Lily White Lies(73)

“Con, I’d like you to meet an old friend, Brian McDonough, Brian; this is... a new friend, Con Ellis.”

The two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries as Brian looked to me and then back to Con. Once they had released their grip on each other’s hand, Brian quietly made his way to the door.

Stopping in the doorway, he slowly turned and looked directly at Con. With their eyes locked on each other, Brian said, “Treat her right.” Casting his eyes on me, he added, “I didn’t and I have a very long time to regret that.”

Con nodded and replied, “I plan to.”

Brian returned the gesture, looked at me once more and offered a half-smile before closing the door behind him.

Con placed his hands on my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and opened my hand to show him the keys. “He came to give me the car he had bought for me before we split.”

Con’s expression turned suspicious. “That was... generous.”

“I know how it looks but he’s not up to anything. He said that he felt he owed me this much after the way he treated me, that’s all.”

With a playful smile, he said, “Okay, then you can drive.”

I grabbed my purse as we made our way to the door.

“I think you should drive, you know where it is.”

“I’ll tell you where to go.”

“But your car is much roomier.”

He laughed and kissed the top of my head, as he closed the door behind us.



As much as I had been looking forward to meeting Con’s grandfather, I enjoyed the ride to Willoughby so much that I hated to see it end. We joked and held hands; I told him about my meeting at the bank and treasured each moment I was able to spend with him.

As Con made a left-hand turn, he said, “Here we go.”

I searched for anything that resembled a house. “Here we go what? I don’t see anything but trees.”

“It’s up the road a bit, but this is the beginning of Willoughby Manor, that’s the name of my grandfather’s estate.”

“Estate? I’m even more intrigued. How big is it?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know in acres but I’ll tell you this, when I was a kid, I thought Willoughby Manor was bigger than the whole town and I thought that my grandfather must be the president because only the president or Elvis could live in a house like this.”

We continued to drive along the tree-lined road and although there was still no sign of buildings, the trees had become more evenly spaced and the grounds appeared to be groomed. Making our way up a slight incline, my eyes opened wide as we topped the knoll and drove through open cast iron gates.

“Oh my God.”

“Yes, its impressive and walking the grounds would make one feel like they’re in a fairy tale... until they get inside and meet the ogre.”

“That isn’t nice.”

“Keep in mind, I know him better and after meeting him, you may be saying a lot worse.”

I rolled my eyes, as he parked alongside a vintage Thunderbird.

I stepped out of the car in awe of the enormity of the house. It was an old, stately home with ribbons of color; tulips, hyacinths and rose bushes setting off a wrap around porch, French windows and almost a dozen steps leading to double wooden doors with etched glass centers. The grounds were immaculate with mature pin oaks and border shrubs and past the gazebo sat a beautiful hand-built pond complete with rocks, plants, running water and three dozen Hatari and Koi, according to Con.

The tranquility that surrounded the stately house was unlike anything in the city or even the rest of Willoughby. The sounds of running water, trees rustling and birds chirping were enough to put a person in a peaceful state of being.

“I grew up in Willoughby and I never knew this was here. I’d seen the road before but always thought it was just a road to nowhere that the kids used for parking.”

“This estate has been in my grandfather’s family for five generations, and given the chance, he’ll tell you all about it.”

Con took hold of the old brass knocker with hesitation. “Just remember, you asked to come here.”

His remark brought my first pang of apprehension. I nodded, “I did, didn’t I?”

He smiled and the knocker came down on the brass striking plate in three loud thuds.

I bit down on my lip as the door handle slowly turned. The door opened and a big-bosomed woman in a simple gray dress squealed with delight, “Connor, my boy. Come here and give me a hug. Why do you wait so long between visits?”

Con wrapped his arms around the woman, giving her what she requested. Turning to me, he said, “Meg, this is Ivory...” The affection in his eyes was apparent, as he continued, “She’s been like a second mother to me and the only person—other than my grandmother—who could put up with Joker for any length of time.”