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‘Starcross, you say.’ He looked Lettie up and down. ‘That’s an unusual name.’
‘My family lived in Heaven’s Cove decades ago and I’m trying to piece together some information about them. Belinda said you know a lot about the village.’
‘Belinda says a lot of things to a lot of people.’
‘I’m very interested in the archive I’m told that you’ve put together. I find history fascinating and I love materials that document the past.’
Hmm. It was hardly an archive, more a few battered old filing cabinets stuffed full with newspaper cuttings, photos and various other remnants of the past in these parts. But the girl’s unusual hazel eyes had lit up at the prospect. She was a strange one.
Claude stroked his beard as she bent down to pat Buster again, who’d plonked down on the path next to her and was slowly wagging his tail.
‘Belinda shouldn’t go around telling people my business,’ he told her firmly, stepping back into the hall. ‘So my answer is no, and I’d thank you to leave my property.’
‘I really wouldn’t take up much of your time.’
‘You have my answer.’
The girl looked sad but not surprised. ‘In that case, I’m sorry to have bothered you. Have a good day.’
What a stupid American expression! Claude harrumphed quietly as she walked back down the path and across the quay. And he noticed that Buster was watching her go with a hangdog expression. Daft animal!
Claude whistled him back in, shut the door and sat at the small dining table next to the front room window. The girl’s visit, though brief, had unsettled him. Would it have been so bad to have let her see what was in the filing cabinets? She’d seemed very keen to go through them.
He glanced at the silver-framed photo on the dresser before getting up to go and put the kettle on. Stirring up the past wasn’t always a good idea. She’d learn soon enough and leave. He glanced again at the photo which had faded to sepia over the years. Everyone left in the end.
