“Yes,” Eneas said. “He fell in love with her. And she with him. Not at first—oh no, they would have fights that you could hear from five streets away in the beginning. And she hated Old Port and all the smoke and smog and factories and uptight women and starched dresses.” He shifted on his stool and his face softened. “But then it all changed. It was Alethea who introduced him to people who actually knew theater—she used to spend time in the East Village, meet the artists and dancers and actors, learn which producers were looking for what shows or what the next big thing was going to be. They came to respect each other, your mother and father, and out of that respect grew a fierce love.” Eneas gazed up at the ceiling. “Oh, how I wish you could have known him in those days. He was so quick to smile, to laugh even. She brought out the best in him. She brought out the best in everyone.” He rubbed his eyes. “I miss her so much.”

“Were you . . . in love with her?” Agnes asked.

Eneas chuckled. “No, no, my dear, I am not attracted to women like that. Your mother was simply a beautiful soul. I was not the ideal choice of companion for her, a lowly merchant’s son from Arbaz. But she would visit every summer and she did not care about my pedigree. We were so close, almost as close as she was to Matthias.” He looked at Leo, his expression tender. “It must have been quite a moment for Matthias when he first laid eyes on you. Alethea reborn.”

Leo didn’t know what to say to that. He wished he could have known the woman whose face he bore.

“But I digress,” Eneas said. “Xavier managed to convince Alethea to have her children born on Culinnon. I remember myself thinking it was strange at the time—Alethea had vowed never to return to the island lest her mother not let her leave. And Xavier did not tell her of the deal he had struck with Ambrosine. How he got her to go, I still do not know. But we went, very close to her due date, on a secret ship in the middle of the night. Swansea was tasked with telling anyone who asked that they had left Old Port to have you delivered in a specialized facility.