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They found the house in darkness, except for a light in the window of the study beside the kitchen.
“Someone is there at least,” Rory said as they got out of the jeep. “Let’s go and have a look.”
They shuffled carefully through the snow to the back door, which swung open when Rory pulled at it. He groped for the light switch. The kitchen light revealed a recently consumed meal of sausages and baked beans.
“Where is everybody?” Dessie asked, looking around. “It’s freezing in here. The stove hasn’t been lit, and the heating seems to be on the blink.”
“The boiler must have seized up again,” Rory remarked. “It’s a bit of a bastard to get it going.” He took Dessie’s hand, and together they made their way down the corridor to the study. Rory opened the door.
Clodagh, sitting at the desk littered with papers, looked at them in surprise. “Jesus, you gave me a fright. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I have something to tell you,” Rory said. “Not just me. Dessie and me, actually.”
“Really?” Clodagh flicked through the papers. “Then you could start by telling me what the feck all this is. Bills and more bills. Cattle feed for several hundred euros. Don’t cattle eat grass? Why do they need all this feed? And vet’s bills, what’s that all about? Plus, the rep says we have to pay a fine because the cattle have been grazing near the river, which harms the environment.”
“Welcome to modern farming,” Rory replied. “That’s just a fraction of what we have to pay. I take it you haven’t seen the water bill yet? A cow drinks about fifty litres a day, more in hot weather. We—I mean you—have a hundred and thirty head of cattle. You do the maths.”
“But what about the income?” Clodagh asked. “Don’t we make money here?”
Rory nodded and pulled out a folder from the shelf beside the desk. “It’s all here. Income and outgoings. We’re actually doing quite well this year. I sold a large number of bullocks only last month. We should be about even, with about three thousand in profit. Which, of course, will be divided between the three of us.”
Clodagh glared at Rory. “So I get around a thousand a month? To feed and clothe a whole family?”
“Something like that,” Rory said. “I supplement my income with my horse business, of course. But that has nothing to do with you.”
Clodagh jumped up from her chair. “What do you mean? Those horses grazed here on our land. They were stabled in our stables. I’d say they’re very much our horses, not yours.”
“They’re mine,” Rory snapped. “I have papers to prove it. In any case, all this is immaterial. I don’t know if you’ve spoken to Orla, but—”
Clodagh’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I have. I know you both want to sell. But I don’t. Not yet anyway.” She suddenly seemed to notice Dessie. “What’s she doing here?”
Rory put his arm around Dessie. “She’s here because we’re going to get married.”
Clodagh’s jaw dropped. “What? You’re going to marry that, that...slut?”
“Shut up, Clodagh,” Rory snarled. “I won’t have you insult Dessie like that.”
Clodagh pointed a shaking finger at Dessie. “But that’s exactly what she is. If you don’t know why she left town in such a hurry all those years ago, I’ll tell you. She only went and slept with her sister’s husband. How’s that for a nice Protestant girl, eh?”
“That’s a pack of lies and you know it,” Rory replied. “Nobody believes it anymore anyway.”
“I heard she was quite, eh, popular at university. I think she must have slept with every guy in her year,” Clodagh stated.
Dessie smirked. “Yeah, well you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”
Rory let out a snort of laughter. “Who didn’t sow a few wild oats in their youth? Can’t say I was the good little choirboy myself. So grow up, okay? Let’s talk business. You know that you’ll eventually have to either buy Orla and me out or agree to selling.”
Clodagh smirked. “I might delay things a bit, though. Just for fun.”
“While you sink further into debt?” Dessie enquired. She flicked her fingers at the pile of bills. “You’ll look pretty stupid being sued for all these things. Rory has kept this farm going with profit all these years. But here you are, not able to pay even the water bill. They’ll turn off the water, and you’ll have a huge herd screaming with thirst. That’s pretty cruel. What do you think the farmers around here will say about that?”
Clodagh looked away. “That’s not going to happen. I’ll pay the bills.”
“Where’s the rest of the family?” Rory asked. “I didn’t see anyone when we arrived.”
“They...” Clodagh stopped. “They went back to Dublin to stay with Pat’s sister for a while. The kids were a bit...unsettled. It’ll take them a while to get used to country living. It’s quite different from being here in the summer for a short holiday.”
“God, yes. The country dream kind of loses its gloss in the winter,” Dessie said, trying to keep the laughter from her voice. She looked at Clodagh, taking in her pale face, clenched jaw, and the stressed-out look in her eyes. Here was a woman facing disaster but too stubborn and too mean to admit it. “Clodagh,” she said, her voice softer. “Why don’t you give in? Why don’t you admit that you can’t do it? Rory doesn’t want to keep the farm. He wants to walk away from all the sad memories and the pain. He wants to start afresh, make a new life and finally be happy. Why don’t you? This farm will fetch a cool seven million, maybe more.”
Clodagh stared at her. “What? Is that true?”
Dessie nodded. “It certainly is. You could walk away with around two and half million euros. Enough to send your kids to great schools and universities. You could buy a fabulous house, your husband could start up a business, you could go shopping in New York, or scuba dive in the Bahamas, or—” she paused “—whatever you heart desires, instead of sitting here in a freezing cold house running a farm that pays peanuts. I know what I’d pick, and it’s not getting chilblains and wrinkles from trying to eke out a living in the back of beyond.” Exhausted after her long tirade, Dessie drew breath. “That is, of course, unless you’re devoted to the land your ancestors fought for all those centuries ago.”
Clodagh stared back at Dessie. She was quiet for a long time, during which Rory squeezed Dessie’s hand so hard it hurt.
“Oookaayy,” Clodagh finally said. “I think you made a point there. Screw the ancestors.” She glanced at the bills on the desk then at Rory. “Mam wouldn’t be happy. But she’s dead, so what can she do? Seven million, huh? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Rory shrugged. “I didn’t think money was that important to you.”
“That amount is pretty hard to walk away from.” Clodagh smiled. “The Bahamas? Shopping in New York? That beats getting up to look at cows every fecking morning.” She got up and grabbed Rory’s hand. “Let’s do it! Let’s sell this shite place and live a little!” She suddenly threw her arms around Dessie. “Thank you. Thank you so much for making me see that...well, money does make the world go around. My world, anyway.”
Dessie hugged her back, the thought that Breda would be turning in her grave making her laugh out loud. I won, she thought, I finally got my revenge.
Rory put his arms around Clodagh. “Welcome back, sis. I don’t know what made you turn into a clone of Mam, but I’m so happy to have the old Clodagh back.”
Clodagh sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Don’t know either. It was like Mam was haunting me. She wanted me to take over from her, I think. I went to see her a few months ago. She kept telling me not to let you take over the farm, that we women have to stick together. You know what she was like, so bloody persuasive.”
“I know,” Rory said. “But now we have to sort everything out before we put the place on the market. Not the best time to do it, but we’ll have to get started. It’s a great farm, the best land, and we’ll sell it fully stocked. The house is big and needs a lick of paint here and there, but it’s solid and the roof is good.”
“Maybe we can smarten it up a bit?” Clodagh suggested. “Put in a new kitchen and bathroom. Pat’s a builder. He’ll do it all for free and get some of his lads to help. Shouldn’t cost much to make it all look great.”
“Some of the rooms are lovely,” Dessie said. “I think this will sell very well once the house has been freshened up. After all, the economy is recovering. Farms like this are very much in demand.”
“Will you stay here with me?” Clodagh asked. “I mean both of you? You can have the master bedroom. I didn’t move in there yet, so it’s still the same.”
Rory glanced at Dessie. “Okay. We’ll stay here. Dessie’s stuff is in the jeep anyway.”
Clodagh let out a deep sigh. “Fabulous. We can get started straight away. I’ll just have to call Pat and tell him.”
Rory pulled out a chair for Dessie. “Won’t he be disappointed?”
“With the prospect of making two and a half million and not having to become a farmer?” Clodagh laughed. “He’ll be over the moon. And the kids? They’ll be ecstatic. They were never really into country life, to be honest.”
Dessie sat down with Clodagh beside her, and Rory started to sift through the papers on the desk. Outside, the sun rose on snow-covered fields and shone on the old farm, where peace reigned at last.