dumbly. She was like a drowning woman with the waters closing overhead but she could not stop it happening. She realised that if she did not speak, she would end up going to the West with Lillian Hennessy.
Lillian’s small, spiteful face was very near hers. She was planning this week in the West as her way to destroy whatever Teddy and Winnie might claim to have.
Winnie straightened herself up.
In her mind she said, All right, bring it on, then let’s see who wins, but aloud she said, ‘It’s a great idea, Lillian. I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful time. I’ll confirm the booking for the two of us.’
Somehow the meal came to an end and it was time for Teddy to drive her to the station.
‘We’ll be in touch before we go,’ Lillian called from the hall door.
‘What did I tell you?’ Teddy asked. ‘I knew you two would get on together.’
‘Yes, she was very kind, very welcoming.’
‘And you are both going off on a holiday together – isn’t that magical?’
‘Yes, she said she liked the sound of this place over in Stoneybridge.’
‘Mam doesn’t go on holidays with anyone, you know. She is very choosy. So she must have taken to you immediately.’
‘Yes, isn’t it great . . .’ Winnie said. She felt flat and defeated and as if her hangover was about to kick in. It was a warning to her to go easy on wine at lunchtime for the rest of her life. A warning that had come way too late.
Winnie stared out the window as the train hurtled through rural Ireland. What kind of people worked moving cattle around these small green fields, or digging those crops into hard earth? They were people who would never have had too much wine at lunchtime, or any time. They would never have agreed to go on a week’s holiday with the most hateful woman in Ireland. She tried to sleep but just as the rhythm of the train was beginning to lull her into some kind of rest, she got a text message on her phone.
It was from Teddy.
I miss you so much. You lit up the whole party at lunchtime. They were all mad about you. And so am I. But you’ll never know just how wonderful you were to my mother. She has talked of nothing else but her holiday with you. You are brilliant, and I love you.
It didn’t cheer her. It made her feel even worse about herself. She was a grown woman. She wasn’t a schoolgirl. She had messed everything up. In ten weeks’ time she would go to Stone House with Lillian Hennessy. It was like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. It was like one of those terrible dreams that are both silly and frightening at the same time.
Winnie’s friends noticed a change in her. She just shrugged when they asked her about her visit to Rossmore. They hardly dared to enquire whether Teddy was still visiting. Winnie refused the idea of going on any holidays with them.
Fiona and Declan had begged her to come and stay in the holiday home they had rented in Wexford. There would be plenty of room and they would love to have her. But Winnie didn’t even consider it. Nor the suggestion that she go on a bus tour of Italy with Barbara and David, who were heading that way. And Ania’s pictures of the boat they were renting on the Shannon River didn’t raise a flicker of interest.
‘You have to have some holiday,’ Fiona said in desperation.
‘Oh, I will. I’m going for a winter week to the West. It will be great.’ She managed to make it sound as
if it were going to be root-canal work.
‘And is Teddy going with you?’ Barbara could be brave sometimes.
‘Teddy? No, it’s the same week as the thing he goes to every year. The cheesemakers’ thing.’
‘Couldn’t you have chosen another week?’ Fiona wondered.
Winnie seemed not to have heard.
Teddy did come to visit, and stayed over in Winnie’s little flat once or twice a week. He was as cheerful and happy as ever, and seemed to take it for granted that the planned holiday was the natural result of an instant friendship between the two women. Something he had always thought likely but couldn’t believe had been so spectacular. He was so endearing, and in every other way he was the perfect friend, lover and life mate. He was already talking about a wedding. Winnie had tried to keep things light.
‘Ah, that’s way down the road,’ she would laugh.
‘I’ve it all worked out. We need an office for the cheese in Dublin anyway, and we could live half in Rossmore and half here.’
‘No rush, Teddy.’
‘But there is. I’d love us to have a huge wedding in Rossmore and show you off.’
Winnie said nothing.
‘Or, of course, if you prefer, we could have it here in Dublin with all your friends. It’s your day. It’s your choice, Winnie.’
‘Aren’t we fine as we are?’
Winnie knew that there might well be no future to consider by the time she and his mother got back from this ill-starred holiday at Stone House.
There were several letters, texts and phone calls with Lillian. It took every ounce of skill and self-control for Winnie not to scream down the phone that it had all been a terrible mistake.
Then Teddy set off for the cheese gathering, and the following morning Winnie drove west from Dublin and Lillian Hennessy drove north-west from Rossmore.
They met at Stone House. They arrived, by chance, at almost the same time and parked their cars. Winnie’s was a very old and beaten-up banger that she had bought from one of the porters in a hospital where she worked. Lillian drove a new Mercedes-Benz.
Winnie’s luggage was one big canvas bag which she carried. Lillian had two matching suitcases, which she left beside the car.
Mrs Starr was waiting at the front door. She was a small woman, possibly in her mid forties. She had short curly hair, a big smile and a slightly American accent. Her welcome was very warm. She ran out to pick up Lillian’s suitcases and led them into a big warm kitchen. On the table were warm scones, butter and jam. A big log fire blazed at one end, a solid-fuel cooker stood at the other. It looked just like the brochure.
They were ushered in and seated immediately.
‘You are my very first guests,’ Mrs Starr said. ‘The others will be here in the next hour or so. Would you like tea or coffee?’
In no time at all, Mrs Starr had discovered more about Lillian and Winnie than either woman had ever known. Lillian talked about her husband being killed when her son was only a small child, and the terrible day when she had been given the news. Winnie explained that her father was married to a perfectly pleasant woman who made jewellery and all her brothers and sisters were overseas.
If Mrs Starr thought that the two women were unlikely friends and companions for a holiday, she didn’t give any hint of it.
Winnie had insisted that Lillian be given the bedroom with the sea view. It was a tranquil, warm room with a big bay window. There were several soothing shades of green, no television but a small shower room. This place had been very beautifully refurbished. Winnie’s room was similar but smaller, and it looked out on to the car park.
Winnie realised how tired she was. The drive had been long, the weather wet and the roads, as she got near Stoneybridge, had been narrow and hard to negotiate. She would indeed lie down and have a rest. The room contained one large bed and one smaller one. If they had been the friends that Lillian had managed to imply they were, they could have easily shared this room. Even made each other further tea from the tray already set with a little kettle and barrel of biscuits, looked together at the books, maps and brochures about the area that lay on the dressing table.
But Winnie was past caring what anyone thought. Mrs Starr was a hotelier, a landlady and a businesswoman. She had little time to speculate about the odd couple who had arrived as her first guests.
Winnie felt herself drifting off to sleep. She heard the murmur of conversation downstairs as further guests were being welcomed. It was reassuring, somehow. Safe, like home used to be. Years and years ago, when Winnie’s mother was alive and the place was full of brothers and sisters coming and going.
Mrs Starr had said she would sound the Sheedy gong twenty minutes before dinner. Apparently, the three Sheedy sisters, who had lived in genteel poverty in this house for many years, always rang the gong every evening. The ladies often had sardines or baked beans on toast for their evening meal but the gong always rang through the house. It was what their mama and papa would have liked.
Winnie woke to the mellow sound of the gong. God! Now she had to put in an evening of Lillian patronising everyone and six more nights in this wild, faraway place. She must have been insane to allow things to go this distance. That was the only explanation.
Before she left the room, a text came in.
Have a lovely evening. I so wish I were there with you both rather than here. I used to enjoy these gatherings, but now I feel lonely and miss you both. Tell me what the place is like. Love you deeply, Teddy.
The other guests were gathering. Mrs Starr had asked them to introduce themselves to each other as she wanted to concentrate on the food. She had a young niece called Orla who helped her serve.
Winnie saw Lillian, dressed to kill as might have been expected, slipping into gear and beginning to charm people. She was explaining to a young Swedish man how she and Winnie were old, old friends, and they hadn’t seen each other for a long while and were so looking forward to walking for miles and catching up.
She talked to a retired teacher whose name was Nell. This visit had been a gift from the staff in her school. They had said they thought it would suit her. Nell wasn’t at all certain. Lillian lowered her voice and said that she also had her doubts in the beginning, but her old, old friend Winnie had insisted she come. So far Lillian had to admit that it all seemed very pleasant.
Winnie spoke to Henry and Nicola, a doctor and his wife from England. They had found the place online when they were looking for somewhere very peaceful. Winnie thought they might have had a bereavement. They looked pale and a bit shaken, but then she could have been imagining it. Another couple looked vaguely dissatisfied and didn’t say much. There were other people further down the table. Winnie would meet them later.
They ate smoked trout with horseradish cream and homemade brown soda bread to start, then a roast lamb expertly carved by Mrs Starr. There were vegetarian dishes as well, and a huge apple pie. Wine was poured from old cut-crystal decanters. The Sheedy sisters used to pour their orange squash and lemonade from these very decanters. They were beautiful antiques and felt like part of the house.
Winnie couldn’t help but admire the way that it was all working out. The guests seemed to be talking easily. Mrs Starr had been quite right not to fuss around introducing them to each other. Everything had been cleared seamlessly and young Orla had stacked a big dishwasher and gone home. Mrs Starr joined them for coffee.
She explained that breakfast would be a continuous buffet but if people wanted a cooked meal they must assemble at nine. A packed lunch would be supplied for anyone who needed one, or else they could have a list of pubs in the area that served light lunches. There were bicycles outside if anyone would like to use them, and there were binoculars, umbrellas and even a selection of wellington boots. She told them about the various walking routes they might try and the local points of interest. There were a number of pretty creeks and inlets which were great to explore when the weather was calm. There were cliff-top walks though the paths
down to the sea needed great care. There were caves that were worth exploring, but they must check the tides first. Majella’s Cave was a good one. That had been a great place for lovers in the summertime, she had explained. It was easily cut off by the tide, so the boy and girl who wandered there had to stay for much longer than they had expected to until the seas had drawn back and let them go free . . .
After dinner, Winnie texted Teddy to tell him the place was charming and very different and that they had been made very welcome. She added that she loved him deeply also. But she wondered was this actually true.
Perhaps she was living in some never-never land. Acting a role, playing a part, cast now and possibly for ever as the old, old friend of her future mother-in-law. She fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake until there was a knock at the door.
Lillian, fully dressed, made-up and ready to roll.
‘Thought you wouldn’t want to miss the cooked breakfast,’ she said. ‘At our age we need a good start to the day.’
Winnie felt an overpowering rage. Did Lillian seriously think they were the same age?
‘I’ll be down in ten minutes,’ she said, rubbing her eyes.
‘Oh dear, you don’t have an ocean view,’ Lillian said.
‘I have lovely mountains, though, and I just love mountains,’ Winnie said through gritted teeth.
‘Right. Great thing about you, Winnie, is that you are easily pleased. See you downstairs then.’
Winnie stood in the shower. The week ahead seemed endless, and she had no one to blame but herself . . .
The young Swede had gone off with the small intense woman called Freda. Henry, the English doctor, and his wife were ordering grilled mackerel. Other guests looked at the map Mrs Starr had provided and talked enthusiastically about the places they might go. There was an American man called John who was suffering from jet lag and looked very tired.