Page 40 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
‘Not much.’ Vi finished her cookie and took a sip of coffee. ‘But then I was sent a whole stack of letters from Kathleen to Fidelma that I’m reading through right now. So far, I haven’t found anything new.’
‘I hope you don’t,’ Sylvia said. ‘It might compromise your role.’
‘In what way?’ Vi asked.
‘What if you don’t want to play her any more?’ Sylvia said.
‘Oh, I’d never change my mind,’ Vi exclaimed. ‘I want to know Kathleen deep down, not the clichéd Irish sweetheart she was supposed to be.’ She studied Sylvia for a moment. ‘You know something about Kathleen, don’t you?’
Sylvia evaded Vi’s gaze. ‘No, not really. I know about rumours that were flying around at the time, but not if they were true.’
‘What rumours? Granny, please tell me what you heard,’ Vi pleaded. ‘Jack has said some odd things too.’
‘No, love,’ Sylvia said. ‘I don’t want to say anything. Facts are one thing, but idle gossip is something I hate with a passion. You’re going to play Kathleen in a movie about her life. It has to be a true story, not anything based on what could simply be vicious lies told by people who resented her fame and fortune. Do your research, read the letters and find out what the truth is. The real truth, I mean.’
Vi thought for a moment. Then she realised that her grandmother was right. There must have been something in Kathleen’s past that had been hidden all this time. Something Kathleen herself didn’t want anyone to know. But if Vi found out what it was, it had to be based on real facts, not made-up stories or rumours. ‘Okay, Granny. I see what you mean. I’ll go through the letters and if I find anything, I’ll use that and tell theresearchers and if not, I’ll just follow the official story and leave it at that.’
‘You could perhaps go and see Fidelma,’ Sylvia suggested. ‘You never know. She might be able to solve the mystery.’
Vi nodded. ‘Yes, I think you might be right. Thanks, Granny. You’ve been a great help.’
‘Well, I didn’t tell you anything,’ Sylvia said.
‘Exactly. That’s the best thing you could have done. I don’t need gossip. I need the truth,’ Vi said. ‘I know that better than anyone now.’
18
During the following week, Vi continued to search through the letters, now finding them more interesting as the love story between Kathleen and Don became more and more intense. There was no doubt that they were deeply in love and also that they were careful not to rush into anything too soon. They had dated in secret for over a year, and Kathleen wrote to Fidelma that she had never been happier.
All the pain of the past is disappearing and I feel as if I’m walking on clouds rather than through fields of barbed wire. I rushed into relationships with the wrong men for the wrong reasons twice, and I’m being careful not to do it again. Don has been married before, not happily at all, so he is just as nervous as me. We’re not always in tune, we have a lot of arguments from time to time. I get so mad at him I want to scream sometimes, especially when Don accuses me of being attracted to my leading men. But then, when my temper cools, I regret my outbursts and have to apologise profusely. Sometimes Don blows up and has to do the same while I sulk for a while before I forgive him. Making up is very sweet! Despite all that, we’re slowly getting to knoweach other and feeling our way, having lots of fun meeting in secret. My agent and some of the people at Paramount have been very kind and have not told the press about us, as we have promised to go public as soon as we’re ready. If we ever are.
Vi put the letter away, thinking that the love story on the screen would have to be as deep and real and true as Kathleen described it. And as wild. She had no problem imagining how she would tackle the part and those scenes, but then… How could she stop being Kathleen off-set? She was very attracted to Jack, especially now after their trip to Cloghane, when he had shown a vulnerability that had surprised her. She had never been in this situation before as the roles she had played had not involved her characters falling in love.
As if reading her thoughts, Jack texted late that night, asking if he could call.
Sorry for the late message.We ran into problems shooting the last scene. Hope you’re still up.
Vi, sitting up in bed, about to turn off the light, texted back to say it was fine to call as she was still awake.
‘Hi,’ he said when she answered. ‘Thanks for taking the call.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Vi said. ‘Tough day?’
‘To say the least. I’m trying to forget it over a shot of Glenfiddich. Several shots, actually. The hotel is terrible too. Can’t wait to get out of here.’ He let out a grunt. ‘Sorry to be such a grouch. How are things with you?’
‘Not too bad. In fact, pretty good. Except…’ Vi hesitated, wondering if she should mention the photo but then felt she had to. ‘Someone took a shot of you and me coming out of the pub together and it was in one of the Irish tabloids.’
‘Oh. Well, that’s no big deal, is it? Has it caused you any embarrassment?’
‘Not really. It just gave me a bit of a jolt. I realised what a public figure you are.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m used to it. If all the tabloids do is reveal I was in a pub with a pretty girl, then that’s nothing to worry about. Is this all over your home town now?’
‘Yes, but I don’t think it has caused huge excitement, actually. Everyone knows about the movie anyway.’ Vi smiled as she remembered how Rose thought it would annoy Sinead Morrisson. ‘I just thought I’d mention it since you went to such trouble to hide your identity.’
‘Okay.’ Jack seemed to take a sip of his whiskey.
‘I got Kathleen’s letters,’ Vi said. ‘They’re very interesting.’
