The Girl on the Cliff (7 page)

They ate in silence for a while, Grania casting surreptitious glances at her companion. Eventually, she broke the silence. ‘So, what was it you needed to see me about?’

‘I wanted to ask about your plans for next month,’ Alexander explained. ‘Presumably, if you’re merely visiting your family, you’ll be returning soon to New York?’

Grania put her knife and fork together. ‘To be honest with you, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do.’

‘Do I gather then, from that, that you are running away from something?’

It was a perceptive observation, coming from somebody she’d hardly met. ‘I suppose you could put it like that,’ she agreed slowly. ‘How did you know?’

‘Well,’ Alexander finished his supper and wiped his lips with his napkin. ‘For a start, you have an air of sophistication about you that’s unlikely to have been nurtured in the village of Dunworley. For seconds, I saw you, probably before Aurora did, taking walks along the cliffs. You were obviously deep in thought about something; I deduced it was most likely you were wrestling with a problem. And lastly, it is unlikely that a woman such as yourself would normally have the time or inclination to spend every day in the company of an eight-year-old child.’

Grania could feel her cheeks reddening. ‘I’d say that’s a fairly accurate assessment of my current situation, yes.’

‘My daughter seems awfully fond of you, and you are not averse to her either, from the look of things –’

‘I think she’s a delightful little girl, and we’ve had a fine time together,’ Grania butted in. ‘But she’s lonely.’

‘Yes, she is lonely,’ Alexander conceded with a sigh.

‘Would you not think of sending her to school? There’s a very good primary only a mile away; it might mean she meets some friends of her own age.’

‘That would be pointless.’ He shook his head. ‘I have
no idea how long we will be here, and forming ties she will then have to break is the last thing Aurora needs.’

‘What about boarding school? Surely then, wherever you are, she could at least have a sense of stability?’ Grania suggested.

‘Of course, that thought has crossed my mind,’ Alexander said. ‘The problem is, after her mother died, Aurora developed problems – emotional problems – that prohibit it. So, even though it’s less than ideal, she has to be educated at home. Which brings me to the reason I invited you here tonight.’

‘Which is?’

‘Mrs Myther worked for us in our London house and kindly consented to come over here with us when we left, just for the first few weeks. But her family is back in London and she obviously wishes to rejoin them as soon as possible. I’ve been in contact with a number of agencies to try to source a nanny for Aurora and a housekeeper for Dunworley, but so far I’ve had no luck. And I must leave in a few days’ time. What I want to ask you, Grania, is whether you would be prepared to come and live in with Aurora here, and look after her until I have found a suitable set of staff to take over?’

It was the last thing Grania had expected to hear. ‘I –’

Alexander put up a hand to stop her speaking.

‘I understand that you are not a nanny, and nor would I see you like that. However, on this occasion, Aurora cannot accompany me and I must find someone, as a matter of urgency, whom I can trust and whom she feels comfortable with, to take care of her. I hope you’re not insulted by me asking you.’

‘Not at all,’ she replied. ‘I’m honoured that you feel you could trust me, considering you hardly know me.’

‘Oh, I know you, Grania,’ he smiled. ‘You’re all Aurora ever talks about. I’ve never seen her so attached to anyone since her mother died. So forgive me for asking. I completely understand you may have other plans. I promise you it would be no more than a month, just to give me the time to do what I need to …’ his voice trailed off, ‘and find someone to care for her long term.’

‘A month … Alexander,’ Grania bit her lip, ‘I honestly don’t know.’

‘Please take time to think about it. Don’t decide now. And the other thing I wish to ask you is whether, while you’re here, I could commission you to do a sculpture of Aurora? Which would mean you’d be working at the same time. And I’d pay you for both the sculpture and the care of my daughter. Handsomely, I might add.’

Grania could feel herself sinking into the deep blue of his eyes and checked herself. ‘I need to go home and think about it, because I’m not really sure what I’m doing.’

‘Of course,’ Alexander nodded. ‘Perhaps you could let me know as soon as possible? I leave on Sunday.’

Sunday was four days away.

‘What will you do if I say no?’ she asked.

‘I have absolutely no idea,’ Alexander shrugged. ‘Perhaps persuade Mrs Myther to stay on and double her salary. Anyway, that isn’t your problem, and I apologise if you feel I’ve put you in a difficult position. You must do whatever is right for you. Forgive me for asking, but Aurora begged me to.’

‘May I give you my answer tomorrow?’

‘Yes. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m afraid I have a dreadful migraine.’

‘Of course. Can I do anything to help?’

Alexander stared at her, a look of deep sadness in his eyes. ‘No, I only wish you could.’ He reached out a hand and put it on hers. ‘Thank you for asking.’

As Grania made her way home along the cliffs by torchlight, she felt ashamed that the touch of Alexander’s hand on hers had rendered her compliant. At that moment, she would have done anything to help him. Who he was and what he was, she just didn’t know. But the pain she had seen in his eyes stayed with her as she crept into the farmhouse, climbed the stairs to bed and sank, for some reason exhausted, between the sheets.

The whole idea was ridiculous … she was a successful sculptor in New York, with a life … what was she doing even
contemplating
moving into a godforsaken house on a cliff, to care for a little girl she had never laid eyes on up until a week ago? To please a man she knew nothing about? On top of which, the Lisle family heritage and Grania’s recent association with it was obviously causing her mother inexplicable pain.

And yet … and yet …

Grania felt, as the clock ticked away the night hours, that she was entering dangerous waters. She suddenly and urgently longed for the safety, security and normality of the existence she’d known for the past eight years.

Was
her relationship with Matt over?

She’d run away so quickly, so hurt … like a frightened animal …

And never given him the chance to explain. What if she had got it
wrong
? What if it had been a series of unfortunate events she had linked together to create a scenario that could be easily, and innocently, explainable? After all, she’d just lost her baby … her longed-for baby. Had she really been in any kind of emotional position to equivocate? And had she, due to shock and the hormones coursing round her body, overreacted? Grania sighed and turned over yet again in the narrow bed. She missed the huge king-sized one that she and Matt had shared. And what they had shared in it. She missed the life … she missed
him.

Grania came to a decision. Maybe it was time to find out, give Matt a chance to tell his own version of events.

She looked at the clock and saw it was three a.m., which meant it was nine p.m. in New York. At worst, Matt’s cell phone would be switched off, and the answering machine in the loft on. At best, he might answer either.

Grania sat up, switched the light on and reached for her cell phone. Without thinking any further, she pressed Matt’s name, and the number began to dial. Matt’s voicemail clicked in immediately and Grania pressed the ‘off’ switch. She then dialled the loft number and, after two rings, a voice answered.

‘Hello?’

The voice was female, and she knew the owner of it.

Grania stared wordlessly into space as the voice said again, ‘Hello?’

Oh God, oh God, oh God
 …

‘Who is this?’

Grania punched her thumb on to the button to end the call.

Alexander appeared in the kitchen expectantly the following morning as Grania and Aurora arrived up at the house.

‘I’ll do it. Take care of Aurora, that is, for a month anyway.’

‘That’s wonderful! Grania, thank you. You can’t know what it means to me to know that Aurora will be safe here with someone she likes.’ Alexander glanced at his daughter. ‘Are you happy, Aurora?’

Neither of the adults needed a vocal answer. It was written all over Aurora’s face. ‘Oh, yes!’ She went to hug her father, then moved to Grania and hugged her too. ‘Thank you, Grania. I promise I won’t be any trouble.’

‘I’m sure you won’t,’ Grania smiled.

‘And perhaps there might be time to open some of those school books that are lying upstairs, eh?’ Alexander raised an eyebrow at Grania. ‘She came here with enough work to see her through for a month from her old governess in London. I doubt she’s opened them once.’

‘But, Daddy, I’ve been learning to do art.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll see to it that Aurora does some work,’ said Grania hurriedly.

‘Did you ask Daddy about going to Cork city on the bus?’ Aurora asked eagerly, turning to her father. ‘Grania needs to buy some art supplies, and she said I could go with her. Can I, Daddy? I’ve never been on a bus before.’

‘I can’t see the harm in that, as long as Grania doesn’t mind you tagging along.’

‘Of course I don’t,’ said Grania.

‘And perhaps, at the same time, you could acquire what you need for the sculpture we talked about last night?’ Alexander questioned.

‘Yes, if you’re sure you’d like me to do it. I could show you some of my work on the Internet.’

‘As a matter of fact, I looked you up this morning,’ he said. ‘I’m happy for you to go ahead and, of course, we must discuss payment, both for your care of Aurora and the sculpture. I was also wondering whether you knew of anyone in the village who might be happy to come up for a few hours a day to take care of the house? I don’t regard that as something that’s included in your remit as well.’

Grania thought of her mother’s antipathy to the Lisle family and wondered how many others in the village felt similarly too.

‘I can ask,’ she said uncertainly. ‘But …’

Alexander put his hand up to stop her. ‘I understand our family does not have a good reputation locally. I’ve never really got to the bottom of the exact reason, being a relative newcomer, but I can assure you that it’s all based on ancient history.’

‘People in Ireland have long memories,’ Grania agreed. ‘But I’ll see what I can do.’

Aurora tugged at Grania’s sleeve. ‘If we don’t go soon, surely we’ll miss the bus?’

‘There’s one at midday. We have ten minutes.’

‘Then I’ll leave you girls to it,’ Alexander nodded.
‘Thank you once again, Grania, and I’ll see you before I leave to sort out the details.’

Having taken an exuberant Aurora on the bus up to the city and returned laden with supplies from the art shop, Grania arrived home just as her mother was serving supper.

‘And where have you been all day, miss, I’d like to ask?’

‘In Cork city.’ Grania dumped her shopping bags in the lobby and took off her coat. ‘I needed to go and buy some materials.’

‘I hear you had a friend with you,’ said Kathleen as she doled the beef stew into bowls.

‘Yes. I took Aurora with me. She’d never been on a bus and she was very excited. Can I help you, Mam?’

Kathleen ignored her offer and placed the bowls on the table.

As Grania sat down, and her father and brother joined them, she felt as though it was
she
who was eight years old, caught on the bus playing truant from school.

After supper, once Shane had disappeared to the pub and her father was installed in his chair next door, Grania helped her mother clear the plates. ‘Why don’t I put the kettle on and we’ll have a cup of tea?’ she ventured. ‘I have news for you.’

‘You’re going back to New York to your lovely man?’ Kathleen’s face brightened for an instant, but Grania shook her head.

‘No, Mam, I’m sorry, but I’m doubtful that will ever happen now,’ she said sadly as she placed the kettle on the Rayburn to boil.

‘Well, Grania, what I can’t understand is the reason for this. I know ’twas a terrible shame you lost the baby, but –’

‘It’s more than that, Mam, please, and I really don’t want to speak about it.’

‘But from the sound of him, whatever it is Matt has done, he wants to make amends. Will you not give him a chance, pet?’ Kathleen urged.

Grania made two cups of tea and brought them to the table. ‘I swear, Mam, if there was any way this could be sorted, I’d want it to be. But I think it’s too late. And as you’ve always said, there’s no use crying over spilt milk. I have to move on.’

‘So, what are your plans?’

‘Well, I know you’re not going to like this,’ Grania sipped the burning hot tea, ‘but Aurora’s father has to go away for a month and I have agreed to take care of her up at Dunworley House while he does so.’

‘Holy Mary, Mother of God!’ Kathleen raised her hands to her cheeks. ‘It gets worse, so it does.’

‘Please, Mam, as Alexander said to me today, whatever has happened is ancient history. And nothing to do with that poor little girl. And nothing to do with me, either,’ Grania emphasised, trying to remain as calm as she could. ‘Alexander wants me to make a sculpture of Aurora while I’m there. He’s going to pay me, and until things are sorted out with Matt, I could use the money, Mam, I really could. Especially as I have no idea whether I’ll be returning to New York.’

Kathleen’s head was now buried in her hands. ‘Jaysus! It’s like history is repeating itself. But you’re right.’ She
looked up at her daughter. ‘Why should the past have anything to do with you?’

‘Well, Mam, maybe if I knew what the past
was
, I would understand. As it is, I’m going to take Alexander’s offer. Why shouldn’t I?’

‘Why shouldn’t you … ?’ Kathleen whispered. She made a mental effort to pull herself together. ‘Well now, I’d say the trouble is both of us seem to be working in the dark. I’d have no idea what has gone wrong with you and Matt, and you can’t understand why it upsets me, you involved with the Lisle family. You say Himself will not be there while you’re staying up at Dunworley House?’