Queen of Harte's Read online

  ‘We won’t have time.’ Eva shook her head at her mother’s confused sense of Irish geography. ‘The hotel is heading back in the wrong direction. You’ll need to head to the airport straight from here or you’ll miss your flight. I’ll come with you. I’ll pass him your number and he can call you about the exclusive when you get home.’

  ‘Eva, sweetheart,’ Samantha said, standing up to put on her coat. ‘This exclusive is for you.’

  Eva blushed. She hadn’t picked up on that. ‘And what if I don’t want to know?’ Eva asked.

  ‘You know what? You probably don’t want to know. But you deserve to. And it’s damn well time I told you,’ Samantha replied.

  ‘What about your flight?’

  ‘I can book another one. It’s no big deal.’

  ‘Seriously? It’s that important?’ Eva said, surprised.

  ‘Seriously.’ Samantha’s head bobbed up and down quickly.

  Eva's face brightened with the thought of holding onto her mother for a little while longer. And she realised, no matter how preoccupied her head was with everything going on with Julian, deep down she really did want a chance of reconciliation with Samantha.

  ‘Okay, I’ll call Nathan now,’ Eva said pulling her phone out of her bag.

  Chapter 21

  Nathan was waiting in the lobby of the hotel. He looked slightly more haphazard than usual. His trousers were just a fraction too short, revealing his royal blue socks. One side of his shirt was hanging out over his trousers and he hadn’t even taken the time to brush his hair and left it to impersonate a hedgehog sitting on his head. Eva sighed disappointedly. His appearance wasn’t helping her argument with Samantha that Nathan was actually very professional and good at his job.

  There were only a couple of days left until Christmas day and the lobby was bustling with eager shoppers checking in and out. A huge tree decorated in crimson and gold enraptured a large portion of the centre of the floor and festive spirit danced in the air. For a second, the delightful atmosphere enchanted Eva, but she quickly snapped out of it and made a beeline across the busy lobby towards Nathan, reaching him at almost the very same moment as Shelly appeared behind him. Shelly looked just as dishevelled as Nathan. Except her rosy cheeks and tossed hair just highlighted her natural beauty. Nathan’s arms slipped around Shelly’s waist and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out their relationship was back on a very physical track and Eva’s phone call had obviously interrupted their make-up sex.

  Feeling almost like she should apologise for the interruption, Eva suggested they head to the bar. Melissa had replied with a one-word answer to Eva’s text asking to meet in the hotel bar and Eva was conscious not to keep her sister waiting. One more hissy fit from Melissa and Eva was going to lose it completely.

  There was only one free table in the corner, too small for them all to fit comfortably around but Shelly raced over to grab it nonetheless and looked back to beckon them all over. Eva looked around, but there was no sign of Melissa. Maybe she wouldn’t come.

  Melissa appeared at the main bar door just as they sat down. Eva stood back up and waved to let Melissa know where they were. Melissa made her way slowly to their table but she didn’t wave back and her expression looked like it could turn a small child to stone.

  They squeezed around the table, all sitting in silence and without any drinks. It was like the most awkward board meeting in the world. Eva wondered who would speak first. She wondered if she should start, since she was the only person there familiar with everyone else. But she just wasn’t sure what to say. Hello felt desperately redundant and after fucking up earlier with the wine order in the restaurant, suggesting they grab a drink felt like an even worse idea.

  ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Andrews,’ Nathan said extending his hand from his side of the table to Samantha.

  Samantha shook it. ‘Yes. Indeed,’ she said softly.

  Introductions. Jesus, of course. Eva rolled her eyes; she should have started there.

  ‘Mom, this is my friend and reporter with the National Informer, Nathan Shields. Nathan, this is my mother, Samantha Andrews. And my sister, Melissa,’ Eva said turning to Melissa who, to Eva’s surprise, held out her hand and shook Nathan’s.

  ‘How do you do?’ Melissa said dryly.

  ‘Can I get anyone a drink?’ Nathan asked politely.

  ‘I’ll have a white wine please, love,’ Shelly said.

  ‘I’d appreciate a cup of tea, thank you,’ Samantha added.

  ‘I’d also like a white wine, thank you very much,’ Melissa said.

  Eva smiled brightly. Melissa was actually taking part in the conversation. She was being polite. And she was ordering alcohol in front of their mother. Maybe Eva had misread Samantha in the restaurant.

  ‘I’d kill for a coffee,’ Eva admitted.

  ‘Did I even need to ask,’ Nathan laughed, making fun of Eva’s caffeine addiction.

  ‘I’ll just be a moment.’ Nathan excused himself from the table and Shelly followed him, no doubt to help carry the drinks.

  ‘They’re a good couple,’ Samantha said, watching them at the bar.

  ‘Yeah. I’m glad they’re back together,’ Eva said.

  ‘Had they split up?’ Melissa asked

  Eva could feel her whole body lighten inside at her sister’s question; it was the first time they’d exchanged words about anything more than necessity and it felt so good.

  ‘Yeah, Shelly was upset about some stuff.’

  ‘Stuff to do with Julian?’ Melissa suggested.

  ‘Yeah. But more Nathan. He fucked up. I didn’t even think she’d forgive him. But I’m glad she did.’

  ‘Are you going to forgive Julian?’ Melissa said, staring awkwardly at Eva.

  ‘For what?’ Eva snapped. Suddenly a lot less taken with this conversation.

  ‘Do you want a list?’ Melissa snapped back.

  Eva’s expression soured. ‘You don’t know Julian, Mel.’

  ‘I know his type.’

  Rage surged inside Eva’s head and she could feel her face redden. She didn’t even care if it was obvious. If Melissa meant Julian was anything like the sick bastards who frequented Da Luca’s clubs then long lost sister or not, Eva would happily get up and walk away.

  ‘Julian is one of a kind, Melissa,’ Shelly said returning to the table and obviously catching the end of the conversation. ‘I’ve known Julian for years, and I still don’t even know his type. I think Eva is the only one who really knows him.’

  Nathan and Shelly passed the drinks out and silence once again fell over them all.

  ‘So, Mr. Shields. Do you have a pen? Shall we start?’ Samantha asked before blowing gently into her cup of tea.

  Nathan pulled a small black box out of his pocket and placed it in the centre of the table. ‘Are you okay if I record this? It helps me get the emotion right in the story afterwards. You know, when I can listen back to it. I just don’t get that connection with notes.’

  Samantha winced.

  ‘If you’re uncomfortable….I do have a pen and paper.’ Nathan fished in his inside jacket pocket.

  Samantha placed her teacup back on its saucer. ‘No,’ she said pulling herself up to sit tall and straight. ‘Getting the emotion right sounds very important. Will we start?’

  Nathan pressed a small button on his black box and smiled. ‘Interview with Mrs. Samantha Andrews. Friday, Dec 22rd,’ he said calmly and impressively professional. ‘In your own time, Mrs. Andrews.’

  Shelly moved even closer to Eva until she was practically sitting on top of her. She grabbed Eva’s hand and squeezed tightly. But her efforts to support Eva actually had the reverse effect and Eva was feeling decidedly nervous.

  ‘My husband wasn’t a bad man or a monster. I know you both remember him that way,’ Samantha turned to her daughters, ‘and that saddens me more than you’ll ever know.’

  ‘But he was a wife beater?’ Nathan said accusatorily.

  ‘Are y
ou telling the story or am I, Mr. Shields?’ Samantha said, turning her attention back to Nathan.

  Eva smiled. Her mother had sass. It was really rather exciting to see.

  ‘Apologies.’ Nathan smiled. ‘Please. Do go on.’

  ‘Like I said, Cameron wasn’t a bad man. But he messed up. Big time. And we all had to bear the consequences of that.’

  Eva eyed up the bar, suddenly regretting her decision to order coffee. ‘Whiskey on the rocks,’ she said catching the attention of a lounge boy.

  ‘Whiskey,’ Shelly mouthed without any sound coming out.

  Eva shrugged dismissively. ‘If it works for Julian.’

  ‘Make that two please,’ Samantha called after the lounge boy.

  Eva couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping a little. It turned out Samantha wasn’t someone she could read easily, and Eva loved that her mother had layers. She was more excited than ever to get to know every single one.

  ‘Three,’ Melissa piped in.

  Eva’s jaw found its way back up but only to form into a gentle smile.

  ‘You know what? I think we’re going to need a round. Five Jameson’s please,’ Nathan said.

  An awkward silence descended until the waiter returned with a tray of burgundy filled tumblers. Nathan was the first to raise his glass and everyone quickly copied, the glasses clinking as they collided gently in the air.

  ‘To Julian’s good health,’ Shelly said.

  ‘To Julian’s good health,’ everyone mumbled.

  Eva gulped down the fiery whiskey in one large mouthful. Shelly passed her glass and she knocked that back quickly, too.

  Julian’s good health. The words rang in her ears. Her mother was clearly about to share something huge, but Eva’s head was already stuffed to bursting point with thoughts of Julian. Were two whiskeys enough to make you feel sick? Eva certainly felt on the verge.

  ‘So, Cameron wasn’t a monster,’ Nathan said, drawing Eva back in.

  ‘No. But sometimes I wish he had been. Things would have been very different if he’d had just a little more strength.’ Samantha was soft spoken and genuine. ‘Can we visit Dun Laoghaire?’

  ‘What?’ Eva’s heart pinched hearing the familiarity of Julian’s favourite place.

  ‘Now?’ Nathan asked, clearly taken aback.

  ‘No. Not now, Mr. Shields,’ Samantha giggled. ‘But I would like to visit there before I leave. Tomorrow maybe? What do you say, Eva? Mel? Will you come with me?’

  ‘Why do you want to go there, Mom?’ Eva said, needing another drink.

  ‘Your father never stopped talking about that place. I sometimes think he loved that port town more than he loved me.’

  Eva swallowed hard. ‘He told you about it?’

  ‘Yes, Eva. Don’t sound so surprised. He did more than just tell me. He wanted to show me. We were getting ready to move there. We were going to start a new life in Dublin.’

  Eva’s hands flew to her face. ‘Oh, my God. When?’

  ‘You were just a baby. Before you turned three.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Things were hard for us at home. Your father hated his job. And I hated being the nagging wife at home with a couple of kids tied to my apron strings forcing him out the door to a job that was draining every ounce of the man I loved out of him.’

  ‘I thought Dad like his job driving the bus,’ Melissa said, her eyes glossy and red.

  ‘No, sweetheart, you girls liked taking a ride on his big bus, but he didn’t bring you very often. He drove one of the toughest routes in Jersey. It was hard.’

  ‘So what made you change your mind?’ Eva asked. ‘If things were that shit in New Jersey, why did you stay there?’

  Samantha sucked in her bottom lip and looked at her daughters in turn, like what she was about to tell them might force them to hate her forever and she needed to remember this moment. The moment just before the reveal. ‘Because hell found us and there was no escape.’

  Nathan pressed the button on his little black box in the centre of the table. ‘Mrs. Andrews, can I get you a glass of water or something? Would you like to step outside for some fresh air, maybe?’

  ‘Hell found us?’ Melissa repeated. ‘What does that even mean?’

  The colour was draining from Samantha’s lips and Eva thought her mother might faint. ‘Get that water, Nathan, yeah?’ Eva said.

  Nathan nodded and scurried to the bar.

  ‘You okay, Mom?’ Eva knew the answer even before she asked the question. ‘Do you want to take your coat off? Are you too hot?’

  ‘I’m fine. Just a little lightheaded.’

  Nathan returned and Eva stood up and moved around the table to help Samantha lift the glass of iced tap water to her shaking lips.

  ‘Hell, Mom?’ Eva said when she felt Samantha steady herself.

  ‘Your dad liked to gamble. Nothing crazy. He’d never mess with the grocery money or leave us too tight to pay a bill. But he liked to blow the little we did have leftover on chance.’

  A gambler and an alcoholic. Oh Christ, Eva thought. It wasn’t completely unexpected, but it was shit to hear.

  ‘But he had a good head on his shoulders. He was clever. Much more clever than I was. I see that in you girls. You’re very artsy, Mel. And, Eva, you’re so analytical,’ Samantha said, proudly.

  Eva reached for a napkin from the shelf behind their table and passed it to Melissa. The tears were streaming down Melissa’s face, but Eva was managing to hold it together. On the outside, at least.

  ‘You might want to hit the record button again, Mr. Shields,’ Samantha said. Her tears didn’t fall, but they did glisten heartbreakingly in her tired eyes.

  Nathan reached to the middle of the table in silence and Samantha waited until he sat up straight again to talk.

  ‘My beautiful girls…’ Samantha’s voice cracked. ‘My God, your father loved you. Maybe too much. Maybe that’s what really broke him.’

  ‘Well, he had a damn funny way of showing it,’ Mel cried. Her whole body heaved under the weight of twenty years of pain.

  ‘You think that you dragged those goddamn Da Lucas into our lives, Melissa. Well, I can’t let you bear that burden.’ Samantha’s tears began to fall like a light summer mist. ‘You didn’t get mixed up with them of your own doing, Mel. They came looking for you. And Eva. If Julian hadn’t arranged for you to take the job in his company in Dublin, they’d have found you, too. It was only a matter of time. I’m sure of it.’

  ‘What? I don’t understand. What would they want with us?’ Eva said, her insides shaking but she wasn’t sure why. Just the mention of their name scared the shit out of her.

  ‘They wanted their debt repaid. Men like that don’t lose,’ Samantha explained.

  Men like that don’t lose. Julian didn’t lose. But he wasn’t a man like that. Eva hated knowing that Julian was coloured the same as the Da Lucas in the back of her mother’s mind.

  ‘You’re not making sense, Mom. I…I…don’t understand. Do you mean it was a trap? Me. The club. All of it?’ Melissa’s arms were flapping about like crazy, and she was shouting at the top of her voice.

  ‘Shh. Melissa. Calm down,’ Shelly said, gently patting Melissa on the back.

  ‘Fuck you. FUCK YOU,’ Melissa said jumping up and nearly dislocating Shelly’s shoulder in the process.

  Eva quickly glanced at Shelly, as if to say, Are you okay?

  Shelly winced and nodded, nursing her arm.

  Melissa was out of line, but Eva could understand. Shelly had been unintentionally patronising. Maybe this interview was a bad idea.

  ‘Mel, sit back down,’ Samantha ordered.

  Melissa looked at her mother with a cloud of resentment in her eyes.

  ‘Please,’ Samantha added; her eyes were puffy and red now from keeping the floods of tears at bay.

  ‘Mel. Please sit back down,’ Eva pleaded softly, worried that if Melissa left, the moment would be over and Samantha might not ever open up like that again.


  Melissa combed her fingers through her hair roughly and sat back down.

  ‘A trap. A setup. A payment. Whatever you want to call it, the Da Lucas wanted their pound of flesh. Your flesh. You have Andrews blood in your veins. If the Da Lucas couldn’t have your father, then you girls were the next best thing,’ Samantha continued.

  ‘Did Dad steal from them? Was that it? Did he take money to feed his addictions?’ Eva asked, struggling to follow the confusing information.

  Samantha's shoulders shook and her bottom lip dropped. Angry, painful sobs rippled through her body as she shook her head. ‘Oh Christ, what have we done to you, my beautiful girls.’

  ‘Mom, you’re scaring me. What is it? What happened that we don’t know? Just tell us. Please. Please just say?’ Eva begged.

  ‘I’ll turn this off,’ Nathan said, taking his black box from the centre of the table and shoving it back in his pocket.

  Eva watched him. He didn’t turn the tape recorder off. But she didn’t say anything. Right now wasn’t the time to discuss his gutter journalism tactics.

  ‘Thank you, Mr. Shields, but off the record doesn’t make this any easier to say.’

  Eva’s attention quickly flipped back to Samantha. Her eyes burned into her mother. Begging. Pleading. Hurting.

  Samantha sucked some air through her nose and shot it back out her mouth before clearing her throat with a rough cough. ‘Your dad had a good run in one of Da Luca’s casinos. Real good. He made a lot of money over a couple of lucky weeks. Enough to build a better life for us. It was exciting.’

  ‘But he lost it all?’ Eva said sensing a pattern.

  ‘Actually, no. He didn’t, and that was the problem. The Da Lucas let your father play on as long he liked. They knew his luck would run out sooner or later. Everybody’s does. And they count on that. That’s how they get their money back. But your dad knew that, too. So when he had enough for us to start a fresh life, he stopped going to the club. He stopped gambling.’

  ‘He wasn’t addicted,’ Eva said elatedly.

  ‘No. He was just clever.’

  ‘But we had nothing growing up. No money, I remember,’ Eva said. Her brain hurt trying to piece all the information together.