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does.” Sophie sipped the hot drink as she picked at her eggs. She tried a half-smile. Perhaps Delia really did want to make up. Best to give her the benefit of the doubt. It couldn’t hurt to make small talk over one meal, could it? “It seems a little bitter this morning, though.” She took a big drink of the coffee and made a face. “Really, really bitter.”
    “You’re just tired,” Delia said. “You look a little peaky.”
    Delia was right , she was tired . Sophie felt funny all of a sudden, and she put a hand to her head. Her vision swam. What was happening to her? She looked across the table at Delia, who had a smile like the cat that got into the cream . She reached out a hand to steady herself on the table and missed it entirely, slumping sideways in her chair.
    “What is it, dear?” Delia cooed. “Not feeling well?”
    Sophie felt her stomach clench , and her thoughts raced . Just why had her selfish sister offered to refill her coffee, when she couldn’t even be counted on to serve herself ? She’d been known to call Mrs. Ferguson from the other room just to fill her cup of a morning. This was wrong. She opened her mouth to call for help but the words wouldn’t come. Mrs. Ferguson stared at her from across the room, and Sophie tried to raise her hand to th e woman, who looked frightened. S he couldn’t seem to make her limbs work. She felt horror grow cold inside her, but she couldn’t scream.
    Delia had poisoned her.
    “Let me help you to back to bed, Sophie.” Delia grasped her with hard hands and pulled her from her chair. Sophie listed to o ne side and Delia pulled her up right. “ You have a little lie-down, and you’ll feel just the thing later. I’ll do it, Mrs. Ferguson, ” she trilled as the woman hurried over and tried to help. “No need to disturb your work.”
    Sophie tried to resist, but it seemed impossible. Delia dragged her up the stairs and into her room, throwing her down on the hard bed and losing the loving attitude now that she no longer had an audience. She thrust her face down to Sophie’s, and smiled, but it wasn’t a merry smile. It made Sophie shudder inside .
    “Thought you’d just run off and leave me high and dry, did you? Thought you’d just leave, after everything I’ve done for you. You know that would be a hardship for me, having to pay someone else to keep my house, but you don’t care. You’re a selfish, selfish woman, and you don’t care about my feelings in the slightest. ” Delia’s tone was reproachful and as matter-of-fact as if they were discussing the weather.
    ‘ She’s mad ,’ Sophie thought. ‘ S he’s killed me because I wanted to leave , and she still blames me for it . ’
    “But I’ve found a way to get the money I need to run this household and pay for two more servants beside.” She rubbed her hands together and smiled angelically at her sister. “And all I have to do is deliver you and that insipid little maid to a woman I know. She’ll pay top dollar for you both, and I’ll never have to worry about money again. And if I run short again , all I have to do is find another pretty young woman to serve up to her guests . I used to work for her, but she says I’m too old for her clientele. ”
    Delia made a face and pinched her cheek, hard, but Sophie couldn’t even flinch. She was trapped in a body that had become a prison, and she was growing increasingly sleepy. She struggled to stay awake, to focus on what Delia was saying, but the words seemed to be coming from very far away.
    “ You’re just the right age, though, Sophie. Don’ t worry : You’ll get paid for the work you do after tonight. I’ll only get your fee this once , not forever. And it won’t be nearly as bad as when father did it to me – at least you’ve had a lover already. You know what to expect. Of course, there will be more than one tonight, but I promise you , it won’t be so bad. I’ll make sure to give you another dose of laudanum before