your instincts, Alice. Trust your faith.”
“Faith is a blind word, used to excuse every mistake.”
Lilith took a step toward me. “No. Alice, say what you will, but you do want to believe me.”
“This is all an elaborate defense for a tragedy that shamed you.”
“Yes, I’m ashamed we hurt your mother—and you. And yes, this is an elaborate effort to redeem that terrible crime. But, then, we Bonavendiers are an elaborate kind of being.”
“Oh, more than elaborate,” Pearl interjected brightly. Mara scowled at her.
Lilith put a graceful, opalescent-trimmed hand to her heart. “Our father—and yours—went out into the ocean one day and never returned. We found him later—his body. The dolphins brought him home. We were all heartbroken, including your mother. She left the coast immediately—returning here, to this town, to her family. I wrote to her kindly. She never answered. I learned later that she’d died. I also learned she’d borne a child. I was certain, of course, the child was Father’s. I was told the child had died, too, at birth.”
I exhaled a long, rattling breath. “Someone in the Riley family told you I died?”
“Your aunt.”
My mother’s eldest sister. Anger poured into me even more, a widening torrent. “My aunt.”
“I should have known better, Alice. I should have felt your presence in the world. I should have heard you calling. I’ve dreamed about you for years. Why didn’t I hear you singing before now? That’s a question I have to answer for myself.”
Because you didn’t care , I thought cynically. You didn’t want to be bothered with me.
“If I am going to believe any of this,” I managed, “then please tell me why we’re so different from everyone else.”
“You aren’t ready to hear that yet. You’re consumed with anger and pain and distrust. Come with us to our home, Alice, and learn about us, and learn about yourself . And then you’ll understand. And you’ll believe.”
“I prefer clear answers instead of vague promises. Simple answers.”
“That’s not possible. The truth, my dear, is far more complex than you’ve ever imagined—and far more wonderful.” She went on in her lovely voice, telling me that she and her sisters— my half-sisters, if I believed her—come from one of the barrier islands off Georgia’s coast, a small isle named Sainte’s Point. She said it has been owned by Bonavendiers since the late 1700s. “Our ancestor was a French privateer,” Lilith said.
“A pirate,” redheaded Pearl interjected eagerly.
Lilith silenced her with a stern glance. “A privateer in service to the American revolutionary government. He fought off a British warship that threatened an American village on the mainland. After the war—in return for his service—President Washington deeded him the small island across the cove from that grateful village. Our ancestor named the island Sainte’s Point. He settled there quite happily, bringing with him a quite remarkable wife.”
“And she is responsible for the very special circumstances that have existed in all her Bonavendier descendents ever since,” Pearl put in, shaking an elegant, webbed foot for mysterious emphasis. “Because she was a . . . ”
“ Shhh .” Dark-haired Mara hissed at her.
Pearl’s eyes widened. She huffed.
Lilith gave both women a rebuking stare. They lowered their eyes. Lilith looked at me again. “Our family has so much lovely history to tell—so many traditions, so many proud memories. But, you, of course, simply need to know your own history at the moment.”
I took a deep breath. “If I do believe you, then tell me this much. What kind of monsters are we ?”
Pearl sputtered. “Monsters? Monsters ?”
“How dare you,” Mara hissed. “You weakling. You . . . you pretender .”
Lilith inhaled sharply. “Say no more, either of you.”
“But we’re not monsters,” Pearl cried, her expression wounded.
“Pearl, say
“Faith is a blind word, used to excuse every mistake.”
Lilith took a step toward me. “No. Alice, say what you will, but you do want to believe me.”
“This is all an elaborate defense for a tragedy that shamed you.”
“Yes, I’m ashamed we hurt your mother—and you. And yes, this is an elaborate effort to redeem that terrible crime. But, then, we Bonavendiers are an elaborate kind of being.”
“Oh, more than elaborate,” Pearl interjected brightly. Mara scowled at her.
Lilith put a graceful, opalescent-trimmed hand to her heart. “Our father—and yours—went out into the ocean one day and never returned. We found him later—his body. The dolphins brought him home. We were all heartbroken, including your mother. She left the coast immediately—returning here, to this town, to her family. I wrote to her kindly. She never answered. I learned later that she’d died. I also learned she’d borne a child. I was certain, of course, the child was Father’s. I was told the child had died, too, at birth.”
I exhaled a long, rattling breath. “Someone in the Riley family told you I died?”
“Your aunt.”
My mother’s eldest sister. Anger poured into me even more, a widening torrent. “My aunt.”
“I should have known better, Alice. I should have felt your presence in the world. I should have heard you calling. I’ve dreamed about you for years. Why didn’t I hear you singing before now? That’s a question I have to answer for myself.”
Because you didn’t care , I thought cynically. You didn’t want to be bothered with me.
“If I am going to believe any of this,” I managed, “then please tell me why we’re so different from everyone else.”
“You aren’t ready to hear that yet. You’re consumed with anger and pain and distrust. Come with us to our home, Alice, and learn about us, and learn about yourself . And then you’ll understand. And you’ll believe.”
“I prefer clear answers instead of vague promises. Simple answers.”
“That’s not possible. The truth, my dear, is far more complex than you’ve ever imagined—and far more wonderful.” She went on in her lovely voice, telling me that she and her sisters— my half-sisters, if I believed her—come from one of the barrier islands off Georgia’s coast, a small isle named Sainte’s Point. She said it has been owned by Bonavendiers since the late 1700s. “Our ancestor was a French privateer,” Lilith said.
“A pirate,” redheaded Pearl interjected eagerly.
Lilith silenced her with a stern glance. “A privateer in service to the American revolutionary government. He fought off a British warship that threatened an American village on the mainland. After the war—in return for his service—President Washington deeded him the small island across the cove from that grateful village. Our ancestor named the island Sainte’s Point. He settled there quite happily, bringing with him a quite remarkable wife.”
“And she is responsible for the very special circumstances that have existed in all her Bonavendier descendents ever since,” Pearl put in, shaking an elegant, webbed foot for mysterious emphasis. “Because she was a . . . ”
“ Shhh .” Dark-haired Mara hissed at her.
Pearl’s eyes widened. She huffed.
Lilith gave both women a rebuking stare. They lowered their eyes. Lilith looked at me again. “Our family has so much lovely history to tell—so many traditions, so many proud memories. But, you, of course, simply need to know your own history at the moment.”
I took a deep breath. “If I do believe you, then tell me this much. What kind of monsters are we ?”
Pearl sputtered. “Monsters? Monsters ?”
“How dare you,” Mara hissed. “You weakling. You . . . you pretender .”
Lilith inhaled sharply. “Say no more, either of you.”
“But we’re not monsters,” Pearl cried, her expression wounded.
“Pearl, say
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