“I found out that Victorine couldn’t have children. And I’ve been so mad…no, that’s a lie. I’ve been so…sad,” she made herself say it, “…because if Victorine’s not really my mother, I thought that meant I had no one. Which is why I’ve been a bit of a bitch,” she finished. “Finding out about her has made me feel a little lost.”

She stopped walking, realizing they were beside the tree she’d sat beneath with Jess. The tree that had, like Jess, tried to tell her what she needed to know. The tree that unwound serenely to the floor of the little wood now and D’Arcy smiled. Because she knew the answer. She wasn’t lost. In beginning to unravel the mysteries, she had found someone else inside her who was worthy of being freed.

Josh gave her the smallest and briefest smile in return. “Thanks for telling me. You haven’t been a bitch. But no matter what’s happened, I’m not interested in a one-night stand.”

Are you still interested in anything else? D’Arcy wondered. But there was more she had to confess before she could address what he’d said. “I sent an email to Dan Hallworth, inviting him to the exhibition too. I told him that Jessica May was still alive, and that she would be there.” Josh was back to frowning. It wasn’t a good sign but D’Arcy kept going anyway. “Just like I need to talk to my mother, Jess needs to talk to Dan. I think she thinks she did something he won’t forgive her for but, like she said, forgiving someone is the bravest thing you can do. She needs to forgive herself. And she’ll only do that if she speaks to Dan. You probably think I’m meddling but I feel as if Jess and Dan aren’t finished yet. I’d like them to finally have that promised kiss from the photograph. But if you want to tell her not to come because of it, I’ll understand.” Her voice finally trailed off.

“That’s very…” Wrong. Interfering. Presumptuous. She waited for him to condemn her. “Romantic,” he finished.

A flicker of hope. It gave her the strength to keep going. “Everything that’s happened made me think that if the woman I’d believed to be my mother could hurt me so much, I couldn’t imagine what kind of hurts might come from a person—a lover—who wasn’t required by the bond of family to be always there and always kind.”

She dared to look at his face, which was surprised at best, unreadable at worst. “I’d like you to come to Australia, not for Jess, but for…me.” The last word was a whisper that D’Arcy spoke to the ground, a far cry from her usual directness. “I know that’s probably not much of an incentive. And I need to say that it’s a risk for you, coming. I don’t know when I’ll truly be un-lost. Which means I could easily be sad and grumpy and like I’ve been for the past week. You said you wanted a slower life, a more relaxed life. What’s happening in my life right now isn’t exactly relaxing.”