Secrets and Lies (3 page)

“When are you taking him home to meet auntie and uncle?” Maura asked, changing the subject.

“Soon,” Kerry answered. “Auntie keeps asking me when she'll meet him. I just don't want to rush things.”

“You've been going out together for months now,” Maura said. “You're practically joined at the hip and he's all you talk about these days. Don't you think it's only politeness to introduce him to Auntie and Uncle?”

“I will, soon, very soon,” Kerry repeated.

It was all arranged; Conor was finally going to meet Auntie and Uncle. Kerry was a nervous wreck as their imminent meeting approached. She desperately wanted everyone to like each other and was worried about Auntie not liking Conor and telling him exactly what she was thinking; a habit that she and Maura shared. Aisling Kerrigan was not known for her tact.

“We're finally getting to see your mystery man,” Aunt Aisling declared as she took a tray of scones out of the oven and began to arrange them on her best china plate.

“Yes, indeed you are,” Kerry said absent-mindedly. She peeped through the curtains expecting Conor at any minute.

“Come away from that window, child,” her uncle ordered. “The neighbours will think we've developed a twitch.”

Kerry reluctantly sat on the sofa and awaited Conor's arrival. He'd been unexpectedly needed on the farm that weekend, otherwise they would have arrived together.

“”He's here!” Maura called as she ran downstairs to open the door. She couldn't wait to meet him.

Conor's battered Fiat Punto pulled into the drive and screeched to a halt outside their front door. He jumped out and held out his hand in greeting to Maura, who embraced him in a hug.

“There's no need for such formalities,” she beamed at him. “Sure I feel like I know you already, Kerry's told me so much about you.”

“All good I hope,” he beamed back at her.

“That's for me to know,” she winked as Kerry brushed past her and greeted her boyfriend with a chaste kiss on the cheek.

“I see you've met Maura.” Kerry held his hand and led him to the sitting room where her aunt and uncle were waiting impatiently.

“It's lovely to meet you at last, Aisling,” Conor formally shook her hand and offered the big box of chocolates that he'd brought with him, which she accepted in delight.

“Turkish Wonder,” she smiled. “It’s my favourite.”

Kerry searched her aunt's face for signs that she was offended by Conor's familiarity in using her first name. Her aunt was a stickler for manners, but she seemed to be very pleased with Conor.

Conor was full of chat about the farm and enthralled her aunt and uncle with his many stories. He said that her aunt's scones were the tastiest he'd ever eaten and she positively glowed with pleasure at the compliment and insisted that he take a box away with him when he left. He had a natural way with people that seemed to draw them out of their shells and want to be close to him. Kerry watched their interaction with great pride. There was no need for her earlier fretting; Conor charmed everyone he met.

All too soon the visit was over. “I'll be off
now,” Conor declared suddenly, draining the last of his tea and struggling to his feet.

“Are you going so
soon?” Aunt Aisling asked, looking genuinely dismayed.

“I don't want to over-stay my welcome.”

“It was great to meet you, son,” Uncle Sean held out his hand and warmly shook the younger man's hand.

“A pleasure to meet you two, sir,” Conor said respectfully.

“You have a fine strong handshake,” Uncle Sean decreed. He was of the firm belief that you could tell a man's character by the strength of his handshake.

“Kerry promised to help me study for my exams in the morning,” Conor explained, glancing expectantly at a surprised Kerry.

“Oh, yes, yes I did promise,” she stuttered.

“That's handy,” Uncle Sean groaned. “It saves me a drive into the city to drop her home.”

They all stood at the door and waved them off. Conor beeped the horn as he swung the car out of the drive and sped towards the city with Kerry by his side.

“They loved you,” Kerry beamed. “I'm relieved that it went so well.”

“Why wouldn't it have gone well? Sure they're lovely people.”

“They're the best,” Kerry agreed, and she meant it.

“Do you really need me to help you study?” she asked.

“No that was just a ploy to get you to myself. I haven't seen you all weekend and I've missed you. It seems like a lifetime since we've had any alone time and besides, I have a surprise for you.”

“I love surprises,” she giggled.

He put her hand on her knee and gently squeezed it.

She felt a tingle run along her thigh at his touch and she placed her hand on his for the rest of the drive into town.

“Where are we going?” Kerry asked, full of curiosity when she noticed that they'd missed the familiar turn to Conor's student accommodation.

“I've got my own place now,” Conor explained. “Mom and Dad came up for the weekend to help me move and get the flat sorted. I wanted it to be a surprise for you.”

Kerry was completely taken aback. She certainly hadn't expected this. Finally, they'd be able to have some proper time alone.

“Here we are, home sweet home,” Conor pulled up outside a sprawling old Victorian house that had been converted into self-contained apartments.

Kerry stood in the overgrown garden and stared at the house.

“It's full of character,” she declared, taking in the perfectly aligned granite steps that led up to the magnificent hall door, the large bay windows that still had their original woodwork and shutters and the ornate glass over the door.

“Would madam like the grand tour?” Conor asked dramatically, offering her his arm.

Kerry giggled as she linked her arm through his and they strolled up the steps together.

He paused before opening the front door and bent to gently kiss her lips.

“One day we will own this place. I want Ballycotton House to be our home,” he whispered, his eyes shining brightly. “I want to fill this house with love and laughter and lots of children. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she replied. He'd finally told her he loved her and without any prompting from her. It was the happiest moment of her life. Conor Darcy loved her and wanted to make a home with her. A man
who could have any woman and the only woman he wanted was her. She wanted to run around the garden and shout it to the world!

“How will we ever afford a house like this?” Kerry asked, hating herself as soon as the question escaped her mouth. She didn't want to dampen his dreams but surely this was pure fantasy.

“We'll find a way, I'm sure of it,” Conor was full of youthful determination.

He held her hand and gave her the guided tour of the old, shabby house that was once magnificent.

“We'll take our time returning the old girl to her former glory,” Conor said confidently.

They walked through the hallway with its high ceiling and intricate mouldings and through the archway into the kitchen with its uneven tiled floor. There were several store rooms and pantries off the kitchen and a small door leading to what was once the vegetable garden but was now a tangled weave of weeds and grass. Kerry made a silent promise to herself that she would grow her own vegetables there one day.

However, the sensible, practical part of Kerry knew that the house should come with a health warning. Anyone could see that it was in dire need of extensive renovation and structural remodelling. Surely only someone with real money would even dream of buying a house like it but Kerry couldn't help falling under the magic spell of Conor's enthusiasm. He was fully convinced that they would find the money to restore this beautiful house, she didn't know how they would do it but she believed in him.

“Follow me,” Conor said. He ran his hand lovingly along the gentle curve of the bannister as they made their way up the sweeping staircas
e, some rotting floorboards creaking under their weight. They walked along the hall towards Conor's cramped bedsit apartment. There were five other apartments in the building, mostly rented by young professionals and students. The landlord, Jerome Fitzsimons, was a rather eccentric elderly gentleman who lived alone upstairs on the entire third floor. The house had been in his family for generations and he categorically refused to abandon it to live in a retirement home so he'd had the house converted into apartments to help pay for the upkeep of the place.

“This is my new home, for now,” Conor opened the door and Kerry stepped inside. He'd already made the tiny place cosy in the few short days that he'd lived there. The walls were covered in posters and paintings of all the places that he planned on visiting one day. The apartment consisted of a large room which comprised kitchen, living room and bedroom. There was a tiny bathroom just off the kitchen which housed a very cramped bathroom, with just enough room for a shower, toilet and basin. The one redeeming feature was the large, floor-to-ceiling bay window that overlooked the garden and had spectacular views onto the cliffs and sea beyond. Kerry glanced out the window just as the light was shining on the water and she was suddenly overcome with emotion. It was like she was standing on the precipice of her old life and that she was just about to take a huge leap of faith into a new life that was waiting for her if she wanted it.

Conor joined her at the window and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you,” he whispered into her hair.

“I love you too,” she turned to face him and reached up to kiss his handsome face.

Later, as she lay beside Conor in his narrow bed, which was barely big enough for the two of them, she wondered if they would always be so in love. He'd made such gentle, tender, passionate love to her, taking his time, making sure she enjoyed herself too. She was vaguely and surprisingly aware that unlike her, this wasn't his first time. He'd never talked about previous girlfriends and she'd never thought to ask him. A peculiar melancholy crept into her heart and she turned to gaze at his peacefully sleeping face.

“I'll never hurt you,” he said, suddenly opening his eyes as if he could read her mind.

He kissed her mouth and urgently pulled her to himself again, quickly banishing all worry and thoughts from her mind.

Everything felt so right and perfect between them that within a few short months Kerry moved in with him at Ballycotton House and so they started their life together. Sadly, their landlord passed away a year later but much to their amazement and delight he'd left the house in his will to Conor. He didn't have any living relatives and they'd gotten along well with him in the months that they'd known him. Conor was always happy to run little errands for him such as buying him tobacco and his daily newspaper and Kerry would cook him dinner and drop a freshly baked fruit cake into him from time to time. It became a tradition that he would have his Sunday dinner with them. It gave him great happiness to see two young people who were so genuinely in love and he basked in their many compliments about his house. Jerome entertained them with many stories about the joy and laughter that had once been part of the great place. He and his wife had not been blessed with children but they had had a wonderful life together. He'd been a very successful barrister and the house was always full of people coming and going. His wife had delighted in the place but the house had deteriorated rapidly when she died fifteen years previously. Kerry and Conor had been completely mesmerised by the photographs he'd shown them of Ballycotton House in its heyday and it filled them with renewed resolve to make it a happy home once again.

They couldn't believe their luck that they owned the place in its entirety but they decided to still rent the other apartments which would hopefully provide them with enough income to carry out the extensive renovations that were so desperately needed.

“Is it really ours?” Kerry breathed, clutching Conor's hand tightly, as they walked up the tree-lined avenue to Ballycotton House.

They'd signed the final papers at their solicitor's office earlier that morning and now the place was theirs. Nobody could take it away from them. They wandered about the house as if seeing it for the first time. Their heads were full of plans for each room.

“This room has massive potential,” Conor announced. The boxes and belongings of Jerome had been removed and they could finally see the perfect proportions of the main living room with its high ceiling, tall windows and large stone fireplaces. They didn't care that a naked light bulb hung from a tangled wire in the middle of the ceiling or that the windows had been replaced with cheap, mismatched pieces of glass. The grubby broken fireplace could be cleaned and they would soon have huge roaring fires burning in the grate.

“A Waterford Crystal chandelier would be magnificent in here,” Kerry decided as she gazed about the living area. “This room is the perfect size to display such a piece.”

“We'll get the best, most expensive carpets,” Conor continued. “No expense will be spared.”

“It's going to be so much fun restoring everything,” Kerry's eyes shone with happiness.

Conor nodded vehemently in agreement. He didn't trust himself to speak and break the spell of such a perfect moment.