Page 173 of The Missing Sister
‘I do, my dear, yes.’
‘She said she hadn’t, because she’d moved to London and, like me, hasn’t returned to Ireland since, as her parents sold their business and moved to Florida. She told me it would be better to let sleeping dogs lie. Especially when the two girls showed up to see Mary-Kate at The Vinery and used that phrase, the “missing sister”. And then said they wanted to see the ring.’
‘I think I understand, Mary, but surely now, having met Tiggy, you can see that your past problems in Dublin have nothing to do with the sisters who’ve been trying to find you?’
‘I’m starting to believe it’s coincidence, but I can’t tell you how terrified I’ve been. As far ashe’sconcerned... I decided that I had to find out what happened to him. I’ve been searching for his name in public records offices in all the countries I thought he might have gone to if he was following me. So far, I’ve found no trace of him.’
Ambrose paused before he spoke. ‘Mary, you never told me the whole story, so I cannot claim to know exactly what happened, but I will say that after you left, I had a visit from him here.’
‘Did you?’ My stomach turned over. ‘Did you speak to him?’
‘Briefly; he was thumping so violently on my front door that I rather felt I had no choice but to let him in. He obviously wanted to know if you were here. When I said I hadn’t seen you for two days – which was the truth – he didn’t believe me. He tore through here, looking under beds, searching in all the nooks and crannies and out in my tiny back garden, in case you were hiding under a pot of begonias! He then caught me by the lapels of my jacket, making threats of violence if I didn’t tell him where you were.’
‘Oh, Ambrose, I’m so, so sorry, I—’
‘It was a long time ago, Mary, and I’m only telling you this to assure you that I understand why you left. Luckily, I’d already seen him lurking out on the street before I let him in, and had the foresight to call the Gardaí. A patrol car arrived in the nick of time and he made a run for it.’
‘Did they catch him?’
‘No, but he never came back here again.’
‘You got my note saying that I had to leave for a while?’
‘I did. Your Greek was almost impeccable; only a couple of small grammatical errors,’ he said with a sardonic raise of an eyebrow. ‘I still have it to this day.’
‘I’m so sorry he came here, Ambrose. He’d made the most terrible threats against me, my friends, my family... everyone I loved. And he hated you most of all, and that ring you gave me. He called it “obscene”, said it was like an engagement ring and that you were in love with me. In the end, I decided that all I could do was to disappear and cut off all contact with everyone. They weren’t idle threats either; he’d told me he was involved with some violent men and, given his republican extremism and what was happening here in Ireland, I believed him. Oh dear,’ I sighed, feeling dizzy as I said the words I’d kept to myself for so long, but I had to continue. ‘The point is, Ambrose, I have to know if he’s alive or dead and end this thing once and for all. Even though I’ve changed my name, my nationality and lived in the safest place you could possibly imagine, I still jump whenever I hear a car coming down the track towards our house. So the question is, do you... do you think I should go back to where it all began?’
Ambrose steepled his fingers and thought for a while. It was such a familiar gesture, it brought a lump to my throat.
‘In my view, it’s always beneficial to rid oneself of one’s demons, if at all possible,’ he said eventually.
‘But what if he went back home to West Cork and is living there now? I think I’d die of fright if I actually saw him.’
‘Do your children know your... situation?’
‘No, nothing, although after the past few days, I know Jack’s aware something’s not right.’
‘I’m sure he is. I presume they would accompany you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you’d visit your own family?’
‘I’d hope to. I don’t even know if they’re still there,’ I sighed. ‘One of the reasons I came to see you originally was because of your friendship with Father O’Brien. I always thought that would endure the test of time, and if anyone would know ifhewas still around down there, it would be him. He was the parish priest, after all.’
‘Ah, sadly, that was not to be,’ Ambrose replied quietly.
‘May I ask why?’
‘You may, and the answer is two words: Mrs Cavanagh.’
‘How can I forget her? With that long, pointed nose of hers, she always reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the West inThe Wizard of Oz. What did she do?’
‘Well now, from the moment she set eyes on me, I felt her utter dislike. She didn’t approve of me or my visits, and most of all, the friendship I had with dear James. After all, I was a single man with a British accent, and I was labelled by her the moment I opened my mouth. Ironic, really, considering she worked as a housekeeper at Argideen House, and was the most out and out snob I’d ever met. Well, there we are.’
‘But what did she do to end your friendship?’
‘Oh Mary, she was merely waiting for her chance to destroy it. When she was around, I took every precaution I could to make sure she had no ammunition. Then my father died a few years after you had left Dublin. Even though my father and I had a difficult relationship, it was the end of an era – I sold our family house only a few months later, after four hundred years of Lister occupation. I went down to see James after the funeral, and I admit to breaking down and crying in his study. James put his arms around my shoulders to comfort me, just as Mrs Cavanagh opened the door to tell us that lunch was served. The following morning, when James was out holding Mass, she cornered me and told me that she’d always felt our relationship was “inappropriate”, especially for a priest. Either I left and never came back, or she would tell the bishop what she had seen.’
