‘Aye and then we can all raise them to Joe Malone. Our prodigal son returned, and a man bringing great prosperity to Tarabeg. When the news gets out, everyone will be wanting to live here.’

The room filled with laughter and Mary Kate looked about her, amazed. ‘Have they all gone mad?’ she hissed to Keeva. ‘A man who claims to be related to us – claims, mind; does anyone have any actual proof? – turns up here with a few pounds in his pocket and they all go gaga.’

‘Dollars,’ whispered Keeva. ‘And for pity’s sake, look at him. Even I can see he looks just like a much younger version of Daedio. He’s a Malone all right.’

Mary Kate turned and stormed out of the back door, quickly followed by Rosie. Sensing her stepmother behind her, she spun on her heel. ‘Rosie, did you hear him? He comes here from nowhere and wants to turn the place on its head. If it isn’t good enough for him as it is, why doesn’t he go back to America, where he came from.’ Hot tears sprang to her eyes. No longer tears of grief but of anger.

Rosie was careful to lace her voice with kindness when she replied. ‘If it was good enough for you, why did you run away and leave for so long without so much as a visit?’

Her words hit their mark. Mary Kate’s hand flew to her throat. She had no answer. Tarabeg hadn’t been good enough for her once. But now, when she was at rock bottom, it was the only place she could heal and she wanted above all else for everything to stay just the same.

‘Look, never mind. This is news to all of us and who knows what will happen. The Carter manor may become a hotel, but your family aren’t going anywhere. We will all still be here and isn’t it the people who matter, not the place? Couldn’t you be in hell itself, but if we were all there, it wouldn’t be so bad now, would it?’ Rosie smiled.

Mary Kate wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve. ‘Rosie, I feel stupid. I thought Father Jerry was going to be making a speech for me, but it was for that American.’ She jabbed her finger towards the kitchen. ‘Why is he doing this, why is he changing everything? Why won’t he go home like all the visitors from America do? Why does he even want to stay here?’

‘Ah well now, that’s a lot of questions to be asking all at once and there’s a story there,’ said Rosie. ‘His great- great-granddaddy was Daedio’s big brother – the man who sent a deal of money to Daedio.’

‘Who cares?’ Mary Kate almost shouted. ‘That doesn’t make him related, it’s that far back. There’s people all over America who are closer to us that we never see.’

‘Joe the first, our Joe’s great-granddaddy, apparently he always meant to come back but never made it. So I think our Joe is just doing what he thought his ancestor would have done. There was unfinished business between Daedio and his brother. Mary Kate, the man’s worth a mint. Owns a law firm in New York, so he does. Honestly, there is nothing to be gained from getting on the wrong side of him, and, anyway, give him a chance. I haven’t heard anyone say a bad word about him.’