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Later that day, Sophia came storming to the house in a high temper. "You got my daughter in trouble!" she screamed, pointing an accusatory finger at Iseult, who'd just come downstairs after a solid seven-hour sleep. Heather interposed herself between the angry woman and her daughter.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFve6r4I5h
"Go home," she told Sophia sternly. "Saraid is safe, and if it hadn't been for my daughter, your daughter would be in a much worse position."
Sophia sniffed. "My daughter would never do such a thing on her own," she snapped. "Your daughter is a tramp, and she should've been the one raped!"
Iseult gave Sophia the finger. "Go away," she said angrily. "I don't need this right now."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBYjWT623K
"You won't get away with this," Sophia warned, as she prepared to leave. "I'll have you arrested for leading my baby into danger!" So saying, she stormed out, and moments later, the sound of an engine being redlined broke the afternoon stillness as Sophia's Mustang roared down the drive in a rush of disturbed gravel, before disappearing from view behind the trees. Heather ruffled her daughtr's hair.
"Good on you for not swearing at her," she said. "Though truth be told, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had!" She sighed. "I'm not going to give you a lecture," she added. "I could, and I should, but you had to learn the lesson that not all people are decent human beings. I wish it hadn't been such a harsh lesson, and I certainly don't blame you or Saraid for the trouble you got into. But there you have it; it happened, and there's no going back and changing the past. Still, I am glad you did go; Saraid might have been in an even worse state. How is she?"
"They're going to do some more checks," Iseult said. "The doctor said there was cocaine in her system, but he's got no idea how much she took. He's also hoping she doesn't get pregnant, and that concerns me."
"It concerns me as well," Heather agreed. "If she does get with child, that brute might want to claim his rights."
"He didn't seem keen on letting her go," Iseult agreed, shivering as she recalled how big and ugly he looked. "I hope he doesn't want anything more to do with her, but you can never tell with those types."
Heather sighed and ruffled her daughter's hair again. "I hope so too," she said somberly.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7K6DEVBu1
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Later that afternoon, Nora Ryan came to the house, and Heather's face turned to stone as she greeted her rival. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked coldly. She didn't like Nora much, and not because their families were at odds over the lucrative squidding market. The woman herself looked as if she ate children for breakfast and picked her teeth with their bones afterwards, and there was also the ... small matter of her many dodgy dealings, which her daughters seemed to delight in. Heather, of course, wasn't angry with Iseult and Saraid for going up to Galway in the first place, but she did bitterly regret the trouble they'd ended up in. Still, she told herself, as she faced her enemy, it was a good thing both had gone; Saraid might not have made it home.
Nora sniffed. "You know very well," she said. "Your daughter caused a great ruckus at my daughters' party last night, and she needs to be brought to account for the injury she did my son."
"Your son was actively raping her best friend," Heather said. "Iseult acted to save her from further harm, and if your son got a lump on his thick skull, it's far less than what he deserved. My daughter is not at fault, and you need to turn around and leave. My daughter is more than willing to testify if the matter goes to court."
"It will be your daughter's word against dozens of witnesses," Nora said. "However, I am willing to let this matter slide, on one condition. Your husband is planning on buying The Clodagh. If he refrains from the purchase and permits me to buy it instead. I shall let this matter go, and your daughter will not be forced to apologise to mine for the trouble she caused."
Heather rolled her eyes. "The Clodagh is already purchased, and we're waiting for its delivery," she said. "I plan on starting Iseult's training in September, and The Clodagh is the perfect vessel on which she can learn."
Nora raised an eyebrow. "Do you really not care about your daughter?" she said. "Or your son?"
"If that's a threat, you're going to need to make it more plausible," Heather said, keeping her face even so as not to let the other woman see her alarm. Nora had many shady connections; there was nothing she wouldn't do to redress her so-called slighted family honour. But Heather had friends in high places of her own; there was nothing she wouldn't do for her family. "Like I said, my daughter has nothing to apologise for. Which reminds me; Saraid's family will seek reparation if Saraid gets with child. If your son is planning on claiming his rights as a father, he needs to think again. Sophia will not allow a grandchild of hers to fall into your family's hands."
"If Saraid has a child, that child will be as much my granddaughter as it will Sophia's," Nora said. "I intend to pursue the matter to its fullest extent should Saraid become pregnant, and if Sophia thinks to block me, she can think again." She sniffed. "You really are a fool," she said, turning on her heel to leave. "You shouldn't have told me Saraid might get with child."
Heather swore under her breath as yet another car was brutally redlined; she hadn't thought of the possibility Nora might sue for grandparents' rights over a possible unborn child, and her heart went out to Saraid. If the poor girl did end up pregnant, she'd be caught like a bone between two starving dogs, ready to tear her apart rather than yield her up to their rival. Heather prayed, as she'd never prayed before, that Saraid would not bear bitter fruit from her horrifying experience of the previous night.
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