“All right.”Lydia let out a breath.“First there was something about a daughter who cheated on her husband and he left her.”
Mom and I stared at each other, brows furrowed.
“You’ve stumped us right off the bat,” I told her.“Aunt Sylvia and Uncle John were happily married for thirty-ish years.Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Robert have been happily married for twenty-something years.Their daughter Faith is with us now.She’s our third on the Corey Council.I don’t?—”
“Bridget,” Mom said.“Oh, Goddess.She started a rumor about poor Bridget.Her husband was killed.He didn’t leave her.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lydia began, but Mom cut her off.
“None of this is your fault and we know that.Did they give a reason for the cheating lie?And it was a lie.My sister loved Michael Quinn, heart and soul.”
“Wait,” Owen cut in.“This is about Sam’s mom and dad?”
A new voice said, “What about my mom and dad?”
“Here,” Owen whispered.“You take your phone and listen to the call.”He told her who was on the phone and why before saying, “One of us needs to be out at the bar, so Sam is taking over the call and I’m out.”
“Hi,” Sam said.“So what about my mom and dad?”
“The rumor was that Bridget had cheated.That the baby had come much faster than she—you—should have, which was evidence of her infidelity.Because of that, her husband left her.”
“Wait, though,” I interrupted.“Sam’s dad was a Quinn, the origin line.She was giving birth to a werewolf.The pregnancy is shorter.I should know because I’m having a werewolf’s baby.”
Lydia and Sam expressed their happiness and well wishes, but I plowed on.“Chances are, her full pregnancy was only about four months.Apparently, when I was three or so, I gave my first prophesy, telling Bridget and Michael that their daughter would be great and powerful, and that I would miss them both.”
“Oh, no,” Lydia breathed.
“That was right before they married,” Mom confirmed.“They said Bridget wasn’t pregnant and tried to laugh it off.When Samantha was born seven months later, we assumed they’d wanted to wait until after the ceremony to tell us.”
Mom let out a breath.“I should explain.Long before I got pregnant myself, the Goddess had told me in a dream that I’d have a Cassandra wicche daughter.When Arwyn put her hand on Bridget’s cheek at that engagement party and told her about her future daughter and their own deaths, I knew what was happening.My mother tried hard not to show it, but she was shaken.Her granddaughter had given her first prophesy, but it was about her own daughter’s death.”
“So, when these ugly rumors started circulating,” I guessed, “Gran was probably trying to figure out how to keep Bridget alive.”
Mom nodded.“She was very protective of Bridget after that engagement party and shattered when Bridget and Samantha disappeared.”She paused, remembering.“Lydia, you said two rumors.”
“Yes,” she replied.“Close on the heels of the first rumor, there was talk of you, Sybil.Since I’d met you, I knew who they were talking about, and I worried.We heard your child, who was barely a toddler, had been born with some kind of physical scarring and that she had no magic.They made it sound as though she was a shameful secret that was hidden.There was talk of her being inbred and having many physical and mental impairments because of that.”
“A shameful, inbred secret?”I echoed.“What the hell?”
Bracken sighed, his jaw tight.“It was me, wasn’t it?When I first met you, you were hostile toward me, which seemed odd.”He rubbed his forehead.“Was the talk that I had violated my niece?”
Lydia was quiet, then finally said, “Yes.”
Mom stood stiffly and moved to the open back door.Arms crossed over her chest, she stared out at the waves.
Faith looked between all of us, her expression heartbroken.“I’m so sorry.”
I did my best to give her a reassuring smile.“None of it’s true, but, Bracken, I’m horrified they spread this kind of filth about you.”
He, too, stood.Though he paced between the worktable and the kitchen, his hands absently tapping his pockets, as though looking for something.“Sins of the father and all that, I’m afraid.”He gave a humorless huff of laughter.“I’m an old man.This shouldn’t surprise me.Lydia, perhaps it will shed some light if I explain I’m part fae.Given how my mother and grandmother viewed me, I doubt my birth was the result of a consensual liaison.”
“I’m sorry,” Lydia murmured.
“Gran was probably afraid,” Faith said.“Rumors started about Bridget, and they disappeared.When more started about you, Aunt Sybil, and Arwyn, she probably wanted to keep you all as far away from the other wicches as possible.”
Mom turned at that.Head tilted, she looked deep in thought.“You might be right about that.I was worried about keeping Arwyn hidden away from the visions and the first of the obsessives.You’re right, though.Your Gran worked every bit as hard to keep both of us separated from the rest of the family.”
I shook my head.“And as a result, our family thinks we’re either weak and powerless or aloof and scary.”
