Page 34 of Family Secrets in Inishbeg Cove

‘That doesn’t mean he can’t go for a drink with a female friend!’ Madeleine protested. ‘You two have known one another for a long time.’

‘But I’m not just a female friend, am I? I’m his ex-girlfriend,’ Faith said.

‘But how do you know that his intentions weren’t completely innocent and all he wanted to do was catch up after all these years?’

‘I don’t, but I have enough experience with men to spot a red flag when it’s waved at me.’

‘Faith is right, Mum,’ Lucy interjected. ‘She’s better off staying away; no one wants to cause drama in someone else’s marriage.’ She leant forward from the back seat and placed her hand on Faith’s shoulder as they drove. ‘I’m so disappointed in him. He was always so nice when we were teenagers.’

‘They’re all the same,’ Faith said bitterly.

‘I see,’ Madeleine said. ‘Dating in the modern world isn’t something I have much experience with. I never went out with anyone after your dad. Maybe it’s just as well…’

‘Nobody?’ The girls were shocked. Madeleine was still an attractive woman, with her closely cropped, highlighted, blonde hair and angular features. She looked after herself and liked to exercise; although she was pushing sixty, she didn’t look her age. Even though Madeleine had never brought any men home to meet them, they had assumed that she must have had relationships from time to time which she kept private from them, but here she was telling them that she had stayed single for all these years.

‘No.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘I didn’t set out to stay single, but I guess I wasn’t really open to another relationship either. I was so busy raising you and then when my career took off, I just didn’t have the time.’

‘What about now? Would you be interested in meeting someone?’

Madeleine laughed. ‘Not at my age. I value my independence too much.’

‘I think us Brennan ladies are all better off on our own,’ Lucy quipped. ‘Men cause too much trouble.’

26

The following day, the sisters entered the kitchen and found Madeleine hunched over one of Elizabeth’s old recipe books, her reading glasses on. She was leafing through a well-thumbed copy of a Darina Allen cookery book that Elizabeth had used for some of her Christmas recipes. Some of the pages were glued together from splashes of caramel; other pages had brown gravy stains. It was a book they all associated with tantalising aromas and all the happy times they had spent in Elizabeth’s busy kitchen.

‘You look busy, Mum,’ Lucy remarked.

‘Well, I need to get a start on the preparations for Christmas. I’m trying to make a list of what I need to get organised. I was wondering what you girls would like for dinner this year. Should I cook the usual turkey and ham, or would you prefer something non-traditional? We could do beef Wellington or even steak. Whatever we decide on, we’ll need to get the meat ordered from O’Herlihy’s.’

Faith blinked. ‘Y-you’re going to cook Christmas dinner?’

‘Of course! Who else will do it?’

‘Well, we hadn’t given it much thought, with everything going on, but I’m sure between the three of us we’ll manage.’

‘Both of you can give me a hand, but I’m enjoying looking through these recipe books. It’s something I’ve never had time to do before.’

‘Well, I’d like to stay traditional,’ Faith said. ‘Turkey, ham, goose-fat roasted potatoes and all the trimmings. What about you, Lucy?’

Lucy nodded. ‘Me too.’ She was almost salivating at the thought.

‘Great, well maybe we can take a trip into the village later and get the meat ordered. That’ll be one thing off our list.’

‘I can do the sides and the potatoes,’ Lucy said.

Faith jumped in. ‘And I’ll do the trifle if I can find Nanna’s recipe.’

‘It wouldn’t be Christmas without Nanna’s sherry trifle,’ Lucy agreed.

‘Great!’ Madeleine said, clapping her hands. ‘I also want to have a look at some table linen and perhaps get some new crockery but I’ll probably need to go to Ballymcconnell for that.’

‘I’m sure we can find Nanna’s tableware in one of the cupboards somewhere,’ Lucy said. Elizabeth had kept a set of good table linen and crockery decorated with a holly pattern especially for Christmas.

‘Well, I have a colour scheme in mind…’ Madeleine admitted. ‘I want everything to be perfect.’

Lucy raised her brow in Faith’s direction. ‘Wow, Mum, you’re really going all out.’ Once again, her mother’s change of character was making her wary.