They’d spoken only of light things on the journey down, a courtesy on his part that she was grateful for. She’d shared things with him yesterday she’d never wanted to tell another soul, and his discretion and respect were more than she’d hoped for. Just being able to still talk this way with him, even laugh occasionally, was a grace she would never take for granted.

As she looked out the window, she was struck by how much the city of her birth had changed in the twelve years she’d been away. Whole neighborhoods had appeared where before there had only been fields, smashed right next to blocks that hadn’t changed in a century. There was a vibrancy, a fast-paced thrumming aliveness, to the city that had surged up through the bottoms of her boots as soon as she’d stepped off the train. It made her aware of possibilities, of different lives waiting to be led.

They turned down a street she’d never been on before, lined with the small but respectable houses characteristic of a new, up-and-coming middle class, and stopped in front of a neat brick town house with lace curtains in the windows.

“Here we are,” Sam said, handing money to the driver before helping Alva out of the cab. “I sent a telegram before we left, so she should be waiting—”

As he spoke, the front door opened, revealing a young maid, her face wreathed in blushes. Alva hid a smile. “Professor Moore,” the girl said breathlessly. “Mrs. Kay is waiting for you, sir, if you’d come this way.”

“Thank you,” Sam said, smiling down at her, and the pink turned to red. “Come on, Alva.”

They walked into a pleasant front hall—quite narrow, paneled in simple wood and obviously less than ten years old—and were met by a short, round, middle-aged woman, whose dress was perhaps a trifle too opulent for the occasion but whose smile was charming enough to make up for it.

“Professor Moore, you’ve come back to see me,” she said, holding out a hand to him. “And you’ve brought a friend, as well.”

“I thought I’d eat some more of your cookies,” he said, grinning, and Alva found herself smiling along with him. “And maybe ask you a few questions. Oh, this is Mrs. Alva Webster. Mrs. Webster, Mrs. Kay.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Alva said.

“And you,” Mrs. Kay replied, with a measuring look that reminded Alva they were back in the city, where people knew exactly who she was and what she was supposed to have done. The scientist and the scandal, Alva thought ruefully. Mrs. Kay would be able to dine out for the rest of the year on the basis of this visit, but to her credit, she didn’t appear to be letting her knowledge color her manner.