Page 105 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
‘Oh yes, finally better,’ Rose said. ‘Not sleeping that well at the moment because she’s teething again. But we’re over the worst and we have a great doctor who has put her on a special diet to deal with her food allergies. I think I can go back to work as soon as she settles into the crèche.’
‘That’s good news. Babies must be hard work,’ Vi remarked.
‘Even when they’re well,’ Rose agreed. ‘But let’s keep walking. Where were you going?’
‘I’m just out for a walk,’ Vi replied. ‘I thought I’d go into town and have a coffee. But we could go up to Magnolia to see Granny, if you like. I’m sure she’d love to hear that we’ve made up.’
‘She would,’ Rose said and started to push the buggy up the path. ‘She was just telling me off about being in a snit for so long. So let’s go and tell her the good news.’
They turned and walked back up the gravel path towards the manor, chatting and laughing and enjoying being sisters again. Vi told Rose about Jack’s visit and how he had been so takenwith Kerry. Rose shared the ups and downs of being a mother for the first time, which seemed exhausting to Vi. When they rounded the corner to the courtyard, Sylvia opened her door and looked at them in surprise.
‘Rose and Violet,’ she said. ‘Together. Have you made up at last?’
‘Yes, we have,’ Rose said. ‘And we’ve decided it was both our faults.’
‘Good,’ Sylvia said and opened the door wider. ‘Now get inside out of the cold and we’ll have coffee and a chat. You could both stay for lunch if you like. Arnaud is at a meeting in the main office with Henri and some of the members of the board. They’re discussing the maintenance of the building and what needs to be done.’
‘Maybe I should be there, too,’ Rose suggested as she got the buggy with the sleeping little girl inside with Vi’s help. ‘I need to get back to work. I haven’t been at a board meeting for ages.’
‘If you like,’ Sylvia said. ‘We’ll mind Sophie. Could be a good opportunity to find out what’s been decided since you’ve been away.’
‘Brilliant,’ Rose said, smiling at Sylvia. ‘It’ll be great for Vi and Sophie to get to know each other too.’ She went into the kitchen and parked the buggy in the alcove behind the dining table. ‘There. She might wake up but I’m nearby so you could give me a shout if she’s upset.’
‘No, we won’t,’ Sylvia said to Vi when Rose had closed the door behind her. ‘We’ll let her have a break and get connected to work again. She needs that more than anything. Sophie will be fine with us even if she kicks up a fuss. Now, let’s have coffee.’
‘Good idea,’ Vi said and went to the Nespresso machine on the kitchen counter. ‘Do you want me to make the coffee?’
‘Yes, please.’ Sylvia sat down on a chair at the table. ‘There are some of Nora’s oatmeal cookies in the cupboard.’
‘Yummy.’ Vi proceeded to make two cups of coffee and put several of the cookies on a plate and brought it all over to the table. Then she sat down and smiled at Sylvia. ‘Hey, I can’t believe Rose and I are back together. What do you think of that, then?’
Sylvia stirred sugar into her coffee. ‘I think it’s a huge relief. I couldn’t imagine what Christmas would be like with you two glaring at each other over the plum pudding. Now you’ll just be teasing each other the way you used to. That’s very good news indeed.’ She took an oatmeal cookie from the plate. ‘So what is this I hear? You’re going out with your co-star? That young man I saw you with the other day?’
‘No, I’m not,’ Vi protested. ‘That’s just a rumour. We’re friends and colleagues, that’s all.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Sylvia said. ‘I didn’t really believe it anyway.’
‘Of course you didn’t.’ Vi took a bite of her cookie. ‘You’re too smart to believe stuff like that.’
‘And you’re too smart to be taken in by a pretty face,’ Sylvia retorted.
‘Yes, I suppose,’ Vi said, trying not to show how she really felt about Jack. She couldn’t help being attracted to him, especially now that he had revealed things about himself that nobody else knew. It had made him more real, somehow.
‘But forget about him,’ Sylvia said. ‘What have you been up to lately? Other than taking ballet lesson from Claire Ryan, that is.’
Vi laughed. ‘I had forgotten what a goldfish bowl Dingle is. Everyone knows what you’re doing minutes after you’ve done it. Well, they don’t know what I do at home, do they? I’ve done some research into Kathleen O’Sullivan’s background. And as luck would have it, I found an old lady called Fidelma Sheridan who knew Kathleen in the early days in Dublin. Around the time she was discovered.’
Sylvia looked startled. ‘Well, that was a real stroke of luck, wasn’t it? What did she tell you?’
‘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?’
