The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle Mcquerry

Author:Maureen Doyle Mcquerry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amulet Books | New York
Published: 2012-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

JIMSON ESCORTED PANSY TO HER ROOM, PROMISING TO RETURN with a cup of tea to settle her nerves. “This must all be a terrible shock for you, especially when you’re still tired from your travels. I’ll bring you some tea and tell you everything that’s been going on.”

Lena dismissed them both with a snort. What was Jimson thinking? They needed to find Mr. Beasley now and confront him before he could do any more damage. Thank goodness the marshal had a plan in place.

The first person she found was Milo. He was in the kitchen, adding dried basil from the garden to a simmering pot of stew.

“Where’s Mr. Beasley?” Lena’s face was pale, her lips set in a thin, determined line.

“He’s making a call. Mrs. Pollet isn’t feeling well at all and I’m—”

“I saw what he was doing in the laboratory.” The picture she was trying so hard to forget was seared to her brain. “He was doing something to Mrs. Pollet. Her back was all scars.”

Jimson appeared in the doorway. Lena turned her back to him.

Milo wiped his hands on a towel and replaced the lid on the great iron pot. “Mr. Beasley is a medical man. His way is to help, not to harm. It’s that oath they make them all take.”

“But I saw him—saw him with a syringe.” Lena couldn’t keep the panic from her voice.

“Without Tobias Beasley, Leticia Pollet would be working in the mines of Scree along with her daughter, the one that’s left.”

“Her daughter?” Jimson was at Lena’s side. “Does she have a daughter here?”

Milo shook his head. “I thought you all knew about the goings-on at the house. Thought that’s why you came.” He looked pointedly at Lena. “Tobias Beasley has been helping Peculiars escape a life in Scree.”

He continued. “Leticia has sump’n rare, I can’t remember the fancy name. Folks don’t see it much anymore. But she growed wings. Mr. Beasley does this operation that cuts them off and then has to treat her every six months or so or they’ll grow back. Her daughter’s got the same thing. The wings don’t come till adolescence, so Leticia brought her here to get help.”

Lena, feeling that the world was spinning, leaned on the wooden table. “You said ‘the one that’s left.’”

“Ay-yuh. Leticia and Arthur had another daughter, Arabelle. Arthur isn’t—wasn’t—a Peculiar. They thought they stood a chance for a normal life, but when the first daughter, Arabelle, reached twelve or thirteen, the wings sprouted and the family got sent to Scree. Then the other girl, Merilee, showed signs of the same problem. That’s when they escaped and came here. Merilee’s fifteen now and just had her wings removed.”

“That’s who I saw on the widow’s walk? I’m not crazy after all.”

Lena could see the relief in Jimson’s face.

“How did they know to come here?” Lena’s heart was racing.

“The word gets spread to those who need it. Zephyr House’s always been a sanctuary of sorts.” Milo nodded toward Lena. “You can see how I thought you were needing a place to go, what with the new decrees and all.

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