Gran reached out and stopped her. “First, I need you to know something. I went and talked to Eleanor yesterday. She would appreciate it if you and Brent stopped digging into Vera and Lawrence. It’s in the past, anyway. You know Eleanor, she can’t stand to think about people gossiping about her family.”
“I understand. I’ll talk to Brent. I don’t want to upset Miss Eleanor or put a strain on your friendship.”
“Thank you, dear. I appreciate it.”
She headed outside, crossed the sunlit lawn, and opened the shed. She stepped inside, eyeing the stacks of boxes. There was still so much more to sort through. She got to work, continuing with her system of keep, pitch, or donate.
Sometime later, she was startled when she heard a noise at the door. She looked up to see Brent standing there, framed in light. Her heart fluttered quickly, though she ignored it. Friends, remember?
“Brent, hi.”
“Darlene said you were out here.” He stepped inside.
She stood and stretched. “Just working my way through all of this.”
“I was wondering if you had a chance to show the letter to Darlene.”
“I… I did. And she went to talked to Eleanor.”
“I had a visit from Miss Eleanor myself.”
“Gran thinks we should let the whole Prince Lawrence and Vera thing fade back away.”
“Miss Eleanor was a bit more forceful than that with her request, but yes, I clearly got her message.”
“So you’ll just let it all drop?”
“I… I’m not sure. If I can find out this much, so can the next person researching the area.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“A researcher normally doesn’t hide from the truth.” He frowned.
She put her hands on her hips. “Even if he’s been asked not to stir up gossip? I mean, we don’t know anything for certain.”
“Don’t we?” He raised an eyebrow. “Lawrence professed his love and was asking her to go away with him.”
“But Vera never got the letter, did she? We don’t know how it ended. Can’t you just drop it?”
“I… I can’t. Not until I know the truth. And then… then I’m not sure what I’ll do.”
“Why would you go against Miss Eleanor’s wishes?”
“Because this might be a significant piece of the area’s history. And I’ll, of course, write about the sister island. A lot of the details will be out there. People might start remembering things. Talk. Gossip. And There’s the pendant that Tori has. Dale knows it’s the same one that was presumably lost when the prince visited. But Vera had it.”
“I wish we never started looking into all of this.”
“But we did. And now I have to see where it leads me.”
“I think you should drop it.” She waited for his reaction, waited to see if he’d do what she—and Miss Eleanor—asked him to do.
He looked at her for a long moment. “Duly noted.” He turned and walked out of the shed.
Exasperation swept through her. He didn’t understand what gossip like this could do to a family in a small town. He was all about his research. That meant more to him than how Miss Eleanor felt… or how she felt.
It was probably for the best that she hadn’t let anything happen with Brent. She couldn’t be a part of this any longer. Not if it upset Miss Eleanor this much. Not if Gran asked her to drop it. Even if she was still curious…
Or was she using all this to justify her decision to back off things with Brent?
