‘They died.’
‘Who? Your extended family?’
‘No, the couples. Hardly any of us live to an old age. My maternal grandparents both died when I was eleven. My dad’s family are still around, but after he died …’ Phew, this was harder than she expected. ‘After he died, they stopped visiting. They write sometimes, and send me gifts—birthdays and Christmas—Nalong is pretty far away, I guess. They’ll come for the funeral. You can meet them.’
‘I only have one grandparent left. It’s not that unusual. You make it sound as if your whole family is, well …’
‘Cursed. That’s what Harry thinks. Small families, cursed to just breed up the next generation and then die young.’ Bitterness coloured her shaky voice.
‘Breed?’ he spluttered.
Annie winced, yet couldn’t help smiling a little as she read his star
