Uncertain Glory by Lea Wait Page A

week, to get their answers in individual sessions.”
    â€œPerhaps then, Uncle, you will not schedule any sessions on Monday? Please . . . So I can rest?” Nell said. “You know how exhausted I am after I’ve been with the voices, and with four sessions tomorrow—”
    â€œYou’re stronger than you think,” her uncle replied. “You always say you won’t be able to continue, but I’ve seen you perform when you could hardly stand up. You can do it. As it is, I’ve scheduled only one Monday meeting so far, and it’s not a spirit circle. You’re to be interviewed by two local boys who call themselves newspapermen. They publish a little weekly paper, and they plan to write an article about you, my dear. All you have to do is be your most charming. If you’re not feeling your best, that’s fine. Another article on your delicacy and sensitivity and being attuned to the spirit world can only bring in more customers.”
    â€œWhat are the boys’ names?” Nell said.
    Was she wondering if I was one of them? I’d told her about the
Wiscasset Herald.
    â€œI can’t recall. But they’ll be here tonight, so smile your sweetest at any young men in the audience. They printed up the broadsides for us, so I gave them press passes.”
    â€œI’d like to lie on the couch a little longer to clear my mind before I begin,” said Nell.
    â€œYou do that. Sarah, give Nell some of her medicine. It will help the spirits come to you, my dear, and dull your pain. In the meantime, I’ll go down to the lobby to greet your public.”
    I raced back to the ballroom to make sure Mr. Allen didn’t catch me listening outside the door.
    Charlie was there already.
    â€œWhere have you been? Father said the room’s fine, and that we could have cider and molasses cookies in the kitchen while we’re waiting for the meeting to start. But I told him we wanted to be here early to see who comes and what they say. We might be able to quote someone in our article.”
    â€œCharlie,” I said, “we need to talk. Now.”

Chapter 12
    Saturday, April 13, 6:30 p.m.
    â€œWhat is it, Joe?”
    â€œI overhead Nell talking with her aunt and uncle. She’s not well. And her uncle’s forcing her to have these sessions to make money, even though they make her headaches worse.”
    â€œDid you hear anything about how she does it? How she tricks people?”
    â€œNo, nothing like that! They just talked about how sick she felt, and how Mr. Allen had scheduled her to keep doing sessions.” I lowered my voice even further. “And, he told her about us.”
    â€œUs?”
    â€œHe told Nell she had to talk with two young boys—not young men, Charlie, but
boys
—on Monday. That they had a little local newspaper. That she should charm them so they’d write a nice article and she’d have more customers.” I smacked my fist into my other hand. Hard. “I publish a real newspaper. He made it sound as if we were children playin’ with a toy printing press.”
    â€œThen I suppose we’ll have to show him we’re more than that, won’t we? By writing an article that won’t bring her paying customers. By exposing her and her uncle and aunt as frauds.”
    My mind whirred with confusing ideas. “Her uncle may be cruel, but that doesn’t mean she’s a fraud. We have no proof.”
    â€œNot yet—but we will have. I’m sure of it.”
    People were beginning to gather in the hall outside the ballroom.
    â€œWe’ll listen and take notes, and watch what happens,” said Charlie, taking out his pad. He grinned. “Monday we’ll meet with your friend Nell, but she won’t be able to charm us, no matter how hard she tries. You’ll see!”
    He went and sat down. We’d agreed we wouldn’t sit together, so we could see the room from different