Jenny almost fell over laughing when Calum told her of his encounter with her mother, though it was more at her husband's plan to fool Roisin than anything else - knowing her mother was still out to separate their little family was a sting that took away some of the amusement. But she couldn't help but smirk despite her pain. "Mum's going to be very cross when she finds out you've duped her," she told her husband. "But I don't give a damn. Let her run all over Belfast like a lunatic."
Calum grinned. "I thought you'd like that idea," he said, putting an arm around her and kissing her hair. He still wasn't entirely sure if he really had been talking with his best friend's ghost, but he'd figured the smartest thing to do would be to wait and see how things panned out between him and his wife over the course of the next few months. He did feel better knowing that, real or not, Finn's ghost approved of the marriage, and that took away some of the worry that had been plaguing him ever since marrying Jenny earlier in the year.
"What I'd like is for Mrs Bryne to leave the two of you alone," Mrs Doyle said sternly from the sitting room door. Her tone was at odds with her eyes, which held a knowing glint in them as she studied the young couple. Calum blinked, and then smiled when he realised Mrs Doyle knew there was more to things between him and Jenny than what appeared on the surface. "I believe the time has come to send a cease and desist letter," the housekeeper continued. "She has caused the two of you enough trouble as it is, and I feel now is the time to let her know we are not messing around when it comes to potentially putting her in her place."
Jenny sighed. "I really don't want to take her to court," she admitted, and Calum tightened his hold on her. She threw him a grateful smile and continued. "I know she's put me thorugh hell, but she's still my mum, and she went through the same crap she's putting me through."
"I think the time for being nice is over, dove," Calum said firmly. He kissed his wife again. "I know you don't want to hurt her, but she's givin' you more hell than you and our baby can handle. I don't want to be holdin' your hand in hospital when the stress gets too much, wonderin' if I'm goin' to be buryin' the two people who mean the most to me."
"I know," Jenny admitted with a faint smile, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "But there's that part of me that's holding out hope she'll eventually come around."84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nWpxtmBTx
"Hope is good, but not when you're in danger of drowning," Mrs Doyle said. "I know how you feel, Mrs Murray. But you've got so much stress on your shoulders, wondering from day to day when the next visit is going to come, wondering when you're going to get the news your mother has decided to challenge your husband in court for custody of your child. I say it's time to take the fight to her, before it gets too late. We need to hit her fast and hard, otherwise she's going to keep on like a bulldog until she wears you down to the point where you feel you'll have no choice but to give in to get yourself some peace. But it won't be real peace; your mother will then demand your time and attention, and she'll make requests of you that might seem like the actions of a mother wanting the best for her daughter. I can tell you now they won't be; she'll chip at you until she's nudged you completely out of your child's life, to the point the little one will recognise only one woman as his or her mother; Mrs Byrne. And even if you succeed in breaking free, your child will be a stranger to you, and you to them."
Jenny was silent for a long time, before daring the question she'd feared to ask. "Did the same happen to you?" she ventured.
Mrs Doyle nodded. "Going close to twenty-one years, now," she said, and though her voice was stern, her eyes filled with tears for the first time since Calum had known her, and the young man felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. Jenny had gone rigid in his arms, and he tightened his hold instincitvely, his gaze never leaving the stern-faced woman before them. "Does the Lady Roisin know?" he asked, the question carrying a world of unspoken implications.
"She believes me long gone from this world," Mrs Doyle said, taking out a pale grey handkerchief and drying her eyes. "But I will take immense pleasure in bringing her down a peg or three when she learns I am still alive, and ready to defend my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild to the very last bone in my body." Her smile had no warmth in it, and Calum thanked his lucky stars his real mother-in-law was on his side.
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