Bridie smiled to herself. Jack wanted to help her. What was wrong with that?
Oliver shook his head. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
Chapter 31
Bridie walked upstairs to the flat with Barney after collecting him from the bookshop. It sounded as though Barney had entertained them with his antics, and got into a bit of mischief, but they’d all enjoyed his visit, especially Henry.
Bridie couldn’t thank them enough for looking after him. She had considered dropping him round to her parents’ house or asking her dad to pop round to see him and keep an eye on him while she was out, but she hadn’t wanted to end up telling them where she was going.
She would certainly have had to tell him what was going on if he had gone to Cobblers Yard and had caught sight of them all leaving the yard together, not that he would have. She now knew he’d avoid Cobblers Yard, and Reggie, at all costs. But he wasn’t in her good books, so she wouldn’t have invited him over to see Barney in any case.
It had been a strange, seeing all her neighbours leaving Cobblers Yard together in a walking convoy, carrying all that cleaning paraphernalia. And the small group had looked strange once again, walking along the promenade later that evening, returning to Cobblers Yard, their clothes full of dust and grime.
They’d arrived back in the yard far later than she’d expected, and that was another reason she was glad she’d not left Barney with her parents – whilst she could have left him overnight with them, she did not fancy all the questions from her mum if she’d picked Barney up the following morning. Her mum would have been angling to find out if she had been out on a date.
They’d all trooped into the art and craft shop exhausted by the work and despondent at what they hadn’t achieved. Although they had dusted, cleaned and hoovered, had collected bin liners full of rubbish from the entrance foyer, and had decided that with new carpet, a bit of redecoration, and restocking of the counters full of sweets and popcorn, the foyer could reopen to theatregoers, that wasn’t the problem. It was the theatre itself. With its leaky roof and broken chairs, it would take far more than a deep clean to reopen. Everyone knew that.
After Bridie had fetched her puppy, they’d all stopped by Hannah’s shop for a nightcap – she’d made cups of tea and coffee, and squash for Maisie, and they’d all sat in the cosy corner downstairs in the shop; Marjorie and Mabel on the sofa with Oliver and Joss perching on the sofa arms, Reggie in the easy chair, and Hannah and Bridie on stools they’d brought from behind the counter. Maisie sat on a large cushion on the rug.
Bridie thanked them for all their help, and they’d chatted about what they could do next. Everyone was aware there wasn’t a lot they could do without a big cash injection.
Oliver had stared at her intently, probably wondering if she was going to mention Jack’s offer to invest in the theatre. She did not. She was too tired to get into an argument with Oliver, and besides, she hadn’t made up her mind.
Joss suggested setting up crowdfunding. Bridie knew what that was. She’d seen dozens of similar pages online. Although it made sense – she imagined there would be a lot of interest,especially from the local community, in raising funds to restore the theatre – Bridie had one big problem with the idea.
Sitting in bed the following morning with a cup of tea, Bridie looked at the old shoebox on her lap. The shoebox. The one Hannah had mentioned that Maisie had seen in Reggie’s music shop, stuffed full of paraphernalia – old photos, programmes and the like from the time the theatre had been open properly years earlier. Now it was in Bridie’s possession.
She hadn’t opened it yet. The previous night, as they had all headed out of the shop, off home, Reggie had said that he had something he wanted to give her. Waiting at the shop door, wondering what it could be, she’d watched Reggie nip across the yard to his shop and the lights flick on in his flat upstairs as the others made their way out of the yard.
A few moments later, he’d returned with a shoebox. She immediately knew what it was. He’d insisted she should take it – the theatre was hers now.
Barney snuffled next to her on the bed. She glanced at him, aware she’d broken her own rule – Barney wasn’t going to be allowed to sleep on her bed at night. But in the early hours, after she had taken him out for a toilet break and stood outside in the yard, freezing cold in her pyjamas, slippers, and towelling bathrobe, she had been too tired to argue with a crying pup who just wanted to get on her bed and snuggle up with her. She’d done just what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do. And there he was, still asleep by her side.
Bridie slipped the lid off the shoebox. She’d resisted opening the box the previous night and going down that rabbit hole. She had no idea what time she would have got to sleep if she had. She’d had trouble getting off to sleep as it was, with the theatre, and her mysterious benefactor, and Jack, going through her mind.
And her dad.
How could he lie to her all these years? Her whole life, in fact. Bridie realised he hadn’t exactly lied; he’d just not told her about his past as a theatre actor. Bridie frowned. Didn’t that amount to the same thing?
She cast the shoebox lid to one side. Reggie hadn’t had to give it to her. It was his legacy too – even more than it was hers, she thought. After all, he’d acted on the stage in that theatre, starred in plays, and collected all these photos and memorabilia over the years. But she knew why he’d given it to her. It wasn’t because she was the new owner of the theatre, but rather because of her dad – the stage actor Rufus Hart.
The shoebox was full of old black-and-white photos, theatre programmes, and even some crumpled brown envelopes, yellowed with age, presumably containing letters.
Bridie randomly picked up a photo of her dad in costume, his young face staring back at her, smiling broadly. It appeared to be a Robin Hood costume. He had an arm around a young woman’s shoulders. She appeared to be dressed as Maid Marian. At least, that was Bridie’s guess.
She recognised the young woman instantly. It was Isobel Raine – the one who had disappeared, and who, rumour had it, now haunted the theatre.
Bridie guessed they were starring in a Christmas panto. There was a rather wonderful stage set in the background.
She rummaged down through the box and came up with the corresponding theatre programme. She flicked through the pages. There was her dad in top billing, along with Isobel Raine as Maid Marian, and Reggie below as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Flicking through the pages, she frowned at her dad every time she came across a photo of the cast. There were stills from the play too. She smiled at Reggie’s photos. He looked as though he was relishing playing the baddie, dressed all in black, with ahuge hat with a black feather, and a large black cape, and huge black boots.
Her attention turned to her dad – he was the reason she was reluctant to set up a crowdfunding campaign. She knew she was cutting off her nose to spite her face, but word would get around about the theatre – her mum was involved in the local community through the local parish church. She knew a lot of people, and inevitably they’d hear about the theatre. And the new owner. Bridie did not want that. She wanted to be ready to confront her dad, both of her parents, with this.
Delving into the shoebox, trying to be as quiet as possible so she didn’t wake her sleeping puppy, she took out a stack of photos from different shows. There were even photos of the cast at parties, which she imagined were wrap parties. Bridie was no stranger to those back in London.
She recognised a pub in Aldeburgh, outside of which one photo had been taken – her dad and Reggie were there, raising a glass, along with her mum. It surprised Bridie that she was in the photo with the cast. Her mum had Kate in her arms – Bridie recognised her sister as a baby from family photos she’d seen. Bridie’s brother as a toddler was standing in front of her. But her mum wasn’t looking at her husband, or at either of her children. She was looking across at Isobel Raine, who was standing in between Rufus and Reggie. There was an expression on her face that Bridie couldn’t quite fathom.
