Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
‘It’s similar to your story, but not in any way as exciting,’ Marian said, still trying to recover from the shock of Sylvia’s revelations.
It was such a wonderful romantic story and John Peters’ novel paled in comparison.
‘The woman in the novel isn’t anything like you.
She did join a dance company, but not the Bluebell Girls.
It was at the Moulin Rouge and not the way Sylvia told it.
And then the woman did meet a man on a train, but the details are very different. ’
‘That’s a relief.’ Sylvia smiled. ‘Well, my story should raise a few eyebrows before that book comes out.’
‘In what way?’ Marian asked.
‘My plan,’ Sylvia said, ‘is to publish my memoirs – or autobiography, if you prefer. I have been working on it for a long time, you see, and the manuscript is now finished. I wasn’t quite sure when to announce it, but when I heard about that novel, I decided that now was the time to go public.
So I urged my editor to finish and we’re now ready to get it out there. ’
‘What?’ Rose said, looking surprised. ‘You’ve been working on your memoirs? So that’s what you’ve been doing all afternoon when you were pretending to be resting.’
‘Resting?’ Sylvia repeated with a derisory snort.
‘Who needs a rest when you can be writing? But yes, I have been telling a little fib here and there so I could have some peace and quiet. I’ve been writing this for the past two years.
’ She shot a tender look at Arnaud. ‘My dear fiancé suggested it after I told him the story. He’s been reading it along the way. ’
‘It’s wonderful,’ Arnaud said and kissed her fingers. ‘So well written.’
‘But what about editing and proofreading?’ Marian asked. ‘Have you been able to do all that yourself?’
‘No,’ Sylvia replied. ‘I have a brilliant freelance editor who’s been helping me to put it all together, photos and letters and so on. And I plan to publish it very soon.’
‘How clever,’ Pierce exclaimed. ‘And you know I can help with the publicity free of charge if you want.’
‘No thanks,’ Sylvia said sternly. ‘Pierce, you have agreed to do the publicity for John Peters’ novel. You can’t do mine at the same time. In any case, I’m going to do it all on my own.’
‘On your own? But what about all the media coverage and Facebook and Instagram and all that?’ Pierce protested. ‘Can you manage all that?’
‘I can and I will,’ Sylvia retorted. ‘I have my first radio interview on Tuesday.’
‘What? Where?’ Vi exclaimed.
‘Kerry radio at eight p.m.,’ Sylvia replied. ‘At Home with Noreen. Everyone in Dingle listens to that show.’
‘Oh,’ Lily said. ‘That’s a great move. It’s a very popular programme. It will put an end to all the guessing and gossiping.’
‘And it might kill John Peters’ novel as well,’ Pierce said glumly. ‘At least around here where he has been doing so well.’
‘I should hope so,’ Sylvia snapped. ‘Serve him right after all the trouble he’s caused.’
‘When will we be able to read your book, Granny?’ Rose asked. ‘We could do a launch at Magnolia Manor and invite everyone. And sell tickets to that event,’ she added, looking excited.
‘No, that’s not going to happen, Rose,’ Sylvia said sternly. ‘I don’t want to sell tickets for people to come to the launch. That is simply not done.’
Rose looked suddenly contrite. ‘I know. Sorry, Granny.’
‘But a launch in the manor would be a good idea,’ Sylvia said.
‘And the book could be on sale then, of course, and I could donate part of the profit to the coffers as we seem to be running a little short this month because of the leak in the basement. In any case, the memoirs will be published on in Kindle format on Wednesday, the day after the radio interview. The paperback will be available for sale through something called POD.’
‘Print on demand,’ Pierce cut in. ‘That’s a good thing to do.’
‘I can order a number of copies for the launch,’ Sylvia said.
‘I have someone doing all the social media things for me. In fact, I have hired a book designer who will do all the uploading on and the other Internet book things, whatever it’s called.
Her name is Jane and she lives in England. Charming woman.’
‘Ebooks,’ Rose said. ‘For all other outlets like Apple and so on.’
‘That’s right.’ Sylvia shot Rose a smile. ‘I don’t know all the terms or the techniques. But there are a lot of willing helpers out there.’
Marian looked thoughtfully at Sylvia while she took all this in.
What a genius Sylvia was to have organised all this all by herself.
Marian felt a surge of admiration for this elderly woman who had the guts and brains to fight back against someone who had tried to ruin her reputation for his own gain.
Whatever was in John Peters’ novel would not be of any importance after this.
She was sure the Radio Kerry interview would be noticed nationwide and it wouldn’t take long for Sylvia’s story to go viral.
Sylvia had no issue being totally honest with the whole world about her story, while Marian had been lying by omission to the family who had welcomed her with open arms. But she had felt a sense of shame about betraying the Fleury family’s secrets, just as Sylvia must have felt when she arrived back in Ireland, not being able to tell anyone about her adventures in Paris.
And then Marian had also kept quiet about her problems with Theo.
She wished she could finally stop lying to everyone, especially to Theo.
When Sylvia ended her tale, Marian exchanged a look with Pierce, who shrugged and smiled, as if to say, ‘What can we do?’ while everyone started talking at once and the children, having been lulled to near sleep by Sylvia’s speech, woke up.
Fat raindrops suddenly fell from the leaden sky, turning swiftly to torrential rain, and everyone rushed inside, carrying plates and glasses, cushions and small children, arriving in the living room dripping and laughing at it all.
Theo joined Marian as she helped put everything into the kitchen. ‘What a party,’ he said. ‘And what a woman.’
‘I know.’ Marian put the stack of plates she was carrying on the table. ‘I really didn’t expect all this. Even though it was hinted at in that novel. The woman in the book isn’t half as adventurous, even if the blurb suggests it. I think it was meant as a tease rather than a real description.’
‘That’s sneaky,’ Theo remarked. ‘And also inconsiderate.’
‘Yes,’ Marian agreed. ‘That’s exactly what I thought too.’ It was more than sneaky, Marian thought to herself. He used me and then he used Sylvia, too, just to get noticed.
‘But you have to work with him,’ Theo said. ‘How are you going to cope with that?’
‘I could always quit,’ Marian said. ‘But I love the job, so that will be a hard decision.’
‘You’ll have to speak to Pierce,’ Theo said. ‘Maybe he won’t want to work with that author either.’
Marian thought for a moment. ‘Maybe. Nothing has been signed, so it’s up to Pierce to decide what to do. The problem is all his media contacts. It’s all set up now, so it would be difficult to cancel everything.’
‘Let’s not worry about that now,’ Theo said, smiling at Marian. ‘We’ll help with the tidying up and then I’ll drive you home.’
‘Yes, good idea,’ Marian agreed.
They started to load the dishwasher and then went back into the living room where everyone was preparing to leave. The rain had eased to a drizzle and the children could be brought to the cars. Sylvia chatted with everyone for a while before she and Arnaud left.
Marian hugged Claire and thanked her for a wonderful party. ‘Quite a surprise party in the end,’ she said.
‘That’s putting it mildly,’ Claire replied. ‘I think Pierce is still reeling from the shock.’
Marian turned to Pierce, who was chatting to Theo. ‘What are we going to do about John Peters now?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Pierce said. ‘I think we should just carry on and do what we planned. I know it seems strange for us to handle that novel, but it’s now going to be published a whole month after Sylvia’s interview.
All the hype about it will have died down by then and his book will not be that sensational any more. ’
Marian nodded. ‘Yes, I suppose you’re right. And it’s a good thing we will not be involved with Sylvia’s memoirs, otherwise Sean will suspect we had something to do with her interview and social media coverage.’
‘Clever move by Sylvia, though,’ Theo interjected.
‘Very,’ Pierce agreed. ‘Her memoirs will be a sensation. And she’s only doing one radio interview, which will go viral before long. I mean, that Bluebell story will be the talk of the town.’
‘Some older people will find it hugely shocking,’ Marian remarked. ‘But most of them will, like Vi, think it’s so cool.’
‘It is,’ Claire said, smiling. ‘Incredibly cool. I’m sure at the time it would have caused a near scandal, but the Bluebell girls were so glamorous.
Had it been any other dance troupe at the Lido or the Folies Bergère, it would have been a lot less acceptable.
But Margaret Kelly was such an inspirational woman.
Her dancers were sexy in a classy way, and I believe they were the best dancers in Paris at the time. ’
‘How do you know?’ Marian asked.
‘I saw the TV series. It was shown on RTé a while back,’ Claire replied. ‘It was made over forty years ago, though, so I don’t think it will be shown again.’
‘What a pity. I would have loved to have seen that,’ Marian said.
‘I had no idea that Sylvia was one of those dancers,’ Claire remarked. ‘She shook us all up with that revelation, I have to say. Can’t wait to hear that interview.’
‘We’ll all be glued to it,’ Theo interjected.
‘But now we have to go,’ Marian said. ‘I’m sure you’re tired.’
‘Just a little,’ Claire confessed. ‘But Theo did a great job with the barbecue and you were a huge help, too, Marian, with the tidying up and loading the dishwasher.’
‘Ah sure, that was nothing,’ Marian said and hugged Claire. ‘Thanks for a great party.’
‘I should thank Sylvia for the floorshow,’ Claire joked as she hugged Marian back. Then she hugged Theo and whispered something in his ear that Marian didn’t catch.
They waved goodbye to the Fleury sisters loading their offspring into cars and got ready to leave.
As they drove down the hill, Marian glanced at Theo in the evening sunlight and thought about the past day and how he had fitted in so seamlessly with the whole family, from small children to the older generation.
If only he could see how lovely it is to be part of this family, she thought, and if Rebecca finally moves to Dublin and Conor comes for visits from London, we can somehow be a family again, even if the children are adults with their own lives.
But before that could happen, she had to be honest with her husband about how she felt, how she had been feeling for all those years.
She looked at him, at his sharp profile, high cheekbones and those grey eyes fringed with black lashes.
He had aged well; his fair hair, now with a few grey strands, was still thick, and his body toned and fit after all the surfing.
But there was a secretive streak in him she found hard to deal with.
Theo shot Marian a glance that was full of questions. ‘What are you thinking about?’ he asked. ‘Building castles in the air as usual?’
‘Yes, I suppose I am,’ she said with a smile. ‘A bit of wishful thinking that soothes me.’
‘I know,’ he said as they drove through the gates of Magnolia Manor. ‘Well, we’ll see. Maybe some of your dreams will come true. One day,’ he added cryptically.
Marian looked at the gatehouse and the light in the upstairs windows, imagining that Vi and Jack were putting their little boys to bed. ‘I only know one thing,’ she mumbled.
‘You’ll never leave this place,’ he filled in, his voice soft. ‘I already knew that the minute I saw you again. There is a light in your eyes, a kind of happiness of someone who has finally come home. Strange, as you had never been here before.’
Marian was shocked. All this time she thought he couldn’t see it. He’d always been able to read her, and it seemed that now he saw her in Kerry, he finally understood how much she belonged here too.
‘Maybe I was in an earlier life?’ Marian suggested as Theo pulled up in front of the manor. ‘That’s how I felt, anyway.’
‘Or it’s in your genes,’ he suggested. ‘A kind of memory that’s handed down through time.’
‘I like that idea, even though it’s far-fetched.’ Marian started to get out of the car. Then an idea suddenly struck her. ‘Come up to my flat and have a cup of tea,’ she said, leaning into the car.
Theo stared at her. ‘Do you mean it?’
‘Of course I do,’ Marian insisted, surprised by his reaction.
Theo hesitated. ‘Well, I’d love to see this house and your flat, of course. But…’
‘But what?’ Marian smiled. ‘Come on, don’t be shy.
I think you need to discover the magic of Magnolia Manor.
’ She felt suddenly nervous but then a kind of excitement at asking him to come inside what felt like her own fortress, the walls of which had kept her safe from him and his demands.
Then she told herself not to be ridiculous.
‘It’s just a cup of tea,’ she said. ‘Barry’s, your favourite. ’
Theo laughed and switched off the engine. ‘How can I resist? I’ll just park the car.’
Marian waited while Theo drove over to the parking place and then joined her at the entrance door.
She looked at him, feeling this was a watershed moment which could end either badly or be the start of something new and wonderful between them.
She knew she had to be honest and stand her ground, but would he be able to break down her barriers?
She swallowed nervously and pushed the door open.