The Women Who Ran Away - Sheila O'Flanagan Page 0,37

work. And then . . . well, I was always Harrington with the children but Garvey on my own.’

‘Professor Harrington was one of my English lit tutors at college,’ said Deira. ‘I majored in art history, but English was one of my subjects too. Your story sounded familiar because I remember seeing it on the news at the time and being really shocked. I’m so sorry, Grace, I should’ve realised earlier, but . . . well, I thought back then his drowning had been a terrible accident. I didn’t know . . .’

‘They called it misadventure in the end,’ said Grace. ‘He hadn’t been going very fast and it was dark, so they said he could have made an error of judgement. Ken didn’t make errors of judgement.’ She shook her head. ‘I never for a moment expected to meet one of his former students on this trip. And I definitely didn’t expect she’d turn out to be you!’

‘We met once before,’ Deira told her. ‘Only for a few seconds. It was at a college reception. I can’t recall what for. But he introduced you to me.’

‘I don’t remember.’ Grace shook her head. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Why should you?’ asked Deira. ‘I don’t properly remember you either. I’d had a few drinks by then. Thinking about it, it’s probably a good thing you don’t remember me. I was pretty bolshie as a student, and if I was drunk, I might have been horribly rude to you.’

‘Ken liked bolshie students. And I’m sure I’d remember if you’d been rude.’

‘He talked about you sometimes,’ said Deira. ‘He called you Amazing Grace.’

‘What?’ In speaking just that one word, Grace’s voice was shakier than ever before.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Deira again. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘I’m not upset.’ Grace took another sip of water, then replaced the glass carefully on the table. ‘He never called me Amazing Grace, not to my face anyhow.’

‘He used to say that you were sharp in your assessment of the written word,’ Deira told her. ‘He said that you didn’t like self-indulgent nonsense.’

‘He said that?’ Grace looked at her in disbelief. ‘He used to laugh at me because I liked Maeve Binchy.’

‘He never laughed at you when he mentioned your name to us,’ said Deira. ‘Never.’

Grace shook her head slowly. ‘I wish he’d said that to me.’

‘Maybe people never say what they really think to the person closest to them,’ said Deira. ‘Even when it’s complimentary.’

‘Especially when it’s complimentary, in Ken’s case. He was more likely to . . . Oh, it doesn’t matter now, does it. He’s gone.’

‘Did he . . . did he leave a note?’ asked Deira.

‘Not that sort of note,’ replied Grace. ‘That’s why they were able to call it misadventure. But he’d sent me an email instructing me that if anything should ever happen to him, I was to take the holiday we’d planned, enjoy the treats in store, do what he asked and scatter some of his ashes in the sea and some near the apartment.’

‘So you’re doing this trip to fulfil his last wishes,’ said Deira.

‘To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure why I’m doing it,’ Grace said. ‘I hate the idea of him trying to orchestrate my life from the grave. It was bad enough when he was alive.’ She grimaced. ‘Sorry, that sounds really disrespectful, but he left us. Deliberately. So he should have left us – me – in peace.’

‘And yet you’re here making the trip. Did you scatter his ashes in the sea?’

Grace told her about throwing the tube overboard. ‘I wasn’t going to. I was terrified someone would see me. But I can’t . . . I can’t simply ignore him. As far as the trip goes, he put so much effort into it. He . . . well, he’s given me other things to do. Left clues to puzzles for me to solve. Which is typical bloody Ken when it comes down to it.’

‘I’m sure he didn’t mean to upset you,’ said Deira. ‘He was obviously trying to make it a great trip.’

‘I was a damn sight more upset when the police called to my house and told me what had happened. They knew it wasn’t an accident, no matter what the coroner said. The garda who broke the news was lovely, but I couldn’t help feeling she was judging me. Thinking that I’d allowed it to happen. But I’d no idea what he was planning. I suppose that’s even worse. I know it would have got harder