said. Reaching into her purse, she brought out a gold ring set with a baroque river pearl and laid it on the table between them. “Mother never gave me much of her jewelry, but I always loved this one, and pestered her until she let me have it,” she said quietly. “The style is Nadežran, isn’t it? Mother never used the word ‘stole’; by her lights, she was only taking her due when she left. But I suspect that ring never belonged to her, and therefore it doesn’t belong to me, either. I’d like to return it.”
