‘Wilbur, what are you doing here?’ Jules asked, giving him a pat.
‘Sorry, he knows he’s not meant to be coming upstairs,’ Carrie said breathlessly, appearing at the bedroom door, ‘but I think he’s as excited as I am.’
Jules looked down at Wilbur who was now lying on his back, all four paws in the air, tail thudding against her foot as he waited for a tummy rub.
‘He looks really excited!’ she said dryly.
‘We’ve found her,’ Carrie said, almost jumping up and down on the spot.
‘Who?’
‘Philly, and we’ve found her parents, too.’
‘That’s amazing! Who’s we?’
‘The Major and I. We’ve been online. At least, I’ve been online with him looking over my shoulder. He said that all the birth, marriage and death records from 1837 to 2010 are held at the Lord Louis Library in Newport. We found an Eliza Louise Henderson who was married to Isaac Bartholomew Cooper on June 21st1839 at Old St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch, and we found a Philomena Grace Cooper who was born on 18thJuly 1852.’
‘But how do you know they were linked to the cottage?’
‘Because Eliza and Isaac are recorded on the census as living at this cottage for over fifty years.’
Jules’s hands flew to her chest.
‘And The Major, bless him,’ Carrie continued, ‘has been out at the crack of dawn scouring the churchyard and he’s found their graves.’
‘So Philly can be buried with her parents?’
‘He’s looking into that possibility.’
‘That’s amazing. And you’re sure it’s the same Philly?’
‘There’s no death certificate for some reason, but there’s no record of her on any census form for the cottage either so she can’t have lived that long. It has to be her, Jules.’
Jules looked at the floor where in a little tea caddy below the boards rested a rattle and an apricot silk bonnet and a lock of baby hair.
‘And her belongings? What will you do with those?’
‘What do you think?’
Jules stood quietly and listened for guidance, but none came. She got a sense of the room – in fact, the whole house – holding its breath, waiting for her decision. She wanted to make the right one.
‘This is where she lived and where she died. I think they should be left where they are.’
‘Agreed.’
And suddenly a feeling of peace filled the room, a scent of primroses and violets and a whisper of a breeze which, when it landed on Jules’s cheek, almost felt like a kiss.
The Major dithered at the top of the drive and ground his stick into a dusty pothole. With tractors coming up and down all the time it was a never-ending job keeping up with repairs. It would only get worse in the winter if it wasn’t dealt with. He wouldn’t mention it to Rita now though. She needed to concentrate on her recovery. Silly of him to come and see her. He could have just had some flowers delivered. It was Irene who had persuadedhim. Guy’s grandmother was a persuasive woman. He’d bumped into her outside the small supermarket in the next village.
‘Are you eating properly?’ she’d asked, leaning forwards to give him a small peck on the cheek.
He only allowed her to get so close because she’d been such a good friend to Honoria. He suspected she knew that, and it amused her.
‘Of course,’ he’d replied gruffly.
‘What have you got in there?’ she asked, trying to peer into his canvas bag.
He pulled the bag back, so it was almost behind his knee.
