“Yes, we need Phin to decide what to do,” Roy agrees.
“With Mr. Breyers’s demise, Leopold is alone in the house. Now is the perfect time to get Phin—” Iloop my arm through Ruth’s and start toward the house.
“Hide!” Roy and Raymond take flight while the rest of us bellyflop onto the ground. An inch of frigid water sloshes between us, coating Ruth’s vibrant scales. I roll to my side and curl my body around my eggs to protect them.
Leopold’s top hat stands proud as he storms from the house in his best suit. The coattails flap behind him in a macabre parody of his creature’s tails. What if he secretly wants to be one of his hybrids? It would explain his giddiness at my breeding with Phin. Why else would he be so keen on giving his wife away? I hold this in my heart because it hurts less than the truth. The booboisie never loved me, and my joining his experiments was always the plan. He said so himself.
But I bet he never planned on me falling in love.
“Do you think he saw us?” Thomas asks from a stand of reeds. His tail swishes, surrounding us in gentle ripples.
“No,” I whisper. “He’s lost in his head, dreaming of impressing the other scientists. We are all in danger of becoming specimens at the World’s Fair. I know you don’t know what that is, but it means people from around the world will gawk, poke, and study our bodies while we rot in cages. Leopold could sell us there like cattle, splitting us into laboratories all over the world. You would never seethis swamp or each other again.”
“He won’t sell us! He won’t give us up. I know because he won’t let us die when we’re injured. How would he continue his experiments without us?” Ruth scoots closer to me as she shivers with fear.
“If Leopold can sell you to the scientists, they must credit him in their research. It’s how he will gain fame, popularity, and admiration, which he wants more than anything else.”
“Didn’t you adore him when you married him? In fairytales, the couple is deeply in love during the wedding at the end,” Ruth whispers.
“I did adore him, but he didn’t adore me. He married me as a favor to my father when he couldn’t provide for me due to his failing health.”
“Wasn’t your adoration enough?” Ruth’s questions rip the scab off old wounds that I wish were healed. Despite my love for Phin, the sting of Leopold’s rejection still hurts. I didn’t desire the man, only reciprocated feelings. In our brief time together, Phin showed me more love than anyone ever has. Having someone who puts your needs first is addictive. How could Leopold take my loving him for granted? Will he have remorse when I’m gone?
“Apparently not,” I croak before clearing the tears from my throat. No time for old wounds when a new beginning rises like a second sun.If we are to survive together, I must believe in him. “I’m not a scientist. My father thought the degree and title would hurt my marriage prospects. Turns out my plain face, intelligence, and outspoken nature did that for me.”
“Phin adores you. You’re his starlight,” Thomas whispers as Leopold disappears in the stables.
“That’s why I need him at my side. Come on.”
I crawl in hopes of blending into the swaying grass of our yard. My protruding belly sloshes in the puddles and swishes against the mud. Ruth slithers at my side. Thomas crawls behind with a few siblings who didn’t introduce themselves.
We could cut the risk in half by waiting for Leopold to leave the grounds, but what if Phin needs medical care? What if he’s bleeding or starving in some hole under the house? We wasted too much time at the swamp bank, waiting for my head to clear and my body to recuperate from Mr. Breyers’s attack. Recruiting the hybrids to my side before attempting to save Phin was the right decision…I think.
My heart jumps into my mouth when the hoofbeats of our horses clap on the cement stable threshold. I wave my arm for everyone to flatten themselves to the ground seconds before our carriage emerges from the stables. Leopold’s hat bounces as the carriage, designed for city roads of cobblestones or bricks, struggles with our rugged driveway. The large, thin wheels throw mud onto the cab. By thetime the carriage reaches the road, it won’t be a handsome black anymore. At least the less durable construction makes the vehicle lighter and easier on our aged horses.
Why would Leopold drive an empty carriage? Why wouldn’t he just saddle a horse and ride to town? Either he plans to ride the two-day journey to Louisville and intends to sleep in the cab on the side of the road, or he found scientists closer to us than I imagined.
Who could travel to Kentucky so quickly, and how much time do I have to escape them?
As soon as Leopold turns the carriage to head in the opposite direction of the house, I crawl at double my former speed. One arm cradles my egg-filled belly while the other three limbs hold me half a foot above the ground. The hot summer sun, which I praised for burning off the fog, now attacks the mud. Oh damn! With each step, the ground is harder. My knee screams louder with the constant pressure under my kneecap, but I don’t dare slow down. Every second counts with Leopold already on the road and the possibility of visitors. I miss the days when a querent had to send a letter by post, wait for a reply, and then make preparations to visit.
Society moves too fast. Perhaps that’s what attracts meto raft life.
I want slow romance and lazy days with Phin.
Roy and Raymond circle the house before landing against the mud room door. I can’t believe I snuck out of this same entrance less than a week ago to mingle with plants. I went from feeling trapped and alone to leading an army of hybrids to a haven of our own. How much my life has changed! My cousin Elenor will have to fend off the gossip after my fall from grace, but her opinion is all that I care about. She won’t see this as the ending of a long descent into obscurity, but as me finding my freedom. No matter where I land, I must write this tale and send it to her…
I must say my goodbye and explain how I chose Phin.
I’d choose him a thousand times over parties, dancehalls, and glittery dresses. Those things didn’t fill me with happiness or love. They were distractions from the horrors occurring under my roof. As we enter the house, the damning evidence is everywhere I look. Why do we own so many cattle prods, floggers, and knives? Why do they hang on the wall for ease of access?
I lived in a nightmare but ignored the warning signs in favor of the leisure culture—even though I only got my dose once a year in Boston. I’m light on my feet as if twirling on the dance floor when I creep through the kitchen and down the hallway to the staircase. My boots squeak, and I wince with everystep. Nobody is here, but the hairs on my arm stand in alarm. The brush of tails on the wooden floor—in need of another coat of wax—rings in my ears. Why is everything so loud?
This is ridiculous!
I am the mistress of this household and should walk through it with authority…but it wasn’t mine, not really. Leopold said he had another wife, but Phin alluded to many women staying in this house. Were they courted by Leopold? Wives? Mistresses? Maids? Prostitutes? Or worse…women he abducted?
“If I leave, who will be next?”
