"Well, I was half right and half wrong," Iseult said, sighing as she sank up to her neck in the bath. More like a miniature pool, it was the perfect way to unwind, and after the afternoon she'd had, Iseult felt she'd more than earned it. "Saraid didn't want to give me any details, because as it turns out, it's her aunt-in-law Leah who decided Niamh should come here."
Patrick groaned as he sat on the edge, feet dangling in the water. "Is that why Saraid was all bright and bubbly like?"
Iseult nodded. "Niamh was taken from her not long after she was born," she said. "Nora had the raising of her until she went to jail, and then Leah took over. She and Nora are two peas in a pod, so Nora's incarceration was only a minor inconvenience, and she'd planned for Niamh's custody to pass to her sister. Don't ask me how the hell they managed that! But in short, Niamh is her great-aunt's creature right down to her toenails, and Saraid had to be on her guard the whole time they were here - Niamh has her great-aunt and her grandmother's numbers on speed dial, so if Saraid puts a toenail out of line, she's in big trouble."
"What sort of trouble?" Patrick asked warily.
"Conor passed away a few years ago," Iseult explained. "Saraid recently got together with Daniel - you remember him?" At Patrick's nod, she continued. "Well, Nora - via Leah - made it very clear she wasn't happy Saraid had moved on with another man. According to Nora, Saraid was meant to stay alone for the rest of her life, because it's 'what she deserved', for whatever bullshite reason. But Saraid told the both of them to go to hell, and that's when she found out just what's in store for her if she didn't keep quiet about Niamh's true reason for being here; she's pregnant, and Nora's threatened to have the baby taken away from her when he or she is born. Niamh has probably already let her grandmother know that Saraid managed to get away from her. I don't dare think what will happen when Saraid returns home, but she's terrified about losing another baby to her ex-mother-in-law."
"We've got to get her out of that house," Patrick said angrily, but Iseult shook her head.
"We can't," she said. "Leah's coming down here tomorrow to pick her up, and she's being forced to stay in Nora's home until Niamh has 'completed her mission. If she tries to leave, she'll be committed, and her baby will be taken from her the moment they've left her body. She's not allowed to speak to Daniel alone, and all her calls and texts are monitored. She can't even send a coded message to Daniel; Leah smashed her phone when she found out Saraid was using code to let Daniel know what was going on, and Saraid had to go on bended knee to be 'allowed' to buy another phone. Leah's put it in her name, and Saraid now has to ask permission to call or text Daniel."
Patrick groaned in frustration. "Fuck me," he said. "I thought we'd left tangled family politics behind, but it seems as if our troubles have only just begun. What the hell do we do now?"
"I'm going to lay some ground rules for Niamh in the morning," Iseult said. "I know I might come across as a bitch, but I'm not blind; I know Niamh has been sent her to seduce Liam so she can get him on side. I don't intend to let those two be alone for a moment if I can help it. I'm also confiscating Niamh's phone so she can't rat on me to her grandmother and great-aunt, and if that brings a storm down, I'd rather it come down on my head rather than Saraid's. And I'm making that girl earn her keep; doing chores might make a better woman of her, but I doubt it."
"I think that's a sound plan," Patrick approved, leaning down and kissing his wife on top of her head. "Niamh's going to rant and rave a bit, but I'm sure she'll come to her senses when she realises a temper tantrum isn't going to get her anywhere."
"I hope so," Iseult muttered. She sighed. "If not, God only knows what's going to happen. And God knows what I'll do if Liam asks why he's not allowed to hang out with his cousin. He's dead set against letting Kate and Nora getting their claws into him, but if he starts asking questions about Niamh, I'm not sure what the hell I'm going to do."
Patrick kissed his wife again. "I'm sure you'll cross that bridge when you come to it," he said.
Iseult nodded, but as she let him help her out of the bath, a cold seed of doubt had formed in her heart, and she knew the road ahead had gotten a lot more complicated.
89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdvxBpepxJ
