"There's only one way you can find out," Devero says, still gentle but so implacable. "I don't think you have to worry about that, but the only way to know for sure is to ask her."

Now his hands on Koumyou's become more insistent, trying to break them apart so he can massage the priest's palms with his thumbs. "Would you have adopted him?" he asks. "If it had been safe for you to do so?"