One Hundred Names (Special Edition)

allotment and Kitty all of a sudden very desperately wanted to be back in that embrace with him. Stunned by her feelings, she turned round and left awkwardly.
    ‘But, Eugene, I don’t understand why you told her about that?’ Ambrose shouted at her friend and colleague.
    Eugene’s cheeks flushed. Ambrose’s temper was as fiery as her hair. He had faced her wrath before and wasn’t particularly good at dealing with it. It reduced him to a stammering wreck. ‘It just came up in conversation,’ he said meekly.
    His meekness gave her more confidence to have a go at him. ‘How could something like that just come up in conversation? It has nothing to do with the business. Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have let you be interviewed by her,’ she fumed, pacing her kitchen.
    However, they both knew the opposite was true. If Eugene didn’t speak to the reporter there would be no article, there would be no publicity for the museum, of which they were in dire need, and there would certainly be no better way to air their shared opinions and worries on the extinction of many butterflies. Eugene was better with people, everybody knew that. Apart from when she was with him, Ambrose had a complete inability to deal with most people. She became too conscious of her appearance, too obsessed by what they were thinking about her to be able to formulate a proper thought, never mind do business or promote her museum. She was okay over the phone but was all too aware of the local mystery surrounding her and so preferred not to deal with anyone at all. That way she couldn’t add to the whispers and tales of ‘the time they met Ambrose Nolan …’ Truth be told, she was getting worse. She shopped online for clothes and groceries, making sure that anything that needed to be signed for would go directly to the museum so that Eugene, or Sara in the shop and café, would take care of it. But the one thing that nobody knew was the very thing Eugene had splurged to the reporter. Well, there were two things really. The first Eugene had broken to Ambrose, thinking she would be mildly annoyed, but she had exploded when she’d heard, and the second was simply unforgivable. He’d known it as he was telling the reporter but he couldn’t help it, it had just come out. The reporter was good; she had a way of weaselling things out of him, which bothered him. He had said things he didn’t even know to be true until he heard them come out of his mouth.
    ‘I apologise about telling her about the operation,’ he stammered. ‘I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know why I did, in fact, I’ll ask her to make sure she doesn’t write it in the article.’ He referred to the fact that Ambrose had been saving for a very long time to have the birthmark on her face removed. She had visited various doctors about it and it would take many laser treatments to have it removed, but it was possible. This piece of information was not something she expected to be shared. The idea that Eugene had discussed her appearance with anybody humiliated her. ‘But I didn’t know you didn’t want anybody to know about your report,’ Eugene said more firmly, confidence in his voice, and Ambrose believed him.
    ‘Who else have you told?’
    ‘Nobody.’
    ‘So you see, you did know not to say anything otherwise you would have told people.’
    ‘Look, Ambrose, calm down. What you’ve done is terrific. You should be proud. I’ve read your report over and over again and it’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever read. I’m proud of you; you should want to tell the world about your findings. The fact that the symposium has asked you to speak about it is a huge honour and confirmation that your studies are remarkable. This symposium is your golden opportunity and you know it. It’s not every day or even every year that it comes to Ireland.’ He was referring to the upcoming event in Cork University where Sir David Attenborough, President of Butterfly Conservation, was to open this year’s symposium. There would be reviews and news of the latest initiatives to reverse the decline in butterfly and moth numbers and how to conserve habitats. The symposium would also provide researchers from all around the world with a forum to present papers on practical conservation work. It would look at the future challenges, including the impact of climate change. Ambrose was one of the people who had been invited to speak. Eugene had confirmed the engagement on her behalf, much