Bridie nodded knowingly as she said, ‘Mum and Dad.’
‘Exactly,’ Kate replied. ‘They always hated the theatre. You were very brave going into a line of work they despised. It was because of them that I wanted to discourage Layla, my own daughter, from doing the one thing she loves.’ Kate looked at Bridie. ‘This is the secret you asked Layla to keep. Somehow she found out your secret, and I bet she promised not to tell if she could come here and help out in the theatre.’
Bridie nodded. ‘Yes, exactly. But there’s something more. Something even Layla doesn’t know about.’
Kate looked at the shoebox Bridie had fetched from her flat before they left – the box she’d clutched close to her chest during the blustery walk along the promenade to the theatre.
Kate said, ‘It’s got something to do with that shoebox, hasn’t it?’
‘I’ll show the contents, but first, let’s go into the auditorium.’
Bridie opened the door and showed her inside the theatre with the leaky roof, dodgy electrics and broken chairs.
Kate looked stunned.
Bridie watched her as she slowly walked down the aisle, taking in its size, the old velvet chairs and the chandeliers, and the intricate plasterwork in the ceiling; all of it harking back to another era. She turned to Bridie. ‘Oh, Bridie, I never imagined … I love it. It’s just …’
‘What is it, Kate?’
‘I hope Jack knows what he’s doing. This place needs careful restoration.’
Bridie stared at her sister. Kate knew what she was talking about. Her house had been quite the project. She’dspent thousands on specialist tradesmen to restore her period property.
‘We did have words about that,’ admitted Bridie. ‘Our vision is a little … different.’
‘But ultimately, you own this place, so you have the final say.’
Not for the first time, Bridie had a little wobble over signing a contract she’d hadn’t actually read. Jack had said it was just a formality. But she didn’t even have a copy of the contract. She was too embarrassed to tell her sister this. She thought it best not to say anything.
‘So, Mum and Dad don’t know anything about this?’ Kate asked.
‘Mum knows.’
‘You told her?’
‘No.’ Bridie explained about her mum bumping into Oliver that morning.
‘Oh, so Oliver knows as well as Jack.’
Bridie nodded. ‘Oliver doesn’t want Jack involved.’
‘I’ll bet. He wants you all to himself.’
Bridie ignored that comment. ‘Apparently, Jack has always wanted to get his hands on this theatre, so I get the impression he thinks Jack is going to screw me over. He didn’t actually say that, but I know that’s what he’s thinking.’ Bridie wished the contract she’d signed didn’t keep popping into her head.
‘But you clearly don’t think that.’
‘Not at all. In fact, I think Jack is—’
‘Is what, Bridie?’ Kate looked at her wide-eyed. ‘You don’t think he’s your secret benefactor – do you?’
Bridie didn’t say anything, which unfortunately said it all.
‘You think he did get hold of the theatre, and hearing about what happened to you, he’s gifted it to you, for old times’ sake because you were best friends. Well, you were more than that, weren’t you?’
Bridie smiled.
‘The thing is, Bridie, if I were in his shoes, and someone I was in love with had dumped me, choosing their career on the London stage over me, I don’t think I’d get over that in a hurry.’
