Rose wished that she could tell Pearl about Simon. No one ever spoke about Simon, and often that was preferable. Sometimes Rose felt that she was still processing all that had happened, and once old emotions were stirred, they could weigh her down for days. And yet sometimes she wished she could speak about him. But not to Pearl. Simon had done such a terrible thing, and to one of her people. What if Pearl didn't want to associate with her anymore? She shook her head. "Just... a brother of mine, who did something stupid, and he died..." she said vaguely, as if it had been some kind of accident that had killed her brother. Just to prevent questions, she quickly continued: "And me sister has to pay for her mistake by marryin' a guy she barely knew. I mean, he's got money and a farm and all, so its not so bad, but she seemed pretty miserable about it, and she'll not be able to marry someone if she really loves them now."