CHAPTER TWO
It was mid-morning when we headed off in the direction of Clifden. From there we took the road to Letterfrack, skirted round Ballinakill Bay and arrived in the district of Derryinver.
‘What do you think of that, Harris ‒ journey’s end without a hitch?’
‘You did have the advantage of a map. It’s amazing how instructive and helpful that can be.’
I had no answer to that.
But once more I was to surprise myself for, purely by chance, I spied a big house on the curve of the bay. ‘That has to be it,’ I said, excitedly. It disappeared from view, hidden by the brow of a hill. I moved the car along a little faster and Harris anxiously called out, ‘Steady, Jonathan, we have to watch out for the house.’
We swept around a corner and there it was, directly in front of us. ‘Derryinver House, if I’m not mistaken,’ I announced, ‘and located without the aid of a map.’
Harris looked at me and scratched behind his ear. ‘Have you ever thought of offering your services as a guide to one of these expeditions that take place every now and then into the Amazon, or even the Antarctic? I have no doubt that somewhere out in the wilderness some expedition is stalled while they seek the services of a proficient map reader.’
He can be whimsical at times.
~
The house was imposing, aesthetically pleasing to the eye, with well-maintained lawns that swept down to a lake. I parked the car and we walked to the stout, white front door. It opened before we had time to ring the bell and we were greeted by the dazzling smile of an elegant lady. She exuded a charm that was captivating.
She reached her hand to Harris and said, ‘I presume you are Sedgewick Harris. How kind of you to answer my call so quickly.’
‘Your request seemed urgent and this is an afternoon that happens to be convenient for us all. May I introduce my very good friend, Jonathan Wilson.’
‘Oh, yes, Jonathan Wilson, I am familiar with your name and am so pleased to meet you.’
I was taken aback by her unexpected words. This enchanting lady familiar with my name? I wondered how that could be. Harris discreetly signalled me to close my wide-open mouth.
~
We followed Hilda Jennings into a drawing room that overlooked the lake.
‘Tea will be along shortly,’ she said in a refined Galway accent. ‘You are a busy man, Mr Harris, and I will come directly to the problem that is causing me concern. My husband passed away four years ago and left everything to me. This outward display of wealth can be deceiving but I manage to make ends meet. Robin was a kind, caring husband and I still miss him.
‘Since his passing, I have been inundated with requests, from very kind people who, assuming I have vast wealth, are hoping to assist me in the control and management of my money. I am content to have a bank in Galway city manage my affairs and am satisfied with that service. The interest earned is enough to maintain a modest standard, but something happened in the past week that unnerved me.’
‘I see,’ said Harris. ‘What unnerved you?’
‘Mr Plumpton.’
‘Who?’
‘A Mr Nigel Plumpton has recently come into my life; it all happened so quickly,’ she explained as she fiddled nervously with her pearl necklace. ‘I was attending the wedding reception of a good friend of mine in the Great Southern Hotel in Galway and met him in the foyer. It was one of those chance meetings. I was on my own and so was he. As the day progressed, we fell into conversation and, much to my surprise, I discovered that he knew quite a bit about me. He then felt, I think because he had this little advantage over me, that he should tell me all about himself.’
‘Indeed, we all tend to do that,’ I suggested.
‘He told me he was a gold prospector. In all my life I had never met a gold prospector. It was enthralling to listen to his stories of days spent in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory and the long hours prospecting for gold in dreadful, icy cold conditions. He was hugely successful in his mining operations and made a fortune. He returned to Ireland and settled down near Galway city. He always thought there was gold to be found in the west of Ireland. He mentioned the Glengowla Mines. Have you heard of them?’
We both shook our heads to signify our ignorance.
‘They are located outside Oughterard, the place where you successfully solved the disappearance of the bank notes.’
Now it was the turn of Harris to be surprised. I noticed how he sat back in his chair with a pompous look on his face, relishing the compliment just paid to him. I coughed, attracting his attention, and pointing to the smug grin on his face, raised a questioning eyebrow. He immediately shrugged his shoulders, sat more upright in his chair, and adopted his regular posture.
Hilda Jennings continued her story.
‘Nigel Plumpton was convinced that the terrain in this part of Connemara contained gold and silver and he set about prospecting in the nearby townland of Inverin. I politely listened to him and I could scarcely believe that they had come across traces of gold. Further exploration indicated that the gold find was substantial and extended in a southerly direction for some distance. He noticed my look of disbelief and hurriedly went on to tell me that if I wanted to hear more about the find, I could come to a meeting that was being held the next day in the very hotel where first we met.’
‘How very convenient,’ Harris remarked.
‘My thoughts precisely,’ said Hilda. ‘Well, one thing followed another, as these things often do, and the upshot was that I agreed he should collect me here at Derryinver and drive me to the hotel the following day. I had nothing to lose as I had no intention of handing over any money to him. I cannot risk what little savings I have on a speculative venture. But it is somewhat isolated here and the opportunity of getting away for the day in the company of a man who intrigued me was an unexpected but not an unpleasant challenge. I must confess, Mr Harris, I could have telephoned you from here and explained my predicament, but why do that when the prospect of an hour or two of company is more appealing than a phone conversation? That is the reason I wrote to you.’
I refused to look at Harris, but knew he was staring at me. Now I understood how he had deduced she had a telephone but did not use it. Loneliness and the opportunity to have someone call to see her was so important in her everyday life.
‘No need to apologise. The fact is we don’t have a telephone,’ replied Harris.
Hilda threw her head back and laughed. ‘Well, that’s the best ever,’ she said.
Her story was fascinating and I enjoyed the clear manner in which this confident lady expressed herself.
‘The following day, he arrived and we set off for Galway city. On the way there, he told me that the main reason for the meeting was to convey the latest news on the gold mining to some of the investors and shareholders. When we arrived at the hotel, a private room had been set aside to accommodate the people who had been invited.’
‘Can you remember how many were there?’ asked Harris.
‘That’s easy; there was Nigel Plumpton, of course, two of his associates and four visitors, including myself. A waiter served drinks and everyone moved around introducing themselves and having a bit of a chit-chat. Much to my surprise, I recognised the names of two of the ladies. I did not know them and had never seen them before, but their husbands had been household names. I was impressed.’
‘You said they had been household names. Are they deceased?’
‘Yes, they passed on a few years back, if my memory is correct.’
‘What was the latest news on the gold discovery?’ enquired Harris.
‘I will come to that in a moment but, in the meantime, the other ladies began to relate to me the background to this gold mining project.’
‘You said ladies? Were there no men present?’ Harris asked.
‘Except for Plumpton and his associates, everyone else was female. I assumed that I had been invited to the gathering for the purpose of being asked to invest in the project, and some of the ladies told me that they were here to listen to the latest news on the goldmine. Depending on that information, they would either buy or sell shares. Then Nigel Plumpton called everyone to order and introduced us to a Mr Finn, who was a financial expert or something like that. If I was surprised by what had gone on before, I was now astonished by what followed.’