Page 31 of Death at Inishmore Castle

“I feel the same way,” Rob said. “I love learning new recipes.”

“I too am glad we did this,” Lolly said. “This will be such a fun listing on our Welcome to Shamrock Cove booklet.”

“And it will be a fun place for some of our bigger events,” Scott added.

“Wait, so you are all neighbors?” Fiona asked. “I missed that.”

“We all live on the court,” Lolly said. “A small group of homes in the bailey of yet another castle.”

“How fun,” she said. Then she peppered us with questions. I glanced at Lizzie, who frowned.

Why was Fiona so interested in us? And was there any chance she could have killed the priest and nun? But why?

After lunch, my sister dragged me to an Irish lace-making class. I’m as good a crafter as I am a cook, which means I’m clumsy and pretty bad at making things. But I loved learning about the history of the lace. Like many times through the ages, crafting was how women came to the forefront to help save their families and their nations. Though this contribution was often lost when history was recorded.

“During the potato blight in 1845, women were encouraged to make Irish lace crochet to sell locally and abroad,” said Nora. “The income helped to save many families and was even promoted by Irish aristocrats to help those in need. Lady Arabella Denny used her social and political connections to help create the industry that we still know today.”

The crochet hook felt wobbly in my hand, and I kept pulling the linen thread too tight. Part of it was my inability to do anything remotely crafty, but my mind was also on the deaths of the nun and the priest.

I’d managed to avoid any questions at lunch by stuffing food in my mouth. Though, once in a while, I’d glance up and eye people suspiciously.

No one paid attention to me, as everyone was busy talking about the various classes available throughout the day. The next one was at the distillery where there would be another tasting of different types of whiskey than we’d had the day before.

“Have you seen Sister Sarah today?” Fiona asked. “I’m surprised she’s not here for the class. Is she ill? Can you imagine paying all that money for a visit here and having to stay in your room? It’s such a waste. I wondered if we should send up some soup or something.”

I’m sure my eyes went wide, but I tried to keep a mask of confusion on my face. “I’m certain they’d ask for whatever they need,” I said. Then I dropped the silver hook on the floor.

“Do you think anything is wrong? Did they commit a crime? The police won’t say what happened, but I’m guessing, since they are still here asking questions, that it was foul play. It’s kind of creepy thinking people of the cloth are up to no good.”

“That sounds like a plot from one of my books,” I said finally. “You have quite the imagination. Did you know either of them before they arrived at the castle?”

This time Fiona’s eyes went wide. “Do you have any idea what is going on?”

I forced a smile. “Uh. No. The police aren’t exactly forthcoming.” I didn’t like lying. Well, I did it for a living when it came to my novels, but I wasn’t usually very good at it in the real world. “I was just curious if you knew either one of them. They seemed a bit grouchy for clergy.”

She pursed her lips. “I went to a Catholic school in Dublin, I’d say they were normal in that regard.”

“Oh?”

She nodded. “The nuns were always very strict, and Father Peter believed in following the rules and the Bible to the letter. After all that, I went a bit crazy when I went to university.”

I smiled. “You seem…” I wasn’t sure what I was about to say.

“Too nerdy to be wild?” She laughed.

“I would never say that.”

She shrugged. “It’s true about the nerdiness. But it started when I was studying art history. I had a botanical and animaldrawing class. We spent a ton of time outdoors, which was where I discovered my love of birds. I found I liked being out in nature and photographing and drawing wildlife much more than the clubs. But I’d done my fair share of partying on nights and weekends. I burned myself out.

“I know you’re a writer. I’ve read some of your books. But what does your sister do?”

“She owns a bookstore in Shamrock Cove, and she still has her lavender business in Texas. Someone else is running that for her now.”

“Oh, I love a good bookstore. I’ll have to come check it out.”

“What brought you to the castle on this particular weekend?” I asked.

Something passed over her face, and then just as quickly, it was gone. “I think I said before that I’d heard about the birds here. I’ve already logged several in my book.”

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