MURIEL WAS BESIDE herself with worry, for MacDonagh was rarely at home. He had taken to staying overnight in safe houses with various supporters and friends scattered throughout the city, often returning only in the morning to Oakley Road to see Muriel and the children.
‘Why can’t you sleep here in your own bed?’ she begged him. ‘I miss you so much.’
‘I do not want to put you or the children at risk,’ he explained, holding her hand and stroking her palm and fingers gently.
At night she lay awake, filled with trepidation. Their home was under constant watch and she could not help but worry: she feared for her husband’s safety. Joe Plunkett had come through his big operation and she knew MacDonagh spent much of his time visiting him in the nursing home.
‘You know what Joe is like! His spirit is strong and he is determined to make a good recovery,’ he told her.
‘What about his marriage to Grace?’
‘He is set on it.’
Grace often stayed with her at night to keep her company. Her sister could not wait to be married, but the situation with Joe’s illness worried her. She also confided in Muriel about the Castle document she had helped Joe decode.
‘I saw it myself. Muriel, they intend arresting Joe and Padraig and MacDonagh and all of them and deporting them,’ Grace said, her face pale.
Muriel was barely able to hide her utter dismay at the thought of such a thing happening and the next morning she accosted MacDonagh on his return, asking him about the truth of it.
‘Yes, we all know about it,’ he admitted. ‘Joe says they’ll swoop down on us when we least expect it, but we are prepared. If I am to be arrested I will not go without a fight, I promise you.’
Muriel worried about what would happen to her and the children if he were arrested. ‘I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to you!’ she cried, unable to hide her upset and fear.
‘Nothing will happen to me,’ he reassured her, pulling her into his arms.
He went upstairs to collect some papers and clean clothes; he was getting ready to leave again.
‘Can’t you stay a bit longer?’ she requested. ‘Please?’
‘I’m sorry, my love, but I have to go,’ he replied, buttoning up his jacket.
‘Will you at least be home here for Easter with us?’
‘I have issued an order in our newsletter for manoeuvres to be held on Easter Sunday in every part of Ireland,’ he said, kissing her and the children before he left. ‘So don’t go making any family plans for me that day.’
‘Your regular manoeuvres?’
MacDonagh deliberately didn’t answer her, but quickly took up his overcoat and left.
Muriel’s heart was beating so fast inside her chest that she felt almost dizzy. Now she was certain that he was keeping something from her. She was not stupid and realized that whatever he and his friends were planning must be highly dangerous. Why else would he hide it from her? She suspected that, in his usual gallant fashion, her kind husband was desperately trying to protect her.