put her hand to her forehead and Iola nudged the teacup closer to her.
“Drink it all up,” she said. “It’ll make things a lot easier on you.”
Olivia’s brow creased, but she let Iola’s strange remark slip by and obediently
drained the cup.
“Well, I guess it’s time we got to it,” Iola said.
Olivia rose and put her hand to her forehead. “I’m feeling so lightheaded. I’m
sorry, but I don’t know how I’m going to make it out to the barn, let alone help
you with your work.”
Iola took her elbow. “Don’t you worry none. That’s just the tea taking its
effect. Soon everything will be all over and you’ll feel right as rain.” She led Olivia outside.
Filmore was nowhere to be seen. Iola gave the barn door a shove and it rattled
open on its iron rail. Olivia didn’t see any fruit or drying racks. The barn was empty, except for a bed pushed up against one of the walls. Iola guided her to it.
“What’s a bed doing out here?” Olivia asked, feeling groggy.
“You’re looking a little pale, dear. You best have you a nice lie down.”
Iola sat her on the bed, where Olivia soon collapsed and passed out.
Chapter Thirty
When Olivia regained consciousness her first impulse was to curl up on her
side and hug her knees. But she couldn’t. She was flat on her back, her arms over
her head. Her shoulders and neck ached, and something was cutting into her
wrists. Grogginess gave way to terror that she was paralyzed or trapped under a
fallen tree, and her eyes snapped open. She was under a roof. The surface
beneath her was soft. Then she turned her head and saw Iola, sitting on a hard-
back chair, haloed in the rays of sunlight that slanted through the open barn door.
A cloud of dust motes danced around the black Bible she was holding. Still in a
daze, Olivia opened her mouth to speak Iola’s name, but some instinct silenced
her.
Carefully, not wanting to draw Iola’s attention, Olivia moved each limb an
inch or two. No, she wasn’t paralyzed. She was capable of moving her arms and
legs, but they were restrained. She forced her chin to her chest and saw that she
was barefoot. Ropes bound her ankles to the foot of the bed. Why on earth
would Mrs. Stubblefield tie her to a bed in the barn?
Olivia willed her muscles to relax and her mind to think. She remembered
nothing but feeling woozy. Could she have become delirious? Perhaps they’d
had to restrain her for her own safety. Or maybe she had some illness that was so
contagious she had to be quarantined. No, that didn’t make sense. This bed had
already been in the barn before she got there. She did remember that. Iola had practically shoved her down onto it. Fruit. They were supposed to be drying
fruit, but there hadn’t been any. The barn had been empty, except for this bed and
a pile of hay. Maybe Iola thought she’d seen the symptoms of an awful disease
in Olivia and tricked her into coming over. But Olivia had been feeling fine. No
fever. The only thing wrong with her was whatever had been in that God-awful
