“Are you Brian Hannan’s son?” I asked as we set off together through the pine wood. “I thought he only had one child.”
“He does. The exquisite Irene. You haven’t met her yet then? I think I saw her arriving a while ago. Oh, yes, an only child and raised like one to have everything she wanted. A spoiled little miss and hasn’t changed. Can still arrange the odd temper tantrum like a two year old if she doesn’t get her own way—even though she’s now past thirty.” He grinned at me wickedly. “Of course she has received her just desserts—married to the horribly boring Archie because she wanted his distinguished name. The man hasn’t an interesting or novel thought in his head and has never done a day’s work. It’s all about polo and sailing and the occasional flutter on the gee-gees. All the expensive sports and luckily Irene’s money allows him to live in the lifestyle to which he is accustomed.”
“Isn’t his family rich in their own right?”
“Used to be. Bad business decisions and too many idle sons like Archie. Oh, no, it was a marriage of utter convenience to both. He got the money, she got the name and the stature that goes with it. So both, we hope, are satisfied and deserve each other.”
“So if you’re not Brian Hannan’s son—”
“Joseph’s my father,” he said. “But it’s Uncle Brian who pulls the strings in this family, and controls the purse strings too. When he tells us to jump, we jump, even my father who is technically a partner in Hannan Construction. Of course he lacks in Uncle Brian’s fanatical work ethic. And his tastes are more expensive. I seem to have inherited that weakness—” He broke off. “I say, I shouldn’t be revealing the family skeletons to a stranger, should I?”
“My lips are sealed,” I said, making him laugh.
Suddenly we heard a voice calling “I think I see them!” and a young woman came running through the trees toward us. She was dressed in a severe dark blue dress, almost looking like one of the Salvation Army ladies and had an equally severe pale and haughty face. She looked startled then stared at us in disgust.
“Oh, it’s you. I didn’t think that even you would stoop as low as going off into Uncle’s woods with some woman.”
“How lovely to see you, Eliza,” Terrence said. “And as usual you’ve gotten the wrong end of the stick, seeing degradation where there is none. This lady is a guest of Uncle Brian’s and I have just risked life and limb climbing down the cliff to rescue her from being cut off by the tide.”
The haughty face flushed. “Oh, I am so sorry. It’s just that my brother—well, his behavior is not always what one would wish and when I saw you I naturally assumed…” She held out her hand. “I’m Eliza Hannan.”
“This is my dear sister,” Terrence said. “As you can see from her clothing, she has taken after our mother and has devoted her life to good works among the poor.”
“Molly Sullivan,” I said frostily. “And I really must examine the way that I dress, since this is the second time I’ve been taken for a lady of ill repute since I arrived on this property.”
“Oh, no, there is nothing wrong, I assure you,” she gushed, her face bright red now. “It was a hasty judgment knowing the wild ways of my brother. I’m sorry you’ve had an ordeal on our beach. The tide does come in quickly, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, still unwilling to let go of this latest slight. I hoped the rest of the Hannan family would not be so unwelcoming as these first members.
“Mrs. Sullivan’s skirts are cold and wet, so if you’ll excuse us, Liza dear. I’m escorting her back to the guest cottage, where she and her husband are staying.”
“Of course,” Eliza said. “Off you go, then.”
“What were you shouting about anyway?”
“Thomas and Alex. They are missing and Irene is in a terrible state, after—well, you know.”
At that moment there was more blundering through the bushes and crunching of leaves and a man came running up to us. “Have you found them yet?” he asked breathlessly, then he noticed me and looked at me inquiringly.
“No, we haven’t seen them,” Terrence said. “But we were down on the seashore and there was no sign of them there.”
“Thank God,” the man said. He was immaculately dressed, hair perfectly parted in the middle, and had the pale face and light hair of Dutch ancestry, drawing me to the conclusion that this was indeed Archie Van Horn, the boys’ father.
“Little devils,” he said. “That new nursemaid cannot control them. Absolutely hopeless. They run rings around her and poor Irene is distraught.”
“I’ll help you look, as soon as I’ve escorted Mrs. Sullivan back to the guest cottage,” Terrence said.
“Oh, please don’t concern yourself about me,” I said. “I am quite able to find my own way. It’s more important that you look for the missing boys.”
“Mrs. Sullivan and her husband are Uncle Brian’s guests,” Terrence said, noticing Archie’s questioning stare.