Page 70 of The Poison Season

“I heard you talking. Thank you for not telling her about Jaren.”

Isola snorted. “Sage is the last person I would tell, Leelo. I know she’s your cousin, but she’s as cunning as a fox and twice as devious.”

“I know. It’s a miracle she didn’t...” Leelo paused, suddenly realizing how odd it was for Isola to be all the way out here, alone. “Oh, Isola,” she breathed in horror. “Please don’t tell me you went to the cottage.”

Isola shook her head. “No. At least, I hadn’t yet. I was going to take some food to Jaren, since I wasn’t sure when you’d see him again. I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. But I led Sage away from there.”

Leelo’s heart was in her throat now. “You know how she is. She’s suspicious of everyone and everything. If she finds him...”

“She won’t. Even if she knew what to look for, the cottage is not easy to find.”

“Ifound it!” Leelo began to pace in a small circle. “Saints, what am I going to do? She’ll tell Ketty, and Ketty will tell the council. They’ll kill him, Isola! Just like they killed Pieter.”

Isola’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Leelo forced herself to take a breath. It wasn’t right of her to bring Pieter into this, and none of this was Isola’s fault. “It’s okay. We don’t know that she found him. I’ll think of something.” She considered going back to check on Jaren, but Sage had headed toward home, not the shack. If Leelo ran, she might be able to beat Sage home and avoid any more questions. “I should get back. Please don’t go to the cottage tomorrow. I’ll go, as soon as I can.”

Isola took Leelo’s hand, gripping it tightly. “If you need help, I hope you’ll ask me. I couldn’t save Pieter. I should have, but I didn’t. I won’t let that happen again.”

Leelo embraced Isola, who folded her arms briefly around Leelo before stepping back.

“Look, I didn’t want to tell you this, but I think you should know now, with everything that’s been going on.”

Leelo’s eyes searched Isola’s. “Tell me what?”

“Your mother...she... I think she was the one who built that cottage.”

Leelo laughed uncertainly. “My mother doesn’t know how to build a house.”

“Okay, she didn’t build it herself. But I think she had help. And I think she kept an outsider there.”

Leelo felt as if everything had gone still around her, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears. “What are you talking about? When?”

Isola looked pained when she said, “I think about nine months before your brother was born.”

Leelo’s eyes widened as she realized what Isola was implying. “You think my mother hid an outsider and had a child with him? Isola, that’s impossible. My father would have known. My mother would have told me. And Ketty...” She trailed off. There was clearly a secret in their family, one so huge that it had forever changed Ketty and Fiona’s relationship. It would explain why Tate looked nothing like the rest of the family and why Ketty despised him so much.

She shook her head. It was impossible. Fiona was too loyal to do something like this.

Isola went on, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence. “I found something in the cottage when I first discovered it. A book of mainland poetry.”

“I’ve seen it,” Leelo said. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“There was an inscription on one of the pages, and a pressed flower. It said...” Isola swallowed. “It said, ‘To my dearest love, Fiona. Yours forever, Nigel.’”

Leelo’s vision began to tunnel as the blood drained from her head. “I need to sit down.” She collapsed where she stood and Isola crouched down next to her. “There has to be some mistake. My mother loved my father. I know she did. She wouldn’t have done this. She couldn’t have.” She let her head fall into her hands.

Isola placed a tentative hand on Leelo’s shoulder. “I’m sure your mother did love your father. This doesn’t change that.”

Leelo’s eyes shot up. “Doesn’t change that? How?”

Isola shook her head helplessly. “I’m sorry.”

Leelo forced herself to take a deep breath. She was angry, but a part of her knew Isola was right. She’d seen it when her mother spoke of the different kinds of love. Fiona had cared deeply for Leelo’s father. She remembered her mother’s grief when he died. But was it the kind of love Leelo felt for Jaren? Or was it a love that had grown later, slowly, over their years together?

Isola waited a few minutes before helping Leelo to her feet. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. But you might want to consider telling Fiona the truth about Jaren. If she really did help an outsider get off this island, she could be your only hope for saving him.”

Chapter Forty-Three

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