(Control) Make Linda tell you the real reason she invited you

The main hall was a risky place to use the Ring of Ursa Minor, but Eric was the nosiest of the butlers, seemingly, and he'd just taken off. You snapped the fingers of the appropriate hand, while listening for the footsteps of any others and watching over your shoulder.

The onset of the trance state was almost immediate; her eyelids lowered, half-shading her eyes as their bright blue irises lit up an unusual green. Strands of her mousy hair fell across her forehead and Linda did nothing to brush them away, quite unlike her usual self. Her head tilted slightly towards her shoulder, like she was falling asleep standing up. You tried to remember if you'd ever seen her sleeping face before when you were younger...

At any rate, she was the one who needed to be daydreaming, not you. You asked the question that had been on your mind since you received the invitation to join her at Mesmer's Mansion: why you? Why invite a man as your plus one when you haven't seen him in years, when everyone's natural assumption will be that there's some sort of romantic interest between you and him? Why jump headfirst into that sort of awkwardness?

She blinked her eyes a few times, almost as though in confusion. It seemed like the question vexed her. "Because... I like you..."

Certainly there was more to it than that? You can reconnect with an old friend over tea at a nice cafe. It doesn't have to be a week long adventure at a mysterious, secluded island mansion. There must have been other friends she could have chosen.

"No I... really like you... we're both so busy with work... I thought this would be a... vacation," she mumbled, trying to watch your eyes with despite the way her own were spinning. "An excuse... to reconnect... be together for a while... have fun..."

You'd hoped for something along those lines. Now, you felt a little selfish, forcing it out of her, but while you had her captive like this, there was more you wanted to know. You asked her if she thought of you as more than a friend.

"Yes..."

Your heart beat quicker and you gulped loudly, waiting for more to spill out.

The situation was far from romantic. Her circle-framed glasses had gone slightly lopsided, threatening to tilt off the bridge of her nose, and her usual easy grin wasn't making it up to her face. "Inspiration... You are an inspiration for me... Ever since you became a detective... You inspired me..."

It wasn't quite the confession of true love you'd been angling for, though it was pretty charming all the same. You told her that she'd been a source of inspiration for you too. The mystery stories and movies you two had read together as kids had made you want to solve them yourself in a practical way.

"Oh... I'm happy..." she responded, although the smile on her face was mostly just the smile of restful sleep.

This might be a better conversation to have when you two were both sane and awake. You clicked your fingers and watched, curious to hear where the dialogue would pick back up.

As she recovered her senses, Linda blinked a few times more, than unconsciously allowed both hands up to her face, first fixing her glasses, then her hair. "Excuse me. We were just talking about the mystery... What were you asking?" she questioned, then laughed nervously. "Oh dear. I don't feel quite myself. I hope I haven't been running naked through the hallways."

You told her that nothing so exciting was happening. You two had just agreed to rely on each other as the case unfolds.

"Ah. A little daydream, then" she resolved. "Daydreams are a weakness of mine. That's where a lot of writing is born, as you might expect! At least I can still write on my laptop, even if my phone doesn't work. The place is modern enough to at least charge it."

You nodded, then reassured her you'd hand off her coat to a servant. You recommended she might go to her room and rest, then head off to the lounge by your lonesome to continue interrogating the others. The ring had given you some interesting insight just now, but not something you'd call a "clue" exactly. You had to hope that further interrogations would prove more fruitful.