What astonished me wasn’t the money.

It was the possibility that General Reynolds had doubted his son’s version while everyone else accepted it.

Pierce also showed us a letter William had written to me but never sent.

Its envelope bore my name in a bold, disciplined hand.

The letter said he had heard conflicting accounts about my marriage and possible children.

He hadn’t known how to reach me without turning the matter into another conflict.

He regretted not asking sooner.