Beneath an Irish Sky (Choc Lit) (22 page)

Then he was gone, winding his way calmly through the nurses and patients, past the reception desk and out the sliding front doors. Emer exhaled a long, slow breath but her relief was short-lived because she started to think about Luke. She’d seen fear in his eyes when he talked about his uncles. Joe was almost twice Luke’s build. He could have given Luke those bruises. And now it seemed his uncle was determined to find him. Joe wouldn’t discover Annie had been taken to England for burial – Jack had told her he’d given the funeral home explicit instructions about that. But what if Joe decided to contact Jack or worse, turn up in Baronsmere?

Emer took out her mobile and dialled Jack’s number with shaky hands.

Jack was pacing the office as he spoke to Doyle. He’d called the detective immediately after speaking to Emer. She was a woman who spent her working hours assessing people and she had sounded worried about Joe Kiernan’s attitude and motives. That was enough for Jack.

‘Pick up Emer from the hospital this evening and take her home,’ he instructed Doyle. ‘I need someone outside her flat all night. She’s to be taken to work in the morning and accompanied home again, then to the airport on Saturday morning. Keep a check on her flat over the weekend. Can you arrange that?’

‘Of course.’ Doyle’s gravelly voice was reassuringly matter-of-fact. ‘If Kiernan shows up, I’ll scare him off. I take it you don’t want the police involved?’

‘No police,’ confirmed Jack. ‘Although you can let him think
you’re
the police. He would just assume Emer was scared and had reported him as a threat.’

Jack was still wild with anger at the thought of Joe Kiernan threatening Emer. If the man were in the room with him now, he’d choke the life out of him.

‘What will you do if he turns up in Baronsmere?’ asked Doyle.

If only. He’d break both the man’s legs. ‘I doubt he will. It’s the last place he’d expect Luke to go. But have someone keep an eye on Joe when he gets back to Ennis.’

‘How long for? Surveillance is expensive.’

What was money compared to Emer’s safety? ‘A week. Hopefully after that, they’ll give up.’

‘What’s he running from?’

‘Who?’

‘Luke. Joe said he couldn’t run away forever. What’s he done?’

Jack was suddenly tired of all this mystery surrounding Annie and Luke. ‘God knows. See if you can find that out as well.’

There was a long pause. ‘It’d be easier just to ask Luke.’

‘Only if I have to,’ decided Jack. ‘He’s touchy as hell and doesn’t trust anyone.’

Once the phone call was over, Jack sat back down at his desk. The adrenalin surge was wearing off, leaving him with an uncomfortable residue of worry. Should he tell Luke that Joe was trying to track him down? Probably not. He might take off. For the first time, Jack felt a glimmer of genuine pity. He’d been quick to be concerned about Emer’s safety, but what about Luke’s? What had he endured in the past? Was it any wonder the kid was so difficult when the odds had been stacked against him from the start?

Emer wanted Jack to cut Luke some slack. Surely it wouldn’t kill him to do that. He’d make sure he invited Luke to his birthday on Saturday – it would be cruel and insensitive not to. Matt and Kate would be making sure he was there anyway, but maybe a personal invite from Jack himself could start the thaw.

‘Happy birthday, Jack!’

As Jack entered, the room erupted with cheers and blasts from horns and streamers flying out of party poppers. This year’s party was in Tim’s house, the very grand Leighton Hall. The huge conservatory had been decorated in blue and silver and looked like a giant spaceship. Glitter balls dangling from the ceiling cast patches of silver light over the guests, and trays of blue drinks were being served by waiters with silvered faces, wearing what looked like tin foil. Tim certainly knew how to put on a show.

Usually Jack dreaded his birthday. One year closer to the grave yet he was supposed to eat, drink and be merry. This evening, though, he felt like he could take on the world and the reason for that was Emer on his arm.

He glanced at her and she smiled. The tight-fitting green dress she was wearing shimmered in the glitterball light and her curls were a work of art. He’d loaned her his grandmother’s emerald necklace, an heirloom that by tradition always skipped a generation. Jack would one day give it to Matt’s firstborn.

‘Look, Jack!’ Emer swivelled him round and they saw themselves distorted long and lanky in a funfair joke mirror.

Jack exploded with laughter at the ridiculous sight. As he did so, he felt some long-held burden of sorrow and disappointment lift from his shoulders. It was like he was looking at the world through fresh eyes.

‘Come and meet my friends, you gorgeous woman,’ he said, hugging Emer close to him like the treasure she was.

Kate was snuggled up close to Luke on a space-age puffy silver sofa. The party was in full swing. Jack was drifting around the dance floor with Emer in his arms, looking like he was in seventh heaven. In fact he looked like a completely different man tonight – all lit-up inside, and happier than she’d ever seen him. She’d thought he seemed happy with her mother, but he’d never had this glow. She silently wished him well with his new romance.

Kate had danced with Tim and Matt because Luke didn’t want her to miss out on any of the fun. He needn’t have worried about cramping her style. There was no one Kate would rather be with than Luke. The party could have vanished around them and she wouldn’t have cared. His arm around her shoulder reminded her of their recent tumble on the sofa. It hadn’t gone anywhere, but it had still been good. Luke claimed inexperience, but he’d seemed to know what he was doing.

‘What you thinkin’ about?’ asked Luke, and she raised her head from his shoulder.

Rubbing his nose with hers, she whispered ‘Being alone with you …’

He pulled her closer and they melted into a kiss, more sensual than anything Kate had ever experienced because her feelings for this man were stronger than anything she’d ever known.

Sarah was sitting by herself at the bar, nursing a Blue Martini. She had a clear view of Kate making a spectacle of herself with Luke. She wanted to scream.

Richard slipped onto the barstool beside her and followed her gaze. ‘Ah – love’s young dream. Shame about the reality. I’m surprised you’ve let it go this far, Sarah. I know this is the twenty-first century and all that …’

She looked around, hoping no one had heard. The last thing she needed was for all that to be brought out into the open.

‘I’m dealing with it, Richard,’ she said, wishing he would disappear.

‘Doesn’t look like it.’ He nodded his head in the direction of Luke and Kate, still locked together in a kiss.

‘I’ve already spoken to Jack about it. He doesn’t think the relationship’s a good idea either. Said he’d talk to Kate.’

Richard’s eyes lit up. ‘And we know how close she is to him. Your disapproval and Jack’s disapproval might just swing it. Otherwise, you’re going to have to come clean.’

‘Not unless I have to,’ Sarah said. She’d woven such a tangled web over all this that she’d likely be the one snared and hurt. ‘And please don’t go saying anything, Richard. It would be my secret to tell.’

‘Just don’t wait too long,’ Richard advised. ‘Grace did that all those years ago, and before she knew it there was a pikey in her drawing room. She wants Traveller Boy gone. So does Nicholas. They’ve asked me to sort it out. No one will blame you for doing what’s right to protect your daughter. Why don’t you play hardball? Tell Kate she has to choose – you or Luke.’

‘But then she’ll blame me for breaking it up.’ Or what if she chose Luke? Losing Kate was unthinkable. Sarah hadn’t been the greatest mother in the world but she did love her daughter.

Richard lowered his voice. ‘We saw his mother off, didn’t we? And she had a wedding ring and Jack curled round her little finger. This should be a piece of cake. It’s best that he goes, Sarah. Sort it out. If you need my help, let me know.’ He stood up and patted her shoulder in an attempt at reassurance. ‘I see Grace and Nicholas have arrived … I must go and say hello.’

Sarah watched Jack’s parents as they entered the conservatory and looked around at the décor with thinly veiled disapproval. By rights they should have been her in-laws. Now little Emer Sullivan would have that honour.

Sarah glanced again at Kate, laughing at something Luke had said. She drained her martini and ordered another.

‘I’ve got three chins.’ Emer giggled at her reflection in another of the funfair distortion mirrors. ‘Maybe that’s how many I’ll have when I’m sixty.’

‘I look like Henry the Eighth,’ said Jack, checking out the sideways view. ‘That’s what too much port and venison does for you. Still’—he winked at Emer in the mirror—‘six wives might not be so bad.’

‘Good evening, Jack.’

A figure loomed up behind them. The mirror’s distortion showed a woman with bulging eyes and hair as big as those towering wigs they used to wear at the French court. Luckily Emer stifled her giggle because the next thing she heard was Jack saying ‘Hello, Mother’. They turned round together.

Grace accepted a peck on the cheek from Jack and asked if he was enjoying the party, giving Emer a chance to assess his mother while he replied. In her late sixties, slim, cheekbones that could cut you, impeccably dressed, adorned with discreet but obviously expensive pieces of jewellery. An air of absolute self-possession, like royalty.

‘Mother, this is Emer Sullivan, my guest this evening. Emer, this is my mother, Lady Grace Stewart.’

Emer stopped herself from curtseying just in time. She held out her hand instead. ‘Nice to meet you.’

‘Pleased to meet you, my dear,’ said Grace, allowing her white-gloved hand to briefly make contact. She was eyeing the emeralds around Emer’s neck like the witch coveting Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

‘Emer’s a trauma counsellor in a hospital,’ said Jack.

‘Goodness – that sounds like a challenging job. Where did you say you were from, my dear?’

‘I didn’t. I’m from Ireland.’

‘Ireland.’ Grace made it sound like The Black Hole of Calcutta.

‘Emer and I met in Dublin,’ Jack informed her. ‘She was Luke’s counsellor after the accident.’

‘I see.’

The mention of Luke killed the conversation stone dead. Emer wondered if she should leave Grace and Jack alone to talk, but perhaps that would be a breach of etiquette. She was all at sea here.

A waiter with a silver face and a silver wig stopped next to them and presented a tray of champagne flutes. Grace accepted one and then said loudly, ‘It’s kind of Timothy to give us such a lovely venue but he has some very strange ideas about décor. And I must say, it’s most disappointing that Lord and Lady Leighton haven’t returned.’

‘Extended their holiday, I believe,’ Jack explained. ‘Trusted Tim with the arrangements. He’s in his element. And I think it’s great fun.’

Grace’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Indeed?’

Just then, someone bumped into Emer and her wine sloshed right down the front of her dress. A widening circle of dark red stained the green silk.

‘Gavin, you idiot!’ snapped Jack. ‘Why don’t you look where you’re going?’

‘I’m
so
sorry.’

Gavin was a tall young man of dark good looks. Despite his words of apology, Emer could have sworn she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in what he’d done.

‘My dear, I’m sure that will sponge off …’ murmured Grace.

Probably not, so she’d be left with an unsightly stain on her dress for the rest of the evening. Emer could have cried.

‘Make way for the fashion police!’ A tall thin man with hair flopping over one eye joined the group. He was wearing a spacesuit minus the helmet. ‘Gavin blunders again, I see.’

‘It wasn’t
my
fault. That stupid robot banged into me,’ commented Gavin, pointing at someone dressed up like C-3PO from
Star Wars
. ‘Idiot must have thought this was a fancy dress party.’

‘No, no, he’s one of my sci-fi entertainers. They’re all going to sing and dance the
Time Warp
later.’

‘I’ll look forward to that, Tim,’ said Jack, with a smile. ‘You’ve outdone yourself this time.’

The young man with the flopping hair bowed. He had to be Timothy Leighton, the host. Jack had told Emer he was a bit off the wall but had a heart of gold. Tim offered her his arm. ‘Come with me, gorgeous. We’ll raid my mother’s wardrobe. Get you glammed up in cloth of gold.’

His smile was kind. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

‘Or something from Tim’s wardrobe,’ said Gavin, who proceeded to have hysterics at his own ‘joke’, but Tim just grinned, and said ‘That’s a possibility too.’

As they moved off, Emer heard Grace behind her say, ‘A word, please, Jack …’

‘Were those your grandmother’s emeralds?’ asked Grace, in a frosty tone.

‘Yes.’ They were Jack’s to do with as he pleased. ‘And still are.’

‘So – is it serious – with this woman?’

‘Her name is Emer, Mother. And yes, it could be very serious.’

Jack waited, wondering what she would say. She’d no doubt try to warn him off. After his split with Sarah, she’d casually mentioned a few available women, who ‘would fit in well’.

‘She’s obviously intelligent. A career woman.’

‘She is,’ said Jack, proudly.

‘She probably wouldn’t want to give all that up.’

If this were a game of chess, Grace had just moved her Bishop out for attack but he could defend himself easily enough. ‘I wouldn’t want her to give it up. She loves her job. And she’s good at it.’

‘Mmm.’

Jack could almost hear his mother’s brain working overtime, flicking through the remaining options.

‘Exterminate! Exterminate!’ A model Dalek whizzed up to them, pointing its sucker at Grace.

She waved it away, impatiently. ‘This is too much! Your father and I have been seriously misinformed about this … event.’

Jack smothered a grin. Seeing his mother so flustered robbed her of some of her power.

She made one last attempt, though. ‘Emer lives in Ireland, Jack. The Irish do love their country so, and Baronsmere would seem very small compared to Dublin …’

He was ready for her. Moved his Queen out to take her Bishop. ‘Who knows – I might just relocate to Dublin. Excuse me – I’ve just seen Dave and Evie arrive.’

He left his mother standing there open-mouthed, the Dalek circling her like a shark. When she saw Luke, her evening would be complete. Jack smiled at the thought.

Kate had gone to talk to Abbie, so Luke went to the buffet table to get her some more of those salmon roll-ups she loved. After heaping the plate, he looked in amazement at Jack’s fancy birthday cake – it was a replica in miniature of his house and garden, all done in chocolate and coloured icing. Luke could see his own bedroom window, and there was even the firepit and the lake. Must have cost a small fortune.

‘Jack will cut that later. Don’t touch it.’

He spun round to see Nicholas scowling at him. Did he seriously think Luke was going to help himself to a slice? He peered over his left shoulder, then his right. ‘I’m sorry – I thought you were talkin’ to one of the waiters, not another guest. Left your manners at home?’

Heart pounding, Luke turned away from the buffet table. He’d quite enjoyed that. Nothing his grandparents could say or do would upset him because he expected only the worst from them. Nicholas must be really annoyed that he was still around in Baronsmere, let alone been invited here tonight. And it was Jack who’d invited him. That had been a surprise. Maybe under pressure from Matt, but he’d seemed genuine enough. Luke had been tempted to say no, but Kate had talked him into it. Said she wanted him there. The clincher, though, was when she said how much it would piss Nicholas and Grace off.

‘Quite right, too, Luke.’ It was Emer, who had obviously just witnessed his confrontation with Nicholas. She was smiling, both in greeting and amusement, and she walked over and gave him a hug. ‘Let’s sit down and chat for a bit.’

They found a table that was free. Luke had been hoping for a chance to chat privately with Emer at some point. She’d arrived just after lunch and Jack had monopolised her all afternoon.

‘You’ve changed your dress,’ he noted. She’d started the evening flying Ireland’s colours in a beautiful emerald green; now she was wearing a breathtaking silver beaded dress. ‘You look amazin’.’

‘Thank you. Someone called Gavin spilled wine on me so Tim loaned me something from his mother’s wardrobe. One of her twelve wardrobes, I should say.’

Luke couldn’t help scowling at the mention of his cousin. ‘Gavin’s Richard’s son. Turns out he’s as big an eejit as his dad … but Tim’s grand, isn’t he?’

‘A lovely fella,’ she agreed. ‘So – I saw you with Kate earlier. The pair of you were completely wrapped up in each other. Remember I said the girls would find you irresistible?’

Luke blushed at the compliment. It was good that at least one person was happy for them. ‘I don’t think Kate’s mam approves of me, though. She’s been glarin’ at me all night.’

Emer clucked in sympathy. ‘I know how you feel. I met Lady Grace earlier and she could hardly bring herself to speak to me. I’m sure she was having palpitations beneath that frosty exterior at the thought of me with her son.’

‘The Cheshire Cat – that’s what Maggie calls her,’ said Luke, and they both shared a laugh.

‘Do you mind that, Luke? Me and Jack … being together?’

Luke
had
minded at first when Jack told him Emer would be his guest, but wanting her to be his exclusive friend was selfish – and childish. Kate had helped him see that. Better of course if Emer had chosen anyone other than Jack Stewart, but at least Luke knew she’d fight his corner if need be. ‘I was surprised,’ he admitted. ‘But then I realised I might get to see more of you, which would be grand. And maybe you’ll be a good influence on him. Did you tell him to invite me to this party?’