Page 34 of A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea

‘It must have been awful. She was only ten at the time and her mother died quite soon afterwards.’

Lettie gasped at the thought of so much heartache landing on one poor child. To lose your beloved older brother would be dreadful, but your mother too? She shook her head, feeling a sudden fondness for Florence, who had managed to survive such tragedy.

‘That’s really terrible. I saw a headstone for Elizabeth Allford in the village graveyard.’

‘Did you now?’ said Corey, fixing her with a stare that made her legs wobble.

‘Was she your gran’s mum?’

Corey ignored her question, posing one of his own instead. ‘Why are you so interested in what happened in Heaven’s Cove so long ago?’

‘I… I miss Iris.’

He tilted his head, still staring into her eyes. ‘There’s more to it than that. I can tell. Why are you so interested in my family?’

What could she say? That she was on a wild goose chase, trying to understand her great-aunt’s final words? That she was trying to discover who had written a letter decades earlier that made no sense at all? He’d think she was crazy and his already low opinion of her would plummet even further. And yet…

For some reason she didn’t quite understand, Lettie wanted to tell Corey Allford the truth. Even though she’d deliberately kept it from her family and was wishing she’d never mentioned the letter to her mother yesterday. Even though Corey and his grandmother might think she was obsessing about nothing at all.

‘What’s really going on?’ urged Corey, taking a step towards her. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes, she noticed, and stubble across his jaw. He looked tired.

‘It’s all to do with Iris.’

‘Who sounds very important to you.’

‘She is.’ Lettie swallowed hard. ‘She was. My family are quite…’ She felt around for the word. ‘…overwhelming sometimes. They’re louder than me, more confident. But Iris always understood. Sometimes I’d go to her flat and we’d hardly speak. I’d sit and read a book for ages or we’d go to museums together. I love history. Iris was an amazing woman, but she was sad. Just like your gran. Underneath it all – all the years of experiences and life – she was sad. There was something from her past that never left her. Some heartbreak that I think may have happened in Heaven’s Cove, and I want to find out what.’

She thought Corey might be dismissive, sarcastic even. But he grimaced, sympathy in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry. Losing someone you love is painful.’

Lettie nodded.

‘But I don’t see how you can find out what happened so long ago. What do you have to go on?’

Lettie took a deep breath, reached into the small bag slung across her body and handed him the letter.

‘I found this among Iris’s possessions and she left me this necklace that she always wore.’

Lettie automatically took hold of the key around her neck and began to run it back and forth along its gold chain. As usual, it made her feel comforted and safe.

‘I still don’t understand why you’re so interested in my family, unless…’ Corey paused, reading the cryptic words for a second time. ‘Unless you think this was written by Cornelius?’

‘It’s my best guess. I think your great-uncle and my great-aunt were sweethearts.’

He handed back the letter. ‘That’s quite a stretch.’

‘Not really. Look at this photo.’ Lettie pulled the old photograph from her bag and gave it to Corey. ‘The woman on the right is Iris and the man standing next to her is Cornelius. It says so on the back.’

Corey peered at the photo. ‘That’s him, all right. There’s an old photo of him in Gran’s bedroom.’

‘And they look pretty close.’

‘Where did you get this picture?’

‘From Claude. I found it in his archives.’

‘Claude let you into his cottage?’ When Lettie nodded, Corey breathed out slowly. ‘That’s impressive. He doesn’t usually trust outsiders. He’s quite…’

‘Distrustful?’ asked Lettie, giving a small smile.