“It was a lot of lovelorn, ‘go on without me,’ and ‘my father will never stand for it, he’ll disown me, he’ll never allow me to have anything to do with my family again.’ But it was a real turnabout, and I could tell, my grandfather was blindsided by it.”
“‘Deeds that were done in this house?’”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry, Vivi, I have no idea what she was referring to.”
My eyes drifted from him as I muttered, “Damn.”
“You said you’re just starting,” he reminded me. “Maybe more will turn up.”
I nodded again, but asked, “Do Tempie or Chassie maybe know more than you about the history of the Talyns?”
“Maybe Prue. That isn’t Tempie’s or Chassie’s thing.”
“Right,” I mumbled, dejected.
Because if Prue knew something about Harmoney, she’d already have told me.
“This has shaken you,” he observed.
“Since I read the letters, I always thought, after he left here and they were apart, Saint and Marie could put pressure on her. Remind her of her place. Maybe talk shit about what Grandpa Charlie had to offer. Definitely it seemed there were threats. That said, it was clear in her letters she wasn’t just dumping him. They were emotional. Heartbroken. She thought she was doing him a favor, being free of her to go on with his life.”
“And Charlie was having none of it?”
“There were at least half a dozen letters where she was palpably fending off his pleas for her to reconsider, and considering how long it took for mail to go back and forth, they seemed fast and furious, for the time. So yes, he was having none of it. It was just that nothing he said, whatever it was, made her change her mind.” I paused and then reminded him, “And she never married.”
“So she didn’t meet another man.”
“Not that we know. Just because she didn’t marry doesn’t mean she didn’t meet another man. But I’d have to say, she’s a damned good liar, even in written word, if all of what she was saying to Charlie was bullshit. But mostly, they were an ocean away from each other. If she was done and moving on, she could just stop writing. It’s not like he could do anything, or they’d run into each other at the grocery store or something.”
“This has to be both the reason why you do what you do, and the risks you take doing it.”
I was confused at his comment, so I asked, “Pardon?”
“You’ll dive deeper to find what you can find, even knowing you might never learn what you wish to learn. Much like whether or not Elizabeth and Christopher had a thing.”
Ah.
“Yes, that’s why I love what I do. But when a mystery remains buried, it sucks huge.”
He smiled at me.
Three areas of my body perked up.
Okay, now was the time to have the What’s with All the Heavy Flirting, Your Grace? conversation.
I did not dive into that conversation.
I remarked, “I know it’s not my place to ask, but I wondered why Christian doesn’t come to dinner.”
He appeared perplexed. “Christian?”
“The PhD candidate.”
“I know who he is. Did he say something to you?”
“We haven’t met.”
