She winced inwardly. She curled her lip outwardly. She was going to keep an open mind. If what the woman said was true, then Magnus was worse than she had known. She would have to trust her instinct for Pearl's sake. "How terrible," she said, genuinely enough that it wasn't a lie, but she wasn't feeling very sympathetic at the moment. It wouldn't do, however, to make things worse by poking the bear. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a pristine, white hanky, it was trimmed with lace and monogrammed. It was dainty, but just enough to add to the dramatic effect the gesture would ensure from somebody else other than the woman before her. The monogram would mean nothing to Anne but it sure would put the fear in the awful man who kept her child from her.

"He had no right to put his sins upon your shoulders. I am sorry for my part in this as well. Had I known what it would come to, I would have looked for another job. I failed you and I failed your children. Magnus deserves to do penance for what he has done." Her words sounded absent by that point, her brow puckering as she was genuinely troubled by all of this.

And then she sighed, but said no more, feeling a bit overwhelmed at that moment.