Chapter 12
Remington rubbed his mouth nervously, trying to decide what to say next. Looking at the faces before him, an idea came to him. Turning to the bartender he said, "Another round please," He held up 4 fingers to indicate how many beers were needed. The bartender nodded before turning away. A few minutes later, Remington was passing the beers out to the group. "I supposed a toast is necessary. To long lost family," he said simply.
Paddy raised his glass. "And stories untold," he added.
"And what stories might those be?" a familiar voice boomed from a few feet away. Turning toward it, Remington clenched his jaw as he saw Anthony Roselli strolling toward them.
"Antony. Why are you here?" he managed through tight teeth. Remington was barely hanging onto his emotional balance as it was, but seeing Roselli was almost enough to push him over the edge.
"I heard this band was pretty good, thought I'd see for myself," Tony answered casually.
"I mean here, Antony, back in Ireland, back in Glen Cree," Remington clarified.
"I think you know. I need to talk to her, Steele," Tony said firmly.
"My wife? As much as I hate to say this, Antony, I believe she needs to converse with you as well. Set the record straight as it may be," Remington agreed. "Let's say, tomorrow. One o'clock?"
"And Laura's not going to care that you set this up?" Tony challenged him.
"No, actually, Antony, my wife and I had discussed this exact scenario. We feel a conversation between you and her is in order given the circumstances of the past month," Remington answered stiffly.
"How's her head?" Tony asked, remembering how he had seen Laura the day before.
"Healing. My wife is a bit of the stubborn sort, you see. She's not going to let something like that keep her down for long," Remington stated.
At this, Christian jumped in, "Mr. Steele, I couldn't believe Mrs. Steele this morning. If I hadn't been there yesterday, I never would have guessed she hurt her head in that mine."
Remington cringed a little when he saw the expression on Paddy's face as he listened to his son. It was obvious Christian hadn't told Paddy what had transpired over the last week. Paddy gave Christian the stern look that said he had a lot of explaining to do later. Ignoring Roselli, Remington put his arm around Paddy and said, "Don't be too hard on him. He's a good boy and he was a tremendous help the last few days. If you're free for breakfast, I'll introduce you to my wife and together we'll tell you the whole story. Christian, you and Fergus will be down at the paddock in the morning, if memory serves me right."
"I'll be picking him up as the sun rises, my Lord," Christian confirmed.
"Very good. I'll need you both to coordinate a list of repair supplies you'll be needing so we can get those ordered," Remington stated. Turning to Mickeline, who had been quietly listening to the unexpected reunion, he said, "Christian and Fergus will be repairing the stables, the paddock. Fergus will be in charge of maintaining the paddock area from now on and Pace and Christian will be the stable managers."
Mickeline smiled, "Very good, your Lordship. I had some concerns over that area but my attention has been pulled elsewhere recently."
Tony listened then added snidely, "So what, now you're giving the orders? You swept right in and took over?"
Remington narrowed his eyes at him, "No, Antony as the Lord of the Castle it is my duty to be sure the castle is running smoothly. By delegating responsibilities, not only will the work that is needed will get done but Mickeline here won't feel any undue stress over it."
"But I thought you were dumping the whole thing?" Tony asked.
"Ah, Antony, at one point yes, I had considered attempting to sell the castle however after careful examination of all the options, Mickeline had the idea of turning the castle into hotel, which Laura and I fully support. So with help from Ms. Krebs, he has spent the last week or so working with the local lending establishments to procure credit in which to make the necessary upgrades. Not that any of this is your business, mind you," Remington stated.
Before Tony had a chance to respond, the lead singer of the band stepped up to the microphone to introduce the members of the band and their first song, a cover version of John Waite's Missing You. The hard edge of the lead singer's deep voice was softened simply by the lyrics of the song itself. Their second song was a traditional Irish pub song to which most of the patrons cheerfully sang along.
The third song on their musical set was another cover to the popular song Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. Remington couldn't help but relish in the idea that at that moment in time he could raise the parallels between Marty McFly from Back to the Future (Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Universal, 1985) and his own life where his past and present were currently colliding with unexpected results.
The band continued alternating songs between covers of popular hits, traditional Irish songs and even a few originals they had written themselves. Remington was impressed with the expanse of their music as well as the band itself. The last song they played before they broke for the evening hit home for Remington. It took every ounce of strength he had left to control his emotions as the band sang their version of Hard Habit To Break by Chicago. The first two verses tore at the fragile wound Daniel's death had left on his heart.
"I guess I thought you'd be here forever,
Another illusion I chose to create.
You don't know what ya got until it's gone,
And I found out a little too late.
I was acting as if you were lucky to have me,
Doin' you a favor I hardly knew you were there
But then you were gone and it all was wrong,
Had no idea how much I cared. "
Before the chorus had even begun, Remington excused himself to step outside, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill down his face. He walked as quickly as he could away from the pub into a side alley where he leaned against the the wall, partially hidden in the shadows, drawing in harsh breaths to try to calm himself. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Paddy looking for him. Pushing himself upright, he stood as close to the building as he could, hoping he wouldn't be seen, but Paddy had caught his movement and rushed down the alley.
"Seanie, are you all right? You're not sick are you?" Paddy asked. He could see the tear streaks on what was now Remington's pale face.
Embarrassed, Remington wiped his face as he cleared his throat. "No, not at all… I just… ah… needed some fresh air, that's all. The smoke… starting to get to me… you know, irritating the eyes," he said, hoping Paddy would believe him, but by the look on his face, he knew he didn't.
"The smoke… it bothered me a lot too after Mama died. Was it someone close to you?" Paddy offered, hoping Remington would understand.
Still trying to regain his composure, Remington nodded sharply, "Yeah, you could say that. Listen, Paddy, I'd rather not… discuss… this," he motioned to the the alley, "with everyone else you know. I've built an image, especially with Christian, that I'd like to try to maintain if possible."
"I get that. Maybe tomorrow, over breakfast you can tell me more," Paddy said as he put his arm around Remington's shoulders as they began to walk back to the entrance of the pub. "Seanie, can I ask you something?"
Remington stopped walking to look at him, "Of course," he answered.
"How in bloody hell did you get the name Remington Steele?" Paddy asked.
Laughing loudly, Remington said, "That is a long story, much too long for tonight. Tomorrow over breakfast, I'll have my wife, Laura, help tell it."
Back inside, the band finished their set, thanking the audience. Remington stood beside the stage and waited until he could get the lead singer's attention. "Excuse me, Remington Steele," he began to introduce himself.
"Liam Ó Maonlaí," Liam answered shaking hands. "What can I do for you?"
"Liam, first I want to say well done. You boys put on a wonderful show," Remington smiled.
"Thanks, mate. Always good to hear someone liked it," Liam laughed.
"Second, how would you like another gig? It's local… right here at Ashford Castle," Remington began to explain.
"Ashford Castle, you say? I heard they just got themselves a new Lord of the manor over there," Liam tilted his head, a little confused.
"That is correct, there is a new Lord," Remington said hurriedly. He was anxious to book the band and finalize plans for the wedding. "Now this gig is a rather special one. It would be on Wednesday evening, two weeks coming. Would that fit into your schedule?"
Liam looked at Remington again before saying, "Listen, mate, I don't know who you are, but I'm not gonna be booking anything at Ashford Castle without the new Lord's permission."
Remington interrupted him in a slightly clipped tone, "Liam? I AM the new Lord of Ashford Castle and I'd like your band to play at my wedding in two weeks time. Now, are you available on that date or not?"
Liam's mouth dropped open, shocked. Stuttering a reply he said, "Yes, sir, yes, my Lord, Wednesday, two weeks, your wedding. We can, we can be there."
Nodding, Remington clapped Liam on the shoulder as he replied, "Looking forward to it."