The Library of Lost and Found(47)

“Well, okay.” Martha fell quiet for a while, trying to work out how to approach the subject of their nana.

“Great. Well, it was good to speak to—” Lilian started.

Realizing she was about to hang up, Martha raised her voice. “Wait. Don’t go. I need to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Can you join me for dinner this evening?”

“Really? At the house? Can you even find your dining table? What’s the occasion?”

“I’ve been invited somewhere and I’d like you to join me.”

Lilian hesitated. “I think this is the first time you’ve ever invited me to do something social.”

“Sorry.”

“I think I’m free. Where is it?”

Martha wound the telephone wire around her wrist in a bracelet and then back again. She tried to rehearse words in her head but they jumped around. She knew that saying this wouldn’t be easy, and she just had to go for it. “I know you said to leave the old book alone, but I couldn’t do it. I found the date of the dedication was correct. Nana published the book and did sign it, in 1985.”

Even though Lilian was over a mile away, Martha felt the air chill between them.

“What does that have to do with dinner?”

“I’ll try to explain,” she said with a swallow. “Owen Chamberlain, at the bookstore, traced another copy to Monkey Puzzle Books in Benton Bay. The owner, Rita, found it in a very odd way. Two ladies did a reading in the street and left it behind.”

“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

Martha took a deep breath. She screwed her eyes shut, preparing herself to tell the next part of the story. “I found out that one of the ladies was Zelda, Lilian. Our nana is still alive.”

She paused, thinking that she might hear a gasp or a “What?” from Lilian, but the only sound that came from the other side of the phone was the clunk of her sister’s rings against the receiver.

“Um, did you hear what I said?” Martha asked after an unbearably long few moments.

“Well, yes,” Lilian snapped. “And it’s absolutely ridiculous. Zelda died years ago. We both know that.”

“We thought we knew.” Martha waited a while longer. The quietness was strange, like they had both entered a large church and were trying not to make a sound. When her sister didn’t speak, she began to babble. “I met up with her, Lilian.”

“You did what?”

“I was going to tell you about it, before I went to Benton Bay, but I had to go, there and then. It all seemed so surreal. But she was there, Lilian. I found her. I didn’t recognize her at first. I mean, it’s been so long—”

“It can’t be her.”

“She has the missing tooth. Do you remember the toffee apple at the fair? I went to her house, then we met at the fairground in Benton Bay. It’s definitely her.”

“I told you to leave all this alone.” Lilian’s voice was strained, like she was trying to squeeze on board a packed train.

“I know. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I don’t know if I’m angrier with you, or at her.”

Martha frowned. “Why would you be angry with Nana? Our parents told us she’d died. Why on earth would they do that?” Her voice pinged up a notch. “I looked after them for fifteen years and they never said a thing. They must have known all that time. Do you know what’s gone on?”

Martha heard scratching, perhaps Lilian’s fingernails against her chin, or in her hair. She waited until her sister’s words flooded out.

“Look, I’ve just looked at my diary, and I am doing something tonight. Paul mentioned his friend might call round. I hope he doesn’t expect me to cook anything, because it’s not fully confirmed yet. I don’t even know who she is. I mean, I expect it’s a her. He seems to associate with women freely these days…”

Martha tried to decipher what Lilian was talking about and why. There seemed to be a huge disconnect in their conversation. “So, you can’t make it tonight?” she confirmed.

“No. And I don’t think that you should go, either.”

She sounds like Dad when he told Mum not to do something, Martha thought.

“Some things are better left in the past, Martha,” Lilian said. “Zelda wasn’t a reliable person. It’s very strange to hear she’s alive, after all this time, but it’s unlikely she’s still got all her marbles intact. She could tell you anything, and you wouldn’t know if it was the truth or not.”

“She’s told me very little. That’s why we should both go to dinner. You can meet her. We can ask her things and try to find out what’s gone on.”

“I’m very sorry, Martha,” Lilian said shortly. “I don’t think I want to know. It’s been such a long time and, well, I want to spend time with Paul. Things are rather tricky between us at the moment…”

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“Some things are easier to keep to yourself. You don’t want everyone to know.”

Martha felt her stomach dip. “But I’m your sister.”

“I know.” There was a noticeable pause before Lilian spoke again. “Look, just be careful with Zelda. Some things aren’t what they seem.”