She walked up the stairs, wincing as she tried to keep the weight off her sprained ankle. Sweat dotted her forehead, and when she reached her room, she sat on the bed to catch her breath. After a moment she rose and went to her closet, looking through her shirts, trying to decide what she wanted to wear. She stood there, befuddled, suddenly overcome with indecision.

What was the matter with her? Snatching a navy T-shirt and throwing the hanger on the floor, she pulled off her sweater and pulled on the tee. She walked down the hallway to the guest-suite bathroom to put on a dash of lipstick, but as she pushed the door open, a flickering shadow caught her eye. Was someone in here? Her eyes swept the room. It was empty, but three of her pillar candles from downstairs were sitting on the rim of the bathtub. Lit.

She spun around, her pulse beating so hard she could feel it in her temples. She dropped to the floor and looked under the bed. Jumping up, she ran to the windows and threw the drapes aside, half expecting someone to leap out at her. There was no one in the bedroom. Back in the bathroom, she blew the candles out, then splashed some water on her face. She raced downstairs to find Blaire and pulled her aside.

“What’s the matter?” Blaire asked. “You look freaked out.”

“I found candles lit in my bathroom. I don’t remember lighting them,” Kate whispered, looking around furtively. “I only do that when I take a bath, and I didn’t take one today.”

A sympathetic look crossed Blaire’s face, and she cleared her throat. “Honey, remember you said you were going to take a bath before the party. Are you sure you didn’t light them and forget to blow them out?”

Kate shook her head wildly. “I didn’t end up taking a bath. I fell asleep, and then I watched a movie with Annabelle.” She remembered calling Blaire this afternoon . . . but had she taken the candles upstairs? The doctor in her knew that it was possible that her mind was playing tricks on her—she was tired enough and distracted enough—but still, Blaire had to be mistaken.

“Excuse me, Dr. English. Where should I set these?” Fleur was holding a large tray of sandwiches.

“Why don’t I show her? Go sit for a minute, Kate,” Blaire said.

Kate looked around the room, and her eyes came to rest on Simon. He was talking to Selby. They were probably discussing her. He was probably telling Selby how crazy she was, about all the nutty things she was doing. When Simon looked her way and saw that she was staring, he quickly turned back to Selby.

Selby started laughing. Was she laughing at Kate?