“Althea!” Miss Wren said sharply. “You mustn’t wander off like that while the passage is open—anything at all might wander in here!”
“Yes, mistress,” the girl said, then cocked her head slightly.
“Who are they, mistress?”
“These are Miss Peregrine’s wards. The ones I was telling you about.”
“Have they brought any food with them? Or medicine? Or anything useful at all?” The girl spoke with excruciating slowness, her voice as wooden as her expression.
“No more questions until you’ve closed up,” Miss Wren said. “Quick now!”
“Yes, mistress,” the girl said, and with no apparent sense of urgency she ambled away down the tunnel, dragging her hands along the walls as she went.
“Apologies for that,” said Miss Wren. “Althea doesn’t mean to be obstinate; she’s just naturally mulish. But she keeps the wolves at bay, and we badly need her. We’ll wait here until she returns.”
Miss Wren sat on the bottom step, and as she lowered herself I could almost hear her old bones creaking. I didn’t know what she meant by
“Miss Wren, how did you know who we are?” asked Emma. “We never said.”
“It’s an ymbryne’s business to know,” she replied. “I have watchers in the trees from here to the Irish Sea. And besides, you’re famous! There’s only one ymbryne whose wards were able to slip the corrupted’s grasp complete and entire, and that’s Miss Peregrine. But I’ve no idea how you made it this far without being captured —or how in peculiardom you found me!”
“A boy at the carnival directed us here,” said Enoch. He raised a hand level with his chin. “About yea big? Wearing a silly hat?”
“One of our lookouts,” said Miss Wren, nodding. “But how did you find
“We caught one of your spy pigeons,” Emma said proudly, “and she led us to this loop.” (She left out the part about Miss Peregrine having killed it.)
“My pigeons!” Miss Wren exclaimed. “But how did you know about them? Much less
Then Millard stepped forward. He had borrowed Horace’s disguising-room overcoat to keep from freezing, and though Miss Wren didn’t seem surprised to see a coat hovering in the air, she was astonished when the invisible
