"Well, again," Kate said, "I appreciate you coming to tell me now. It would have been a nastier shock to hear it in front of the entire house." She had a hope that she wouldn't have to share this part of her background with the house, but it wasn't a big hope. They'd want input from as many people as possible to test the theory, and she wouldn't just refuse to answer with no details. If anything, she hoped that the questions might come after enough people volunteered information that perhaps they wouldn't get to her right away.
"I hope you don't mind," she said then, "but I think I might need a little time alone with this to process. Like I said, I'll help tomorrow however I can." She managed to drag up a smile that didn't last long. "One of these times, we're going to have to get together just because, and not because the sky is falling."