Was it amazing to be the servant-orphan of the exalted Sutton family of Copeland Hall? No. But was it as bad as being the end-of-the-hall freak of Palmer House? Or being committed to the state institution? No. If I couldn’t have my old life, I would make this one work.

And something about the place—the routine, the silence, the solemn sense of history—calmed me in an unexpected way: I hadn’t had a nightmare since I moved in. Not a single one.

CHAPTER

11

AFTER LUNCH ONE rainy Friday, Laura came to the door of my room. I was trying very hard to make myself enjoy Tess of the d’Urbervilles, but my eyes kept slipping shut.

“Margot, are you awake?” Laura asked, and I put the book aside and sat up. “Today is Agatha’s appointment with Dr. Reed.”

A mild flash of panic hit me: She was going to try to take me to the doctor, too. My potential “issues” seemed always to be on the periphery of her thoughts. Not a day went by when she didn’t ask how I was doing, and the question always carried the lightest suggestion that she suspected the answer would be bad news. Maybe that was the natural consequence of having a daughter with a random, serious illness. But I still found it slightly aggravating.

I don’t want to see a doctor, I whined in my head. I was fine, really, and I kept telling her that. She just didn’t seem willing to let it go.

Then she went on, frowning a little. “I would invite you, but I’m afraid today isn’t a good day for it. Agatha seems a bit irritable. Also, I think you’d be bored. You might as well be comfortable here rather than sitting in a waiting room.”

Oh. So it wasn’t about me. In which case, the whiny voice in my head began to complain about being left behind. After being confined to the house and garden for a few solid weeks, a trip to town sounded as exciting as a mission to the moon. Even at Palmer House we got to take trips to the mall or the grocery store.

I tried not to let my displeasure show. Then, since we were already having an uncomfortable conversation, I took a chance. “Any news on the Wi-Fi password?”