The two children lingered there, both unable to intervene. The younger of the two definitely didn't understand what her mother seemed to be insinuating, while the elder turned pink about the ears. Joe and Billie gawked uselessly while the woman continued her tirade.

Anna's eyes narrowed at Gideon's comment, and she almost seemed appeased, but she soon took the comment as an insult. "No thanks to you," she spat out in a tone that seemed to indicate she blamed him for every hardship she faced since their escapade nearly ten years prior.

Anna shot her son a warning look not to follow and quickly closed the gap between her and Gideon. While Joe had attempted to show his manners, his mother had decided to throw hers away, making it completely clear where Billie had learned hers from. "You're the reason for this...this--" She jabbed a finger in poor Billie's direction while she searched for the right words to fill in the blank. "Unnatural devil."

He had to be. The dates lined up. He was the lone candidate in long stretches between her conquests. He was also the only true stranger she had slept with. The rest had been village farmhands or gentlemen who wanted more than what they were getting from their wives. They were so normal and simple that she couldn't fathom someone such as Billie being created by them. It had to be Gideon. She'd convinced herself as much, and the timeline fit perfectly.