Ruby was so glad the coat existed, that it was as wonderful as Constance had hinted at. For all this time she’d thought Constance was delusional. Turned out she was telling the truth about it all along, though what she’d seen only a few moments ago, as the coat transformed, already seemed like a strange kind of dream. It ought to make sense, and yet it did not. There wasn’t time for reflection; for now, the fact that it was real was enough. She thought back to what else Gregor must have lied about, and concluded that it was in fact everything. He breathed lies with every word he spoke. There was no cult, only a community with very particular ways. He’d taken Constance and kept her here; it was as simple as that. All the seal talk was unusual, sure, but Constance was under extreme pressure, and to her, the stories were true. The stories were part of their way of life. And poor Leonie, living her small life within these walls, never imagining the size of the world outside. It wasn’t too late for the child, Ruby realized. Not by a long shot.

“You’ve been looking for the coat all this time. And you’ve finally found it.”

“Yes,” said Constance. She didn’t look happy. Not at all. Her eyes followed Leonie as she made her way around the room, chatting to herself, picking things up, exploring.

“So, you can finally leave. If that’s what you want to do?”

“More than anything.”

“Constance. Why are you crying?”

“I want to go home.”

“Then go. Gregor’s not here—he might not be back for days. There’s enough time. You can contact your family, and they can come and get you. Right?”

She nodded slowly. “They will come and get me. Now I have my skin.”

My skin. What a strange way of putting it. “That’s right. So, you should get ready. All of Leonie’s stuff will need packing. I can help you.” Ruby started to walk to where the shopping bags were kept. There were no suitcases that she knew of; shopping bags would have to do.

“Wait, you don’t understand. They will come and get me. But they won’t take Leonie.”

Ruby paused. She turned slowly. “Why can’t they take Leonie?”

“Because she wasn’t born in the skin, like I was. She doesn’t have a coat.”

“Can’t they give her one when she gets there?”

Constance shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that.”

Ruby said, “Can’t they make an exception? She’s your baby. Your parents’ grandchild. They’ll be thrilled. Won’t they?”

Constance was shaking her head. “No. They won’t be thrilled. They’ll be disappointed. They might even reject me, too, when they find out about her.”

“But … how? Why?”