Could she sit in a pub, take part in a quiz, as if everything was somehow normal? Nothing felt normal any more. ‘Yes. Please. Put me down for two.’ She hoped Lawrence wouldn’t mind.

On her way back to the hotel, she texted him. Not about her conversation with Emmet and Dervla. About the quiz. Sounds good, he answered immediately. It started at nine. They agreed to meet at 8.45 p.m.

Back in her room, she sat at the window, gazing out at the castle. She tried again to imagine her mother here. Walking the streets of this town. Staying in one of the rooms above the pub. Working behind the bar, pouring bad pints of Guinness, joking with Emmet’s parents, their customers. She could picture it so clearly that it hurt.

What did she do now?

She took out her phone. Read her messages. Olivia, Maxie and Rose, all waiting to hear her news.

She kept it brief. It’s not Emmet. Or his cousin. I’ll explain more soon. We’ll be back on the ferry tomorrow. xxx

Their replies were swift. Sympathetic. Loving. She held the phone tightly, and tried not to cry.

Lawrence was already waiting in the foyer when Eliza came downstairs. She’d ordered room-service dinner, had a shower and changed into a simple blue shift dress. He was wearing a dark suit jacket over a white shirt. Dark jeans.

She thanked him, then apologised. ‘I know it’s beyond the call of duty. We don’t have to stay long.’

‘I’ll be there to the bitter end. I should warn you, I’m very competitive.’

‘I mean it, Lawrence.’ She explained what had happened that afternoon. ‘I’ll just say hello to Emmet and his wife again. Meet his mother. We can leave before the quiz starts if you want.’

‘Let’s see what the prizes are first.’

The pub was now crowded, every table taken. There was music playing, lively conversation, three staff behind the bar, including Emmet. She waved but he didn’t see her. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

‘Eliza, you made it!’ It was Dervla. Eliza introduced Lawrence.

‘A pleasure to meet you,’ Dervla said, all efficient organisation. ‘Now, it’s ten euro each, all for charity. I’ll take that now. Remember you’re in the running for a great cash prize and consolation prizes too.’ She pointed to a table covered in bottles of wine and green-and-yellow baseball caps. ‘Those Meath caps are sought after, let me tell you.’

She led them to a table and introduced their teammates. It was the four tourists Eliza had seen in the bar earlier. Two couples from Vancouver, in the middle of a road trip around Ireland.