"Some of you may have heard the rumors," Jocelynn said carefully. "That Ashlynn was sickly. That she was frail, and that was why she stayed inside the manor most of the time. That her weak constitution was the reason why she was so rarely seen in the city or at public events," she said.
"That wasn't true at all," Jocelynn said flatly, shaking her head at the notion of her sister being weak in any way. "My sister was never frail. She was one of the strongest people I've ever known."
She paused, choosing her next words the way a sailor would choose a course through shallow water, aware that a wrong step could run her aground on truths she wasn't prepared to share and some of the people in the chapel certainly weren't ready to hear.
"Ashlynn stayed inside the manor because it was the only place where she was safe," Jocelynn said. "There were people who would have harmed her if they could have. I, I can't explain it," she said, her voice faltering as she struggled for words.
