I let out a breath.

“She here,” she say. “I’ll call you tonight.”

WHEN I GET TO Miss Leefolt’s, the house is real quiet. I reckon Li’l Man still sleeping. Mae Mobley already gone to school. I put my bag down in the laundry room. The swinging door to the dining room is closed and the kitchen is a nice cool square.

I put the coffee on and say a prayer for Minny. She can stay out at Octavia’s for a while. Octavia got a fair-size farmhouse, from what Minny’s told me. Minny be closer to her job, but it’s far from the kids’ schools. Still, what’s important is, Minny’s away from Leroy. I never once heard her say she gone leave Leroy, and Minny don’t say things twice. When she do things, they done the first time.

I fix a bottle a milk for Li’l Man and take a deep breath. I feel like my day’s already done and it’s only eight o’clock in the morning. But I still ain’t tired. I don’t know why.

I push open the swinging door. And there be Miss Leefolt and Miss Hilly setting down at the dining room table on the same side, looking at me.

For a second, I stand there, gripping the bottle a milk. Miss Leefolt still got her hair curlers in and she in her blue quilted bathrobe. But Miss Hilly’s all dressed up in a blue plaid pantsuit. That nasty red sore still on the side a her lip.

“G’morning,” I say and start to walk to the back.

“Ross is still sleeping,” Miss Hilly say. “No need to go back there.”

I stop where I am and look at Miss Leefolt, but she staring at the funny L-shaped crack in her dining room table.

“Aibileen,” Miss Hilly says and she lick her lips. “When you returned my silver yesterday, there were three pieces missing out of that felt wrapper. One silver fork and two silver spoons.”

I suck in a breath.“Lemme—lemme go look in the kitchen, maybe I left some behind.” I look at Miss Leefolt to see if that’s what she want me to do, but she keep her eyes on the crack. A cold prickle creeps up my neck.

“You know as well as I do that silver’s not in the kitchen, Aibileen,” Miss Hilly say.

“Miss Leefolt, you checked in Ross’s bed? He been sneaking things and sticking em—”

Miss Hilly scoff real loud.“Do you hear her, Elizabeth? She’s trying to blame it on a toddler.”

My mind’s racing, I’m trying to remember if I counted the silver before I put it back in the felt. I think I did. I always do. Law, tell me she ain’t saying what I think she saying—

“Miss Leefolt, did you already check the kitchen? Or the silver closet? Miss Leefolt?”

But she still won’t look at me and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know, yet, how bad this is. Maybe this ain’t about silver, maybe this is really about Miss Leefolt andChapter Two . . .

“Aibileen,” Miss Hilly say, “you can return those pieces to me by today, or else Elizabeth is going to press charges.”

Miss Leefolt look at Miss Hilly and suck in a breath, like she surprised. And I wonder whose idea this whole thing is, both of em or just Miss Hilly’s?

“I ain’t stole no silver service, Miss Leefolt,” I say and just the words make me want a run.

Miss Leefolt whisper,“She says she doesn’t have them, Hilly.”

Miss Hilly don’t even act like she heard. She raise her eyebrows at me and say, “Then it behooves me to inform you that you are fired, Aibileen.” Miss Hilly sniff. “I’ll be calling the police. They know me.”

“Maa-maaaa,” Li’l Man holler from his crib in the back. Miss Leefolt look behind her, then at Hilly, like she ain’t sure what to do. I reckon she just now thinking about what it’s gone be like if she don’t have a maid no more.

“Aaai-beee,” Li’l Man call, starting to cry.

“Aai-bee,” call another small voice and I realizeMae Mobley’s home. She must not’ve gone to school today. I press on my chest.Lord, please don’t let her see this. Don’t let her hear what Miss Hilly saying about me. Down the hall, the door opens and Mae Mobley walks out. She blinks at us and coughs.

“Aibee, my froat hurts.”

“I—I be right there, baby.”

Mae Mobley coughs again and it sounds bad, like a dog barking, and I start for the hall, but Miss Hilly say,“Aibileen, you stay where you are, Elizabeth can take care of her kids.”

Miss Leefolt look at Hilly like,Do I have to? But then she get up and trudge down the hall. She take Mae Mobley into Li’l Man’s room and shut the door. It’s just two of us left now, me and Miss Hilly.

Miss Hilly lean back in her chair, say,“I won’t tolerate liars.”

My head swimming. I want to set down.“I didn’t steal no silver, Miss Hilly.”

“I’m not talking about silver,” she say, leaning forward. She hissing in a whisper so Miss Leefolt don’t hear her. “I’m talking about those things you wrote about Elizabeth. She has no idea Chapter Two is about her and I am too good of a friend to tell her. And maybe I can’t send you to jail for what you wrote about Elizabeth, but I can send you to jail for being a thief.”