The joke startles a faint snort out of her, and then Greta shakes her head. "It's not that I don't want to. Honestly, I'm surprised Saoirse hasn't told you already." She's managed to teach the lass the value of discretion as far as telling strangers is concerned, but Anne's not a stranger, and Saoirse likes her, besides. It seems less likely that she's kept it secret on purpose, and more likely that sharing it had just slipped her mind.

At any rate, it irks Greta to think that Anne might have no explanation at all for why she's allowing her young daughter to hurl herself into the sea in the middle of bloody April. She might give Saoirse more free rein than the average Darrow parent, but she's not negligent.

"She's a selkie," she finally says in an undertone, glancing over at Anne. "That's why she can swim in this weather. She has her coat."