The House

by A. O'Connor

  “Well,” he said, leaning forward to chink her glass, “to your new house!”

  “Thank you for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Reaching forward shekissed his cheek.

  She drew back and smiled at him, their eyes locked and they stared at each other for a while.

  Kate jumped up from the sofa awkwardly. “So when are you going back to Dublin?” She quickly walked over to the fireplace and took a drink of her champagne.

  “Tomorrow!” He jumped up as well and walked to the other side of the room. “Half my clients seem to have gone broke, so I need to see where we stand.”

  “Yes, yes.” Kate spoke in a fast and furious way, almost to distract both of them from the strange feeling that had just passed between them. “Tony said some of the retail stores are trying to get out of their contracts to open up in the shopping centre with the change in the economy.”

  “Really, can they do that?”

  “Who knows? Tony always says you should never let the other person be able to get out of a contract, but always ensure you have some hidden clause that lets you out!”

  “Clever man!” Nico said awkwardly.

  She nodded and managed to look Nico in the eyes. “He’s a wonderful man.”

  “Anyway, I’d better go.” He put his empty champagne glass on the coffee table.

  She smiled quickly at him as he walked from the room and she heard the front door slam. She turned around and looked at the worried expression on her face in the mirror over the fireplace and quickly drank back her champagne.

  Chapter ninety-eight

  Nico had heard the helicopter fly over Hunter’s Farm on its way to Armstrong House. He had felt very uncomfortable about the moment on the couch with Kate. There was some boundary crossed and he didn’t want the feeling to linger. He decided the best course of action was to meet Tony and her together and pretend it had never happened.

  He went out and drove up to the gateway to Armstrong House.An electric gate had been put in and he reached forward and pressed the buzzer.

  A few seconds later the CCTV cameras on the gateway turned and focused on him. He waved and pulled a sarcastic face. The gates opened and Nico drove up the long avenue to the house.

  “I didn’t think we’d be seeing you so soon,” said Kate as she opened the door.

  “I heard the helicopter and thought I’d just check how Tony liked the work.”

  “That was him flying, he’s just got his pilot’s licence,” said Kate as he followed her intothe drawing room. She was smoking a long thin cigar and dressed in one of her glamorous outfits. “Tony’s delighted with the work on the house.”

  “That’s what I like to hear – a satisfied customer.”

  “He’s on the phone in the library.”

  Suddenly they could hear Tony shouting at the top of his voice, the sound echoing around the house.

  Kate’s face clouded in concern.

  Nico was surprised. He didn’t imagine the charming Tony Fallon capable of the anger he seemed to be expressing in the other room.

  “Drink?” asked Kate.

  “No, thanks,” said Nico.

  Tony suddenly came intothe room, looking hassled.

  “Fucking idiots!” he said.

  “Eh, Nico dropped by to say hello, darling.”

  “Oh hello,” said Tony.

  “Just checking you were settling in all right?”

  “Yes. I wish everybody did a job as well as you, Nico,” Tony said, marching over to the drinks table and pouring himself a large vodka. He turned around and looked at Nico. “Actually, I never spoke a truer word. You did a bloody great job here. I’ve just sacked the architects working on my shopping centre, and I’m going to employ you to take over.”

  “What?” Kate and Nico exclaimed in unison.

  “Makes perfect sense. You’re easy to deal with, you’re good at what you do, and you get on with Kate – always a bonus. You’re hired!”

  “For your shopping centre?” Nico was incredulous.

  “Tony, you need to think this through,” cautioned Kate.

  “What’s there to think? I need an architect and he’s an architect.”

  “But Tony, you need to ask him to tender for the job, and come up with proposals and –”

  “Bullshit! I’m sick of talk and I want action. When can you start, Nico?”

  “Well, I –em –” Nico was flabbergasted.

  “Tony, you’re being ridiculous. Nico runs a tiny little firm and wouldn’t have the resources for what we need for the mall,” Kate argued.

  “Actually that’s not true.” Nico found himself becoming angry. “We are well positioned to accept any employment, including Tony’s.”

  “They do houses, not commercial work,” Kate said.

  “Actually, that is not correct either.” Nico became even more annoyed. “We do a lot of commercial work.”

  “You don’t have the commitment we need,” Kate snapped.

  “We do!” he snapped back.

  She turned to Tony. “I don’t think it’s advisable to hire Nico when he is now our neighbour. If things go sour, I don’t want bad feelings.”

  “It’s an advantage I live close by. I can be available for meetings here when you’re here, and in Dublin when you’re there.”

  “That’s settled then. Hired!” Tony marched over to Nico, pulled him up by the arm and slapped an arm around his back as he walked him to the library.

  Kate sat down and frowned as she dragged on her cigar.

  Kate came down the main staircase in the house that evening having changed intoevening wear. She and Tony were going to the Mount Falcon Hotel for dinner to meet some business associates including Steve Shaw.

  “Come on, Kate! We’re running late!”

  They quickly made their way to the car outside and set off.

  “Tony, will you relax! The whole point in moving here is so we aren’t in a rush to everywhere,” she chastised.

  They pulled out of the gateway and Tony put his foot down and sped down the road.

  “I wish you had checked with me before you hired Nico Collins,” said Kate.

  “Why? You don’t usually concern yourself with who I hire and fire?”

  “Well, this is different. Nico is my contact.”

  “Oh, is he indeed?” Tony didn’t hide the sarcasm. “I thought you’d be delighted I hired him. It’s been Nico thinks this and Nico thinks that for months.”

  She glanced nervously at him. “And I valued his opinion when it came to rebuilding the house. I just have reservations about his opinion on shopping malls.”

  “So you made obviously clear today. You were quite rude. Try not to be so tonight?”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes. I invited Nico along.”

  “Oh Tony!” She sighed loudly and sat back, annoyed.

  “Why not? He’s part of the team now and should get to know people.”

  “Part of the team? You see, this is what I’m trying to say to you. You don’t normally hire people at a whim like you did today. You interview them again and again and consult with everyone. It’s just so unlike you!”

  “Exactly! Look, what has my way in the past got me? A load of hassle building the mall. It’s time I took some quick decisive action.”

  She studied him carefully. He’d looked terribly stressed-out recently.

  “Besides, I do know Nico,” he went on. “We’ve known him for quite a while now, and he seems great. And we can see from the house that his work is great, too.”

  She sat back, resigned to the decision but angry.

  Tony glanced at her and saw the brooch from the house was the only jewellery she was wearing.

  “Where are all your diamonds? Your Rolex? Why are you just wearing that daft brooch?”

  She rubbed Clara’s brooch gently. “I felt like just wearing this.”

  “Well, don’t in future! We need you with all your diamonds on as usual. To give the r
ight impression we are not affected by the credit crunch. We don’t want people to think we’re in financial trouble and had to hock your jewels.” He put his foot down and sped even quicker.

  “Tony! Please slow down!” demanded Kate, but he ignored her.

  As Nico drove up the long avenue to the Mount Falcon Hotel he rang Darrell.

  “You are not going to believe this – I have great news! Tony Fallon has appointed us as architects of his shopping centre!”

  “You’re right – I don’t believe it, and it’s not such good news.”

  “Sorry?”

  “Nico, I don’t know if it’s a good idea to get any more involved with the Fallons.”

  “And why not?”

  “I don’t know if they’re our sort of people. They are too demanding. Since they employed us to redo their house it’s all you’ve been working on. All our other clients and work has suffered and we’re way behind with everything. Imagine what it would be like if we took on this job? We couldn’t cope.”

  “We’ll hire more people. Expand.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea in today’s crashing economy. I think we should concentrate on what we have and try to keep it safe.”

  “I disagree. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your problem is, Darrell, you don’t know how to grow. How to think big.”

  “You’ve definitely been spending too much time with Kate Fallon!”

  “Who said anything about Kate? It’s Tony that hired us.”

  “Sure it was!” Darrell sounded cynical.

  “I have to go! I’m at the restaurant.”

  “What restaurant?”

  “Mount Falcon. I’ve a business dinner with the Fallons and their partners.”

  “Say hi to Kate!” Darrell said sarcastically and hung up.

  They had a large round table in the corner of the restaurant overlooking the parklands around the hotel. Nico observed Kate holding court throughout the evening. She had everyone eating out of her hand, as she charmed her way with an array of witty stories and anecdotes. Charmed everyone, that is, with the exception of Nico who she steadfastly ignored and spoke around, leaving him feeling decidedly uncomfortable. After dessert, she excused herself from the table and Nico watched as she walked elegantly through the restaurant and out to the foyer. He waited for his moment and then followed her out. He saw her through the windows, strolling along the drive smoking as she gazed out over the countryside.

  “Well, thanks a bunch for today!” he said as he walked up beside her, startling her.

  “For what?”

  “Exactly! You purposely went out of your way to try and stop Tony from giving me that job.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Of course you did. And I want to know why?” He was angry.

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

  “With your money you feel you don’t have to explain yourself to anybody, but I deserve to know why. You set out to sabotage Tony employing us.”

  “Sabotage?” she repeated mockingly. “Get over yourself, Nico.”

  “I thought you were happy with the work I did on the house. I also thought after our initial problems we managed to get along very well and were friends now. Why were you trying to stop Tony from giving me the job?”

  “For all the reasons I listed to both of you this afternoon!” she said.

  He shook his head and said, “I just don’t get you.”

  “Good! You’re not supposed to!” She flung her cigarette intoa bin and walked back intothe restaurant.

  Chapter ninety-nine

  Kate had read and re-read all the letters to Clara from her friends at the front. She was enthralled by them, thinking of how Clara had received them and read them in the same house, only separated from her by time. They were like a window on the past of the previous owner.

  But she still hadn’t opened the letters addressed to Pierce. Shehad been severely tempted but she felt it wasn’t her place to open these letters that had never been opened by the person they were written for. She wondered whether it wasn’t Nico’s right to open them as a descendent of Pierce Armstrong. Time had gone by while she pondered these ethical issues. But she was intensely curious about what they contained, who had written them, and why they remained unopened.

  Then one evening, almost on impulse, she reached for one and carefully opened it.

  Armstrong House

  1st of December 1914

  My Darling Pierce,

  I’m desperately worried about you. I still haven’t received any letter from you and I’m not sure if you are getting my post. Prudence says she is receiving letters from you all the time, so there can’t be a problem with the post getting through to you.

  Is it something I have done? I feel so lonely here without you. I think about you all the time. If you could just drop me a line. I know you must have more on your mind than me, with the war to fight. I imagine you reading my letters and getting comfort from what I say to you . . .

  Tony walked intothe room “Are you still reading those damned letters?”

  “Yes . . . I opened some of the closed ones. They are from Clara to her husband begging him to write to her. They mustn’t have got to him and were returned to her. It’s very sad. She doesn’t sound like the woman Nico described at all, running off having an affair behind Pierce’s back. She’s longing for his attention here.”

  “Never mind all that. What have you done about organising our housewarming party?”

  “Oh, yes – well, nothing to be honest. I didn’t think you were in the mood with all the trouble at work.”

  “Of course I’m in the mood for it. What’s the point in spending all this money doing up this pile if we can’t show it off?” He went over and looked out the front windows. “Besides, I think we need to throw a ball here, to show everyone the Fallons are still on top, even if the world is turning upside down in this recession.”

  “I’ll meet caterers and party planners during the week when I get back from London.”

  “London?”

  “Yes, I’ve seen a mirror going for auction at Sotheby’s which would be perfect for the dining room.”

  He nodded and smiled. He’d often seen Kate at an auction and she pursued her goal with ruthlessness. “We need this party to be a big affair. No expense spared. We need to show everyone that the recession is not affecting us.”

  “Leave it to me. It will be a party to remember,” she affirmed.

  He bent down and kissed her. “You never let me down.”

  In London, having safely acquired the mirror at Sotheby’s, Kate had met some old friends from her acting days for a quick lunch at the Fifth Floor Restaurant in Harvey Nichols. She was mindful of time and kept one eye on her watch as the mirror was a mask for her real visit to London.

  “I’d better rush, I need to fit in a bit of shopping,” she said.

  She quickly kissed them goodbye and rushed out to get a taxi.An hour later she was turning intothe headquarters of Charter Chocolates plcwhich was housed in a Victorian redbrick building. She had done her research and discovered the factory had a museum and visitor centre and she made her way there. A busload of children and another busload of Japanese tourists were just reboarding their transport after completing their tour, and by the time she entered the museum it was relatively empty.

  She wandered around looking at the displays of everything from replicas of the merchandise they had made over the years, to antique brass machines from the 1800s that had made the chocolates and sweets, and mannequins of workers dressed in their different work-clothes over the centuries. It was the photographs on the walls that most interested her, most of them taken within the factory in bygone years, of visits by dignitaries and royalty.

  “Good afternoon,” said a kindly-looking man in his sixties, who she took to be the museum’s curator.

  “Oh hello . . . It’s quite fascinating, isn’t it? I feel as if I’ve been allowed into Wonka’s choc
olate factory.”

  “Yes. I’m always surprised by the interest people have in the history of the place.”

  “The Charter family no longer own it, I take it?”

  “No,” he smiled. “They sold it in the 1920s. It’s been publicly owned on the stock market since.”

  “Are any of the family still involved here?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “Oh dear,” she sighed. “I think I might have had a wasted trip.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “I’m trying to locate one of them, you see. Well, she’s dead now, but maybe a relative of hers. I’ve some items belonging to her and would love to return them to her family.” Seeing the man’s face being overcome with confusion, she said, “I bought a house that a member of the Charter family lived in and found photos and some other items.”

  “I see!” He was obviously intrigued.

  “Have you ever heard of her? Clara Charter, she married Lord Armstrong.”

  “I’ve worked here forty years, and my father worked here before me,” said the man. “The Charter family was quite a large family. I don’t really know anything about Clara though the name seems familiar. But come and let’s see if we can find anything.”

  He brought her intoan archive room and started taking out photo albums and flicking through pages of photos. “Aha! I thought I remembered her name. There she is!” He pointed to a photo marked 1913 with the caption –

  ‘Mrs Louisa Charter, her son Terence and granddaughter Clara on a visit to the factory May 1913.’

  “Yes, that’s her!” Kate became excited.

  “Right, she was Louisa’s granddaughter then. Louisa’s husband and his brothers owned the factory, though her son Terence wasn’t involved. From what I know he was a banker, a very successful one. I do recall now hearing that one of his daughters married an Irish Lord. There was a nasty divorce case, but that’s the last we heard.”