As soon as Norah spotted Lachlan she felt a mixture of relief and dread. Relief because she was glad to see he was alive and well, dread because she didn't know why he had asked her there. It was more or less how he had worded it when he'd asked her to come over. The anxiety of a terrible childhood would always be there. She would always assume the worst of a situation because that's how she had been conditioned. Their lived before uncle Stephen had been a series of bad situations. "You know I'd come in a heartbeat," she responded as she stepped into that hug, a little less agitated now. He was alive, he was walking. That's what mattered.
"Tea," said Norah as she broke the hug. She peered up at her brother, "Uncle Stephen is making tea and you've asked me here to talk about something that might change everything. What the hell is going on?"