These were not the belongings of the past prisoner he had imagined. These were a lady’s things—hairpins and stockings and a glove. There were more clues waiting but William no longer felt certain he wanted to know the dark secrets of this cell.

“How many times can a heart be shattered and still be pieced back together? How …”

“If you two had babies would they be like uber-von Strassenbergs? Would they be …”

“Wicked eyes are not a good prospect for seminary boys. They want a gentle, soft…”

“My heart, for unknown reasons, seems to freeze in motion in my chest. I can see…”