The sisters were furious at the doctor. For right after 'Penelope's' confession, he rushed them from the room, with the promise that they could speak to her as soon as she woke in the morning. But morning would not come soon enough to ease their bewilderment. They hadn't a chance to ask her what on Earth she meant. If she wasn't Penelope, then who was she? And more importantly, if she wasn't Penelope, why would she need to replace their sister?

"Well, it certainly explains the poinsettias," Danny began.

"It sure does," Helen agreed.

They were silent for a few moments, sitting together on the couches and staring at the floor. The hall clock struck eight o'clock.

"I suppose I had better be getting home," Eleanor said.

"But it's dark outside," Noelle whispered. Eleanor glanced at Helen.

"Yes, but I need to get back to the women's college."

Helen peered out the window. The dark of winter obscured all from view. Had the sun really gone down so quickly? It seemed like just moments ago it had been mid-afternoon, with sun's rays brightening the room.

"Why don't you stay the night?" Helen suggested. "I have another spare room. One of you can sleep in my room, since Jim is away due to his work. Danny and Noelle, you can call Mother and tell her that you won't be coming home tonight."

"Should we tell her what happened?" Danny wondered aloud.

"No," Helen said firmly. "We don't want to worry her, especially since Penelope isn't...Penelope."

"You're right," Danny conceded. "I'll call Mother now and say that we lost track of the time and are going to stay here."

"I'll have to call the ladies' college after you," Eleanor said.

The two sisters made the phone calls while Ida prepared the last spare room in the house for them. It was still fairly early in the evening, but seeing as none could think of a way to make conversation, they collectively decided to retire for the night early. Though in truthfulness, none slept well, since their thoughts were tormented with endless questions.

***

The sun was peeking through the window in the morning, it's golden rays promising a new day that was less bleak. However, the sun's brightness had a way of making promises it could not fulfill.

One by one, the sisters woke up and had breakfast and tea together. The doctor arrived early in the morning to check on Penelope. They sat at the edge of their seats, waiting to be summoned into her room. It felt like an eternity before the doctor left Penelope's room and came into the parlor, where the four sisters sat.

"If you would like, you girls can come and speak with your sister now," the doctor invited. He mustn't have heard the girl's confession the night before.

"Thank you," Helen said, leading the others into the spare room.

Penelope's imposter was sitting upright in bed, though her eyelids drooped heavily. Now that the sun was shining on her face, there were some clear differences between her and the real Penelope. Her nose was more bony, and her face was more narrowed. She looked kinder than the real Penelope. It was like comparing a simple peasant girl to a haughty Queen. All of the sisters would have gladly taken the peasant over the royal.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Helen asked.

"Yes, the doctor gave me a sedative." Now that she didn't have to pretend to be Penelope, she allowed her voice to be softer, almost melodic, with a lilt at the end of her words.

"So...you're not Penelope?" Danny said.

She shook her head with a weak grin. "No, my name is Dorothy Schmit. I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused you. I honestly didn't mean any harm."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Helen said, assuming she was referring to the fact that she was staying in Helen's house.

"I mean...with the impersonation and all."

Helen sighed. "It's...it's alright. But please explain why on Earth you would do such a thing?"

"I can explain everything. Just...could I have something to eat?"

Helen flushed a rosy pink. She had forgotten that her unexpected guest would likely be hungry.

"I'll ask the doctor if it's alright."

"Thank you."

Helen rushed from the room, and returned a couple minutes later with a small portion of porridge. The strange girl gobbled it up in a heartbeat. She definitely was not Penelope, for the real Penelope did not have a huge appetite, nor did she gulp down her food.

"That was delicious," she said. "Thank you for your generosity. I will repay you as soon as I can."

"It's no trouble," Helen said. The longer this polite girl stayed, the more it actually became okay.

The imposter bit her lip. "Alright, I think I'd better explain now. You see, I'm actually a good friend of your sister, Penelope. She and I have been in theatrical performances for the past few years. We always thought our resemblance was striking. In fact, we're about to star in a moving picture together as twins.

About a few months ago, Penelope started to receive these peculiar letters. They said things like 'I know what you did' and 'You will pay.' Penelope was positively terrified, so when she received the invitation to come to this tea party, she refused to attend. I said to her,

'But Penelope, what will they say when you don't arrive, and everyone else goes? They can't be all bad, can they?'

And her reply was, 'It's not them that are bad, Dorothy. It's me.'

'You're one of the nicest people I know,' I told her.

'I've done something right awful. I'm sure they know. They've been sending me letters. And now they are hosting a tea party...I'll bet they'll have the police waiting for me when I arrive. They're going to arrest me and I'll...I'll...I'll be sentenced to death!'

And at that, she burst into a flood of helpless tears. I didn't know what to do. She was so dreadfully scared. But I didn't know what she could have done that would be so terrible that she couldn't face her own sisters. I figured she was overreacting. I thought she was talking about some tragic romance where one of her sisters stole her man. But that was nothing to eschew her sisters for. So I tried to coax her into going.

'Penelope, not going is more of a sign of guilt than anything else.'

I tell you, Penelope's eyes went wider than saucers. She begged me to do something, anything, to save her from this dreadful situation. We got the idea that I could impersonate her at this tea party, that way nobody would miss her. And that's how I came."

The room went into a stunned silence. Why was Penelope so reluctant to come? They hadn't the slightest clue what she could have done. Maybe Penelope really was on narcotics.

"Did she ever tell you?" Helen said slowly.

Dorothy's eyes narrowed. "You don't know?"

"No," the sisters chorused.

"Really?" Dorothy said. "Then who's been sending her the letters?"

"I-I have no idea," Helen said.

Dorothy was quiet, deliberating as to whether she should uncover Penelope's wrongdoing.

"Don't tell her that I told you this," Dorothy began. "The only reason I say this is first because Penelope thinks you already know, and second, because I don't want you to have the wrong impression of your sister. If Penelope confesses to you, she surely will be so distraught that she will leave out the finer details...the important details."

"What did she do?" Helen asked impatiently.

Dorothy didn't stall any longer. "She killed your sister, Janelle."

"What?!" all four cried in horror.

"Now hold on a minute. Let me explain her side. Penelope had longed for a theatrical career for a long time. Seven years ago, she was offered the part of a lifetime. And she fit the role perfectly. The only problem was that it was in a musical production, and Penelope can't sing to save her life. At first, they were going to have her lip sync so a record. But then, they discovered Jan, whose voice was the finest they'd ever heard. They were planning on cutting Penelope entirely from the production just so Jan could play the part. Now mind, Jan wasn't as theatrically talented as Penelope, and really didn't have the dramatic flair to be convincing in the part.

"This was a once in a lifetime chance for Penelope to get into theatre. A once in a lifetime chance! It was about to be stolen by her sister, who wouldn't even do the role justice.

"A few days before the final casting was decided, the two girls were walking together along a mountain road. Jan was walking fairly close to the mountain edge and...Penelope just leaned over and gave her a nudge. She wasn't trying to kill her, she was just trying to prevent her from getting the part. But when Penelope looked over the cliff, she saw that Jan had fallen into a ravine with jagged rocks and trees."

Four jaws went slack. They had a murderer in the family.

Dorothy leaned back in the bed. There was no taking back what had been said. No matter how convincing Penelope's sob story was, it wasn't enough to excuse her actions. Nothing could excuse murder.

"Well, I suppose we have one last thing to settle," Helen sniffed. She pulled out her lace handkerchief to wipe a few tears from her eyes. "Who put that poison on your necklace?"

"It couldn't have been any of us," Danny said. "We didn't come near you."

"None of you did," Dorothy said. "But there was one person in this household who did."

"Who?" Noelle cried.

"The maid."

The latch of the door clicked shut and footsteps pounded down the hallway. Danny, quick as a whip, opened the door and bolted down the hallway. A cry arose from the other room, and in came Danny, holding the maid by her wrists.

"You!" Danny said. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"

The maid squirmed in her grasp, tears falling down her cheeks. She nodded vehemently, her eyes darting wildly around the room.

"Danny, stop!" Helen said.

"What did you do? Why did you try to harm our sister Penelope? Or did you know that it was this poor actress, Dorothy, all along?"

"Let her go Danny!" Helen said again.

"She tried to kill someone!" Danny exclaimed.

"For heaven's sake, drop her!" Helen commanded.

Reluctantly, Danny released the maid from her grasp and let her fall to the floor, weeping.

"Explain yourself!" Danny yelled.

"I will! I promise I will, Danny." The maid met each of the sisters' gazes, first the angry Danny, then the sorrowful Noelle, then the disapproving Helen. The maid then turned to the floor, unable to face Helen's disappointment.

"Why?" Helen said. "That's all I want to know. Why?"

"I'm sure you know why," the maid said. Helen's eyes narrowed. "You don't want to admit it, but you know exactly why I would do such a thing. I'm sorry Helen, but I couldn't bear it. You've got to understand." The maid met the stares of Noelle and Danny. "And I'm sure everyone else will understand why I had to do it, too."

"Why?" Danny exclaimed for the final time. Her desperation had nearly driven her to tears.

The maid smiled sadly, stretching her arms out like she was about to give a big hug. "Because I'm Jan, your sister."