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Back A Family Reunion
Chapters (66)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART ONE
  6. CHAPTER ONE
  7. CHAPTER TWO
  8. CHAPTER THREE
  9. CHAPTER FOUR
  10. CHAPTER FIVE
  11. CHAPTER SIX
  12. CHAPTER SEVEN
  13. CHAPTER EIGHT
  14. CHAPTER NINE
  15. CHAPTER TEN
  16. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  17. CHAPTER TWELVE
  18. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  19. PART TWO
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. PART THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  64. EPILOGUE
  65. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  66. About the Author

‘Oh, Mère, thank you for your advice. It’s been hard pretending everything’s OK.’

‘I think your parents know something’s up.’ Brigid kissed the top of her head before getting back into bed. ‘Mothers and fathers know their children and know when something’s wrong, so my advice is to tell them and let them comfort you as only they can,’ she advised sagely.

‘You’re right, Mère.’ Marie-Claire wiped her eyes with a tissue. ‘There is a bright side, though. If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be going to France with you.’

‘I can’t wait. Now get into bed, we have a very early start in the morning.’

‘Yes, RM,’ grinned Marie-Claire. ‘But when we get to Le Quatre Vents. I’ll be bossing you around.’

Later, in the dark, listening to Brigid’s soft breathing, Marie-Claire felt certain that she would never be able to forgive Marc. It was natural that Brigid would tell her to forgive, she being a nun and all, but being realistic, she didn’t think it was going to be an option she would take. And on the subject of forgiveness, she wondered how her grandmother was faring. Imelda would never have been able to utter endearments like ‘alannah’, or ‘dear’ the way Brigid had upon hearing Marie-Claire’s tale of woe. Imelda would have been brisk and no-nonsense, telling her not to cry over spilt milk and to get on with it.

They were so different in their ways, the two sisters. But for all her sharpness, Imelda’s prickliness came from wounds that had never healed. As furious as she was with her grandmother for the upset she’d caused, she felt a tiny bit of sympathy for her. Perhaps when she came back to Ireland, Marie-Claire would drive down to her grandmother and see if she could get her to make that first move towards reconciliation. Because, right now, Keelin was uncharacteristically adamant that she wasn’t going to be the one to make the first move in healing the rift. Surely, with time having passed, Imelda might be open to the idea. Marie-Claire hoped so. Life was hard enough without the family being at loggerheads.

*

Imelda picked up her mobile and scrolled down the numbers until she came to the Four Winds. It was three weeks since the row, and she hadn’t heard a peep from any of the family, apart from Felicity, and Cormac, who was being cool with her.