“Not exactly. I simply told him I was going. He was worried, of course.”

“As he had every right to be,” Elizabeth agreed. She and Mrs. Bates had ended up sentenced to three months in a workhouse from that adventure. “But you didn’t need his permission to go in the first place.”

“He does support my work—or our work, I should say—so there was no question of his disapproving.”

“Do you know what the Old Man told Gideon before we got married?”

“I can’t imagine,” Mother Bates said with amused anticipation.

“He warned Gideon not to forbid me from doing anything, because that was the best way to ensure I would do it.”

That made her laugh, and Elizabeth joined her. “Then I guess it was good advice,” Mother Bates said.

“It was, and it saved me the trouble of telling Gideon myself.”

They’d reached the corner, and Mother Bates flagged down a cab. When the vehicle was carrying them uptown to Madame Ophelia’s, Mother Bates said, “Do you have any idea what will happen at this séance?”

“From what Anna told me, it’s pretty simple. This woman doesn’t go in for a lot of fancy stuff, like moving tables and floating ghosts.”

“Ghosts?” Mother Bates echoed in alarm.

“All tricks, you understand. But Madame Ophelia just lets the spirits speak through her. I’m kind of disappointed. I was hoping for some ectoplasm, at least.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not really sure, but I remembered reading something about it once. We’ll just have to see. Do you have anyone in the afterlife you’d like to contact?”

Mother Bates frowned as she considered the question. “I suppose I should say my husband or perhaps my parents, but I’m not sure what I would even ask them. I’ve always felt confident they were at peace in heaven, and what if the medium told me something different?”

“Mother Bates, have I ever told you how much I appreciate your wisdom and good sense?”

“Not nearly often enough, my dear,” she replied graciously. “What about you? Would you like to speak to your mother?”

“Oh my, what a prospect. I had no idea my father was a con man until after she died. I just knew he traveled a lot and was rarely home. I’ve always wondered if she knew how he made the money he used to support us, and if she knew about Jake and Jake’s mother.” The Old Man had never married Jake’s mother.

“Surely not,” Mother Bates said. “No woman would tolerate that.”

“Women tolerate an awful lot in exchange for a comfortable home.”

“I suppose you’re right. But if you really want to know those things, can’t you just ask your father?”