though, was gone for a good few years.’
‘Why did she come back then?’ Ava leaned further forward. ‘I thought she turned the house into a school.’
‘She did,’ Bunty replied. ‘Her mother, all alone in the house, suffered a stroke. Unable to care for herself, Luella returned to the island only to find all the family’s money was gone, depleted over the years since Ephraim Lynch’s death in 1902. They were flat broke. Luella opened the house as a school. At first it was only attended by the children on the island, then gradually she expanded it and many children came from the mainland and boarded at the house as it generated more income. After a while Luella employed a young teacher from Boston by the name of Jonathan Sedgewick. He boarded at the Morgan guest house for a time as it would not have been proper for him to live under the same roof as Luella, who was unmarried.’
‘So, what happened next?’ Ava had propped her elbows on her knees and was resting her chin on her fists as she watched Bunty in rapt fascination.
‘Luella and Jonathan must have fallen in love, or decided it was mutually beneficial for them to wed. They married in January of 1919 and that fall came the storm and with it, the disappearance of not only Luella and her husband, but every child in that house.’
‘What about her mother?’ Ava asked.
‘No one knows,’ Betty shook her head, picking up the story once again from Bunty. ‘There’s no record of her at all after the stroke. We don’t know if she died; there’s no burial plot for her in the cemetery where Ephraim and Edison are both buried.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Ava frowned. ‘If they all died or disappeared without a trace, that means I’m not descended from them? So how did I end up inheriting the house?’
‘You’re not a direct descendant,’ Bunty told her, but her mouth once again thinned slightly, and her eyes were guarded. ‘Ephraim had a younger sister; she left the island after their parents died of Typhoid. From what we understand she had nothing to do with her brother. She married and had children, who in turn had their own children. Several decades after the disappearance of Luella, the town council declared her legally dead. They tracked down Ephraim’s sister’s descendants, the Wallaces, and the house passed to them. They moved back to the island, but they never lived in the house.’
‘So, Luella would have been my great, great aunt or something.’ Ava mused.
‘Something like that,’ Bunty muttered quietly as she watched Ava, her blue eyes unreadable.
Ava opened her mouth to speak once again but before she could utter a word, a loud car horn blared. She looked across to the entrance to the woods and saw a huge RV driving up, followed by a small neat silver Honda.’
‘Ah, my car at last,’ Bunty stood and smoothed down her slacks. ‘Well Ava dear, I’m afraid we shall have to leave you now.’
Ava stood and watched as the RV parked alongside her truck. The compact Honda parked opposite and behind them both came Killian’s red pickup. Killian climbed out of the RV and tapped the side as he headed toward Ava.
‘She’s solid,’ he grinned, ‘much better than a tent. You’ve got a small kitchen, seated area with table, a toilet and shower, and most importantly, a double bed, big enough for you and that half dog, half bear that’s permanently attached to you.’
‘It’s mine?’ Ava’s eyed widened as she glanced lovingly at the RV, the way some women might eye diamonds.
‘Don’t get too excited, its only on loan,’ Killian told her. ‘Mr Wilson loaned it to you.’
‘Who’s Mr Wilson?’ Ava frowned, ‘and why is he loaning me his RV?’
‘Mr Wilson is the retired principle of the local high school; he’s friends with my dad. Usually he takes off for the summer with his wife, who’s a retired nurse. They like to take to the open road for a few months, but their daughter has just given birth to their first grandchild after years of IVF and they don’t want to miss a moment of it.’
‘You gossip like an old woman Killian,’ Kelley laughed as he opened the door of the Honda and unfolded his tall frame from the small car.
Killian shook his head and rolled his eyes.
‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘it’s yours for the time being.’
‘Thank you,’ she replied sincerely, itching to get inside and take a look around. Instead she followed his