Chapter Ten

In the morning, Sonya fields emails about a dog rescue from Trey and sets a future dinner with the Doyle family. Uneasy after finding her bed made and the library fire prepped, she blames autopilot even as her tablet plays pointed songs. She focuses on building Anna’s pottery site—structuring the shop and About pages—then steps out for a snowy walk.

Outside, the unlocked front door won’t open on her return. A sudden, frigid wind brings a mental image of a barefoot bride in a blizzard before the lock thunks and the door opens. Shaken, she makes hot chocolate and returns to work. Anna’s ecstatic feedback spurs plans for a video and future social media.

That evening, Sonya studies the Poole genealogy Deuce compiled, tracing the family back to the 1600s and the Maine founder Arthur Poole. In bed, she reads to the 1806 marriage of Astrid and Collin, then dreams vividly: Sonya watches Astrid’s stabbing and theft of the ring, and hears the plea—find the seven rings to break the curse.

At first light, John Dee clears snow; Sonya reestablishes routine, lands a new client, and integrates Anna’s short video into the site. She walks to the seawall, witnesses a whale breach, and returns without incident, increasingly accustomed to the house’s musical cues.

Research continues: Hester Dobbs escaped before hanging, then leapt to her death from the manor’s seawall; witchcraft tools were found in her cabin. Connor, Collin’s twin, ultimately lived a long life, though one descendant died on her wedding day. Sonya ends the day with TV and sleep while the house’s nocturnal sounds and distant sobs pass unheard.