Page 95 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
‘Because my grandfather used to own that house. It’s gone now, demolished when they started to build the new housing estate.’
‘Oh. What a pity. I’m glad to know she was here, though. That makes me feel it’s okay to shoot part of the movie around here. It revolves around the time she was married to Don, after all.’ Vi patted her face. ‘But now I really must run. See you… when?’
‘Come back on Thursday at the same time,’ Claire suggested.
‘That would be grand.’
Vi said goodbye and rushed out of the house, not wanting to let Sylvia wait to get her car back. But then, instead of going down towards Magnolia Manor, she drove up the hill and pulled up beside a row of terraced houses. She got out, looking at the spectacular view of the bay, the ocean and the islands outlined against the sky. This would have been what Kathleen looked at during the time she lived in the house that was no longer there. Vi imagined that there might have been a bay window where Kathleen might have sat, enjoying the vista while she had tea or maybe a glass of wine. What a wonderful place to spend her first year married to the love of her life.
Vi stood there as the breeze blew her hair around her face and cooled her cheeks, still hot from the dance lesson. She closed her eyes and breathed in the salt-laden air and felt as if she was standing at the top of the world, ready to fly away on the wind.Then she opened them again and laughed at the notion. She got back in the car and drove off, feeling oddly that she had come a tiny bit closer to the woman whose life she was about to recreate.
A red Audi pulled up outside the gatehouse at twelve thirty on the dot. Vi peeped out the window and watched as a tall blond man got out, bounded up the steps and rang the doorbell several times. She opened the door and stared at him. If she hadn’t known it was Jack in disguise, she would have thought he was a complete stranger. His blond hair was long and shaggy and his teeth protruded slightly. But there was no mistaking the brown velvet eyes behind the steel-rimmed glasses and the long eyelashes or the wide smile. His green anorak and baggy pants didn’t hide his tall, toned body, even if the outfit made him look just like anyone walking around the streets of Dingle or sitting at a bar counter in one of the pubs.
‘Hello, Bill,’ she said, smirking. ‘How nice to see you.’
‘And you, m’dear,’ he replied and doffed his blue baseball cap. ‘I’ve a nice range of waterproof hiking gear for sale in the car. Would you care to take a look?’
‘No, I have plenty of hiking clothes, thanks,’ Vi said. Then she pointed at the car. ‘Is this what you call incognito?’ she asked, relieved she had had the time to not only wash her hair but to put on her best jeans and navy cashmere sweater and to apply a little bit of makeup.
‘Yeah, well, the car was the only thing the rental company could offer at short notice.’
‘It’s very cute, though,’ Vi said and opened the front door wider. ‘But come in for a bit before we go up to Magnolia.’
Jack stepped inside and looked around the hall and glanced into the living room. ‘Nice house. You live here on your own?’
‘Yes, I do. It belongs to my grandmother but whichever of us needs a roof over our heads can stay here. My sister Rose and her husband moved out a while ago so I could have it while I’m here.’
‘You plan on staying long?’ Jack asked.
‘Yes. I have nothing much on so I thought I’d use the time before the movie gets going to get to know everything about Kathleen and work on being more like her,’ Vi explained. ‘I have to put on weight, perm my hair and learn how to smoke, according to Leo.’
Jack looked at her. ‘Well, you look nice the way you are. But I get what you mean. I also have to get into Don’s persona. Talk like him, walk like him and move like I’ve been riding horses all my life. They met in Kildare, at a place where you could ride horses. Did you know that?’
Vi nodded and smiled. ‘Yeah, it was one of those country house hotels with stables, according to what I read online. I imagine that she was taking a break from filming after having broken her engagement for the second time. I have been wondering if she was homesick and wanted to go riding, so she flew to Ireland and went to this place just to be with horses.’
‘And then she met the love of her life,’ Jack said, looking at Vi in a way that made her face flush. ‘Must have been a very romantic place. Just like the manor up there. She found love at long last.’
‘It’s a sweet story, but there might be things we don’t know,’ Vi said, thinking of the beginnings of secrets she was trying to uncover. She wondered if Jack had found out anything interesting about Don.
‘I know. I think they were both a little damaged by life and lost love.’ Jack shrugged. ‘But aren’t we all in one way or another? Can we go and see the manor now? I’d love to have a look at it.’
‘Of course,’ Vi said, wondering what he meant. He seemed to know more about Kathleen than she did. She decided to make him tell her during their outing. ‘We can either drive or walk up there. Whatever you feel like.’
‘Let’s walk,’ Jack said. ‘Then I can get a feel for the gardens and see the house from a distance. But first I have to remove the fake teeth,’ he said and pulled them out of his mouth, putting them into his pocket. ‘I put them in to make you laugh.’ He smiled, showing his own perfect teeth. ‘There. Much better, you have to agree.’
‘Absolutely,’ Vi said, feeling that familiar dart of attraction. Today he was even more charming than before, looking at her with a warmth that hadn’t been there the last time they’d met. Gone was the cool, slightly conceited expression of a man who was very sure of his appeal. Was this just his way of getting around her, or was it genuine?
‘Let’s get going, then,’ he urged, moving to the open front door.
‘Okay.’ Vi shook herself out of her musings and took her jacket from a peg in the hall. ‘Come this way. It’s not far and it’s not raining so we’re in luck.’
‘It’s not a bad day,’ Jack said as they went outside. ‘Windy but with sunshine now and then. I love the salty smell in the air, the seagulls and the glimpse of the ocean through the trees.’
‘Yes, it’s really nice,’ Vi agreed, zipping up her jacket once they were outside. ‘There’s nothing like the seaside.’ His words made her suddenly realise that it was true. Being by the sea was certainly invigorating. She glanced at him as they started up the avenue towards the manor. ‘Did you grow up by the sea?’
‘No. We lived in Yorkshire. Near the moors. On a little sheep farm. Real Herriot territory.’
‘Wow, I had no idea,’ Vi said, surprised. ‘I thought you were from London. You speak with that posh boarding-school accent.’
