After he leaves, I pace back and forth in my bedroom. Without him, my excitement gives way to a sort of despair, and I collapse onto my bed and cry. At bedtime, I gulp down my sleeping draft. There are no explosions in the night, but I still sleep poorly. I don’t tell Father that his medicine is no longer working for me. The dreams that I am not supposed to have are dark. The next morning is long and uneventful. I empty my makeup bag, spreading bottles and vials over the vanity table. Mother comes into my room without knocking. “I know why you were in your father’s laboratory,” she says. I freeze. My guilty response proves her suspicions. I can see disgust in her eyes. “Prospero’s nephew sent you there. He wants you to betray your family. I used to know him … when you and Finn lived underground with Father. He’s troubled. Araby, stay away from him.”
