Page 114 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
‘I’m sure it will once the movie is out,’ Lily said. ‘Or even before, if Granny has anything to do with it.’
Vi laughed and shook her head. ‘Oh yes, she will. I already have several hundred new followers on Instagram. She has been posting lovely photos of the surrounding areas she took with her new phone. I told her there was no rush, but she is having fun, so who am I to stop her?’
‘The shots she took of you on Ventry beach are also fabulous,’ Rose agreed. ‘I’ve shared some of them and used a lot of the hashtags she used. Especially #violetfleury and #kathleenosullivanstory.’
‘And I’ve got a lot of queries about the orangery café,’ Lily added. ‘It was the hashtags Granny created that did it: #orangerycafe and then #magnoliamanorgardens. I think I’m going to have to open soon. Maybe February. That’s two months before the usual opening. But Gretel, my au pair, is coming back from Germany next week, so that should work well.’
‘I’m going to tell Noel to get a temp whenever Vicky is off sick or on leave,’ Rose cut in. ‘It’s a bit inconsiderate of him to be calling on you all the time. But he misses you so he likes having you there from time to time to put a bit of order into the files.’
‘I know, but I’m going to put my foot down,’ Lily declared. ‘It’s hard when he’s so sweet and asks so nicely but as Vi says, I have to learn to say no and not take on too much.’
Vi looked at her sisters and felt a dart of happiness that the three of them were together like this, chatting, helping each other and having fun. But the thought that Jack was over in New York because of some blonde woman he was possibly dating niggled at her so much she felt her stomach churn, which ruined her enjoyment of the food and being with her sisters. She had thought he felt as attracted to her as she was to him but then told herself sternly she had been reading too much into what he had said to her. She felt his feelings for Kerry were genuine and that he had truly found real peace here in this beautiful place. But that had nothing to do with how he felt about Vi. She had read too much into what he had said, misunderstood their almost kiss, and maybe that was her mistake. After all, they had only met a few times, even though they had shared a lot of things about themselves that day they spent together. She was rushing ahead, imagining a romance that would probably never happen.I have to slow down, be more professional and stop thinking of Jack as some romantic hero, she told herself.He’s not my boyfriend and never will be.She smiled at Lily and Rose and raised her half-finished glass of Guinness. ‘Here’s to us and the great time we’re having. Together and no fighting.’
‘Cheers to that,’ Lily said and clinked her glass to Vi’s.
‘Such happy holidays,’ Rose agreed and clinked her glass with Vi and Lily in turn.
‘Best Christmas ever,’ Lily declared. ‘And our little Violet a big star.’
‘What are you doing for New Year’s?’ Rose asked.
‘We’re going to a party in Killarney,’ Lily said. ‘And we’re taking the kids. Granny and Arnaud are going to some glam party in Tralee, I heard. Black tie, long dress and all that. Granny will be in her element. How about you?’
‘We’re staying at home,’ Rose replied. ‘Just having dinner and a little bit of bubbly in front of the TV. We need some peace and calm after all the upsets with Sophie. She’s sleeping through the night now, thank goodness.’ She turned to Vi. ‘You can join us if you have nothing else on.’
‘Thank you, that’s very kind,’ Vi said. ‘But I’m going to a party in Kinsale. Leo, who’s going to do the makeup for the movie, has invited me. It’s going to be in a pub and his cousins are hosting it. I don’t know any of them but he asked so nicely so I said yes. Thought it would be fun. I’m staying at a B&B there overnight.’
‘That sounds great,’ Rose said. She winked. ‘Take lots of selfies with any hot men you meet and post them on your Insta page. Just to make us all jealous.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ Lily agreed. ‘And maybe,’ she drawled with a mischievous look. ‘You-know-who might see them…’
Vi couldn’t help laughing. ‘You two are so devious. I don’t think I’ll meet any hot men in Kinsale. They’ll all be in Aran jumpers and jeans drinking pints and spilling beer on people while singing silly songs. It’ll be fun, but not in any way glamorous.’
‘You’ll have a ball,’ Lily said. ‘Just what you need right now. It will take your mind off, well… you know.’
‘Yes, maybe,’ Vi said, knowing Lily was right. She needed to turn her mind away from Jack. Who better to do that with than a sweet, fun man like Leo?
As soon as Vi got home, she looked upThe Irish Timesonline and found the photo Rose had mentioned after a bit of scrolling. She stared at a shot of Jack with a blonde woman, her heart sinking. It was quite obvious the couple, sitting in a car, were more than friends. They were locked in an embrace and seemed oblivious of the fact that they were being photographed, possibly by someone with a good camera on their phone – or a paparazzi with a telephoto lens. As Vi kept looking at the photo, her eyes full of tears, she realised she knew who the woman was. Liz Wall, the producer of the movie.
22
There were very few ‘hot men’ at the party in Kinsale, but Vi enjoyed herself enormously all the same. She had decided to push all thoughts of Jack and Liz to the back of her mind and do her best to have a good time. The party was held in the back room of a quaint little pub near the yacht club. As she had suspected, most of the people, both men and women, were dressed casually, in jeans and sweaters or Munster rugby shirts. The food was delicious and consisted of mostly fish and seafood served with either white wine or draught Guinness.
Leo was so obviously happy to see her and introduced her to his cousins and the friends he had made since he arrived just before Christmas, all jolly Cork people who greeted a girl from Kerry with great enthusiasm.
‘I should have worn the Munster rugby shirt,’ she said to Leo as they were enjoying a plate of scampi and chips by the fire. ‘But red doesn’t really go with my hair.’
He looked at her dark green sweater. ‘I know what you mean. And green is so your colour. It brings out your eyes. I don’t really get this Munster thing. I thought you’d be rooting for Kerry.’
‘Cork and Kerry are both in Munster, which is one of the four provinces of Ireland. The other ones are Leinster, which is Dublin, the midlands and surrounding areas, Connacht in the west and then Ulster in the north.’
‘Oh I see,’ Leo said. ‘There’s so much to Ireland that I didn’t know about.’
‘I would have thought your cousins had educated you,’ Vi quipped.
‘They might think I already knew. And I was afraid to ask in case they thought I was an ignorant British git.’
Vi laughed and drained her glass of Guinness. ‘I’m sure they wouldn’t. But you can ask me anything and I promise not to tell your cousins.’
