Chapter Eight

In 1828, Catherine Poole, eldest daughter of the current Poole master, marries William Cabot, valuing sense and compatibility yet unexpectedly in love. That night she dreams she wanders the manor to open doors and spring beyond winter, meets a mad-eyed woman at the seawall, and is cursed for a man who chose death “to stay with her.” Driven into a whiteout, Catherine loses her wedding ring and, freezing, drifts into death—another bride claimed.

In the present, Sonya works late on Anna Doyle’s branding, texts with her mother and Cleo, and falls asleep during a movie. At three a.m., piano music and weeping wake her; items have been moved, her phone placed on the charger, and her bed turned down, rattling her nerves. She tries to rationalize the activity as sleepwalking and anxiety.

Morning brings more disquiet—her wineglass is by the sink, the library fire still warm—before Trey arrives to move her heavy printer upstairs. They review Sonya’s design approach for Anna, Trey approves its stronger branding, and he schedules Sonya to meet his father, Deuce, at three.

After Trey leaves, pop music starts on its own. Sonya continues refining Anna’s materials, prints samples, and sends links. Shaken by more inexplicable orderliness—the bedroom fire lit, the bed made—she steadies herself with a hot shower and heads out to explore.

In the village, Sonya meets bookstore partners Diana Rowe and Anita, learns Collin was beloved though reclusive in recent years, and feels welcomed. She samples local pizza, buys one of Anna’s pots and a scarf, photographs the bay, lighthouse, and shipyards, and notes Poole Shipbuilders to the south. Grounded by community contact, she drives to her appointment with the Doyles.