Back at the guest suite, the Apls were turning violet and gold outside the big window. Margaret sipped her tea while looking at the mountains like she was sized them up, deciding if she actually liked them.
"I need to go home," she said finally after a long silence.
Lilian had been waiting for this, dreading since her mother first opened her eyes.
"Mom," she said softly.
Margaret looked at her.
"You can't go back."
The words landed between them. Lilian watched her mother's face and waited for the push-back, the sensible counterpoint, or the firm argument Margaret Carter had been deploying against the world.
But it didn't come.
Margaret set her tea down. She stared at the window for a second, then looked back at her daughter.
"The Collector," she said.
"Yes."
"He knows who I am now."
"He used you to draw me out. He'll do it again the moment you're back in Millbrook."
