When someone did you a favor, you ought to be properly appreciative. Thank-you notes were out of style, but Madeleine had been raised to send them, and the Daughters of Grace had taught their students the same. She’d sent a few on Hæra’s behalf, until Hæra found out and insisted on writing them herself, in her own personal style.

Madeleine’s favorite was:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Darrow,

Thank you for the flowers you sent. Jonathan didn’t like lilies but I do. They look pretty in the house. Thank you also for not acting as if I am strange because of everything that happened and for being nice to me even though he’s dead.

Sincerely,

Hæra North

“North,” Madeleine had belatedly learned, was the surname Jonathan and Hæra had invented when he’d cadged the birth certificate from Jorsay’s registrar. She’d assumed it was Rendall, but it wouldn’t make sense for Hæra to have Jonathan’s last name since she’d supposedly been born without his knowledge.

When Madeleine had asked Hæra about the choice of name, she’d said, “I come from the North Sea. We weren’t very imaginative.”

Imaginative or not, now that the first shock had worn off, Hæra seemed determined to adapt to her new circumstances. If that included writing thank-you notes, she’d do it. She was gritting her teeth and learning how to be human as best she could, her ability to understand whale song notwithstanding.

For example, she’d asked Madeleine for a declaration of love instead of stating it as a fait accompli.

Madeleine sighed as she biked into the village. Last night, Hæra had asked her to figure out what she wanted. She’d promised to do it today. In the light of morning, that seemed a little hasty. Why hadn’t she asked for a little more time? There were nearly two weeks left before she had to leave.

She did have to leave. She needed money to live, and obtaining a work visa didn’t seem easy. Orkney had no teacher shortage. Hæra would have to get a sponsor license to hire Madeleine to work on Ætlaquoy, and that didn’t feel right. Whatever the job was, Madeleine wasn’t ready to move to a new country on a moment’s notice after the most tumultuous season of her existence.

No matter how beautiful Hæra was in the middle of the night. No matter how incomplete Madeleine felt without her embrace. They had to be sensible, didn’t they?

She groaned as she reached her destination. She’d gotten into better shape after over a month of working on a farm, but her thighs still burned from a long bike ride.

It was just past ten in the morning, and the Sunrise Café was open for business.