She sat motionless as the pieces of the puzzle about her aunt’s past clicked into place. Zoey was filled with empathy for Sylvia’s plight as a young woman and for how her secret had shaped the rest of her life. She realized that while Sylvia may have considered marrying Dennis, it wasn’t because she loved him; it was so she wouldn’t have to return home to her father. And so she wouldn’t have to leave Marcus, the man she truly loved. The man who truly loved her.
As for Dennis… he’d been a player, that much was clear, but he was also the same young man who had died in his attempt to save Marcus’s life. So Zoey couldn’t guess how he may have reacted if Sylvia had told him she was pregnant with his baby. However, one thing Zoey had no doubt about was that he loved Ivy. It was evident in the stories her aunt had told about him, and it was evident in what Sylvia had written in her journal.Dennis was “real gone” over his best girl,Zoey thought, sniffling a little. And his best girl was Ivy.
And what about her? How might Ivy’s life have been different if she had known Sylvia’s secret? That was another question Zoey had no way of answering for certain. But she suspected if Ivy had found out Sylvia was pregnant with Denny’s child, she might not have ever have married him. Might not have ever experienced a relationship she cherished so much that sixty-some years later, the mere sight of Dennis’s portrait could make her feel as swoony as a schoolgirl.
What if Sylvia had disclosed her secret later in life, as she’d tried to do shortly before she died? Originally, when Zoey suspected Mr. Witherell may have been Marcus Jr.’s father, she assumed Ivy would have been crushed to discover she’d been deceived for all these years. But that was before Zoey read Sylvia’s diary. Before she understood the circumstances and that Sylvia’s intentions were to protect Marcus and Ivy.
In light of that realization, Zoey now firmly believed that if Sylvia had followed through with making her deathbed confession, Ivy may have been hurt at first. But ultimately, she would have been as gracious toward her as she’d been toward everyone else. Maybe even more so, because she’d loved Sylvia like a sister.
Of course, in the end, even though she was clearly anguished by the thought of Mark inheriting the Winslow family home, Sylvia hadn’t shared the truth with Ivy. But Zoey was almost positive her aunt had compromised by leaving her a clue for when the time was right. Almost positive Sylvia had been speaking deliberately, not deliriously when she said. “For now, it’s best to let the past stay buried in the past… beneath the roses.”
Strange, though, that she’d hinted the past was buried beneath the roses, when really it was behind the wall.As she stared at the hole Nick had carved above the window, Zoey was struck by the hideous pattern on the wallpaper.Thosewere the roses Sylvia had been talking about! She must have accidentally dropped the diary down the hollow wall from her attic room, and figured out that it had landed behind the wall in the best room. How disconcerting it must have been for her to walk past that rose-patterned paper every day, knowing that evidence of her darkest secret lay behind it…
Zoey was so affected emotionally by what she’d discovered about her family’s history that it took a few minutes for her to fully absorb how Sylvia’s past had changed her own present. “I can’t believe Aunt Ivy’s house belongs to me, after all,” she said aloud to herself. The realization was staggering. She was elated that she’d be able to continue using the residence as it was originally intended—as ahome, not a business. Yet Zoey also empathized with Mark, knowing the sobering implications her discovery would have for him.
So when she called him later, she tried to soften the blow by reminding him that he’d still receive his portion of Ivy’s trust fund, since he was named specifically in her will. Then, as tactfully as she could, she disclosed what she’d learned about his father’s paternity. Even though they’d both known for decades that the will was incontrovertible, Zoey half expected Mark to threaten to dispute her claim in court.
He was quiet and then he laughed wryly. “I can see the family resemblance to Dennis, all right. I inherited his good looks.”
It’s just like him to focus on external appearances—although he has a point.Zoey recalled the day Gabi assumed the photo of Captain Denny was Mark’s grandfather, probably because she’d subconsciously perceived a similarity between the two men. Still, Zoey thought Mark would have been more upset. Irate, even. Primarily because of the house.
“You don’t sound very surprised.”
“I’m relieved to find out.” Mark explained that when he visited Sylvia shortly before her death, she’d hinted that his father, Marcus Jr., wasn’t Marcus Sr.’s son. “She was incoherent during other parts of the conversation, so I thought she was having some kind of hallucination. But then after her funeral, when Mr. Witherell said what he said…”
Zoey’s mind jumped back to what Sylvia had written about Mr. Witherell in her journal. He’d undoubtedly seen Dennis and Sylvia going in and out of the empty beach cottage. So while he couldn’t have known for sure that Marcus Jr. was Dennis’s son, he may have suspected it. His remarks after the funeral could have been his way of trying to keep Mark from taking over Ivy’s house, just like he’d once tried to prevent Dennis from two-timing her with Sylvia.
“It’s ridiculous, but I’d heard rumors in school and I started to wonder if Mr. Witherell was my grandfather and that’s how he knew I wasn’t a Winslow. I became obsessed with finding out whether he was or not. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, kept losing weight—I was a wreck. I shouldn’t tell you this but I even took a strand of hair from Ivy’s brush. I was going to have someone run a DNA test but I lost the sample.”
You’re unbelievable,Zoey thought, as she recalled the day Ivy was so befuddled about where she’d left her brush. But since Zoey had gone to similar extremes trying to find answers, she said, “Not knowing your heritage must have been eating you up inside.”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to pour a ton of work and money into the house only to find out I had to hand it back over to you,” Mark unabashedly admitted. “When Mr. Witherell died, I called his niece to try to find out if I was his grandson, but she said he couldn’t have kids. So I figured I’d let my imagination run wild and it was time to put the matter to rest… Anyway, even though I’ll lose out on a lucrative leasing opportunity, I’m kind of glad I don’t have to deal with the house any more. It’s actually been more trouble than it’s worth. Besides, I just landed a new job and it’s going to keep me on the road a lot.”
Zoey earnestly congratulated him, adding, “It goes without saying that you’re welcome to visit any time. Just because we’re not blood relatives doesn’t mean we’re not family, you know.”
“Thanks.” There was a quiet pause before Mark chuckled and said, “But it does mean I’ve got a better smile—a Captain Denny smile.”
* * *
Zoey and Nick were standing side-by-side on the widow’s walk, alone. Scott and Kathleen, who had extended their stay on Dune Island, had taken Gabi to Captain Clark’s and then they were headed to Bleecker’s for a cone. The sun had already set, staining the sky orange and yellow, and now dusk was painting the glassy bay deep lavender and the sand black. A brackish breeze cooled the air and in the distance, the voices of summer vacationers rose and fell as they roasted marshmallows over their fire pits or called their children in for the evening.
“I want to tell you something,” Zoey said. “But please don’t share it with anyone, not even Aidan.”
“I won’t,” Nick promised, the blueness of his eyes darkening with the sky.
Zoey trusted him, even with a family secret like the one about Mark’s grandfather. But out of respect for her aunt’s privacy, she didn’t go into detail. She simply told him that Mark wasn’t a blood relative, so she was inheriting the house. However, she did clarify, “And just in case you’ve heard any rumors, Mr. Witherellwasn’this grandfather.”
“Wow. That’s incredible… Have you told Mark yet?”
“Yes.”
“How did he take it?”
“A lot better than I thought he would.”
“So what are you going to do with the house?”
“Livein it, of course.” Since her housing costs were covered indefinitely, Zoey figured she could take a sizeable cut in salary. She hadn’t signed a contract with the library in Providence yet, so she could tell them she’d changed her mind and then she’d apply for the local library position, instead.
