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my gaze, but neither did she turn away toward her room. I made a decision.
    “Olivia?”
    She flinched. “I should get to bed.”
    “Oh, not yet. Come to my room before Crenshaw catches us whispering in the halls again.”
    “If you wish,” she said after a moment.
    I opened my door and gestured for her to step through. She seemed lost in thought as she placed her lamp on the desk and settled into my wooden chair. I sat on the bed across from her, inwardly rehearsing what to say.
    “Olivia,” I finally said, “I know you were offended that day during our walk. You’ve barely said a word to me since.”
    She looked thoughtful. “I’m certain it was disappointment rather than anger.”
    “Disappointment that I don’t believe in ghosts? That’s what kept you from speaking to me?”
    “No, it’s …” She paused, biting her lip. “Prior to your arrival, I was the youngest teacher here. In fact, the other teachers knew me first as a student. Two years have passed, and they still treat me like a student.” She broke off, staring at the hands clasped in her lap. When she finally continued, her words came slowly. “I don’t have a true friend at this school. I suppose I latched on to you, thinking you could be that friend. So when you laughed at my beliefs, it wounded me more than it should have.”
    I blushed. “Oh dear. Mama used to say I was too brash, just like my papa. It’s an unfortunate fault, for it’s left me terribly lonely. I should have apologized long ago and brought an end to the coolness between us. But I’ve been overwhelmed.” I gathered the fabric of my nightgown and pleated it nervously. “I’m … not a very good teacher.”
    “You’re still settling in,” she said softly. “It gets easier in time. And it helps to have a friend listen to your woes.”
    I smiled, much lighter in spirits. We fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, but then her brow furrowed.
    “Are you worrying about Fannie?” I asked.
    “Well, I am concerned for the poor girl. Very concerned.” She paused, her cheeks flushing pink. “But just then I was thinking of Dr. Stewart. The sight of him always makes me heartsore.”
    “You find him handsome?” I thought of him kneeling over Fannie’s body. “I suppose he is, with that fair, wavy hair. He’s tall too … but rather thin.”
    “Oh, Willie! Of course he’s handsome, but seeing him makes me sad. He was married to Fannie’s older sister, you know. He’s from Illinois, and he came to Tahlequah straight from medical school as temporary replacement for poor old Dr. Ross. But he gladly settled into the community when he married Sarah. She was so beautiful and good, and they were very much in love.”
    “She was beautiful?”
    “Sarah died of cholera. And Dr. Stewart has grieved for so long. He’s grown quite thin and pale with his sadness.”
    There was nothing like a tragedy to make a man more interesting. “My lord hath endured a grief,” I murmured.
    “What?”
    “ Pericles , act five. Oh, never mind.” I rubbed my eyes, stifling a yawn. “That was quite a story Fannie cooked up, wasn’t it?”
    Olivia looked thoughtful. “I was a student when that girl—the one Miss Crenshaw mentioned—fell out the window. It was terrible. Her injuries were more severe than Fannie’s. And it’s true she was sleepwalking. But she did not remember anything about the accident. She did not remember having a dream, nor did she remember leaving her bed and walking toward the window.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “I don’t believe Fannie was sleepwalking. Laugh all you like,” she said with a gleam in her eye, “but I think her visions came from the spirit world.”

Chapter 6
    O VER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS , the students dragged themselves into the classroom with dark circles under their eyes. They struggled to concentrate during recitations. The seniors were grim and silent, but the younger students confided that their sleep was disturbed by