The next was dated November 3.
Douglas came to the cottage. He was angry with his father. He believes Hannah has abandoned him. I told him he must ask her directly. He said he cannot go back now.
Then, beneath it, in a different hand:
He asked whether she had written to him. I said no.
I looked at Lucas.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
The remaining pages were harder to follow. They referred to conversations between the two families, each person speaking indirectly about the other. My father had contacted Douglas’s father. Douglas’s mother had contacted mine. Everyone seemed determined to protect someone, though no one could agree from what.
At the bottom of the folder was an envelope addressed to my mother.
It had never been opened.
I held it up.
“This is your grandmother’s handwriting, isn’t it?”
Lucas examined it.
“Yes.”
