Becca smiled, her green eyes misty. Sitting up straighter, she cleared her throat. “Mine is perfect. He found me drifting through life and put me on the right path. We dated for a long while. When the time was right, he asked me to marry him.” She giggled, then her voice became softer with a dreamlike quality. “I said yes, of course, and he brought me to The House. Now that you’re finally here, Penny, we can all begin our lives with our beloveds.”

I stared at Becca, trying to decide if the entire group was in on some prank. Her eyes were smiling and filled with tears, although none made their way down her cheeks.

“Our new life begins now the last one’s in,” the others at the table chanted.

Seconds later, the room was filled with tinkling sounds as each girl tapped a glass with the edge of a spoon in applause for Becca’s story. The recognition was brief. After everyone repeated the gesture, including me, conversations started up again.

Becca regarded me with an expectant expression.

“That was lovely. Thank you for telling me,” I said, hoping I’d responded in the correct manner.

The girl sitting next to Becca cleared her throat, then began speaking in a similar dreamy voice. “Mine is perfect. He found me drifting through life and put me on the right path. We dated for a long while. When the time was right, he asked me to marry him.” She giggled, then her voice became softer with a dreamlike quality, identical to Becca’s. “I said yes, of course, and he brought me to The House. Now that you’re finally here, Penny, we can all begin our lives with our beloveds.”

“Our new life begins now the last one’s in,” the girls at the table chanted.

The tinkling started up again, lasting only a few seconds before quiet conversations returned.

By the time Calla repeated the same creepy story, I had the details down. This time when the tinkling stopped, I voluntarily recited my story about my imaginary husband-to-be. I was rewarded with the tinkling applause and then a louder bell, like a grandfather clock struck the one o’clock hour. I was puzzled by this because I knew it was still morning. I guessed the clock was off, and no one had ever thought to reset the time. Or more likely, time was irrelevant in this place.

Sarabeth stood, and the giant table became at once silent. “Now that the last sister has arrived,” she turned to me and raised her glass, “the moment you’ve all waited for will soon be upon us. The Promise Ball will be held within seven days. Those of you with kitchen chores, please begin. The rest of you will need to get to your duties until it is time to be fitted for your gowns.”