“She’s feverish,” Bronwyn said, pressing a hand to the girl’s cheek. “She needs medicine.”
“First we’ll have to find our way out of this accursed forest,” said Millard.
“First we should eat,” said Enoch. “Let’s eat and discuss our options.”
“What options?” said Emma. “Pick a direction and we’ll walk in it. Any one’s as good as another.”
In sullen silence we sat and ate. I’ve never tasted dog food but I’m sure this was worse—brownish squares of congealed meat fat from rusted tins, which, lacking utensils, we dug out with our fingers.
“I packed five salted game hens and three tins of foie gras with cornichons,” Horace said bitterly, “and
“For what?” said Emma. “We’ve been perfect angels. Well, most of us.”
“The sins of past lives, maybe. I don’t know.”
“Peculiars don’t have past lives,” said Millard. “We live them all at once.”
We finished quickly, buried our empty tins, and prepared to go. Just as we were about to, Hugh burst through a thicket of bushes into our makeshift camp, bees circling his head in an agitated cloud. He was out of breath with excitement.
“Where have
“I needed some privacy to attend to my morning never-you-minds,” Hugh said, “and I found—”
“Who gave you permission to be out of visual range?” Enoch said. “We nearly left without you!”
“Who says I need permission? Anyway, I saw—”
“You can’t just wander away like that! What if you’d gotten lost?”
“We’re
“You ignoramus! What if you couldn’t find your way back?”
“I left a trail of bees, like I always do—”
“Would you kindly
“Thank you,” said Hugh, and then he turned and pointed back the way he’d come. “I saw water. Quite a lot of it, through the trees there.”
Emma’s face clouded. She said, “We’re trying to get
