The Rose Garden (15 page)

Standing inside the cottage in the dappled sunshine, Molly got the strongest feeling that she could be happy here.

KIM WAS OUT RUNNING WHEN SHE SPOTTED THE MIDDLE-AGED
man walking up near the woods, right through to the edge of her aunt’s property. He seemed to be taking photos and pacing out the border between Molly’s land and the McHughs’ farm. What was he up to? she asked herself. She hastened her pace until she was up near him.

‘Can I help you?’ she asked loudly.

He turned, obviously surprised to see her.

‘I’m just getting a better look at the place,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’m Frank Dunne – I was here last week with the auctioneer.’

‘Oh, I remember you! My aunt isn’t here, but I can show you around the grounds if you need to see anything,’ she offered, but she could tell he’d far prefer to be left on his own.

‘Is this the dividing line between the Reynolds’ property and your aunt’s?’ he quizzed, looking around.

‘Yes, but Molly lets Pamela graze some of their horses in her field.’

‘Generous of her!’

‘Here neighbours tend to help each other,’ she smiled.

‘What about this field? Is this part of the property?’

‘Yes, my aunt owns it, but I think the McHughs rent it for their cows. They’ve a big farm on the other side of the woods.’

‘I’ve seen most of what I wanted,’ he said as they turned back towards the house. ‘Do you live here with your aunt?’

‘No, I’m just visiting.’

She noticed he said nothing about his own family and she tried to draw him out as they walked.

‘What do your family think of the house?’

‘They haven’t seen the house,’ he said, looking uncomfortable.

‘They are in Manchester with their mother.’

Kim didn’t know what to say. Imagine thinking of buying a house like Mossbawn and not having your family even see it. Maybe they were just going to use it as an Irish holiday home in the country.

‘My aunt should be back soon if you want to talk to her,’ she offered as they neared the house. ‘She just went to the local library.’

‘No thanks, that won’t be necessary,’ he said brusquely, before walking down the driveway. ‘I can’t wait.’

Kim watched him talking loudly on his phone and suspected he must have parked his car somewhere further down the avenue.

She was busy emptying the dishwasher when Molly arrived back.

‘I got two wonderful books on roses,’ she said proudly, putting them down on the table.

‘Frank Dunne was here,’ Kim said quickly. ‘I found him up near the Blackberry Field.’

‘Ronan King should have phoned me to make an appointment for him to view the house.’

‘I think he just turned up himself,’ Kim shrugged. ‘I asked if he wanted to wait for you but he wouldn’t. Molly, it’s weird, because he never even came inside the house.’

‘Maybe he felt it was the wrong thing to do when he hadn’t an appointment organized.’

‘Do you think he’ll buy the place?’ Kim asked. There was something about Frank Dunne that she didn’t like.

‘Well, apparently he put in a very low offer, which I’ve told Ronan King I wouldn’t dream of accepting,’ confided Molly. ‘It seems he’s very wealthy and has made most of his money
in the UK, but wants to buy a country house back here in Ireland.’

Kim wasn’t sure about someone like Frank Dunne taking over a beautiful house like her aunt’s.

‘Is there anyone else interested?’ she asked.

‘The market is terrible at the moment. Mostly it’s people from overseas wanting to move back here or to use an old house as a country getaway.’

‘I wish you didn’t have to sell!’

‘So do I, Kim! So do I …’

Kim didn’t think she could bear not having Mossbawn to visit and escape to, and to see someone else living here.

‘I told the auctioneers that I’m keeping the Gardener’s Cottage and a section of the garden around it. It’s not part of the sale.’

‘Well, that’s something!’

‘The cottage is so perfect … I’m going to do it up and maybe move into it. Trish is drawing up some plans for it, and you know that you would always be welcome, Kim,’ said Molly seriously.

Kim knew that her aunt cared deeply about her and was there for her whenever she needed her. Molly was always so supportive and, in a strange way, since her mum’s death her aunt had tried to be like a mother to her.

‘I know,’ she said.

Later, going for a run down by the river and looking back up at the old house with its pillars and its winding creeper around the door, she wished that awful man would never get his hands on it.

MOLLY WAS BUSY DIGGING IN MADAME CAROLINE TESTOUT AND
trying to settle her. She had moved the tall climbing rose from the back of the house, where she was hardly noticed growing near a hedge, and wanted her to take a new central role in the garden. She’d watered her well, prepared the hole with compost, fed her, carefully removed damaged roots and given her a pruning. Now she had to wait to see the results. Rena had offered her a beautiful Charles de Mills rose and she was working out where to plant it. She knew that autumn and winter were better times to move the roses, but she needed to fill the spaces now.

It had taken time, but a lot of the debris and garden tiles and gravel had been moved from the walled garden. The soil had been broken up and enriched by Paddy and herself so that it was workable again. She couldn’t believe how much had been done.

Ronan King the auctioneer interrupted the work with a phone call to tell her that Frank Dunne was back in Ireland and wanted to see the house and land again.

‘He’s very keen, Molly, and I would like to come down tomorrow and show him around myself,’ he offered. ‘I feel he is ready to increase his offer considerably.’

‘Well, that’s good.’

She was paying the auctioneer, after all, so next day she let him show Frank around. Kim was working and Molly made herself scarce by taking Daisy for a walk. When she got back, Ronan King
had left her a scribbled note on the hall table saying that he would talk to her tomorrow.

She slept badly, tossing and turning all night. When she went down to breakfast Kim was already up and gone to work.

The auctioneer phoned her around mid-morning to say that Frank Dunne had increased his offer. Molly couldn’t believe it …

‘It’s under the guideline, but it’s probably the best you will get in the current climate. Mr Dunne has no problems with getting a bank loan and is prepared to pay the deposit straight away,’ Ronan explained, sounding pleased with himself. ‘Buyers like him are few and far between, so I would certainly recommend accepting this offer.’

‘I need to think about this and talk to Grace and Emma,’ Molly said firmly.

‘Certainly, but I will ask your solicitor, Mr Quinn, to go ahead and begin to draw up the sale agreement to send to Mr Dunne’s lawyer in England.’

‘How long does this all usually take?’ she asked.

‘Usually we would advise about twelve to twenty weeks for closing,’ he replied. ‘But Mr Dunne wants a thorough survey done of the house and land.’

Molly was shaking all over. She couldn’t believe it – someone was going to buy Mossbawn. She should be feeling elated and happy about it, not this strange sense of guilt, as if she had let the house down.

‘I will be in touch over the next few days, Molly, but I must say that I’m very pleased with the outcome.’

She sat at the table for an hour and tried to collect herself before she phoned Grace and Emma. Both of them were incredulous that a buyer had been found for Mossbawn so soon.

‘When will we have to move out of the house?’ wailed Emma.

‘Not for a good few months,’ promised Molly, who was absolutely dreading it.

‘Well done, Mum.’ Grace was trying to be positive. ‘I’m sure you’re relieved about it all.’

‘Grace, you know how much I’m going to really miss the house,’ she admitted, ‘but at least I have the cottage and will still be living close by.’

She was sitting thinking about it all when Kim returned from work.

‘Good news – Frank Dunne increased his offer,’ Molly said brightly.

‘What!’ Kim exclaimed, tossing off her grey cardigan.

‘I’m going to have to accept it,’ she said. ‘David’s partner in the firm, Michael Quinn, will draw up the legal documents.’

‘So you are really going to go ahead and sell Mossbawn?’

‘Yes.’

Kim looked absolutely stricken, as if she were going to burst out crying. She’d relied on Mossbawn so much over the years since Ruth died. Suddenly she ran out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room.

Molly didn’t know what to say or do. She was the one who had lived in the house for over twenty years. It was breaking her heart to give it up, but she had to learn to accept that it was perhaps time for another family to live here in Mossbawn.

CASSIDY’S CAFÉ WAS BUSY AT LUNCHTIME ON FRIDAY AS ALWAYS,
but Gina Sullivan managed to find a seat for the five of them near the back.

‘She’s got that lovely chicken pie with the crunchy cornflake topping on today,’ said Cara, glancing at the blackboard.

‘I’m definitely having that,’ decided Trish.

‘Me too,’ added Molly. Gina’s food was so good and a change from Norah’s regular menu.

A few seconds later Gina had taken their order, everyone going for the chicken except for Brenda, who was a vegetarian and chose the stuffed peppers.

‘Any news?’ asked Avril as she filled everyone’s water glasses.

‘Libby is definitely getting married next year,’ beamed Trish. ‘I know it seems like the longest engagement on record, but they’re getting married in early March and everything’s booked and arranged. Larry and I are delighted for them.’

‘Where’s it going to be?’ asked Brenda.

‘A castle in Tipperary – Foyle Castle. They’re renting it for the day. It looks lovely.’

‘I’ve some news too,’ said Molly hesitantly. ‘I’ve had an offer on the house.’

‘What!’

‘I thought you were just testing the market!’

‘I was, but Murphy King, believe it or not, seem to have found a buyer for the place.’

‘Are you going to leave Kilfinn?’ asked Avril, worried.

‘Hopefully not. I want to stay living here. But Mossbawn is far too big for me now that David is gone.’

‘Who’s buying the house?’ quizzed Cara. ‘Is it someone we know?’

‘No. He’s Irish, some wealthy property guy, but he’s been living in Manchester for years. I think he wants his family to move back here.’

‘I can’t believe you not living in Mossbawn,’ said Brenda slowly. ‘Where will you move to, Molly? Will you stay in the village?’

‘I’m not sure yet, it’s all happened so quickly. But there’s an old cottage in the grounds and I am going to do it up. Trish is drawing some plans for it and hopefully I can extend it slightly. If that’s not possible, then I’ll look for somewhere close by, don’t worry. I’m not running back to Dublin – I’m happy here in Kilfinn with all of you lot.’

Gina Sullivan was busy passing round their plates and three bowls of salad.

‘Gina, can you believe it? Molly is selling Mossbawn!’ said Brenda dramatically.

‘I’ve decided to downsize,’ Molly explained, catching the look of sympathy in the other woman’s eyes.

‘Well, best of luck with it,’ said Gina. ‘It is a beautiful house. I’m sure you will miss it.’

‘Of course I will, but I’m hoping to stay living close by.’

‘Well, that’s good to hear,’ Gina smiled, passing Brenda her roasted peppers.

Over the rest of the meal the girls grilled her about what she was going to do about all her furniture.

‘You’re not going to fit a dining table that seats twenty or that massive sideboard into a cottage or a small house,’ warned Cara. ‘What will you do with all your antique furniture? Will you put it in an auction?’

Molly hadn’t even thought about the contents of Mossbawn, she had been so preoccupied and worried about selling the house itself.

‘Some things like David’s family’s old grandfather clock and my dad’s old cherrywood writing desk I’m definitely keeping,’ she insisted, ‘but I suppose I’ll have to see about the rest. Hopefully Frank Dunne and his wife will be interested in buying some of the bigger pieces, like the dining set, for the house. I must get the auctioneer to ask him.’

‘Are you okay about all this?’ asked Avril softly. ‘It’s so hard for you!’

‘I suppose it’s not just about selling the house, but all the things that David and I bought together and collected for it … It’s like losing another huge part of me.’ Molly sighed.

‘What do Grace and Emma think?’

‘They are sad and upset and are really going to miss it, but they understand how hard it is for me to keep living there without their dad. If he was alive none of this would be happening.’

‘It’s so unfair!’ said Trish angrily. ‘Larry might drive me mad half the time but I’d be lost without him!’

‘Me too!’ added Cara. ‘I know that I’d go to pieces without Tim.’

‘I did go to pieces,’ Molly reminded them, ‘but now I’m just trying to get on with things the way David would want me to do.’

Passing through the tall iron gates of Mossbawn, Molly stood looking up at the magnificent old Georgian house, its red-painted front door and fanlight, its tall narrow windows and graceful granite pillars entwined with a mixture of roses and clematis. Maybe she was being fanciful, but it seemed like the house was almost looking back at her and she was overcome with an overwhelming sense of guilt. She felt so sad about the whole thing – the house, the lawns, the kitchen garden, the maze, the pond, the rose garden … In a few months’ time none of them would belong to her. She hoped that when the new owner took over he would employ a gardener to maintain the garden properly, the way it deserved.

CARA HAD PERSUADED HER TO VISIT CASTLE ANTIQUES IN KILKENNY.

‘Molly, you know that you can’t possibly keep all the furniture from Mossbawn, so if you want to get an idea how much some of your furniture and antiques will fetch, Myles is the best person to ask. He sold all the stuff from my aunt’s house after she died and looked after everything really well.’