Arkady stared at her, unsure what she meant. “Go on,” he said, evenly.
Katkin took his hand and he saw her eyes fill with tears. She spoke in a trembling voice. “The man buried in this grave is Gwenn’s real father.”
He looked at her in disbelief. “Jacq is not Gwenn’s father? Does he know that?”
“Her father made me swear I would never tell him. But Gwenn knows the truth.”
The realization, when it arrived, made him giddy with relief. “Then Gwenn and I are not related by blood! Is that what you wanted to tell me?” She nodded and he caught her up in an impulsive embrace. The crushing darkness lifted from his heart, and he felt as though he could breathe again. As he released her, he asked, “Why on Yrth did you think I might be angry at you?”
“Why would you not be? I became pregnant with a
