Elizabeth knew that wasn’t a lie. Mother Bates really, really wanted to see what a séance was like. Somehow Elizabeth didn’t think they’d ruined anything, though. A professional like Madame Ophelia would know the show must go on, especially after she’d set the stage herself so dramatically.

In fact, although Elizabeth knew gambling was a fool’s game, she would have bet real money that Madame Ophelia was going to put on a better show than usual.

She did, however, make them wait for it. Almost fifteen minutes passed before Persephone came out and invited them to enter. Madame Ophelia was already seated at the table. In the interim she had donned a large turban that matched the vibrant print of her robes. Elizabeth wondered if she was wearing an operator’s headset underneath it.

Persephone directed them where to sit at the table. To Elizabeth’s surprise, she was seated to Madame Ophelia’s right and Anna was on her left. Perhaps Madame Ophelia wanted to keep a close eye on them. Mrs. Bates was beside Anna, then Mr. Lindhurst. Beside him was Mrs. Vanderslice, and then Mrs. Lindhurst was next to Elizabeth. If she’d expected a crystal ball, she was disappointed. A silver tray sat in the center of the table. On it were a stack of papers about three inches square and a collection of pencils.

“If you have a question for the spirits, take a paper and pencil and write it down,” Madame Ophelia said.

Everyone took a pencil and a piece of paper. There were just enough to go around. Elizabeth tried to think of something she’d like to ask a spirit, but since she thought this was all hooey, she had a difficult time of it. Finally, she came up with something she thought would be harmless and scribbled it down.

Madame Ophelia, she noticed, kept her eyes closed through the whole exercise. Elizabeth supposed she didn’t want to be accused of peeking.

“When you have finished,” Madame said suddenly, startling everyone, “fold the paper in half and then in half again. Persephone will collect them.”

Everyone folded their papers as instructed, and Persephone came around with an odd brocade bag mounted on a handle. She held it out to each person so they could drop their questions into it. When she had them all, she reached into the bag, pulled them all out and dropped them on the now-empty silver tray. She produced a small bottle from her pocket and sprinkled its contents over the papers. The scent indicated it was alcohol, and then she struck a match and dropped it on top of the pile. The papers with their secret questions burst into flame and in seconds had been reduced to ash. Elizabeth managed a surprised gasp along with everyone else so she couldn’t be accused of a lack of belief.