Minerva paced back and forth across her sitting room. I leaned against the back of the couch, biting my lip and watching her wrestle with what I had just told her.

"It was good of you to tell me first," she said at last. "Thank you for that."

"It never crossed my mind to reveal it any other way," I said, honestly.

"And Simon knows where she is?" Minerva asked.

I nodded. "He says they write to each other infrequently. He doesn't know anything about Leon's brother, but ...