At breakfast, Murdock asked Declan, Emily, and Irene what they planned to do.
“I thought we were welcome to stay here?” Emily asked testily.
“You are all welcome to stay here,” Murdock reassured, “but I don’t want you to think you aren’t free to leave, if you choose. If you stay, it should be because you really want to be here. It shouldn’t be because you feel trapped or have no other choices.”
“I, for one,” Declan said, “am learning a lot and have no plans of interrupting my education or my training.”
“Where my husband is,” Emily responded, “there I’ll be also.”
Everyone looked at Irene, expectantly. “I’m not going to give an answer until I get some answers,” Irene Harris stated. “I want to know where you and Mei Lee went, for starters.”
“I hesitate to tell you,” Murdock said after
