The Family Upstairs

One night, in Chelsea, in 1992, two weeks after David lets Henry free from his room, David announces to the group that Henry’s sister is pregnant with David’s child. Henry’s sister is only 14. Henry and Clemency are horrified, but Henry realizes, “I could not believe that I had never seen it before, had not seen that my stupid little sister had fallen for the whole thing” (262). Henry realizes that when the baby is born, David could gain ownership of the house. Henry decides to search David’s belongings for his parents’ will and paperwork about the house. Henry finds an herbal remedy in one of the books left behind by Justin that “promised a few moments of general befuddlement and sleepiness” (263-64). Following the instructions in the book, Henry plucks a few springs of deadly nightshade that he’d grown secretly in the herb garden and makes them into an herbal tea for David and Birdie. David and Birdie enjoy the tea and each drink a full cup. Afterword, David and Birdie feel drowsy, and Henry helps them lie down in their bedroom. Henry hasn’t been inside David’s bedroom since before Sally left.