Page 25 of Forgive Not Forget

“Some journalists don’t. Their job is to share information, and sometimes information is a bit boring, so some people embellish their stories.”

Abigail looked at her blankly.

“Make them more interesting than they are,” Anna explained. “You could be a researcher, that’s similar. I used to do that before I moved back to Nunswick. I worked at The National Archives, and my job was to help people find information in all the old records.”

“What were they looking for?”

“Family history, mainly.”

“Why don’t they know who their family are?”

“As each generation lives, they don’t always think to record who their family members are, their birth dates, things like that, because they know it. Then fifty or a hundred years pass, and people forget things or forget to tell the younger members of the family.”

“That’s sad.”

“It is. It’s not done intentionally; we don’t appreciate that our family in the future will forget things or not even know them in the first place. In the past, they had family Bibles that were passed down the generations. In the front, they would record all the members of the family and their dates of birth. Nowadays people want more information than that; they want to know where their family came from, where they lived, what they did for a job.”

“And you could find all these things out for them?”

“Not always, but I gave it a good try. If the records survived history, then we can find out the basics about people. Things like their jobs can be more difficult. We use something called a census to find out.”

Abigail frowned. “Could we see who lived in Granny’s house before her? It’s very old.”

“Yes, of course.”

Abigail fell into silence and returned her attention to her drawing until the next family arrived.

* * *

Katherine arrived bang on one o’clock as promised, carrying with her a promising picnic basket. Anna’s stomach rumbled at the sight of it.

“You must be Abigail?” Katherine said as she approached their table.

“Abi,” Abigail replied pointedly.

“Sorry, Abi,” Katherine corrected herself, pulling the sides of her mouth down and eyeballing Anna.

Anna smirked.

“Do you work here too?”

“I do. I’m a trustee. My key role is to make sure the abbey is safe.”

“So you’re like a guardian of the abbey?”

“Something like that.”

Abigail looked down and played with her fingers. “My dad was a guardian, too, of people. Everyone says he’s a hero. I still miss him, even though he’s a hero.”

“I expect you do,” Katherine said. “The world may have gained a hero, but you lost a dad. I’m also a guardian of people; I make sure that everyone at the abbey is safe, be that staff or visitors. I’m also responsible for ensuring they have an enjoyable time whilst they’re here, so they return. Anna helps with that bit, and you are today, I see.”

Abigail’s lips curled with pride.

Katherine took over the slow stream of visitors to give Anna and Abigail a break whilst they ate their lunch. The picnic basket revealed ham rolls, crisps, fruit, and small bottles of fruit juice.

“Do you want me to stay and help?” Katherine asked as they finished up.

“No, I don’t think you need to.” Anna grinned at Abigail. “I have my helper.”