Read Online Heartstones by Kate Glanville - Free Book Online Page A

off-cuts and threw them at the feet of the Jack Russell, sitting pressed against the warmth of the Rayburn. ‘It is very sad but at the end of the days there was some good because I found Fibber and now I am happy.’
    ‘Who was Maeve?’ Phoebe asked, surprised to find she felt curious about the lives of the people in Fibber Flannigan’s pub, it had been weeks since anything had roused her interest.
    Katrina pricked the pie-case with a fork, slid it into the oven, and leant back against the Rayburn. ‘She was so much, is hard to say. When I meet her I was living in a bedsit in Dun Laoghaire and she and her husband and her little girl are living in the house next door.’
    ‘So she was your neighbour?’ asked Phoebe.
    ‘Yes, she was my neighbour but she was also very good friend – and also she was Mrs Flannigan’s daughter, Fibber’s sister, Honey’s mother, and Theo –you remember Theo from last night?’ she did a brief impression of an angry figure stomping their feet. ‘She was Theo’s wife.’
    ‘He seemed very upset,’ said Phoebe.
    Katrina didn’t respond but turned her back to ladle out the stew onto a plate.
    ‘Honey seems like a lovely little girl.’ Phoebe smiled up at Katrina as she placed the plate in front of her and handed her a fork. ‘She must have been through a tough time.’
    Katrina sighed and sat down next to Phoebe. ‘Yes. But Theo can’t see that Honey is hurting too. He can only feel about himself. I think he does that thing that some unhappy people do – how is that how you say it? – Taking bath in his sad feelings?’
    Phoebe thought for a few seconds, ‘Wallowing in his own misery?’
    ‘Yes that is it, he is always wallowing.’ Katrina wiped her floury hands on the tea towel. ‘But you must know how it is he feels, how it is to grieve for the person that you love. It must have been hard times for you when your husband died.’
    Phoebe pushed the stew around the plate, her appetite suddenly gone.
    Katrina picked up a stick of rhubarb and began to chop it into little pieces. ‘So tell me, Phoebe, what has brought you to Carraigmore?’
    Phoebe shrugged. ‘Oh you know, half the world wants to come and find their Irish roots don’t they?’
    ‘But Carraigmore in March? Is not best time to see this place, you know?’
    ‘It felt like the best time to me.’
    Katrina stopped chopping and looked at Phoebe. ‘Maybe you think walking on the windy beach will mend your heart? That will not work you know – to start with no one will leave you alone, everyone will want to know who you are, why you here,’ she laughed, showing off a beautiful set of teeth. ‘They will want to know what is favourite TV show, what you like for breakfast, where you buy your underwears. In Carraigmore finding other people’s businesses is nearly as big a sport as is the football.’
    ‘If you really want to know, my grandmother was from Carraigmore. I used to come here as a little girl to visit her and I wanted to see the beach again.’ Phoebe took a small mouthful of stew, and then another as her taste buds came alive. ‘Wow, this stew is amazing, what’s in it?’
    ‘Pheasant and red wine and my secret ingredient.’
    ‘What’s that?’
    ‘Like I say, is secret. But tonight you must taste my Thai green curry, it is also very good.’
    ‘Oh, I’m not staying that long – especially after last night. I’ll be gone after I’ve had a quick look around.’
    Katrina looked disappointed. ‘That is shame, especially as I am thinking you have to talk to Fibber’s mother, she must have known your grandmother; she has known everybody who ever live here.’
    ‘I don’t think she likes me.’
    ‘Why do you say that?’
    ‘She gave me some very dirty looks last night and that was before I got sick all over her pub.’
    ‘Mrs Flannigan is a good woman but sometimes she can seem hard. Since Maeve died she too has been very sad. She is like a lemon.’
    ‘Bitter?