"The church sure didn't love me," Nell said, "But now I think my family would have tried to save me." The tears came finally and she let herself cry into Yondu's shoulder as he stroked her hair.

But she wouldn't let herself indulge long, so the tears soon came to an end.

"It was Sister Erasmus who told me," Nell said when she'd collected herself. "She's the wife of one of the decent elders. She knows everything and she's well respected. She helped my mawmaw and mama too, which was why she was so shocked to find out John and Leah never told me.