“Well, there were things that were looked down upon, such as the fact that his own family had cut him off due to his behavior. ‘Playing the field’ was the polite term for his behavior at the time. Some said that he charmed Abigail into marrying him because of her family’s wealth. That’s what supported them. Gran-Gran said he was rude, arrogant, and he could be ‘a very unpleasant fellow’, which were harsh words, coming from her. According to Gran-Gran, everyone knew that it was an unhappy marriage.”

“What about the daughter?”

“Gran-Gran never really knew her, but when she disappeared, the rumors swirled that he had something to do with it.”

“Why?”

He shrugs, again. “His past. He was known to be a little violent. Gran-Gran had heard that after he was drunk with a young woman, Abigail forbade liquor in the house. Anyway, Gran-Gran said it all seemed so strange. As I said, there were rumors that he had something to do with his daughter’s disappearance, but there was no proof.”

“What about the rumor that he killed himself?”

“That one, Gran-Gran sounded more certain about.”

“The paper said that he was found dead in his room.”

“Of course it did. Out of respect for Abigail, it would never print that Thomas Carrington shot himself. That sort of thing simply wasn’t done in those times. Afterwards, Abigail Carrington left Kingsbrook. She wanted nothing else to do with the town. She even left Nightingale House abandoned. She passed in 1927.”

“Did your great-grandmother—”

“Gran-Gran.”

“Yes, did your … Gran-Gran ever tell you if there were any rumors as to why Thomas Carrington killed himself?”

He rolls his eyes, not out of exasperation, but in a way I’m pretty sure his … Gran-Gran did while relating her narratives. “She sure did. The rumors ranged from a sense of guilt over killing his daughter to the absurd idea that he was murdered by a loan shark. Most of the people who believed he killed himself thought he did it out of grief.”

“What did your Gran-Gran think?”

“She was certain he did it because he was caught in an affair and Abigail was going to cut him off.”

“She was sure he was having an affair?”

“Yes.”

“Did she say who?”

“Well, once again, rumors, but there was a whisper that he was carrying on with a young woman. She was the daughter of a pharmacist. The whispers really started flying around when she and her father disappeared from Kingsbrook right after he died, never to be heard from again.”

“Did anyone know her name?”

He glances up at the ceiling as he searches his memory. “Gran-Gran told me once … Her last name was something like … ‘Walker’ or maybe ‘Hooper’, I think. I can’t really remember. I do remember that her first name was ‘Rebecca’.”

The blood drains from my face.

“Mr. Price? Are you well?”

I stand up. I have to get back to the house.