Elizabeth gave her an apologetic smile. “In this case, I’m afraid not, dear. I don’t want anything to taint this trial. I want to find out once and for all if I have the sight or whatever it is or if this is all someone’s idea of a practical joke.”

“It is not a joke,” Madame Ophelia assured her. “Practical or otherwise.”

—

I don’t know about this, Elizabeth.” Gideon gave her his most concerned frown in hopes that she would take pity on him, because he knew that was his only hope of swaying her. Using whatever power he might possess as her husband to forbid her would have been a waste of time and effort, ordinary persuasion would have been worthless, and logical arguments would have just provided amusement.

“You mustn’t listen to your mother,” Elizabeth said, giving his mother a knowing little grin where she sat nearby doing her mending. “I couldn’t possibly have hurt myself when I fainted.”

He would happily make a point of checking her thoroughly for bruises later, after they retired for the night, but he knew she wouldn’t have a single one. “I’m not worried about that and you know it. What do you think is going to happen when Madame Ophelia finds out you aren’t really a medium?”

“Not a thing. First of all, she’s not going to find out, and even if she suspects, she’s going to see that I’m very good at faking it. In fact, I’ll be much better at it than she is, and she’s either going to want to learn my secrets or—if I can convince her I really have powers—she is going to want to manage my career.”

“Do you think you could have a career doing this?” Mother Bates asked, looking up from her sewing. They were in the parlor, waiting for dinner to be served while Elizabeth and his mother told him all about the séance this morning.

“Oh yes. I’m very good at reading people and lying, too. I could probably make a fortune.”

Gideon managed not to wince.

“Tell Gideon how you knew those ladies were just pretending,” his mother urged.

“Yes, how did you know?” he asked with great interest.

Elizabeth frowned. “I’ve been trying very hard not to use any of the tricks mediums usually use, like eavesdropping on the clients or getting them to reveal things in normal conversation. I actually made a point of not conversing with those two women, so no one would think I figured it out from talking to them.”

“And yet you did figure it out,” his mother said.

“So how did you do it?” Gideon asked.