"Sophia, my dear child, I think you must have been sleepwalking," William suggested with concern as he and Augusta helped the young lady to her feet. Her screams and the crashing of objects had woken up the others who had come down to investigate. Even Jerome on the other side of the mansion in the servant's quarters had heard the commotion and come to help.

"No, father," Sophia insisted, "it was the sealman! He was in the house and I tried to follow him! Don't you see the water trail on the floor?"

At its mention, everyone looked to the floor.

"It does look wet..." William admitted.

"William, we're on an island in the Atlantic," Millie said, rolling her eyes, "it's not odd for there to be water all over."

Sophia turned to her step-mother with frustration. "No, Minnie, it is odd for there to be a trail of water streaking across the floor like this! It's a trail showing the direction the sealman ran!"

But Minnie was also frustrated- as far as she knew, it was just Sophia again acting out to get William's attention, just as earlier in the day; what childish behavior for a grown woman, she thought. "How do we know you didn't put this water here to try and make your crazy story from earlier seem believable?"

"I didn't do this! I just told you, it's from the sealman!"

From upstairs, the sounds of a baby crying suddenly echoed out.

"Great, all this yelling woke Horace," muttered Minnie. She shot an angry glance at Sophia. "You need to stop this, Sophia. I cannot be here all summer with you if you don't." She looked to her husband. "I won't be here all summer with you if you don't. "

Minnie walked off in a huff to comfort her child.

"Um, Sophia," Albert said softly as he pulled a handkerchief out of his robe pocket. "Your...your nose is bleeding."

"Thank you, Albert," Sophia sighed, kindly accepting his offering, "I fell on my face when I slipped on the water during the chase. Speaking of which, I need to follow this trail before it disappears-"

"-Miss Sophia," Jerome held up his hands to his employer's adult child, "please allow me to investigate instead. You have already injured yourself."

"Yes, Jerome, please investigate for her," answered William, sadly looking over Sophia. As the butler slipped away following the water line William took his daughter's hands in his.

"Sophia, my dear," he said slowly, "please, talk to me."

Sophia looked into her father's eyes.

"I know it was hard for you when your mother died. It was difficult for me too. But I have been fortunate to find Minnie to help me deal with the loss and move on. She has given me a son and she makes me happy. I don't expect you to see Minnie as a replacement for your mother, but you can't keep acting out like this just because you don't like her."

Sophia blinked. "...what?"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Minnie is right, isn't she? You did this, laid out this water, slammed your face into the ground so it would bleed. Perhaps as a way of coping with the recent changes in your life, getting attention, I don't know. That's why I need you to talk to me, Sophia."

Sophia withdrew her hands from her father's in a haste.

"Father," she gasped in disbelief, "are you saying you think I faked all this?"

"William," Augusta cut in, "Sophia has never been the sort to make something up. She is very honest, as well you know."

William looked to his sister-in-law sternly. "Augusta, are you saying you believe in sealmen now?"

"I...I didn't say that, William..."

William then turned to Albert. "I told you earlier not to patronize her. See what it's done?"

Albert said nothing. Like his mother, he knew his cousin was a good, truthful young lady. It was part of what made him so fond of her. But he too had not seen anything and the idea of a sealman was quite fantastical...

"Father," Sophia repeated, now with a fury, "are you saying you think I faked all this?"

"Sophia," William sighed, "you know there are no such things as sealmen..."

Tears swelled at the corner of Sophia's eyes. That her father didn't believe her was more painful than her earlier face plant into the floor.

"Oh, father!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling, "how can you doubt me? You never doubted me before she came into your life!" The 'she' she referred to, of course, was Minnie.

"Now, Sophia," Augusta said, trying to diffuse the situation, "your father is just trying to reason what is going on. And sealmen are, of course, very...um..."

Before she could continue, Jerome re-entered the room.

"Excuse me," he spoke in his baritone voice, "I have followed the water trail to its end."

"-And?!" Sophia was hopeful.

"I...I am not sure it is my place in polite company say what I found. But I have determined everything is safe at this time so I believe you can see for yourselves." The butler motioned for all present to follow.

They were led through the kitchen, out a back door and down a stone path. The moonlight, still bright, reflected off the water trail. But the trail abruptly stopped a few feet ahead as a distinct odor wafted in the air.

At the trail's end was a giant pile, and it wasn't of gold.

"Is...is that...?" William began but hesitated as he was in the presence of women.

Augusta had no such hesitations. "Yes, William. It's feces."

It wasn't quite the proof of a sealman Sophia had hoped for, but it was still something.

"He had seemed startled when I spotted him," she offered, "perhaps once he got away from me his natural response was to leave...this."

"I am no expert on such things," Jerome said, "but this appears to be quite fresh."

William, however, was shaking his head and appeared to be struggling. "Oh, Sophia," he exclaimed, "this is too much for me."

"What?" Sophia did not understand.

"That you set up a watery scene in the house, that you crashed into things and you gave yourself a bloody nose by extension to make your story believable, all that is bizarre enough. But that you also came out here and, to strengthen the story, did...this..."

"Father!" Sophia was aghast, tears returning, "I did not defecate out here! I didn't do any of this!"

"Oh, Sophia..." William continued to shake his head.

Sophia couldn't fight back her tears anymore. "Oh, father! How can you not believe me?!" Overcome by her emotions, Sophia rushed off back into the house. She slightly slipped again on the water trail that still coated the floor, but managed to regain her balance as she turned a corner and disappeared from view.

"William, how could you accuse Sophia of that?" Augusta repremanded.

"I'm sorry, Augusta," William replied, "I too hate to think such things. But what other possible explanation do you see?"

Augusta could offer no answer.

"...How dreadful," she slowly said.

Albert hung his head as the older adults spoke. Poor Sophia, he thought, knowing deep down she couldn't be responsible for any of this. Yet, like the others, it was hard to think what else could be going on.

Was it truly all Sophia, acting out or seeking attention? Or could there really be a sealman? If it was Sophia, she must have not defecated for days. The pile of feces was remarkable large, Albert observed. And remarkably stinky.

Sophia, in contrast, always smelled like lilacs and honey to Albert. No, she couldn't have been the producer of the droppings before them.

But then, if Sophia wasn't responsible for the excrement...who was?