― Margaret Atwood
There they sat on the coffee table―scattered parchments of a bygone time―letters from another century, glimpses of my other life.
I opened the envelopes, faintly smelling of lilac, and perused the contents until I found what I was looking for―the key to unlock my mind.
I needed to know if what Tess said about me was true. When I was Paul and she was Bethany back in The Roaring Twenties, were we really lovers or was she in fact playing me?
Now, I didn't think for a moment Tess would deliberately lie, but what if she had incomplete memories of who we were and incorrectly filled in the missing gaps?
I had to know and now I had the chance of proof before me―a dozen records of my thoughts written in an unfamiliar hand.
I scanned the letters until I found one that came closest to shedding light on the relationship between Tess and me.
Dear Lillian,
I miss you so much. Edna's hostility seems to have prejudiced your whole family against me. They actually believe I'd reveal family secrets―nothing could be further from the truth.
And now when things are so bleak and I'm missing you so much, this business about Bethany Vale has to surface again. Personally, I believe that's Edna's doing as well. I believe she is trying to cause a rift between the two of you which would be tragic because you're such close friends.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I swear there is nothing romantic between Bethany and me. Yes, we were downtown together and had lunch but it was innocent. We ran into each other by accident and the cafe was full so we took a table for two. I knew when Edna saw us that she would cause trouble. You have to believe me, Lil--I would never cheat on you...ever.
Please meet me at America House as we planned and let's settle this once and for all,
Love, Paul
I sighed with relief and slumped back in the sofa chair. It wasn't definitive proof but it was as close as I could get to the truth.
At least, I wasn't an absolute cad and from what I knew of Edna Clove, she definitely was the type to lie.
But I needed to know what Tess told Clare in the restaurant and what Clare believed about our past lives.
It was just past eight--not too late to meet with Clare and talk.
I reached for my cell to phone her when I picked it up, it pulsed in my hands and flashed a push notification--Someone at Your Door.
There was no one visible, at least, on the video doorbell feed.
I looked at the external cameras outside my house. They were all equipped with motion and person detection features but had registered nothing.
I could phone the emergency number Jason Trent gave me but that seemed to be over-reacting.
I decided to go to the side door of the house and peak out the curtain to make sure no one was lurking in the shadows.
I parted the curtain a little but could see nothing so I cracked the door open an inch.
Before I could react, a hand grasped hold of mine and pulled me out.