The elderly woman picked up the porcelain tea jar as though she was about to leave.
Ah Soey felt a pang of panic shoot through his chest, and gold was not the reason. Not yet, he thought urgently. This is my only chance to find out why you came to space from Earth over a generation ago, and why I wasn’t the man for you—you never said. Not yet, old girl.
“I have come so far!” Kwan Douhak’s face had twisted in pain and desperation. Then, suddenly, he drew in a long breath and composed himself. He remembered his manners. “Will the honored lady listen to my story?”
This time when Rhonda translated, Kwan Tingui nodded and settled on her stool again, putting down the porcelain jar as she spoke.
“She is sorry you lost a sister so long ago,” said Rhonda. “She will listen.”
“Kwan Tinleng is my
