Page 43 of The Love Letter
‘Absolutely, but I’m going to need your help. I want to discover what your grandfather was really like, where he came from and how his rise to fame affected and changed him.’
‘Blimey, Jo, surely you can go and get any one of the biographies on him, can’t you?’
‘Oh, I have those from the library already. I admit I’ve only leafed through them so far, but to be honest, anybody could do that.’ She looked at him earnestly. ‘I want to see him from the family’s perspective, get to know the little details. For example, “Siam”, that pet name you say his old acting friends used. Where did that come from?’
Marcus shrugged. ‘I’ve absolutely no idea.’
‘He had no connections with Southeast Asia, for example?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’ Marcus emptied his glass and poured himself another. ‘Come on, Jo. You’ve hardly touched your drink.’ He put his hand on her thigh. ‘You’re awfully tense.’
‘Yes, I am, a bit.’ Joanna swiftly removed the hand, then picked up her wine glass to take a sip. ‘It’s been a funny few weeks, one way and another.’
‘Tell me all about it.’
The hand went back onto her thigh. She removed it again and turned to him, an eyebrow raised. ‘No. I have to get this article buttoned under by the middle of next week and you’re not exactly helping, Marcus. It’s in your interests too, you know.’
‘Yes.’ Marcus hung his head like a chastened schoolboy. ‘I’m sorry, I just can’t stop finding you attractive, Jo.’
‘Look, help me out, half an hour is all I’m asking for, okay?’
‘I’ll concentrate, I promise.’
‘Good. Now, what do you know about Sir James? Maybe start right from the beginning with his childhood?’
‘Well . . .’ Marcus had never really taken much interest in his grandfather’s life, but he racked his brains to try and remember anything he could. ‘It’s Zoe you need to speak to really. She knew him far better than I did, because she lived with him.’
‘Speaking to her would be great, but it’s always interesting getting different perspectives on the same person. Did you, by any chance, ever hear your grandfather talk of someone called Rose?’
Marcus shook his head. ‘No. Why?’
‘Oh, her name came up in one of the biographies I read, that’s all,’ she replied casually.
‘I’m sure James had lots of lady loves in his time.’
‘Did you know your grandmother? Her name was Grace, wasn’t it?’
‘I never met her. She died abroad before Zoe and I were born. My dad was only a few years old, if I remember rightly.’
‘Were they happily married?’
‘Very, so legend has it.’
‘By any chance, did your grandfather keep his memorabilia? You know, old programmes, newspaper cuttings, that kind of thing?’
‘Did he ever!’ Marcus chuckled. ‘There’s an entire attic-full in his house in Dorset. They were all bequeathed to Zoe.’
Joanna’s ears pricked up. ‘Really? Wow, I’d love to look through that.’
‘Yeah. Zo’s been saying for ages she’s going to go down for the weekend and sort it all out. Most of it’s probably rubbish, but there might be a few programmes and photos that are quite valuable now. Sir James kept them all, he was a real hoarder.’ Marcus had a brainwave. ‘How about I give Zoe a call and organise for you to come to Dorset this weekend? Then we could have a look through what’s up there. I’m sure she’d be grateful for any help sorting it out.’
‘Er . . . right.’ Joanna knew exactly why Marcus looked so thrilled with his idea and she only hoped the bedroom doors had secure locks. Yet the chance to get her hands on boxfuls of Sir James’s past was too tempting, so she’d have to run the gauntlet.
‘We could drive down on Saturday morning and spend the night there.’ Marcus looked like an eager little boy. ‘We’ll need a good couple of days at it.’
‘Well, if you’re sure,’ said Joanna uncertainly. ‘You’ll ask Zoe then?’
‘Of course I will. She’s also short of cash to renovate the house Sir Jim left her. Maybe the sale of the stuff in the attic could raise some money to help her,’ Marcus improvised, knowing that Zoe would never sell anything of her beloved grandfather’s for profit.
