“Barrett, I swear, I only went because Agatha basically dragged me. But that’s not the part we should focus on. The part that’s weird is that your mom was down there ripping out all the flowers we planted. And she was angry.”

He shrugged. “Maybe she’s protective of Lily’s grave?”

“Maybe,” I said. “I guess . . .”

“Well, what else would it be?”

“Why isn’t Lily in the portrait?” I asked. “Of your mom and her dad.”

“What?”

“In the drawing room. It’s just the two of them. Doesn’t it seem like Lily should have been included? The other families had all their kids painted.” Even the dead ones.

“I—I don’t know. You kind of lost me with the going outside in the middle of the night.”

“You’ve done that, too.”

“But not with my sister,” he said. “What if she caught a cold?”

“She’s not sick,” I said.

He looked at me like I was out of my mind.

“Not like that, I mean. Not like she’s at more of a risk for a cold.” I looked down at Agatha, who stared straight ahead.

“Are you sure?” Barrett asked. “Mom made it sound like her immunity could be messed up.”

“I’m trying to tell you.” I fought to keep the seething frustration out of my voice. “I didn’t take her out there. She took me.”

He nodded shortly.

“What?” I asked.

“You didn’t have to go,” he said. “You could have told her to stay inside. You could have said no.”

I sighed.

He sighed. “Forget it.”

I did want to forget it, but I also didn’t. “If you don’t believe me, go look. The flowers will all be gone. Why would she do that?”

“I have no idea,” he said. “Maybe she hates lilies. Maybe she had other plans for that space.”

“But in the middle of the night?”

“What are you trying to get me to say, Margot?” he asked. “That Mom’s crazy? She’s intense, yeah, and she makes me angry sometimes, but I don’t think she was out in the moonlight acting like a maniac.”

But she was.

“And I don’t think you should let Agatha go outside at night,” he said stiffly.

“Okay,” I said.

“Don’t be mad at me.”

I shook my head. Don’t be mad? He’d just implied that I was a negligent liar.

“Let’s talk about something else,” he said. “Please?”

Like how there’s part of me that would rather live at the state institution than Copeland Hall?

We walked on in an uncomfortable silence.

“Agatha tried to talk,” I said, before I had a chance to stop and think. “Last night. She said I. I think she’s tried to say it before, but I’m not sure. But last night, I’m sure.”