Page 52 of The Girl with the Irish Secret

‘Chats? About what?’ Vi couldn’t believe her ears.

Sylvia waved her hand. ‘Oh, you know, life, love, men, women, relationships, family…’ She sighed and shook her head. ‘He hasn’t had a very happy childhood or youth. He left and went to drama school to get away from it all. And then he found he was good at it and began to love acting. He worked so hard in the early years. And then all that fame… It didn’t sit well with the folks back home.’

‘He told me some of that,’ Vi said. ‘But you… I can’t believe that you’ve been talking to Jack all this time and never told me.’

Sylvia took Vi’s empty plate and got up to get another piece. ‘Well, I think he didn’t want anyone to know. But then, I thought it would be best to tell you. And to make you understand what was going on, after what happened with that old photo and his past history with Liz. You needed to know the truth. And to learn an important lesson.’

‘What lesson?’ Vi asked angrily.

Sylvia cut a piece of pie and put it in front of Vi. ‘Not to believe what you see on social media. Isn’t that what you’ve said to your sisters?’

‘Yes. Oh, okay, I know what you’re saying. And now I feel stupid.’ She picked up her spoon.

Sylvia patted Vi’s hand. ‘You overreacted because you’re in love.’

‘I’m not sure about that,’ Vi protested. ‘We have only met a few times. It’s not possible to fall in love that fast.’

‘Of course it is. I met Liam, your grandfather, on a train,’ Sylvia said. ‘We chatted for hours and by the time I got off at my station, I knew I loved him. We were married two months after that.’

‘Yes, but that’s unusual,’ Vi argued as she absentmindedly started eating. She’d heard the story many times. ‘I mean, people normally have to know each other a long time before they know how they feel.’

‘How do you know?’ Sylvia asked, sitting down again opposite Vi. ‘I don’t think you’ve ever been really in love, have you?’

‘No,’ Vi confessed. ‘Well, I’ve had boyfriends but I was never serious about any of them.’

‘You’ve been too busy building your career,’ Sylvia said.

‘I didn’t want anything to distract me from my work,’ Vi tried to explain. ‘And I was right. Look what’s happened now that I’m… attracted to someone. He’s decided to quit the film.Everything is ruined. The movie will bomb and I’ll be back to square one.’

‘I’m not so sure.’ Sylvia looked thoughtful. ‘He told me something…’ She paused. ‘Well, maybe I shouldn’t say anything and let you work it out yourselves.’

‘Please tell me,’ Vi urged. ‘I need to know what else he said.’

‘He said he had very strong feelings for you.’

Vi felt her heart flip. It was exactly what she had been wanting to hear all winter, but now everything had changed. What did it mean? ‘Did he tell you why he’s dropped out of the movie, then?’ she asked, digging into the apple pie, feeling she needed some comfort food to settle her stomach.

‘Not in so many words. I’m guessing it’s about a lot of things. I know he has another project he thought wouldn’t happen but now it has. He wants to produce rather than act in future as well. But I’ll leave it up to him to tell you.’ Sylvia drew breath and drank her tea. ‘So there you are. You know everything now.’

Vi nodded, scraping her plate for the last bits of the apple pie. ‘Yes. I’m sure he’ll never want to talk to me after the way I behaved. I bet no woman ever hung up on him like that.’

‘I’d say not,’ Sylvia agreed, looking amused.

‘What am I going to do?’ Vi asked. ‘Call him and say sorry?’

Sylvia shook her head. ‘No. I’d leave him alone for now. Let it settle. Work on your lines, prepare for the movie.’

‘What did you say to Jack? About me, I mean?’ Vi asked, unable to leave the subject alone.

‘Just that I love you dearly and that you’re a lovely, kind, sweet girl with a bit of a temper. And that I’d explain everything to you about him and Liz.’

‘Oh.’ Vi nodded. ‘I see.’ She thought for a moment. ‘But you know what? I think there is still something between him and Liz. I could tell that they’re very close during that interview I did with the whole production team.’

‘He said they’d had a bit of a fling a few years ago, but it’s been over for a long time. You have to trust him, Violetta. Concentrate on the movie and working with that other actor. Jack will get in touch. If he has truly broken off with Liz, he’ll want to see you and talk to you.’

‘And if not?’ Vi asked.

‘Then you still have to move on and try to get over it,’ Sylvia said. ‘You’re a strong girl behind it all. You wouldn’t be where you are if you were weak.’