Page 154 of The Love Letter

‘Thanks.’ Zoe opened the envelope. Joanna watched her read it and could see the tears sparkling in her blue eyes. ‘Thank you for showing me this.’ She took Joanna’s hand. ‘It means a lot to me that Marcus loved you so deeply. I didn’t think he would ever experience it, and I’m so happy he did, even if it was only for a short time.’

‘I just wish I’d believed he loved me, but it was very difficult, given his behaviour and past reputation. We also had an argument. I feel so dreadful. I accused him of shopping you and Art to the papers.’ At least it was a half-truth.

‘I see. I thought it might have been you, but Simon swore it wouldn’t be.’

‘That’s nice of him. Anyway, as it happens, it wasn’t either of us.’

‘Then who was it?’

‘Who knows? A neighbour maybe, who saw Art coming in and out of your house? God, Zoe, I’m so ashamed I accused Marcus.’

‘Well, at least you two made up in Ireland.’

‘Yes, we did,’ Joanna lied, hating the fact she could never tell his sister that Marcus had saved her life. ‘And I miss him terribly.’

‘So do I. Even though he was irritating, self-indulgent and useless with money, he was sopassionate. And alive. Now, let’s change the subject before we both end up having another sob-fest. You said you wanted to see William Fielding’s ring?’

‘Yes.’

Zoe reached into her handbag, pulled out a small leather box and passed it to Joanna, who opened the box and studied the ring inside it.

‘Well? Is it the one you saw in the catalogue you mentioned on the phone earlier? A lost heirloom from Tsarist Russia? A priceless ring stolen directly from the finger of some murdered archbishop during the Reformation?’

‘I’m not absolutely sure, but it certainly might be valuable . . . Would you let me borrow it for a few days so I can check if it is the same one? I promise not to let it out of my sight.’

‘Of course you can. It’s not even mine to keep anyway. Poor old William had no living relatives. I did ask at the funeral, but all the people there were either old actor friends or others who knew him from the business. Maybe, if the ring is worth something, he’d like the money to go to the Actors’ Benevolent Fund.’

‘That’s a nice idea.’ Joanna closed the box and stowed it away in her rucksack. ‘I’ll let you know as soon as I find out for sure. Now, tell me all about your prince.’

‘He’s fine.’ Zoe took a large slug of wine.

‘Only “fine”? Not an apt word for the love of your life, the fairy-tale relationship of the decade, the—’

‘I’ve not seen him in a while. I’ve been spending some time with Jamie over the Easter holidays. He’s still shaken after what happened and he’s nervous about going back to school and being ribbed about his mum.’

‘Poor Jamie. Sorry, Zoe. I’ve been away for weeks, so I’ve rather lost touch.’

‘Well, he got teased at school about my relationship with Art. I hadn’t told him about it and whilst Art and I were away in Spain together, he ran away from school. It was Simon who found him, actually, lying asleep on his great-grandfather’s grave.’ Zoe’s face softened. ‘I’m still amazed Simon knew Jamie well enough to know where to look. He’s such a kind man, Joanna. Jamie adores him.’

‘But you and Art, you’re still okay, aren’t you?’

‘If I’m truthful, I was very angry with him when I left Spain. He just didn’t seem to understand how frightened I was, or, to be honest, care that Jamie was missing. Although when he flew back to London, he did the bouquet thing, apologised profusely for his insensitivity and promised to make sure Jamie was better protected in the future.’

‘So, everything’s fine again now?’

‘Supposedly, yes. Art’s moving heaven and earth to have his parents and the rest of the family accept me. But –’ Zoe twirled a finger around the base of her wine glass – ‘between you and me, I’m seriously beginning to question my own feelings for him. I’m desperate to believe that what I’ve felt for so long is real. Art is all I’ve wanted for years, and now I’ve got him . . . well –’ Zoe shook her head – ‘I’m beginning to find fault with him.’

‘Personally, I think that’s understandable, Zoe. No one could live up to the imaginary prince of your dreams.’

‘I keep telling myself that, but the truth is, Jo, I don’t know how much we have in common. He never finds things that I find funny even vaguely amusing. In fact, to be honest, he rarely laughs. And he’s so –’ Zoe searched for the word – ‘rigid. There’s no spontaneity at all.’

‘Surely that’s more to do with his position rather than his personality?’

‘Perhaps. But you know how with some men you don’t feel you’re your true self? How you feel you’re always acting? That you can never really relax?’

‘Totally. I had one like that for five years, although I didn’t realise it until he dumped me. Matthew – my ex – just didn’t bring out the best in me. We rarely had fun.’

‘That’s just it, Jo. Art and I spend our lives having intense conversations about the future and we never just enjoy the moment. And I still haven’t got up the courage to introduce him to Jamie. I just have this awful feeling that my son won’t like him much. He’s so . . . stiff. Besides all that –’ Zoe sighed – ‘it’s the thought of the scrutiny I’ll be placed under for the rest of my life. Having the media analysing my every move, having a camera lens pointed up my nostrils everywhere I turn.’