Fiona lifted the lid of the box before Leelo could finish. Inside was a little green velvet pillow, topped with two gold rings tied with a satin ribbon. “Your father’s and my wedding rings. I stopped wearing mine when he passed away. It felt wrong to wear it when his was no longer on his hand, and the thought of burying him with it was too painful. So I’ve kept them here, in this box, ever since.”

“Why are you showing me this?” Leelo asked.

“Because when the time comes, I want you and your partner to have them.”

Leelo’s eyes met her mother’s. They were the same color as Ketty’s and Sage’s, but the hazel was softer, more green than yellow, and there was none of the guile Leelo always saw in their gazes. “Mama, I don’t plan on marrying. Not yet, anyway.”

“I know. But someday. It’s clear to me you’re in love. I don’t know why you won’t tell me about them. I hope you know I would support you in whatever partner you chose.”

Leelo flushed at the shame of lying to her mother, who truly wanted what was best for her daughter. “I want to tell you about him. It’s just...”

Fiona lowered her voice. “You can trust me, darling. I won’t tell Ketty and Sage.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Not unless you felt like you had to. And I’m afraid when I tell you who it is, you’ll think you have to tell them.”

She took Leelo’s hand. “Why?”

“Because he’s not...” Saints, was she really going to do this? There would be no turning back from here. But she had crossed the point of no return a long time ago, the moment she pulled Jaren to shore.

“I know about Nigel,” Leelo blurted, then threw her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say it. She was going to tell her mother about Jaren.

Fiona gasped, her own hand flying up to cover her open mouth. “How?”

Above her fingers, Fiona’s eyes were wide and shining with tears. Leelo couldn’t tell if it was fear or shame, maybe both. This was a secret Fiona had spent all of Leelo’s life burying, and now Leelo was deliberately bringing it out into the light, where it sat between them as naked and vulnerable as a baby bird.

She hated doing this to her mother, but she needed her to know that she would love her no matter what secrets she kept. Just as she hoped her mother could still love her once she knew about Jaren.

“I found the cottage, and the book of poetry,” Leelo said, and before she knew it, everything was pouring out of her in a rush. “I won’t be angry, Mama. Just tell me the truth. Was Nigel Tate’s father?”