The low hum of conversation coupled with the aroma of traditional Irish food, created a relaxing environment for Thomas and Lily after a stormy crossing of the Irish Sea. While waiting to board a steam packet to Dundalk, they had spent time with some of the McGrother family from Sunderland, who had travelled to Liverpool to meet up with them. Sailing on a smaller ship had been a lot more difficult for Thomas, who much preferred to have his feet on solid ground.
Lily, on the other hand, had enjoyed every minute of the journey, relishing each dip of the vessel after it had crested a wave – an action that forced Thomas to heave into a bucket.
“What did you make of my aunt Maggie, then?”
“Oh, she’s adorable. If the rest of your family are at all like her, I will be more than happy to meet them. Hmm, have you tasted this ham?” Lily looked up and saw the paleness of her husband’s face. “Sorry, my love. I forgot how delicate your stomach is this evening.”
Glancing down at his plate, Thomas hoped the chef would not be too upset at the few mouthfuls he had managed to take. He made a mental note to compliment the food and explain his reason for being unable to finish the meal. His sister Mary-Anne had taken their order and she would understand how he was feeling.
Thomas had already introduced his wife to Mary-Anne and it was she who was serving their table. He had been pleasantly surprised to see his normally fractious sister smiling and friendly.
“And how did you find my sister Mary-Anne?”
“She seems very nice indeed. You have her eyes, Thomas, do they come from your father or your mother?”
“I’m not sure. You will have to tell me yourself after you’ve met them.”
While Lily spoke warmly about his Aunt Rose and Uncle Owen, who had met them in Liverpool, Thomas watched Mary-Anne as she served a table directly behind his wife. There was something about the way the gentleman smiled at his sister that disturbed him. While Mary-Anne took the woman’s order the man’s napkin fell from the table, landing on the floor. Thomas could see him lean down to retrieve it but instead of doing so immediately, he curled his hand around Mary-Anne’s slender ankle and ran it slowly up towards her calf.
The sound of Thomas’s heavy chair hitting the floor as it upended caused the other diners to jump. As the offending man sat bolt upright, Mary-Anne swung round to see her brother standing, glaring in her direction, his chair lying on the floor behind him.
It wasn’t the smile on her face, nor the pink tinge to her cheeks, that confused Thomas. It was the look in her eyes. A gaze that seconds before, had been upon a man seductively caressing her ankle.
Instinctively, Mary-Anne knew that her brother had witnessed the furtive display of affection she so craved from Doctor Gilmore. Excusing herself from his table, she walked over to Thomas and put her lips close to his ear. His eyes were still trained on the man who had dared to touch his sister in such a disrespectful manner.
“Mind your own business, Thomas. I know how to look after myself. Now, sit down and behave,” she whispered harshly to him.
One of the other diners had already picked up the chair and Thomas sank down onto his seat.
“There you are, old chap,” he poured some water into a glass. “Or do you think you would benefit from something a little stronger?”
Thomas shook his head and thanked the man. “I haven’t been feeling too well. We had a rough crossing from Liverpool today. I’m not too good a sailor even when it’s calm. Lily, would you give my apologies to the chef. Tell him I look forward to another one of his fine meals tomorrow, when my stomach has had a chance to settle.”
As he stood up Mary-Anne smiled sweetly and suggested Lily accompany her brother to their room.
“I fear he may faint climbing the stairs. He is as white as the table linen, is he not? I’ll see to it the chef gets your message, Thomas.”
Lily stood and linked her arm through her husband’s. “Yes, of course, Mary-Anne, you are quite right. Come, my love, let’s get you up to bed. It’s been a long tiring day for both of us.”
Having taken the remainder of the order from Mrs. Gilmore, Mary-Anne removed the plates from the table at which her brother and his wife had been seated. As she passed by the chef, he noticed Thomas’s untouched food and frowned.
“He said it wasn’t to his liking, and that his ‘mother could make a tastier meal blindfolded, with one hand tied behind her back.’ But that’s my brother for you, never satisfied. Our ma’s a fair enough cook, but not nearly as good as yourself, Chef,” Mary-Anne watched with pleasure as her words sank in. “Don’t you be fretting now, I’ll have a word with our Thomas. I’ll see that he behaves himself while he’s here. We’ll not be having any of his fancy airs and graces, will we? Even if he is a well-known writer in New York.”
Once they were in the privacy of their room, Lily questioned her husband about his behaviour in the dining room. It was not something that Thomas could put into words, without sounding foolish.
“I was fully sure that I was about to bring up the few mouthfuls of food I had taken, Lily. I rose too quickly and even frightened myself with the noise of my chair falling over.”
“I suppose it was embarrassing for you, my love. The whole room staring at you. But Thomas, why did you glare at your sister so? You had a very strange look to your face.”
“Really, Lily. Have I not explained myself sufficiently to you? I am beginning to feel like a criminal, with all your questioning.”
Thomas had begun to pace back and forth across the room, when a knock sounded on the door. He opened it wide to reveal Mary-Anne standing in the corridor.
“I’ve finished my work for the day and wanted to make sure you were faring well, Thomas,” she said.
“Come in, Mary-Anne. Do come in and take a seat,” Lily pulled her sister-in-law in by the hand.
“I think you could do with some air, Thomas. You still look quite pale. Maybe you should come home with me and surprise the family tonight, instead of tomorrow. Sure someone is bound to have seen you and word could get back before you have had a chance to see them first.”
“Why that’s a splendid suggestion, Mary-Anne. What do you say, Thomas? Shall we accompany your sister home? I’m sure I won’t sleep a wink tonight, waiting for the morning to come.”
Thomas agreed, partly because he didn’t want to take a chance on their surprise being spoiled, but mostly because he had a longing to see his daughter, Eliza.
“But the children will be settled for the night, surely we should not risk disturbing them? They have school tomorrow, have they not?” asked Thomas.
“Ma will keep them home tomorrow. Your darling little girl shall want to spend every precious minute with her father, Thomas,” Mary-Anne smiled sweetly in Lily’s direction. “Eliza has her mother’s sweet nature, rest her poor soul, and her grandmother’s beauty. That’s where our Thomas gets his handsome face, Lily. From our mother. But sure you’ll see that for yourself when you meet her.”
As Thomas walked to his parents’ home, linked by his wife on one side and his sister on the other, he noticed how quiet the houses were. They hadn’t passed by a soul on the way, which felt very odd to him.
“Where is everyone, Mary-Anne? The rain has stopped and I would have expected to find a few locals out and about, the hour isn’t that late.”
With a deep sigh, Mary-Anne explained how miserable their neighbours had become. The constant bad weather had devastated the crops, which meant the local fishermen had no farm labouring to supplement their income.
“If it weren’t for the visitors the place would be as dead as a doornail. Sure it’s thanks to them that I have a wage myself.”
Mary-Anne looked around to make sure they were still alone, then leaned across Thomas so that Lily would hear her whispered words.
“I’ve heard some of the guests at the hotel remark on how atrocious the weather has been on their last few visits, and that if it keeps up they will head to the south of England, or even as far as France, to take the air. And I don’t blame them one bit.”
“I don’t think it will come to that,” said Thomas. “A lot of visitors have been coming here year after year. Why, even their grandparents used to come. It has become a family tradition for most of them, I don’t think you need worry about losing your position at the hotel, Mary-Anne.”
“Oh, that doesn’t bother me at all, for I have other plans, but I cannot share them with you. Not yet, at least.”
Having arrived at the McGrother home, the trio came to a halt in front of the gate. Lily cast her eyes across a small, tidy garden separated by a flagstone path that led to a red, freshly painted half-door. A column of small shrubs and herbs interspersed with large, white-washed stones ran along each side of the path.
Thomas stood back, manoeuvring his sister in front of him.
“You go on in first Mary-Anne and tell Ma that her hens are on the loose. That’ll have her running out quick enough.”
“Oh, Thomas, you’re as mischievous as ever. She’ll kill the both of us for tricking her so, but it will be worth it to see her face when she catches sight of you,” Mary-Anne replied.
Lily was on edge with the prospect of coming face to face with a family that meant so much to her new husband. She fully expected to feel like an intruder and believed that it would take more than a short stay to become an accepted member of his family.
Mary came rushing out of the house wielding a broom and shouting that she had a good mind to let the fox get her troublesome hens. Thomas, who had been standing to one side of the doorway, waited until she had walked past him before calling to her.
“Ma, the hens are fine.”
His mother stopped in her tracks and Thomas felt tears sting at the back of his eyes as he watched her drop the broom and slowly turn around.
“Heavens above, Thomas McGrother. Do you want to make my heart stop, frightening your poor old mother like that.”
They stood taking in the sight of each other for all of five seconds, until Thomas rushed forward and scooped Mary into his arms. He swung her around twice before depositing her in front of his new wife, who had been watching from the other side of the doorway.
“Ma, this is Lily, your new daughter-in-law.”
He has his mother’s eyes, thought Lily, as she held out a hand and smiled at the woman who stood before her.
“I can see that you’ve made my son a very happy man. You’ve driven the sadness out of his letters, and judging by the big foolish grin he’s wearing now, it’s gone from his heart, too. You are more than welcome in our family, Lily, my dear.”
The warmth in her mother-in-law’s voice left the young woman speechless and close to tears. As Mary ignored the proffered hand to embrace her, Lily smiled with relief at Thomas who stood directly behind his mother. The light from the open door beamed across his face and she could see that his eyes were glistening. Like a wave suddenly appearing in a calm sea, the three of them were surrounded by the rest of the family and swept into the house.