The Stone House Read Free

needs you.’
    â€˜I’ll be down straight away. I’ll phone Moya and Romy, so don’t worry.’
    â€˜I’ll stay with her, but you just get here as soon as you can, pet.’
    â€˜Thanks, Vonnie. Thanks.’
    Kate put down the phone. Lucy was staring at her.
    â€˜Are you all right, Kate? Is it bad news?’
    â€˜It’s my mother. She’s been taken to hospital. My aunt is with her. I have to leave for Waterford immediately.’
    â€˜Don’t worry. I’ll look after things at this end.’
    Automatically Kate began to clear her desk of sensitive documents and switched off her computer. Realizing she’d better tell Bill she had to leave early, she went to his office. He’d already gone and the sun was beating on his high-backed leather chair.
    She’d go home, grab a bag and some things before heading to Waterford, thanking God it was
en route
. Pulling her diary from her handbag she searched for her sisters’ numbers as she began to dial the 044 code for London. She cursed her sisters, wondering why they couldn’t be more like other families who supported and cared for each other. What hadhappened to them all? Moya so wrapped up with her own life in London and Romy who had simply taken off when she was not more than a kid and turned her back on the family. She’d never even bothered to keep in touch. Selfishly she had broken their parents’ hearts years ago. Worst of all, her youngest sister had made absolutely no effort to come home for their father’s funeral, something that Kate would never forgive her for!
    Moya had her mobile turned off, so she tried her home number instead, leaving a simple message telling her what had happened and promising to phone later.
    Kate eyed the row of modern silver and steel clocks on the wall. Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York and London. It was midday in New York, Romy should at least be up, she thought as she began to punch in the international code.
    Romy Dillon whisked the free-range eggs together, fluffing them up as she turned them into the hot pan. A little cheese, tomato and onion and she had the perfect breakfast. Outside the daylight teased her as New Yorkers rushed to work and shops in the bright sunshine. She would eat, work for a few hours and then call on her friend Diana. She switched on the coffee-maker just as the phone in the living room shrilled. Barefoot she raced across the bleached floorboards to get it.
    â€˜Romy?’
    She almost dropped the phone, recognizing the voice instantly.
    â€˜Romy, please don’t put down the phone. I need to talk to you.’
    â€˜Is it Molly?’
    â€˜No, Molly’s fine,’ answered Kate. ‘It’s Mammy. She’s in hospital, in the Regional. Vonnie just phoned me. She’s unconscious. They’re not sure what it is but the doctors told her to contact us. It’s serious, Romy.’
    â€˜I heard you.’
    The distance between them lay empty, desolate.
    â€˜Romy!’ screamed her sister. ‘You are a cold-hearted bitch. I don’t give a damn about you and what’s going on in that crazy head of yours. Mammy’s sick, dying, and the least you can do this time is to come home and see her.’
    â€˜Don’t you dare tell me what to do!’ Romy said coldly, the pain ripping through her, for she had no intention of getting into an argument.
    â€˜I’m not telling you what to do. I’m simply informing you about Mammy. It’s up to you if you want to come home or not to see her.’
    Romy’s mind was racing. She couldn’t think, didn’t know what to say. She would not make promises she couldn’t keep. Be pressurized by her sister into a knee-jerk response. She wasn’t going to be pushed into an automatic reply. She tried to gather her thoughts, protect herself.
    The silence lay heavy between them, harsh and cold as the Atlantic Ocean, worse than any distance.
    â€˜Thanks,