‘Okay, don’t.’
‘She is a harlot!’
June gasped.
‘Yes, you made me say that.’
‘She is not,’ June whispered, looking around at the surrounding people. Up on stage, a group of dancers were high kicking to a rendition of ‘Rocking Around the Christmas Tree’. ‘I still watch her movies.’
‘They’re classics.’ The local butcher chimed in, surprising Quinn.
‘They’re predictable,’ Ivy said.
‘How are they predictable?’ June asked.
‘Woman meets man. Man and woman don’t get along. Woman and man fall in love. The end.’
‘And what is predictable about that?’
‘It’s the same story in every one of her films,’ Ivy said.
‘So what?’
‘Exactly,’ Ivy said. ‘I love them too.’
June seemed confused, but looked back at Deb, as if Ivy’s words were final.
Deb shook her head. ‘A woman allowing herself to befilmed…’
‘We don’t know the situation,’ Ivy said. ‘For all we know, they could have filmed her without her consent. And if she agreed to the film, what’s so wrong about that? We should instead question why we, as a society, let her lose all her work because of one decision relating to sex. To me, that says a lot more about us than it does about Hermione Sage.’
Deb looked like someone had slapped her.
‘Careful,’ Quinn whispered. ‘You don’t want to be making enemies.’
Ivy ignored him, instead addressing the group. ‘I would like to hear Hermione’s story. I hope she finds a ghostwriter and gets a publishing deal.’
‘Do you think people even like her anymore?’ Deb questioned.
‘Are you kidding?’ Ivy asked. ‘We’re obsessed with her here.’
‘I wouldn’t say obsessed…’
‘Wouldn’t you?’ Ivy asked. ‘Hermione hasn’t had proper fame in years, yet we still talk about her. Some people will tell you they don’t like her. Others will talk about her with fascination. We all feel for her, and care about her, whether we care to admit it or not.’
‘I certainly do not care about her.’ Deb looked affronted, but June looked pleased.
‘Youdo,Deb.’ She turned to Ivy. ‘I’ve caught her a few times watching Hermione’s movies.’
‘Only because you left it on.’
‘Not true.’
Quinn thought Ivy might be on to something. The talk of Hermione may have been damaging, but intrigue, fascination and even a desire for her to do well, to return to some form of glory, fuelled it. For Quinn, after last night’s talk with Noah, he wanted her to find justice.
‘No one will publish her,’ a man from the nearby fish and chip shop said. ‘She’s left it too long. No one cares about her anymore. I bet if you ask anyone here, they couldn’t tell you why she was famous.’
‘Well, not here, John. Everyone knows about her here,’ Deb said. ‘But go out of Hay and her name would be as irrelevant as, say…’
