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Children: Quentin, Alana, and Julia
In a moment of drunk sorrow, Bernard told you that his youngest, Ella, was adopted after her mother abandoned her at The Copperfield House.
This adoption is a secret that both Bernard and Greta carry. USE THIS to your advantage, if you can.
Ella felt as though her body had caught on fire. She dropped the leather journal and leaped back, her legs and arms shaking violently. “Oh my God. Oh my God.” She repeated it over and over, overwhelmed. Will bent to pick up the leather book and read over Bernard’s first page before whispering, “There are twenty pages about Bernard.”
“And the rest of the book is all about his friends and colleagues,” Ella rasped. “She was studying him. She was making lists. She was maniacal about it.” She cupped her elbows like a child, overwhelmed. “I don’t know what to say.”
“This is the book of a sociopath,” Will said firmly, closing it.
Ella’s eyes widened as the realization flowed over her. “It’s Marcia. It has to be.”
Will set his jaw. For a moment, Ella was afraid that he would refute this idea and come up with another. Instead, he said, “How can you be sure?”
Ella collapsed on the seat in front of the drum set and closed her eyes. “Marcia knew about my real mother. It all makes sense now.” She shuddered, then explained, “I had this feeling that she was chasing after me. She’d gone out drinking with you, she’d purchased the painting of Alana, and she’d decided to premiere her film at the Nantucket Jubilee. I was so angry, and I sent a message directly to her website, telling her to stay away from my family. The next thing I knew…”
“You learned about your real mother?” Will finished, catching on.
Ella’s vision was foggy with tears. After a moment of terribly tense silence, she whispered, “But this is proof, Will. Real proof.”
Will continued to flip through the pages, flabbergasted. “She never signed her name.”
“There has to be a way to show it’s hers.” Determination flowed through Ella. Anger was such a powerful tool. “I’ll talk to Alana and Julia about it. Together, we’ll come up with a plan.”
ChapterTwenty
Sleep didn’t come for the Copperfield Sisters easily that night. After Ella showed the journal to Alana and Julia, they were breathless with anger, reading through the lists with dangerous tones. They meant business. Bit by bit, they crafted a plan for Marcia’s arrival on the island— one that, if it worked well, could begin to unravel the “beautiful” life that Marcia had built for herself. They wanted to put her in prison for many years, to pay the same price that Bernard had. If they couldn’t, then ruining her prestige would have to do. When they finally convinced one another to go to bed, they held one another for a long time, unable to weep any longer. Again, both Alana and Julia reminded Ella that she was just as much a Copperfield as any of them were— and Ella finally said, “I know.”
The following early afternoon was the opening ceremony of the Nantucket Jubilee. Ella arrived downtown at eleven to find Stephanie in a rather bouncy and good mood.
“We’ve prepared for everything we can,” Stephanie explained. “If something goes wrong, that is out of our control.”
This was such a contrast to the Stephanie of the previous several weeks, who hadn’t been able to get through a meeting without a mid-grade panic attack. Ella hugged her and said, “You’ve done such a remarkable job, Steph. Thank you for including me in the process.”
To start the festivities, a large sailboat styled like an old-fashioned whaling boat entered the harbor. On shore, multiple Nantucketers in 1820s-style costumes waved and cried out excitedly. Ella, Julia, and Alana watched from the docks, laughing at how silly and also how beautiful the re-enactment actually was.
Several Nantucketers had speaking parts. One woman screeched, “Is that The Heart of Nantucket?”
Another woman cried, “I thought the ocean had taken our men forever!”
A teenage girl wept, “My father! He’s finally home!”
Ella, Alana, and Julia chuckled at the bad acting yet were just as quiet as everyone else as the sailboat was latched to the main dock and a number of “whalers” stepped off, also in 1820s clothing. One of the men raced off the dock, lifted his real-life wife into the air, and kissed her right in front of everyone. Their real-life teenagers stood further to the back, all in ordinary clothing, and they wrinkled their noses with shame.
Still, Ella had to admit that it was all rather sweet. The re-enactment showed the true heart of Nantucket. Everyone was overly willing to go the extra mile to prove their love for their home. That was a rare thing in the world.
After the re-enactment, Stephanie made a speech on the little stage next to the harbor. Her voice wavered slightly, but she powered through, thanking the numerous musicians, filmmakers, writers, and other performers for their commitment to Nantucket. “The Nantucket Jubilee celebrates two hundred years of homecomings,” she explained, her smile widening. “And I couldn’t have put any of this together without another homecoming, one that’s a bit more personal to me.” Stephanie exhaled deeply and laughed. “I hope I don’t start sobbing. Gosh. Okay. My best friend in the world left the island when we were eighteen. Two months ago, she came back and threw her heart and mind into the Nantucket Jubilee like no other. Ella Copperfield, thank you. Thank you for coming back. I love you.”
Ella’s heart raced. She pressed her lips onto her palm and blew a kiss toward Stephanie, who caught it in her fist and laughed. She then added, “Enough about me. Let’s kick off this celebration, shall we? First up, we have local band, The Scavengers, to play you jazz and blues hits. There are food trucks lined up all over the place, plenty of games and prizes to win, and what looks to be about a million pies to eat. I hope you’re hungry. Let’s celebrate!” Stephanie flung her hand into the air and laughed joyously. The crowd joined her, applauding and separating to line up at food trucks and little wine stalls. The local band, The Scavengers, marched on stage and began to tune their instruments as Alana said, “I think we all deserve a glass of wine after what happened last night.”
As Ella, Alana, and Julia sat around a little wooden table, each with a glass of natural wine, Stephanie appeared to give Ella a walkie-talkie, “just in case.” “We worked tirelessly, and every extra employee we hired is currently in place,” Stephanie explained. “But if there’s any hiccup in the plan, I’ll contact you here, and we can hit up Plan B or Plan C.”
Ella saluted Stephanie. “We got this.”
As The Scavengers played and the three sisters sipped their wine, they spotted several Nantucketers in the crowd who’d been listed in Marcia’s horrible leather journal. Ex-colleagues and ex-friends of Bernard walked around with natural wines and locally brewed beers, each with a smile on their face.
