Douglas sighed. “I thought that’s what you’d say,” he said. “Oh—very well—you might as well see what we have out here.”
“You can’t possibly believe that I don’t already know,” Kennon said. “You have male Lani.”
Douglas looked at him, his face blank with surprise. “But—how did you know? No one on the main island does except the Family. And we never talk about it. Did Eloise tell you? I noticed she was struck with you the day you came, and the Lani who have come out here since have been talking about you two. Did she do it?”
Kennon shook his head. “She never said a word.”
“Then how—”
“I’m not stupid,” Kennon said. “That story you’ve spread about artificial fertilization has more holes in it than a sieve. That technique has been investigated a thousand times. And it has never worked past
