‘He was good-looking, Lorcan. Sometimes that’s enough. She was only young.’ Maria turned to me. ‘Mad as anything she was with her brother. Didn’t speak to him for a month after the bloke ghosted her – is that the right word? I’m sure that’s what she said. I can’t keep up with all these terms but anyway. He didn’t call and she blamed Lorcan.’

‘It does sound like he had a point.’

‘Oh, sure he did. The boy was an eejit. Like Lorcan said, there wasn’t a lot going for him other than his looks and you’d get better conversation out of Bod than that one. But my daughter had to have her time to flounce, which is fine. She saw sense in the end. From what I heard,’ Maria added, her features creasing with concern now, ‘it was just as well. Not long after, he got a girl in the next village pregnant and refused to have anything to do with the baby. Even bragged about it. Thought he was so clever. Nasty piece of work.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

‘No. We decided not to tell you.’

‘Who’s we?’ he said, straightening.

‘The family,’ Maria said, as though the answer was obvious.

‘Why not?’

‘Because Aoife said she couldn’t bear to get a lecture on what a lucky escape she’d had and so on.’

‘I wouldn’t have done that.’

His mother fixed him with a look.

‘I might have pointed out that circumstances had proved she was better off without him but other than that…’

‘She already knew that.’

‘What else haven’t I been told? I thought we talked about everything. That was the point of having the WhatsApp group.’

‘We do, my darling,’ his mum said, bending to kiss his cheek as she passed. ‘But you took on all the responsibility for everyone when your father died and sometimes we just keep the odd thing quiet so you don’t have to worry.’

‘If it’s about my family, I want to worry.’ The jovial tone had vanished now and his mum realised this too.

‘I know. And I promise we’ll tell you everything from now. OK?’

‘Good. Thank you.’

‘But don’t you go scaring this lad away. I like him and he’s good for Aoife.’

‘Fine.’ He looked up. ‘What?’ he asked as his mum peered at him.

‘I mean it.’

‘I said fine.’

‘I know you did. Just make sure you mean it. Maddie, love. Give him a kick for me, will you, if he starts on anything? I can’t reach from my chair.’

‘Will do.’

‘Oi.’

‘Behave yourself, then.’

Lorcan let out a long-suffering sigh.

* * *

As it turned out, the evening was fun and full of conversation and laughter. Aoife, of course, was interested in the wedding plans.

‘I heard that photographer they hired is an old college boyfriend of Peyton’s.’