Page 61 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
‘She can act up too,’ Sylvia cut in as she served them another slice of apple pie at the kitchen table. ‘Don’t let her get the upper hand, Violet.’
‘I won’t,’ Vi said, smiling. ‘I’ll be a step ahead all the time. I know the rules and Naomi knows I know.’
‘So there’ll be no “Mummy always lets me eat sweets before bedtime”,’ Sylvia quipped. ‘She tried that with me but I didn’t fall for it.’
‘But you did fall for “Mummy always lets me watch TV until ten o’clock”,’ Lily remarked.
‘Well, yes, but that was because we both wanted to watchMrs Doubtfire,’ Sylvia said. ‘I knew she was having me on, but I went along with it. Why would I want to sit there alone and watch it? We had fun. Sorry, Lily.’
Lily laughed. ‘She has you wrapped around her little finger, Granny. But she loves you as much as we do.’
‘And that’s all I want,’ Sylvia stated, taking a bite of her apple pie. ‘This is a delicious pie. Must tell Nora it’s especially good. Must be because the Bramley apples last year were so abundant.’ She looked at Vi. ‘So how are you getting on with everything, Violet? The movie and that handsome rascal and everything?’
‘It’s coming along,’ Vi replied. ‘All we need now is for the weather to improve so we can shoot the outdoor scenes in the garden.’
‘Jack told me…’ Sylvia started but stopped, putting her hand to her mouth. ‘Oops. I wasn’t supposed to say anything.’
‘Come on, Granny,’ Vi urged. ‘You have to spill the beans now that you’ve started.’
Sylvia sighed. ‘Oh, what does it matter? It’s just that Jack told me what you had found out about Kathleen. Which I sort of knew already, of course.’
‘Sort of?’ Vi said, lifting an eyebrow.
‘What are you talking about?’ Lily asked. ‘What’s this stuff about Kathleen O’Sullivan?’
Vi put more whipped cream on her piece of apple pie. ‘It’s a secret that will be revealed when the movie comes out. But I’ll tell you now anyway if you promise to keep quiet.’
‘Your secret is safe with me,’ Lily said, leaning forward. ‘So come on, let’s hear it.’
Vi told Lily what she had found out from Fidelma.
Lily’s eyes widened. ‘Oh wow? Really? She wasn’t Irish at all?’ She turned to look at Sylvia, who was making another pot of tea by the sink. ‘And you knew this all the time and never said anything?’
Sylvia shrugged. ‘I didn’t know if it was true. It was a rumour that started to circulate when Kathleen became very famous over in Hollywood. Then it died down when we all wanted to claim this famous actress as our own. She did a lot for Ireland in her day. So everyone stopped saying anything about the fact that she might not really be Irish, because that’s what we wanted her to be. Our very own fresh-faced nice Irish colleen from the Emerald Isle.’
Lily smiled and nodded. ‘I see what you mean. Well, that’ll be quite a story on the screen, won’t it? Something that will resonate with people who came here from abroad and then became Irish. They don’t have to hide their origins, but she did.’
‘Well, she didn’thaveto,’ Sylvia argued. ‘She did it because she wanted to fit in. Then she kept her new identity and didn’t reveal the truth when that talent scout found her. Why wouldshe? It was the ticket to Hollywood for her. And then, of course, she had to keep it up.’
‘I know, but people who have emigrated will identify with her,’ Lily countered. ‘A bridge across the generations and nationalities, so to speak.’
‘That’s true,’ Sylvia agreed. ‘So then the story has become something else, something deeper and more meaningful, all thanks to Violet.’
‘Well done, Vi,’ Lily said.
‘Thanks.’ Vi smiled at Lily. ‘Now all we have to do is to get to shoot that darn movie. I’ve had enough of delays and complications.’ She got up from the table. ‘I’m going home to do some more reading. I need to practise my lines a little more. And I’m going to email Liz with what you just told me, Granny. If it was widely known, even if not talked about, that might convince her.’
‘I don’t see why not,’ Sylvia agreed. ‘I can talk to her myself if you want.’
‘That would be a great help.’ Vi beamed a grateful smile at her grandmother. ‘I’ll let you know what happens.’
‘I’ll have to get going too.’ Lily rose from her chair. ‘I’ll help Granny tidy up and then I have to head home. Gretel will have picked up the kids from school and preschool. See you Saturday, Vi.’
Vi kissed Lily on the cheek. ‘See you. Looking forward to minding the kids.’
‘You might regret you said that,’ Lily warned with a wink.
Only an hour into her babysitting evening, Vi did indeed start to regret her hasty offer to mind two small, very tired children. She had waved goodbye to Dominic and Lily, laughing at their concerns, saying she would cope very well and they were to gooff and enjoy the break and not worry. ‘And please don’t phone every half hour,’ she ordered. ‘I’ll call if there is an emergency. But there won’t be, so you two have a ball and dance the night away.’
