Page 73 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
Vi didn’t have to call, however, as her grandmother beat her to it. The phone rang that evening just as Vi had opened the door to her tiny studio apartment in Croydon. She fished the phone out of her bag, stepped over the debris of books and scripts on the floor and sat down on the easy chair in front of the window, without checking the caller ID.
‘Hello,’ she said, ‘this is Violet Fleury.’
‘Of course it is,’ her grandmother’s voice said in her ear. ‘And this is Sylvia Fleury, your grandmother.’
Vi shot up from the chair. ‘Granny! I was just going to call you.’
‘Of course you were,’ Sylvia said, her voice light. ‘How could you not when you’re going to star in a film that’s going to be shot at our manor? I just heard the news from that producer woman. Liz – something. Quite a character, I have to say. Smokes cigarettes with a holder and argues like a man. But she had the decency to go outside when she wanted a puff, so I can’t complain. In any case, we had a good old discussion before she backed down. Pity, I was just getting into the swing of it.’ Sylvia drew breath.
Vi laughed. ‘Oh, Granny, I can imagine. You always enjoyed a good argument.’
‘A good one, yes,’ Sylvia said drily, ‘not like the one you had with your sisters just before you left in a huff. They’re still in a snit over it. How are you going to cope with them when you come here as the big star, I wonder?’
‘I don’t know,’ Vi said miserably. ‘I’ll have to wear a big hairshirt and crawl to the cross.’
‘You might indeed,’ Sylvia remarked. ‘Although that sounds a little uncomfortable.’ She paused. ‘So when are you coming over? I believe the filming starts in April.’
‘I have to go to Kerry way before that,’ Vi replied. ‘I need to do some research on Kathleen O’Sullivan and that will take some time. I was hoping…’ Vi stopped.
‘Hoping what?’ Sylvia asked.
‘That I might come next week and stay until Christmas. I know it will be difficult and Lily and Rose won’t want me there but I’m hoping I can patch things up, or keep out of their hair. Whatever is best.’
‘Hmm,’ Sylvia said. ‘It could be difficult. But we have to try. Life is too short to carry a grudge. Family is all we have in the end, isn’t it?’
‘I know that now,’ Vi said.
‘Good.’ Sylvia took a deep breath. ‘All right, Violet, do come whenever you want. I’ll talk to your sisters.’
‘Thank you,’ Vi whispered. She wondered if Sylvia was proud of her. ‘Are you excited about the movie? It’s a dream come true for me.’
‘What dreams are they exactly?’ Sylvia asked.
‘I’m to star in a movie with Jack Montgomery,’ Vi said, surprised that her grandmother didn’t realise the significance of the part. ‘It’s the first time I’ve had a lead role. And with a very successful actor. Isn’t that so incredible?’
‘Oh,’ Sylvia said. ‘I would be careful if I were you. Reality never turns out like your dreams. Life is too complicated for that. You don’t know what hardship is around the corner.’
‘Oh, please,’ Vi begged, knowing her grandmother was, as always, just trying to stop her building castles in the air. ‘Don’t do the gloom and doom now. Let me be happy for a while. I know what you’re saying and I’m sure I’ll land back on earthwith a thump. But right now, I’m floating on a cloud and loving it.’
‘I see. Enjoy this happy moment, then. If you’re aware that it’s just for a while, you’ll be fine,’ Sylvia said. ‘But I think you should come here as soon as possible. You can have the gatehouse as Rose and Noel have moved into their new house. If you don’t mind being on your own.’
‘I’m on my own now,’ Vi said, looking around the dreary little flat. ‘I’ll be less alone in the gatehouse than here, I think. I can catch up with my old pals in Dingle anyway. I don’t have many friends here in London because I’m away so much on location. This is just a base, not a home, and never will be.’
‘That sounds a little sad,’ Sylvia said, her voice soft. ‘Maybe it’s time you faced up to that.’
‘Oh, I know,’ Vi said, remembering the old saying. ‘It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Family and friends are like the stars,’ she said to Sylvia. ‘You can’t always see them but you know they’re there.’
‘Exactly,’ Sylvia said, sounding satisfied. ‘And you know what? Even if your sisters are still angry, I’m not. I’d love to have you here with me. Goodness knows I could do with some company right now.’
‘What about Arnaud?’ Vi asked, surprised by the hint of sadness in Sylvia’s voice. She was also surprised that Sylvia had forgiven her so quickly, but then the row had not been about her but with Lily and Rose. Sylvia always tried not to interfere in their arguments, preferring to stay neutral in order to mediate between them.
‘Arnaud? Oh, he’s in the South of France during the winter,’ Sylvia said. ‘He thought I might like to spend the cold months there with him. But I missed Kerry too much. The wind and rain don’t worry me. They pass very quickly and then we havethe sunshine back and the glorious views of the ocean. There’s nothing like it in the whole world. Today was one of those days.’
‘No, there isn’t,’ Vi agreed, imagining how lovely Kerry would be right now, the water of Dingle Bay glittering in the sunshine and the ocean beyond stretching out to the horizon where sea met sky and the sun would sink behind the islands in a riot of pink, red and orange. She could nearly smell the salty air and taste the newly caught fish cooked in batter and served with chips and mushy peas in one of the restaurants on the quays. ‘I’ll come home as soon as I can,’ she promised. ‘I want to start looking into Kathleen O’Sullivan’s life from the very start.’
‘That might come with a few surprises,’ Sylvia remarked. ‘Not always good ones.’
‘What do you mean?’ Vi asked. ‘What do you know about her?’
