He concentrated for a second on the burst of color as a spinnaker ballooned out in the distance. “I’ll promise to try; but I have obligations in London, and I’m not sure how they’ll pan out. I’m still tied up with research.”

“I was hoping you’d bring this girl, Siân, home for us to meet. She sounds very sweet. It’s been going on for some time now. Is it getting serious?” She was goading her son into a confidence that she knew better than to expect he’d make. He was in his early thirties, good-looking, a desirable catch; yet he’d never shown the least inclination to settle down, and he kept himself completely to himself. One of her closest friends had even questioned his sexuality, which made her wonder about it herself. He’d never done anything that might clarify the case, but he was secretive.

“We’ll see.” He changed the subject. “Mother, did it ever occur to you that you should be the next holder of the key, after Diana Stafford died without a daughter? Did you discuss the possibility with her?”

Faith had known something was on his mind, and she’d waited patiently over lunch for him to get to the point. It was out of character for him to turn up unexpectedly like this, and she had sensed there was a purpose. “It’s funny, isn’t it? It’s a mystery—which makes us all want to know more. But in truth, Calvin, the key would never have been likely to come to us.” She looked at him with a curious expression. “Have you actually seen this mythical little object? I’ve always wondered whether it was beautiful and precious?”

“It’s decidedly ordinary, as far as I could tell. Though I haven’t had a hold of it. But surely”—he resumed his line of questioning—“you—or Grandma—are the nearest female kin, so it might with some justification have come to one of you?”

“No, no! Diana had brothers, and one of them has a daughter. She could have been the recipient. But there are other considerations, you know.”

“Yes, but if the key had to go through the female line, then the next girl would have been up from Diana, and sideways—otherwise it would have had to pass through one of the boys surely? And the other thing I don’t understand concerns the country property in England, where Granny grew up. Why was it never shared among the siblings?”

“Are you feeling shortchanged? You’re hardly badly off. Your grandfather has left us all with a comfortable income from the cottages here on Nantucket Island.”

“Let’s just say I’m intrigued. I told you they found the collection of Dee papers under a tree at the family house. I’d like to understand the legacy better. And this notion of a curse. Can you explain it for me?”