Things We Never Say (28 page)

‘Neither did I,’ said Abbey.

Ryan drove her back to the Harbour Hotel, but the journey was conducted in near silence. It was an awkward silence too, Abbey thought, quite unlike the easy comfort she’d felt in his company until now. She knew that he was disappointed in her for having kept her mother’s way of life a secret from him, and she could understand that. Things might have been a bit easier today if she’d shared the information sooner. But she still wouldn’t have allowed him to hotfoot it to the monastery and demand to see her mother.

When Ellen had told her of her decision more than eight years earlier, Abbey hadn’t at first realised how life-changing it would be. After she learned more about the way of life at the monastery, she’d been appalled. She’d felt as though her mother was abandoning her and shutting her out, and that she herself must have done something to push her away, even though Ellen had insisted that joining the nuns at Los Montesinos was a true vocation. A calling from God, she had said, which had made Abbey snort in derision, because they’d encountered more than one God in their travels and numerous different types of beliefs in him. She couldn’t accept that her mother had decided that the Christian God was real, and someone (something? Abbey wasn’t quite sure) she was going to devote the rest of her life to. Religion, in any form, had never been high on Ellen’s agenda before, and back then, Abbey couldn’t help thinking that her decision to shut herself away was a reaction to the death of her parents. And perhaps to having lost Jon, Abbey’s father, too. Abbey had sometimes wondered if their nomadic lifestyle had been a result of Jon’s death – if her mother had been looking for something to help her cope. Perhaps she’d kept on looking, even when they were living in San Francisco and even when Pete came along. Abbey had been very sure for a long time that Ellen’s so-called vocation was more to do with her personal life than any calling from God.

Yet the nuns didn’t take in people who were going through personal crises, which was why Ellen was spending such a long time with them before making her final profession. They wanted to be sure, and Ellen, in her last conversation with Abbey, had said that she was happy to walk a slow road. This was another thing that had shocked Abbey, because Ellen had never taken a slow road anywhere before. She’d always been in a hurry to move on, find somewhere new, do something different. Realising that she had changed was probably the hardest thing for Abbey to accept. If her mother had been the same woman as always when she saw her, she might have believed in it more. As it was, she thought that Ellen had been seduced by the serenity and the support of the community and the fact that her life was ordered and measured when, in the past, she’d had to work everything out herself.

The hardest thing, initially, had been the fact that she couldn’t speak to her mom whenever she wanted. Even when she’d had a major life crisis on her hands, she hadn’t been able to call, although in fairness, her major crises were usually to do with work or boyfriends and never seemed so bad in the light of day. In any event, they nearly always resolved themselves. The monastery’s rules often made people outside take a slower road too.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said again as Ryan drew the car to a halt outside the hotel. ‘I should’ve told you.’

‘I would have done some things differently,’ he said.

‘Yes. I realise that.’

‘But you weren’t to know that Fred Fitzpatrick had already changed his will. And you certainly weren’t to know that he’d have a heart attack within a couple of minutes of meeting you.’

‘I’ve never been great at timing,’ said Abbey.

‘It wasn’t your fault.’

‘I’ve made things tough for you.’

‘That’s why I’m paid the big bucks.’ His tone was lighter but still carried a hint of disillusionment.

‘Um …’ She spoke hesitantly. ‘Can I go back to the States right now, or do I have to wait here for things to be sorted out?’

This time Ryan chuckled. ‘You’re talking about the law, and that never moves quickly,’ he reminded her. ‘I’ll speak to Alex, but I don’t think there’s a compelling reason for you to stay. You’re correct in that you can’t do anything independently of your mother, and no matter what happens, it’ll take time before you can access the estate. But Abbey, you need to think long and hard about what you want to do. It was Fred’s wish that you and your mom share that house. He wouldn’t want you to give it up.’

‘I was delighted when he left me the five K,’ said Abbey. ‘But the house is a different matter. I know what you mean, though, and – well, I have to admit that it’s the only chance I’ll ever have of getting my hands on that kind of money. All the same …’ She looked worried. ‘What have I done to deserve it?’

‘What you’ve done or haven’t done isn’t the point,’ said Ryan. ‘What Mr Fitzpatrick has done, because he wanted to, absolutely is. And perhaps when the others calm down, they’ll see that some kind of negotiated settlement is best.’

‘The two brothers were pretty mad, weren’t they?’ observed Abbey. ‘The others not so much, though they all got cash … but Donald is furious at the very idea of Mom’s existence. I understand it, I honestly do, but I’m not sure that spending a fortune on legal action is the right way to go about things. Sorry,’ she added. ‘I’m sure you have a different view, it’s your livelihood after all.’

Ryan looked amused. ‘Most legal professionals spend a huge amount of time telling people not to go to court at all,’ he said. ‘It’s messy and expensive and you don’t always get what you want. As far as I know, if Mr Fitzpatrick’s will is contested, everyone’s money will go back into the estate. Some of the lesser family members might be worse off.’

Abbey sighed. ‘Life without money can be hard, but life with the possibility of having it might be even worse. All the same, the house isn’t in the best of conditions, so I guess it isn’t a fortune we’re fighting about, especially after taxes.’

‘How much would a similar property in Sausalito be worth?’ asked Ryan.

‘Pete’s is worth about four million dollars,’ Abbey replied. ‘But everyone knows that real estate prices in Sausalito are crazy and Bella Vista Heights is an exceptional property.’

‘Furze Hill is in a very desirable location,’ Ryan told her. ‘Abbey, I think you should expect to get close to a couple of million for it.’

‘Oh my God.’ Abbey was completely shocked. ‘I never imagined it was anything like that amount! No wonder the family have gone postal over it. He really did leave us most of his wealth.’

‘Exactly,’ said Ryan.

Abbey got out of the car. She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

There was a lot of discussion in the Fitzpatrick cars as the various members of Fred’s family drove home. Deirdre and her daughters veered from being happy that they’d been left something to being insulted that it wasn’t enough, then anxious about how things would turn out if it all ended up in some kind of legal battle.

Donald was saying very little as he drove, but that was made up for by Zoey, who wanted to know as much as possible about the law regarding wills and inheritances and who broke off halfway through the conversation to phone her mother and share the news with her. Predictably, Lesley was hopping with rage and told her daughter that she hadn’t married Donald, had she, to be left to rot on the sidelines while someone else swooped in and took what was rightfully hers. Donald kept his eyes firmly on the road ahead of him, although he was able to guess at most of Lesley’s comments by his wife’s replies.

In Gareth’s car, Lisette was regretting once again that she hadn’t looked at the will the day she’d seen it on Fred’s table, because she knew she would’ve torn it up there and then and saved them all a lot of heartache. She would have done it in front of Fred and told him that he was being foolish, and she knew he would have listened to her because he always said that the French were very practical people. She was worried about the cost of taking legal action and how that might turn out. If they lost, they’d have spent even more money and not got anything in return. She couldn’t help thinking that the only way forward was to persuade Abbey Andersen that the acceptable thing to do was to return her share to the family, even if the nuns insisted on getting their hands on her mother’s half. After all, how could anyone seriously expect to be left such an enormous amount by a person they hadn’t even known existed up until a few weeks earlier? It wasn’t right. It couldn’t be.

Suzanne had declined the offer of a lift from Lisette and Gareth and was instead walking back towards her hotel. She too was mulling over the events of the day. She was trying to decide if she was delighted by what her father had left her, hurt by the knowledge that he’d given the boys money years ago while ignoring her, or even more hurt that this time he’d left the house to two complete strangers. On the one hand, being singled out for a large amount of cash while seeing the boys get a couple of old cars was vindicating. On the other, learning that she was in third place behind Abbey and her mother was another kick in the teeth.

You were such a fool, Dad, she thought, as she neared the harbour. You were a fool to get that woman pregnant fifty-odd years ago and a fool to suddenly feel guilty about it now.It was almost certain that Abbey Andersen and her mother had had a perfectly good life without any input from him. The fact that Ellen Connolly had ended up in a monastery was a bit freaky, but it was her choice to make. The daughter, Abbey, seemed nice enough, but realistically, how likely was it that she’d say no to an unexpected inheritance? Not bloody likely, in Suzanne’s view. Why should she? She had no earthly chance of making that kind of money from doing people’s nails, after all.

However, regardless of how things worked out, Suzanne had to admit that financially she herself was a lot better off than she’d been a couple of weeks ago. And that meant, for the first time in her life, that she should be grateful to her father, even if she couldn’t quite find it in herself to forgive him.

After saying goodbye to Ryan, Abbey went into the hotel and up to her room. She eased her feet out of her shoes, curled her legs beneath her on the bed and stared out of the window at the boats bobbing in the harbour. She was trying to get her head around the idea that after meeting her for less than five minutes, Fred Fitzpatrick had made his decision to leave her and her mother a house worth around two million dollars. Two million dollars, half of which was hers! Even after taxes, it was still a huge amount of money.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of herself as a millionaire. She didn’t succeed. Because, of course, she wasn’t that person. And if the Fitzpatrick family got their way, she never would be. But she was part of the Fitzpatrick family too, wasn’t she? Just because she hadn’t known about them before didn’t mean that they couldn’t get to know each other now. Maybe even get to like each other. And come to some kind of agreement about the will. Because she couldn’t simply walk away from owning a house worth two million dollars. With that sort of money she could … well, the first thing she could do was to stop worrying about where she was going to live. She could afford to rent an apartment way better than the one she’d shared with Cobey. Hell, she could buy an apartment of her own! She thought of Pete and how he’d light up when she told him. He’d be thrilled for her, she knew he would. So would Solí and Vanessa. Selina too. Thinking about other people’s reactions made her realise that it would be cool to be the one to be envied for a change, cool to be the one with great news. She was exhilarated by the feeling.

She opened her eyes again and wondered about her mom’s reaction. She was pretty sure the Fitzpatricks were right in thinking that it wouldn’t be up to Ellen alone to decide what to do about her inheritance, that the monastery’s prioress, Sister Inez, would be the one calling the shots. Perhaps Ellen would want to decline it but not have any choice in the matter. So it might come down to a court case after all, although she wondered how successful the family’s argument that Fred hadn’t been in his full senses might be. Perhaps they’d be able to roll out a doctor to say that he was suffering from some kind of mental illness. Anything was possible. How reasonable was it for someone who was in his full senses to leave a house to two people he didn’t know, even if one of them was the daughter he’d given away?

She massaged the back of her neck. Things were far more difficult than she’d ever expected when she’d agreed to come to Ireland and meet her unknown grandfather. She should’ve followed her initial instincts and said no. He would have been disappointed but it would surely have stopped him from making such a radical change to his will and prevented all this bitterness.

She would have to call Pete soon and tell him what had happened. He’d be able to give her a legal perspective on things. But although she took her phone out of her bag and scrolled to his name, she didn’t select it. She wasn’t ready to talk to him and to hear his advice, which she was certain would be to sit tight and fight for what she’d been left. Pete wouldn’t understand the uncomfortable feeling that told her that she wasn’t really entitled to anything at all. He would be all for getting the house, selling it and securing her future. And, she muttered aloud to herself, he would be utterly right.

She opened the email app and took a deep breath. Even though she didn’t want to talk to Pete, she had to set the wheels in motion to meet with her mother. She thought long and hard for a few minutes and then began composing a message to Sister Inez. In it she said that an urgent family matter meant she needed to meet with her mother as soon as possible. She didn’t give any more details, didn’t talk about Magdalene laundries or unknown relatives and inheritances.

She sent the message and put the phone back in her bag. Then she unfurled her legs and stretched her arms over her head. She couldn’t sit here thinking about things any longer. She needed to get out and clear her head.

She’d timed it badly, she thought, as she walked out of the hotel door and almost collided with Suzanne Fitzpatrick coming in. The two women looked awkwardly at each other for a moment.