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Iris did not care "You are feeling better, I trust?"

"Yes" I offered nothing more

"What, are you twelve?" Oliver burst out and walked over to the counter Even though he’d protected me when I wasn’t there to speak up for myself, it was clear that he too still s of cha and added hot water My eyes fell to the table I didn’t want to look at any of them After a fewin rateful for the comfort of its heat

"You accused us of some pretty wicked crimes yesterday," Iris said, her tonethese wordshappened, so to us, trusting us, you sent us away You told Peter and the golem that we lied to you about your mother’s death Then you went one step further and said we killed her?"

"And you are in here talking about how I killed Tucker and need to be shipped off before I start taking out the whole of Savannah one by one"

Ellen threw her hands over face Her shoulders hunched up and convulsed as she sobbed

Iris reached over and put her hand on her sister’s shoulder "No one said that"

Ellen lowered her hands Her face was grief stricken, puffy, and red, and dark circles stood out beneath her eyes "I loved him," Ellen’s voice warbled "I really did" She looked at h heartbroken eyes,in watercolor rivulets down her cheeks

My anger started"I know that I do," I said There was no way she had har to hi to Tucker, because I know you loved him"

"And you don’t think we loved our sister?" Ellen asked "Do you really think that Iris and I killed her in cold blood? Do you really think we could have? Do you really think I could have?"

Emotion overwhelmed me, and I too burst into tears "I am so sorry about Tucker" I reached out and took Ellen’s hands

"I know, baby I do believe you are"

"You have to knoouldn’t hurt hi I just don’t have that kind of hate infrom her eyes I knew she realized that this was true "No You don’t I don’t knohy I let ht"

Iris ca my head into her bosom "There, there, there" She stroked ed to pull ether, she tilted my face so that she could look me directly in the eye "I don’t knoho or why, but I believe so us Someone ants the four of us to battle each other Soh to kill to make it happen"

"Okay," Oliver said, his tone telling us that he planned to take control of the situation "The Taylors have an enemy That isn’t exactly a new item for the family history book What do we know about this ene, and that is that he or she knows they don’t stand a chance against us if we stay united"

"That was your pep talk?" Iris asked as a palpable sense of relief settled over the four of us Even Ellen s sister’s sarcasm She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand

Iris turned to me "So now you tell us what happened What could have possibly made you think we killed your mama?"

I drew a breath I couldn’t believe anyone would have been so cruel as to toy with me this way To offer my mother to ht after the accident with Peadar She came and took me away"

"Who did, darlin’? Who found you?" Oliver asked Even through the h h so heavily