Not knowing the story or excerpt you are referring to, I can only help you by asking some questions to get you thinking about the correct answer. Is the village far away from other villages or towns? Are there many sick people in the village making the doctor want to stay away? Is there a lot of violence that the doctor is trying to avoid? What is it about the village or the people in it that the doctor would be trying to avoid? The answer to that questions is the answer to your question.
Answer: The answer choice I will go with is B. Gertude is opening up the possibility that Ophelia did not kill herself.
A phrase that looks like a verb, but can actually function as if it were an adjective. It can modify a noun in the same sentance.
