Road Trip

As Liam drives Maeve back to the inn, he asks about her family research. She explains her family’s desperate financial situation and says their only hope lies in Lady Geraldine’s portrait. 

Maeve also shares what Isabel told her and Therse about Kathleen. When they arrive at the inn, he kisses her goodnight. A nursery rhyme he quotes reminds Maeve of her mother, filling her with a pang of sadness.

The next morning, on the sisters’ drive to Cobh, Therese relays the details of her call with Scotty. Therese then shares what she discovered in Kathleen’s letters: Kathleen insisted she did not murder Lady Delia and that the jewelry and money were gifts. The sisters realize the Rossingtons framed their great-grandmother. 

Therese also reveals she confronted Esme the previous night to ask about the IRA robbery. Maeve adds that Liam told her the Rossington fortune has declined. They resolve to check the National Gallery website for a list of paintings donated by the Rossingtons. Arriving in Cobh, they are struck by the port’s historic atmosphere and reflect on its importance as the last place Kathleen saw in Ireland.

At the Cobh Heritage Museum, Maeve and Therese meet with Christy, a volunteer genealogist. He cannot find Kathleen’s baptismal record and conjectures that the priest may have refused to baptize her because she was conceived out of wedlock. He does, however, find her 1920 confirmation certificate.

Christy locates Kathleen on the passenger manifest for the RMS Cedric, which sailed for New York on July 25, 1926, confirming the timeline they had been given. The sisters then explain the mystery of the portrait. Intrigued, Christy gives them his card and asks them to keep him updated.

Back in their hotel room, Therese shows Maeve the letters Kathleen wrote to her brother. A July 1928 letter announces her marriage to Brendan Fahey, a kind, older train conductor in Geneva, New York. However, a letter from December 1928 reveals Brendan died suddenly from a burst appendix. His will left everything to his cruel brother, leaving Kathleen unhoused and penniless.

In an August 1929 letter, Kathleen reports she has remarried a fellow Irish immigrant, Patrick John Murphy. To raise money to buy a tavern with him, she sold Lady Geraldine’s bracelet. In the letter, Kathleen states that Delia intended the painting as a reminder of who she came from and of her mother’s love for her, and Kathleen vows that she would never sell it. She also reveals she is pregnant with her first child. Maeve says this letter is proof that Kathleen did not steal the portrait.

Maeve continues reading Kathleen’s letters, learning of the births of her grandmother, Julia Mary, and a son, Thomas, and later a third child, Bernadette Mary. Patrick died of influenza in 1937, leaving Kathleen with three children and a tavern to run alone. When Therese returns with drinks, she asks Maeve why she hasn’t told her that she’s working on a novel, revealing she found some manuscript pages in Maeve’s room. Embarrassed, Maeve admits she has been secretly writing a book for years but feels too vulnerable to share it.

Maeve confesses that she was recently fired and feels ashamed and uncertain about her future. Therese comforts her, insisting the job loss is a “blessing in disguise” that will give her time to write (196). She gives Maeve a pep talk, expressing confidence that they will authenticate the painting and solve their financial problems. Just then, Maeve receives a text from Liam asking to meet for a drink. As Maeve prepares to go, Therese insists on doing her makeup.

Maeve meets Liam, and they decide to go to the Willow Tree pub, hoping for another chance to speak with Esme. Maeve asks Liam how he became a distiller, and he explains that he has a degree in chemical engineering but was “bored out of [his] skull” at his corporate job (202). After discovering a passion for whiskey-making, he studied the craft in Kentucky and London. 

Esme is also at the Willow Tree with her dog and her handyman, Reggie O’Malley, who has an alcohol addiction. Esme is hostile toward Maeve, accusing her and Therese of being nosy. Later, Reggie passes out in the bathroom, and Liam and the barman, Rodney, haul him out the door of the pub.

Seeing Esme stranded, Maeve suggests they offer her a ride home, hoping a kind gesture might yield information. Esme accepts. In the car, she asks about Maeve’s family and recognizes the name Kathleen Connor. As Liam helps her to the door of her dilapidated cottage, Esme warns Maeve, “Let the dead rest” (206).

Driving away from Esme’s cottage, Liam and Maeve discuss her cryptic warning. Maeve speculates that an IRA member recovered the stolen portrait and later sold it at auction. Liam says this is not possible because everyone involved in the heist is dead. This includes Starr McGahee, the leader of the gang, who died of breast cancer nearly 10 years ago. Starr was the mother of his cousin Maddie’s husband, Jamie. Liam also explains that locally, Kathleen is still remembered as the girl who murdered her benefactress, Lady Delia.

Shaken, Maeve confesses the guilt she feels for not realizing the extent of her mother’s mental decline over her final months and her anger toward Therese. Liam comforts her and invites her back to his cottage. They share a passionate kiss, but when Liam suggests they have sex, Maeve hesitates, admitting she is not comfortable with casual encounters. Liam, though momentarily hurt, reassures her of his genuine interest and agrees to take things slow.