Everything happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to refuse. Laura basically tackled Agatha, and I reached out and grabbed her legs, then put my body weight on them. I felt terrible—she was struggling underneath us.

Laura pulled the cap off a tiny syringe and shoved it into Agatha’s arm. Laura was strong—she held Agatha in place until the medicine started to take effect, and I felt her legs go limp underneath me.

With an undignified grunt, Laura climbed off the bed. Agatha fell to the side and landed awkwardly on the pillow, too weak to catch herself.

I stepped forward to try to make her more comfortable, but Laura waved me back.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I heard her—she woke me up—I came out and she was kind of freaking out. But she was trying to talk—”

Laura roughly rearranged Agatha on the bed and then began searching the bedding, lifting the pillow, running her hand under the blankets. Then she got down on her knees and searched the floor. With a little sniff of triumph, she grabbed something and shoved it into her pocket.

“Is she okay?” I asked.

“She’s all right. I’ve sedated her. She’ll feel better in the morning.”

“What did you find on the floor?”

“Her medicine,” she said. “She used to spit it out—I guess she’s back to her old tricks.”

With the efficiency of a nurse, she moved Agatha back into place on the bed. Agatha’s eyes were struggling to stay open, and a line of drool had escaped the corner of her mouth.

“Back to bed, please, Margot,” Laura said with a sigh. “I’m terribly sorry that she disturbed you.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “But I think maybe she was going to say something important.”

Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to still. Laura turned to me, too calm, and said sweetly, “What do you think she was going to say?”

“Well—she said my name,” I said. “I think.”

“You think,” she said.

“It was kind of garbled,” I lied. “I mean, like, you know when babies start to talk and they—”

She nodded impatiently. “You’re such a dear for having that kind of hope. But Agatha simply isn’t in a place where she can speak. Even your name, and we know how much she values you.”

I nodded. “I guess . . . I guess I was wrong.”

“To bed,” Laura said lightly.

I nodded and went back into my bedroom. I felt a fresh wave of fear as I climbed under the covers and switched off the light.

I waited until I heard the nursery door close, and then I went back out, tiptoeing to Agatha’s bedside.

The sticky drool was still on her chin. I wiped it away with my sleeve and then looked down at her. Her eyes were slits—but she was still awake.

“You’re not sick?” I whispered.