Page 36 of Family Secrets in Inishbeg Cove

‘Do go inside to the drawing room,’ Patrick instructed. ‘They’re serving mulled wine and mince pies.’

They made their way into the elegant room, where portraits of the Cavendish ancestors looked down on them. They saw some familiar faces as they mingled with the guests. Some of the elderly villagers, like Mrs Manning, were seated on brocade armchairs, but most people stood around the room, chatting. The schoolchildren, all wearing neat uniforms, stood at the end of the room with their teachers. The village school was only small and had under sixty pupils.

A waiter approached them carrying a tray of mulled wine. ‘That smells heavenly!’ Madeleine said taking a glass, as did Faith and Lucy. ‘It feels so Christmassy,’ she said excitedly.

Across the room, she saw Jack was standing with his wife and their little girl. Suddenly he caught Faith’s gaze. Lucy watched as she looked away again swiftly, but undeterred, he began to make his way over to her.

‘Hi Lucy, Faith,’ he began when he had reached them, before turning his attention to Faith. ‘Look, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay the other day. You seemed a bit off?’

Faith shook her head. ‘It’s fine.’ She changed the subject quickly. ‘It’s nice of Grace and Patrick to resurrect this tradition.’

‘It is,’ he agreed. ‘Rosie is singing in the choir.’ He nodded towards the children. ‘The kids are so excited. They’ve been rehearsing for weeks.’

Just then they heard the clink of metal against glass as Grace tried to get everyone’s attention.

‘I’d better go back over to Heidi,’ he said. ‘I hope you all enjoy your evening.’

‘I have to give it to the guy,’ Lucy hissed in her sister’s ear once he was out of earshot. ‘He has balls.’

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Grace began at the top of the room. ‘We are so pleased to welcome you all to Cavendish Hall this evening. We have a wonderful choir who I’m lucky to have heard rehearsing, and I can promise you that you’re all in for a treat. Please welcome the children of Inishbeg Cove national school!’

A round of clapping broke out and soon the room was filled by voices singing ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’ conducted by their teacher. Lucy listened to the sweet, innocent voices, feeling their music move her. As she looked around the room at the proud parents filming and taking photos, she couldn’t help wondering if she would ever get the chance to watch her child perform in a Christmas show. Now that her marriage was in tatters, it seemed unlikely. She blinked back tears. This was supposed to be a happy occasion, but her heart felt so heavy, like it was weighed down with an anchor, and she couldn’t imagine it ever feeling light again.

Everyone clapped when the children had finished. The teacher counted them in and they began to sing ‘Silent Night’. Suddenly Lucy didn’t feel well: her vision went blurry, her ears began to ring. The singing seemed to get more distant. Her legs felt weak and she knew she needed to sit down, but she couldn’t move. She tried to get Faith’s attention but couldn’t seem to get any words out; it was as if they were getting lost somewhere between her brain and her mouth. She reached out to steady herself, but suddenly she found herself falling towards the floor.

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The children’s voices soared for the crescendo of ‘Silent Night’ before lowering for the final notes. The acoustics of the high-ceilinged drawing room added to the poignancy of their sweet voices, and Faith found herself wiping away a tear. She was clapping enthusiastically after the children had finished when she felt something collide hard with her leg. She looked down and saw Lucy slumped on the ground by her feet.

‘Oh my God, Lucy!’ she called out, then dropped to her knees beside her.

‘Someone call an ambulance,’ Madeleine shouted as soon as she saw what was after happening.

A few heads turned to see what the commotion was all about. Grace, who had been standing to the side, hurried over and crouched down beside Faith.

‘Hugh!’ Grace called out to her boyfriend, who was the village GP, her voice stricken with panic. Hugh Kerridge had recently moved to Inishbeg Cove and had taken over the practice from Dr Fitzmaurice. ‘Come here, quickly.’

The children stopped singing and murmurs of concern broke out across the room.

Dr Kerridge hurried over and checked Lucy’s pulse.

‘Is she okay?’ Madeleine begged. She searched around the room desperately. ‘Has someone called an ambulance?’

‘It’s on its way,’ a woman they didn’t know replied.

‘Lucy, can you hear me?’ Faith cried, gently patting her sister’s face in a bid to wake her.

She watched her sister’s eyelids flutter open and look around in confusion. She made an effort to get up but she wasn’t able.

‘Lucy?’ Dr Kerridge spoke calmly but authoritatively. ‘I don’t want you to move. You’ve fainted. You’ll be okay, but we’ll need to get you checked over just in case. So just stay where you are now. The ambulance is on its way.’

‘An amb…? I’m o—’ she tried to say, but she couldn’t get the words out, it was like they were getting stuck between her brain and her mouth.

Soon they could hear the distant wail of sirens, and it wasn’t long before paramedics hurried into the drawing room. They spoke briefly with Dr Kerridge before checking her out.

‘Her blood pressure is quite low, so we’d like to bring her to the hospital as a precaution,’ one of the paramedics said.

‘We’ll follow you,’ Faith called out as Lucy was transferred to a stretcher and wheeled out of Cavendish Hall to the waiting ambulance.