The family remembered Aunt Nell as a jilted bride. According to the story, her paramour had been a philanderer whose infidelity left Nell to a reclusive old age. (paramour: lover, secret lover, romantic partner; philanderer: womanizer, Casanova; infidelity: unfaithfulness, disloyalty, faithlessness; reclusive: withdrawn, solitary, secluded) A bundle of letters appeared to confirm his faithlessness. (faithlessness: disloyalty, unfaithfulness, infidelity) On alternate Fridays he signed himself Arthur or Maurice.
Nell's granddaughter checked the handwriting. The loop of each M was identical. Was the duplicity premeditated, or had somebody tried later to contrive a more romantic past? (duplicity: double-dealing, deceit, deception; premeditated: planned, deliberate, calculated; contrive: devise, engineer, orchestrate) The family had enjoyed the intrigue for years. (intrigue: mystery, suspense, fascination) The last envelope held a program for a comedy in which Nell had played the lead opposite a touring actor.
The letters were in character. Each ended just before a cue, leaving space for Nell to write a reply. She had kept the role alive between performances. Her granddaughter brought both sets of letters to the next reunion. Two cousins read them aloud, and the family finally heard Nell's half of the conversation.