“She is. The B&B is mostly booked for the entire summer.”
“We’ve been particularly full of tourists this summer. Which is good for business, but sure makes for some long hours.”
“That’s why I’m here to help her.” She leaned forward. “And you’ll never guess what we found in an old guest book at the B&B.”
Beverly raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
Brent chimed in, “There were entries from a Prince Lawrence of Bardonzia, dating back to the early 1900s. Apparently, he visited Magnolia Key regularly, and Dale mentioned some sort of scandal back then, but we don’t know if it relates to Prince Lawrence or not.”
Beverly’s eyes widened. “Bardonzia? Dale mentioned that country when I showed him the painting I found.”
Excitement shone in Brent’s eyes. “Really? We spoke to Dale at the antique shop, and he mentioned the prince too, but he didn’t have many details.”
Beverly nodded. “There have been a few mysterious things found around town recently. That painting I found. An old letter written in code. And a pendant that was found in a drawer in the dressing room at the theater.”
Brent leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. “Fascinating. I wonder if they’re somehow all connected.”
She felt a thrill of anticipation at the idea of digging deeper into the island’s secrets. “Maybe we could ask around, see if anyone else has heard stories or found anything related to Prince Lawrence.”
Beverly smiled. “You two might just uncover a century-old mystery. Magnolia Key has a way of revealing its secrets when the time is right.”
As they enjoyed their lunch, they continued to discuss the intriguing mystery, and Felicity’s enthusiasm grew with each new piece of information. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so excited about something.
“So, Beverly,” Felicity said, leaning forward, “tell us more about this painting you found. What did it look like?”
Beverly took a sip of her iced tea. “It was a rolled-up canvas I discovered in an old bookcase here at the cafe. When we unrolled it, we saw a scene of a building that looked just like the one that it used to be on Magnolia Key. There was an intriguing detail—the letters M and B intertwined over the door.”
Brent’s eyes lit up. “M and B… Magnolia and Bardonzia, perhaps?”
She nodded, her mind full of possibilities. “That’s a good theory. And you mentioned a coded letter too?”
“Yes,” Beverly confirmed. “It was found in an old purse. We couldn’t make sense of it at first, but I later found out it was written in some kind of family code. Ones the Whitmores used. It instructed someone to meet at the landing on a Friday night.”
“Whitmore? As in Miss Eleanor?”
“Yes, it was her son, Cliff, who told me about the family code they’d used over the years.” Beverly’s eyes clouded briefly.
“Gran told me that Cliff is trying to get the codes changed so he can build a high-rise building at the end of the boardwalk.”
“It’s not going to happen. We won’t let it,” Beverly said firmly. “No matter what Cliff wants.”
“I hope you can stop him. That will ruin the whole feel of the island.”
Beverly nodded. “Anyway, back to the mysterious items that have been showing up.”
She turned to Brent. “This is incredible. We’ve got a mysterious prince, a coded letter, a painting of a building that looks just like one that used to be here on the island, and a pendant. They must all be connected somehow.”
He nodded, his expression thoughtful. “It’s like pieces of a puzzle, scattered across time. We just need to figure out how they fit together.”
As they continued to talk, her excitement grew. The mystery was captivating, yes, but it was more than that. It was the thrill of discovery, the joy of learning something new. She realized how much she’d missed this feeling—the exhilaration of piecing together information, of following a trail of clues.
“You know,” she said, almost to herself, “this reminds me of why I became a teacher in the first place. I wanted to inspire curiosity, to help students uncover new knowledge.”
Beverly reached across and patted her hand. “It’s easy to lose sight of that initial passion sometimes. But maybe it’s still there, isn’t it?”
Felicity nodded, surprised by the lump in her throat. “Maybe.”
Beverly rose. “Sometimes we all need a reminder of what lights us up inside. Sounds like this mystery might be just what you needed.”
