‘All right.’
‘Good. Then you can tell me your plans for the theatre.’
Bridie didn’t think Hannah would let it go. After all, she’d invested her time into helping her clean up the theatre. Everyone in Cobblers Yard was excited about the prospect of the little theatre reopening and staging the first performance there in years.
A few minutes later, they were sitting together on the sofa in the cosy corner with the lamp on. Outside, the January weather had really taken hold. It was sleeting, flurries of white ice collecting on the little windowpanes, the freezing temperatures explaining why there wasn’t much footfall in Cobblers Yard on a Saturday.
Bridie held her warm mug between her hands. ‘I bumped into my sister this morning when I left the theatre.’ She chose not to mention how silly she’d been, imagining she’d seen somebody on stage, giving herself a fright. She felt foolish just thinking about it.
‘Oh, dear. Did she find out your secret?’ Hannah asked.
Bridie shook her head. ‘But Layla did – my fifteen-year-old niece. She spotted me locking up the theatre. I couldn’t lie to her, so I told her … everything.’
By everything, Bridie meant she’d had to tell Layla about her dad, Layla’s grandpa too. She hadn’t had time to remove the poster before Layla and Charlie ran into the theatre as soon as she’d unlocked the door.
Layla’s reaction had been the same as Bridie’s own when she had found out. ‘Grandpa was on the stage – what the hell?’ She was just as cross too. And she couldn’t wait to confront him.
Bridie had explained to Layla her reasoning for keeping the theatre a secret from the rest of the family, especially Layla’s grandparents – for the time being, anyway.
Of course, Layla had understood. ‘Yeah, you’re not the only one keeping secrets. But why do they hate the theatre so much when Grandpa clearly loved it once like you and I do?’
‘That is the big question,’ Bridie had said miserably, keeping her thoughts about her dad and Isobel Raine to herself.
When she’d first discovered that her dad had kept his past a secret, she’d assumed it was because although he had lovedbeing on the stage, he’d had to leave and get a better-paid job to bring in more money for his growing family.
But now she had that shoebox, and those letters – neither of which she was going to show her niece – Bridie knew there was more to her dad’s secret than that. She wasn’t about to tell Layla that he might have had an affair with Isobel Raine. Nor was she going to tell Hannah.
Bridie had simply told Layla what she’d first assumed – that he’d had to leave and find better-paid work because he was raising a family. Unfortunately, Layla, always on the ball, had said, ‘But Grandma was in a well-paid job as a GP. Surely, Grandpa didn’t have to leave.’
‘Grandma worked part-time, so …’
‘Okay, I get that, so he had to get a better-paid job, but what I don’t understand is why Grandpa didn’t join an amateur dramatics society, and do plays in other local theatres in Suffolk in his spare time? And they never took you or Mum or Uncle Jeremy to the theatre like Great-Grandad did. They didn’t want you to go into theatre – nor me. And I still don’t get why he didn’t tell any of us he used to work in theatre.’
Fortunately, Charlie had rescued her from those searching questions, taking Layla’s hand and pulling her towards the stage. ‘Come on, let’s rehearse the play on aproperstage.’
Bridie had enjoyed taking a seat in one of the few unbroken velvet chairs, and being their audience, watching them both on stage as Charlie helped Layla rehearse her part in the play for Oliver’s after-school drama club. Despite her mum ripping up the permission slip, Layla had obviously been determined she was still going to attend, and must have asked for another one.
Layla spent a few minutes beforehand explaining Charlie’s part to him.
As Bridie had watched them, she’d remembered the day she’d stood on that stage when she, Jack and Oliver had explored theold, shut-up theatre. She remembered knowing it was where she belonged.
Watching Layla, so confident and self-assured, had brought a tear to her eyes. It was where she belonged too.
Bridie had been surprised that Layla was still in the drama club. She was even more surprised that her niece was still talking to her after her awful behaviour on the stage during her last performance. She knew that Kate would have shown Layla the social media posts, even if she hadn’t seen them already. She would have taken great pleasure in putting Bridie down in front of her niece. Of course, Bridie had brought the subject up. Layla’s response had surprised her. ‘I’m so sorry about how your fiancé treated you. I’m not surprised about what happened. I’m just so sorry you lost your job over it.’
Bridie had almost cried when she’d heard that.
Hannah said, ‘That’s lovely, hearing that your niece is following in your footsteps.’
Bridie had told Hannah a truncated version of Layla’s first visit inside the theatre, leaving out all the personal stuff to do with her dad and Isobel Raine. ‘She wants to come and help get the theatre up and running.’
‘That’s so lovely of her.’
‘Yes, it was lovely of her to offer to help out. She really wants to be a part of restoring the theatre back to its former glory and especially putting on a show.’ Layla had made Bridie promise she could have a part in the first performance. But there was more to Layla’s eagerness than that. Layla couldn’t wait to expose her grandad’s secret and see his face when he was invited to the first show by the new owner.
Bridie felt the same, but she was now concerned about what else might come to light once her dad’s past was revealed. But now that Layla knew about the theatre, there was no going back.
Bridie frowned into her coffee mug.
