I looked up slowly.
“Ashford,” I
said.
My mother closed her eyes.
Jennifer whispered, “Mom…”
Michael looked completely lost. “What is this?”
Samuel took the letter carefully when I handed it to him. His face changed as he read.
“This predates everything,” he said quietly.
Emma picked up another envelope. This one was addressed not to me, but to her.
Mrs. Emma Hayes.
The handwriting was my father’s too.
But my father had died before I met Emma.
My heart began to pound.
“That’s impossible,” I said.
Emma stared at the envelope in her hands.
The paper was yellowed at the edges, sealed with old glue that had never been opened.
My mother stepped forward, fear plain on her face now.
“Emma,” she said. “Give that to me.”
Emma did not move.
Samuel’s voice was low. “Mrs. Hayes, open it.”
With trembling fingers, Emma broke the seal.
