The Eden Tree (26 page)

“How could he play God like that?” Linn cried. “Those poor people, being manipulated by him as if he were a puppeteer and they were his marionettes.”

The priest was silent, watching her closely to see if she were about to crack under the strain. Linn noticed his scrutiny and deliberately modulated her voice.

“And my father?” she asked quietly.

“Oh, when he heard that Mary had married in his absence it broke his heart. I was his childhood friend, lass; we were at school together. When he received the news he wrote to me and said that he could never come back to Ballykinnon and see Mary married to another. And as you know, he never did. He stayed in the States.”

“And a few years later he married my mother,” Linn whispered.

“Aye, so he did,” the priest agreed. “But the whole situation caused a permanent break with Dermot. Kevin knew his father had had something to do with Mary’s marriage, though he never knew about the child. He probably thought Dermot has just bribed Trevor with advancement in his mine job. That was Dermot’s way of controlling everyone, usually with money.”

“How is it that you’re the only one who knows this story?”

“The principals kept silent for obvious reasons and they’re dead now. I was brought into it after the fact when Mary and Trevor returned to Ildathach. Mary came to me and begged me to help her, telling me what had happened and asking me to keep her child’s true paternity a secret. I could see no reason to hurt her and the innocent baby any more. I altered the records which had been sent from Britain, changing the date of Con’s birth and listing Trevor as his father. I had access to everything because of my position. I thought I was acting for the best but look what has come of it.” He bent his head. “God forgive me.”

“He should forgive you for telling me about it!” Linn burst out, overcome with anger and despair.

The priest raised his head, his eyes wide. “Girl, the man is your half brother! Could I keep silent and abide an abomination?’‘

Linn closed her eyes, his final word lancing through her like the stroke of a knife. An abomination? Her love for Con, and his for her? It was the most precious, sacred thing in her life and he was telling her it was something foul and dirty.

“Don’t you say that,” she said in a low, dangerous voice, rising from her chair. “Don’t you use that term again.”

The priest stood also, alarmed. What was he going to do with an hysterical woman on his hands? He grabbed Linn’s forearms and steered her back into her chair.

“Calm yourself,” he soothed. “It will avail us nothing for you to become so upset.”

Linn subsided, shaking, forcing herself to see reason. This man was not her enemy; none of this was his fault. He thought he was doing the right thing in this situation and taking her feelings out on him wasn’t fair.

“Where is your proof?” she asked coldly. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

Father Daly regarded her sadly. “Would I lie about such a thing? Think, girl, what reason would I have to inflict such cruelty?”

“I want to see the proof,” Linn said flatly.

Father Daly sighed. “And so you shall, if you go to the office of patient records for Holy Rosary Hospital in Limerick. Con was brought there for a childhood illness and the officials there consulted his birth records in Derbyshire for information. The hospital has a copy of Con’s real papers.” The priest bit his lower lip. “Don’t fight it, child. That will not help you to accept it, as you must. You know in your heart that I have told you the truth.”

Linn was silent, unable to disagree.

“You love Con very much, don’t you?” the priest asked softly.

Linn nodded, her lower lip trembling as she fought off tears.

“Then don’t tell him,” Father Daly said. “Just go and let him remember Trevor Clay as his father. Clay was a good man who cherished Mary and her child. Con was devoted to him.”

“I know that,” Linn said, remembering Con’s anguish over Trevor’s unhappiness.

“Then just leave without destroying his illusions. Your loss alone will be enough for him to bear without adding the hurt the truth would cause him.”

Linn nodded again, dumbly.

“You must go now,” the priest added sternly. “You cannot remain; you cannot stay together, surely you see that?”

Linn broke down. “I don’t know how I can leave him,” she sobbed. “I’ll be leaving my soul behind on Ildathach.”

The priest’s resolve faltered for the first time. For just a second he forgot proprieties and biblical injunctions and the laws of the church he’d served for thirty-two years. His heart went out to the slight, pretty girl in the chair before him, crying as if she would never hope again.

He went to Linn and put his hand on her shoulder. “There, there. You must be strong, my child. God never sends us a burden heavier than we can bear.” He took a wad of tissues from the pocket of his cassock and handed them to Linn.

She wiped her streaming eyes ineffectually. “I think he has this time. I don’t want to live without Con. I can’t.”

“You can, and you will.” Father Daly’s expression became thoughtful. “Where is Con today?”

“He’s in town with Larry Fitzgibbon. They had some business to discuss.”

Father Daly nodded. “That’s good. You can pack while he’s occupied and be gone before he gets back.”

Linn stared at him, stunned. “Now? You mean I can’t see him ever again?”

The priest eyed her levelly. “What would happen if you saw him?” he asked sternly.

Linn put her hand over her eyes. She knew what would happen. He would want to make love and when she refused he would demand to know why. She would wind up telling him about his father. She recoiled silently, afraid to think of the other possibility, the one uppermost in Father Daly’s mind. If Con pressed her, would she give in? She loved and wanted him so much; would she sleep with him rather than tell him? And if so, what would that make her? She swallowed a shuddering sob and looked up to meet the priest’s concerned gaze.

“I’ll leave this afternoon,” she said.

Father Daly sighed in relief. “How can I help you?”

Linn stood on legs that threatened to give way under her. She grasped the back of the chair for support.

“No one can help me,” she said quietly.

The priest watched her struggle with admiration. This was a brave lass. He knew he had dealt her a mortal blow, and she was staggering but still on her feet. Kevin would have been proud of her.

“Did you drive here?” he asked. “Can you drive back?”

“Yes. I have to return the car and get my things.” She glanced around the room. “May I use your phone?”

“Certainly,” Father Daly answered, indicating that she should go to his desk. As she picked up the receiver he tiptoed past her and quietly left the room, shutting the door after him.

Linn called Bridie at Ildathach, hoping that she would be back. She was. She answered on the third ring.

“Bridie, it’s Linn. I want you to do me a favor,” Linn said, trying to keep her voice normal.

“Aye, what is it?”

“I’d like you to pack a bag for me, enough for overnight, and get my passport and travel things together. I’ll be back in a few minutes and I want to be able to just pick up and go.”

“Where are you going?” Bridie asked, her voice unsure.

Linn put her hand over her mouth for a second, and then gained control. “I have to go back to the States right away. I can’t explain now; it’s too much to go into over the phone, but please just do as I ask. I’ll be bringing the car back and I’d appreciate it if you could look for that car rental information I got once before. I think I left it in the library on my grandfather’s desk. I’ll be needing transportation to the airport.”

“What about Con?”

“Con can’t know I’m leaving,” Linn answered.

“Wait a bit! What is happening, Aislinn? Something’s amiss. Tell me what it is.”

Linn cleared her throat. “Please, Bridie, just do as I ask. If Con should call or come back early, stall him or get rid of him for me, just long enough for me to get away. I know you don’t understand but do this on faith. I’m begging you. Please.”

There was a heavy sigh from the other end of the line. “I’ll pack for you. But I want an explanation when you get here.” The line went dead.

Linn sagged against the wall and then steeled herself to make a second call. This one would be more difficult.

Larry Fitzgibbon’s secretary answered.

“Hello, this Aislinn Pierce from out at Ildathach. Can you tell me if Mr. Clay is still with Mr. Fitzgibbon?”

“He’s just after leaving, Miss Pierce. He was going on to Dr. McCarthy’s, I think he said.”

Linn exhaled on a long breath. “Then may I speak with Mr. Fitzgibbon, please? It will only take a moment.”

“Just as you say.” There was a pause and then Larry’s vaudeville brogue came over the wire.

“Well Aislinn, hello. Connor is just after leaving here; you’ve missed him. If you wanted to give him a message you’re too late.”

“No, I wanted to ask you to do something for me.”

“Oh, aye? Whatever you say.”

“Larry, you’re a lawyer and I’m your client. If I ask you to do something and keep it strictly confidential, would you?”

“Of course.” The lawyer’s tone had become guarded.

“All right. I want to deed Ildathach over to Connor Clay.”

The response was stunned silence for a moment, and then, “You mean you want to convey it to him alone? But when you get married you can hold it jointly—”

The mention of marriage made Linn interrupt almost rudely. “Larry, can you do it? I know you need time…and the proper papers…and witnesses, but can you set the process in motion? I don’t want anyone to know about it, not even Con until it’s done. I want him to receive full title.”

There was another long pause, and then, “I can do it.”

“Good. I’ll be in touch with you about it again.” Linn didn’t say that she would be calling him from New Jersey. “And thanks, Larry. You were my first friend here and you’ve helped me a lot. Goodbye.”

It was only after she hung up that she realized her last words to the lawyer had a definite ring of finality.

There was one more call to make and Linn dreaded making it. She wiped her eyes, then dialed the overseas operator for international long distance and called Karen in New York, asking the operator to make it collect.

To Linn’s enormous relief Karen answered the phone. She ran her own business from her brownstone and was often out making deliveries. The operator identified the caller and Karen accepted the charges, her tone changing to delighted expectation when she heard that it was Linn.

The sound of her godmother’s voice almost caused Linn to falter. She waited a few seconds before saying tentatively, “Karen?”

“Linn? Is that you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, it’s wonderful to hear from you! How is that gorgeous man you wrote me about?”

“Karen, I’m calling because I need you to pick me up at Kennedy tomorrow. I don’t know the time or the airline or the flight number, nothing is arranged yet, but I will be arriving sometime during the next day or so. When the flight’s booked I’ll send you a telex and you’ll get it on the machine in your office.”

“Fine, honey,” Karen answered, sounding puzzled, “but why are you returning so soon? Are you bringing Con with you? Do you want me to meet him?”

Linn’s knuckles on the hand that held the phone were turning white. “No, he isn’t coming. I just need a ride back from the airport. I left my car at home on the way over here; I took a taxi from my apartment.”

“I understand that but there’s something you’re not telling me. Did something happen with your beau?”

“Yes,” Linn whispered.

“What is it, Linn?”

The line crackled with interference, and Linn was grateful because it gave her an excuse to cut the conversation short.

“Karen, I can hardly hear you. Just look for the telex and come for me when I get in, okay? Thanks a lot. I’ll see you soon.” Linn hung up the receiver, realizing that she had broken into a cold sweat. She took the last of Father Daly’s tissues and wiped her forehead with them. Then she picked up her purse and left the room.

The priest was waiting in the hall. He walked her out to Con’s car and offered again to drive her back to Ildathach.

“I’m all right, Father. I’ll get there in one piece.”

“Take care of yourself, Aislinn Pierce. It’s sorry I am that things turned out this way.”

Linn got into the car and looked through the window at the man who had brought her the most unwelcome news imaginable. She didn’t know what to say to him.

Father Daly understood. “Just go now. God go with you.”

Linn drove away from the rectory, not looking back.

She went out of her way to avoid the main street for fear of seeing Con, and drove halfway up the mountain and down again to reach Ildathach by the other route. She couldn’t see too well; her eyes kept misting over and once she was forced to stop driving. The trip took twice as long as it should have, but she finally got back and left the Bentley parked in front of the main house.