“You keep doing—what did you call them? Wards?—and I’ll try really hard not to tell the future anymore, and Harper will go back to her regular life of committees and dances and being a pain in my ass.”

Saylor opened her mouth to reply, but David held up his hand. “You said the three of us have to work together. Well, it’s two against one here. This?” He made a circle with his finger between the three of us. “This isn’t happening. And now if you ladies will excuse me, I’m going upstairs and taking some aspirin.”

With that, he turned and walked away. Saylor and I listened to his heavy tread on the staircase, both of us jumping a little when his door slammed.

Dropping into the nearest chair, Saylor covered her face with one hand. “I meant what I said, Harper. There’s no walking away. From the moment you entered that bathroom, your fate was sealed. His, too.” She picked up her head and nodded in the direction of the stairs.

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I took my keys from where I’d laid them by my plate. The chicken and dumplings had coagulated into a beige blob and I wondered how I’d ever thought they looked appetizing.

“Thank you for dinner,” I told her even though I hadn’t eaten a bite. “Also, I think—” My voice broke, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “I think it would be best if I pulled out of Cotillion this year.” I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain that to my parents, but I also knew that I wanted no part of whatever was going to happen that night.

Saylor’s gaze stayed steady on me. She might not have been related to David by blood, but her eyes were nearly the same shade of blue. For a second, I thought she was going to try the sales pitch again. Instead, she gave a little nod. “I understand.”

My knees were shaking as I went to leave the dining room. I was just to the doorway when Saylor said my name again.

“Yes, ma’am?” I asked, turning to face her.

“Thank you so much for the cake,” she said, and in that moment, she was the Saylor Stark I’d known my entire life, all perfect silver hair and straight white teeth. “You’re a doll.”

Chapter 17