‘How are you, love?’ asked Mrs O’Keefe. ‘Nola is making the butter, said she’ll be an hour yet. We offered to help, but she wouldn’t hear of it.’

Cat looked a little nervous. ‘You don’t mind us coming, do you, love?’

She looked her friends in the eye and with a smattering of the old Mary Kate in her voice said, ‘Well, actually, Cat, I’m all the better for seeing you two. I was feeling like a fish out of water in my own home until you both arrived. Let’s go inside. I know I haven’t been gone for long, but there must be some news. Is Jet missing me? Did Debbie get over her bad chest? I’ve been so wrapped up in my own grief, I feel as though I’ve forgotten everyone else.’

‘Well, talk about a Spanish inquisition,’ said Cat. ‘Come on, Nola said she’d be very grateful for a cuppa, so we’ll take one down.’

Mary Kate looked over towards the old house. ‘Has he gone?’ she asked.

‘Who – Pete or Joe? They both left while we were having our breakfast. Joe said he had to go to Galway in the car to meet someone. He is just gorgeous, Joe, isn’t he?’ Cat didn’t wait for an answer. Giving Mary Kate a pat on the hand, she squeezed past.

Mary Kate felt a twinge of something she simply could not recognise. She wanted to scream. Joe was nothing more than a loathsome intruder – why hadn’t Cat said that? But Cat was already back in the kitchen.

‘Like I said, he’s gone to Galway, but on his way back he’s going to call into the village to get us tickets for the dance. How about that? And your da, he’s coming up here later to take us to see Bee and your cottage. Fancy you having your own place. And he said he’s going to show us around the village. He’s taking us to Bridget’s to have our fortunes told. We feel like royalty. Do you know what, I can really see why you wanted to come back here. I totally understand it now. I don’t think I’d have ever left, meself.’

‘Can you? Really?’ asked Mary Kate, amazed. ‘I’m not sure I have done the right thing. I just keep wishing I was back in my own house on the avenue. I miss Nicholas so much, and our home too. It’s like I’ve lost everything.’ She fell onto the chair and buried her face in her arms as she cried.

‘See, I knew it was the right thing for us to come.’ Cat sat down next to her and wrapped her arms about her shoulders.

Mrs O’Keefe busied herself as she watched. Things were not as they should be for Mary Kate.

*

Bee got out of the car, slammed the door and marched up the boreen to Bridget’s house. By the time she reached the sod house on the edge of the Nephin Beg she’d regained just about enough composure to enable her to speak.