Celtic Christmas

  Celtic Christmas

  A Zoe Donovan Mystery

  by

  Kathi Daley

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Katherine Daley

  Version 1.0

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Table of Contents

  The Cast

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Apple Pie Biscuits

  Pilgrim Pie

  Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

  The Cast

  The Wedding Party:

  Adam Donovan – Zoe’s distant cousin and the groom

  Jeffery Jones – Adam’s best friend and best man

  Sean Donovan – Adam’s cousin and groomsman

  Connor O’Donnell – Adam’s cousin and groomsman

  Alyssa Summerfield – Bride

  Evette Maguire – Alyssa’s best friend and maid of honor

  Tessa Summerfield – Bride’s younger half-sister and a bridesmaid

  Hillary Sullivan – bridesmaid

  Groom’s Family:

  Harry and Gwen Donovan – Groom’s parents

  Tyson Donovan – Adam’s black sheep brother

  Walter Donovan – Groom’s uncle – Harry’s brother

  Bride’s Family:

  Carolina Mason – Bride’s mother – divorced and single

  Roderick Summerfield – Bride’s father

  Victoria Ellis – Roderick’s much younger girlfriend

  Other Guests:

  Daniel Parker – Hillary’s boyfriend

  Heidi Farley – Came with Tyson

  The Castle Residents and Staff:

  Lord Dunphy

  Bonnie – cook

  Maeve – serves meals and helps with housekeeping

  Lizbeth – chambermaid

  Larson – stable hand

  Buford – server/bartender

  Bobby – helped with cleanup

  Ronan – groundskeeper

  Cain - driver

  Chapter 1

  Wednesday, December 18

  “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young woman named Lady Catherine who was sent by her father, an English Duke, to marry a man she’d never met.” I recited a bedtime story to my daughter, Catherine Donovan-Zimmerman, as I fed her the bottle she still took before bed. “Lord Dunphy was the son of the Duke of Dunphy, who lived in a castle in Ireland and ruled over an entire village. The marriage of the English daughter to the Irish son was orchestrated by their fathers to create a political and military alliance between the families.”

  She snuggled her head into my chest as I continued the true story of her namesake, Catherine Dunphy. “Lady Catherine was not only the most beautiful woman in all the land with her dark hair and piercing blue eyes, but she was also one of the strongest and bravest women of her time.” I gently rocked her toward sleep as I imagined the fiery ancestor my daughter was named after. “I feel quite certain the pairing was rocky in the beginning as Lady Catherine fought to make her mark in her new relationship, but I suspect that she eventually grew to love Lord Carrick, and he grew to love her. During their marriage, Lady Catherine bore Lord Carrick twelve children, all sons. Or at least at the time, all were believed to be sons.”

  Catherine reached up and touched my cheek as I continued to tell the story. I was determined to wean her off the bedtime bottle once we returned to Ashton Falls from our quick trip to Ireland but to be honest, the evening ritual meant as much to me as it did to her.

  “The love story of Carrick and Catherine is beautiful in many ways,” I stroked her cheek and continued to speak. “It is filled with love and passion, yet it’s also extremely sad. You see, life in the sixteen hundreds was hard, and like many people who lived during this period in time, several of Catherine’s children died early in life. In fact, it was Catherine’s fourth son who eventually inherited the title from Lord Carrick Dunphy. Catherine lost three sons in her lifetime, and Carrick lost two more before he passed.”

  My heart hurt for Lady Catherine. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if something happened to my Catherine. To lose so many children seemed unbearable. I glanced down at Catherine’s dark curly-haired head nestled against my chest and tightened my arms around the bundle in my arms just a bit. God, I loved her. I leaned over, kissed her gently on the forehead, and then continued my story. “The real twist to this story is that son number five, a baby boy named Donovan, was born while Carrack was away at war, but as it turns out, Donovan was not a son at all. He was actually a daughter.”

  Catherine had stopped sucking, but she had not taken her eyes from my face. It appeared she was really interested in the story even though she couldn’t really understand anything I was saying. I smiled, and she began to suck again. I could see that she was losing her battle to stay awake as her eyes drifted closed, and her body softened. I continued to rock slowly back and forth, as I allowed my mind to wander to Lady Catherine and the difficult decision she’d made.

  “You see, while Lady Catherine loved all of her children equally, she also loved her chauvinistic husband, a man she knew would not offer a female child the same advantages offered to his male offspring. Lady Catherine wanted more for her daughter than to be married off to a family with political ties as she’d been, so she told everyone the baby she’d delivered had died during childbirth. She named her daughter Amelia, swore the midwife to secrecy, and then she gave her baby to an educated and progressive couple living in the village. Conall and Deirdre Donovan gave their last name to Amelia, and it was from Amelia’s lineage that Pappy, Grandpa, you, and I are descended.”

  Catherine had stopped sucking, and her mouth had fallen open. She hadn’t finished the bottle, but she appeared to be asleep, so I slowly removed the bottle from her mouth and set it on the table next to the rocker where I was sitting. I gently stood up with her in my arms. I’d already bathed and dressed her in a nighttime diaper and warm fuzzy bunny jammies. I carried her into the second bedroom of the two-bedroom suite Zak, Catherine, Charlie, and I shared. Zak had taken Charlie out for his final bathroom break of the day while I fed Catherine. The two of us were to join the wedding party and out of town wedding guests for a late meal, and we’d decided to get Catherine to bed first.

  After I covered Catherine and made sure she was settled, I walked over to the window and looked out. I wondered where Zak and Charlie were. I’d expected them to be back by now. The section of the castle where we were staying looked out over the raging sea. It was dark now, so I couldn’t actually see the water, but the sound of waves crashing on the rocks below left no doubt that the ocean was very near.

  I opened the window and paused to listen to the sound of rain hitting the stone walkway. Apparently, it rained a lot in this part of Ireland. The last time we’d been here, the sea had risen, and the river overflowed, causing the castle, which was accessible to the village below by a bridge, to become entirely cut off for several days. According to Lord Dunphy, being cut off by raging water was a frequent occurrence, and all we could do in such an instance was wait it out.

  I hoped the rain would not return with the velocity it had the last time we were here. We’d only planned a short stay so we could be home with our family for Christmas, so if we were going to do any sightseeing
at all, we were going to need the weather to cooperate. There was a village up the coast known for its Christmas traditions, and Lord Dunphy had told me there was a Christmas Market in the small village at the foot of the castle that featured booths that sold food and locally made crafts.

  “Zoe.” I turned and looked toward the door as Alex Bremmerton knocked once and then came into the room. She was one of the two sixteen-year-olds living with Zak and me, and she’d come along on the trip to help with Catherine.

  “Are you and Nona all settled?” I asked. Nona was Zak’s honorary grandmother, who also lived with us back in Ashton Falls and came along on the trip.

  “We are. Nona was tired from the trip, so she turned in early.”

  Nona was a leather-wearing, Harley driving, senior citizen, with energy to burn most of the time, but she’d had a stroke a while back, and her energy level just wasn’t what it used to be.

  “How’s your suite?” I asked.

  “It’s really great,” Alex answered. “It has an old-world feel to it, yet it’s outfitted with all the modern conveniences anyone could want. I’m sorry Scooter wasn’t able to come along. He would have loved all the weaponry on the walls.” Scooter Sherwood, the other sixteen-year-old who lived with us, was in Los Angeles visiting his father but would return to Ashton Falls in time for Christmas. “What time is your dinner?”

  “Not for another hour, but we really should head downstairs and mingle. Zak took Charlie out, so I suppose we’ll go down as soon as he gets back. I appreciate you sitting with Catherine.”

  “You know that I’m happy to. I brought the book Ellie gave me, and it’s nice and cozy in here. I’m sure Catherine and I will be fine.”

  Ellie Denton, along with her husband, Levi Denton, were my two best friends. At one point, we’d discussed having them come to Ireland with us, but then Ellie’s mother insisted she bring their children, Eli and Alya, for a visit, so the Denton family headed east for the holiday, while the Donovan-Zimmerman clan made the trip across the sea.

  Alex sat down on the sofa and hugged a pillow to her chest. “I really love how the entire castle is decorated. So far, there has been a fully decorated tree in every room, including the thirty-foot tree in the entry. How on earth did they manage to decorate that?”

  “I guess they must have used a lift of some sort. The huge double doors at the front of the castle would open wide enough to allow for scaffolding or some sort of equipment to be brought in.”

  “Yeah. I guess that makes sense. If you take into account the number of trees on the premises, the garland that is strung along the stairway and over every mantle, the bright red bows, poinsettias on every table, and lights strung everywhere, it must have taken a whole lot of people a whole lot of time to create the magic they’ve managed to pull off.”

  “It is pretty special. Like an enchanted fairytale come to life.”

  Alex tucked a lock of her long hair behind her ear. “It would be pretty magical to be married here in this castle at Christmas. I’m really excited about the wedding on Saturday. I bet it will be like something out of Cinderella. And the fact that the wedding party is staying here at the castle, and there are events planned for the entire four days between today and Saturday, makes it even more special.”

  “I am looking forward to the dinner this evening,” I agreed. “This will be the first chance I’ve had to meet my Irish relatives face to face.”

  “Personally, I’m excited about the formal ball that will be held on Friday evening,” Alex countered. “I know there probably won’t be anyone my age attending, but Nona said she’d watch Catherine if I wanted to go for a while, and I did bring the red velvet dress you bought me.”

  “You should absolutely go. I heard the ball is open to people from the village as well as those staying at the castle, so there might be someone close to your age.”

  “I hope so, but if not, it will still be fun. This castle is so awesome. I can’t wait to go exploring.”

  “It is a pretty great castle,” I agreed.

  “And so big. I’m really not sure what I was expecting. Something grand for sure, but something that felt touristy. But this place has managed to maintain its old-world charm in spite of the upgrades.”

  Alex voiced much the same sentiment I had during my first stay in Dunphy Castle. The floors and walls were made of stone, and every room had a fireplace, which served as the primary source of the heat in the huge structure. The castle had a moat, medieval weaponry on the walls, and a long, winding staircase leading to the roof. Still, in spite of the care that was taken to maintain the authenticity of the castle, the place had modern plumbing, electricity, internet, and even satellite television.

  “Nona told me that she hopes we will be given a tour of the section of the castle that’s closed off to tourists,” Alex added.

  “I’m not sure whether we will be allowed to gain access to the closed-off section or not, but I am sure we are going to have a wonderful time. I hope we will be able to go to the Christmas Market tomorrow, but it’s started to rain, and I remember from the last time we were here, that it can rain a lot once it gets started.”

  Alex shrugged. “If we can’t do the market tomorrow, I’m sure there will be other things to do. Zak told me there is a huge library as well as an arboretum where one can read.”

  I nodded. “Both statements are true. And the arboretum is really something. It seems Lord Dunphy’s grandfather built the arboretum for his wife, who was ill and unable to go outdoors. It contains a variety of plants and trees, a trickling waterfall, and climate control to ensure blooming flowers year-round.”

  “That sounds amazing.”

  Zak walked in with Charlie while Alex and I were discussing the different options that might be available to us should the rain continue.

  “You’re both soaking wet,” I said.

  “It was raining pretty hard by the time we started back,” Zak informed me. “I tried to hurry Charlie along, but he was having nothing of it. I guess I don’t blame him. It was a long flight over, followed by a long car ride up to the castle. I’m going to change my clothes, and then we can head down to dinner. When I came through the first floor, I noticed that everyone seemed to be gathering in the parlor.”

  “Okay, great.” I looked down at the long red dress I wore. “I’ll just run a brush through my hair, and then I’ll be ready as well.”

  The suites we’d been assigned were in the back of the castle on the second floor, and the dinner was in the formal dining room on the first floor, so once we were both ready, we made our way down the long staircase. When Zak and I arrived at the party, we were greeted by Lord Dunphy, who introduced us to Adam Donovan, the groom and my distant cousin,. Apparently, we shared a grandfather five generations ago, a man named Alby Donovan. Alby had five sons, the youngest of whom was my great, great grandfather, a man named Braden Donovan. Braden left Ireland and made the voyage to America when he was a young man. He married a woman named Celeste Brown and started the line of American Donovans from which I am descended. Adam is descended from Alby’s middle son, a man named David Donovan, who stayed in Ireland and worked as a blacksmith in the very village that still sits at the foot of the castle.

  “I’m so happy to finally meet you,” I said to the man who I had exchanged several emails with before speaking to on the phone twice. “This is my husband, Zak Zimmerman.”

  Adam gave me a warm hug. “You look a lot like her, you know. Catherine Dunphy.”

  “I have some features in common with Lady Catherine, but wait until you meet my daughter. She looks like she could be Catherine reincarnated.”

  Adam turned to his left. “This is my fiancée, Alyssa.”

  I turned my attention to the red-haired beauty. “I’m so very happy to meet you as well.”

  “Adam has told me so much about his cousin from the States who tracked him down after learning of her heritage. I have to admire your commitment to your project. I’m not sure I would have stu
ck with it for as long as it took for you to get your answers.”

  “My trip to Ireland four years ago had a profound effect on me. I was really drawn in by it all, especially Catherine’s story. Once I found Adam, I knew I needed to meet you all, so when he invited me to your wedding, I knew I needed to rearrange things to attend.”

  “I understand that we have you to thank for arranging for us to be wed in the castle. Thank you so much. Living in the village below during my childhood made the place seem magical, and it has always been my dream to be married here,” Alyssa said.

  “It wasn’t a problem at all. Lord Dunphy and I have become friends since my last visit, and when Adam mentioned your dream to wed in the castle, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I was really happy that it worked out. I understand you no longer live in the village.”

  “We don’t. Although we both grew up there. We live in Dublin now,” Alyssa answered.

  “And your families?” I asked.

  “My parents divorced when I was young,” Alyssa said. “My father moved to Belfast shortly after, but my mother stayed in the area until after I went off to college. She lives in Cork now. Adam’s parents lived in the area until maybe five years ago, when they decided to move to London. His brother, Tyson, still lives in the village, as does Adam’s uncle, Walter.”

  “I can’t wait to meet everyone.”

  “Let me introduce you to the other Donovans who are here,” Adam offered. “I’m sure they’ll want to welcome you as well.”

  As I was to find out over the next several hours, the majority of the wedding party, as well as most of my Donovan relatives other than Adam, were an odd bunch with stories to tell and secrets to hide. Based on my first impression of the group, half the people in attendance had been or were currently in some sort of feud with the other half of the people in the room. There were a few instances when I half expected the room to erupt in violence, and I realized that if I didn’t want to end up with my foot in my mouth, I was going to have to figure out a way to keep everyone’s alliances straight. It seemed obvious that Alyssa’s mother, Carolina Mason, was not speaking to her father, Roderick Summerfield, who’d shown up with a woman closer to his daughter’s age than his. I seemed to remember her name as being Victoria. Or maybe it was Veronica.