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that her new life in Quebeck
hadn't turned out half bad. No, not bad at all, everything
considered, which was why she had gone to Brownsville. Her rooming
house was paid for, the Good Eats Caf6 was making money, and she'd
managed to save five hundred dollars—two hundred of which was going
for new paint, fabric, and furniture. The rooms she was renting out
could do with refurbishing, and she could finally afford it. The
remainder of the money would go toward buying the house the café
occupied. It was much smaller but had a big porch encircling it and
was structurally sound; she'd be able to own it instead of renting,
and equity was something else which just made good old common
sense.
    She'd enjoyed Brownsville—the dressing up,
the shopping, the bargaining, and the two nights spent at a real
hotel. She'd almost forgotten how much fun a city could be. Of
course, it wasn't Boston or New York or Philadelphia, but still, it
would have been a perfect trip had it not been for Jenny. The
trouble had started as soon as they'd left Quebeck. Driving past
Geron's Fields, they came across Szabo's Traveling Circus and Freak
Show. The big blue tent was just being pitched, and suddenly Jenny
no longer wanted to go to Brownsville. She wanted to stay and see
the circus instead.
    She had bounced up and down on the buggy
seat.
    'Look, Auntie!' she squealed. 'A freak show's
come to town!'
    Elender frowned disapprovingly at the
brightly painted wagons.
    'Can't we stay here, Auntie?' Jenny begged.
' Please? I want to see the freaks!'
    'We will not put off this trip,'
Elender said concisely. She narrowed her eyes. 'You have looked
forward to it for two weeks and so have I. And I still am.' And
with that she determinedly snapped the reins to make the horse trot
even faster.
    But it did not move fast enough: Jenny caught
sight of two dwarfs, obviously arguing. Elender, who did not like
to come face-to-face with human misery, quickly averted her eyes.
And in doing so saw the child.
    She was at the roadside, pushing through the
weeds, plucking sunflowers. As Elender watched, the little girl
brought the bouquet up to her nose and sniffed it. Then she
wrinkled her nose and looked up.
    What a beautiful child she was! So tiny and
delicate, so perfectly . . . angelic . For an instant their
eyes met, and the girl smiled disarmingly. There was a happiness in
that smile such as Elender had never seen.
    The magical moment was broken by Jenny.
'She's one of the freaks, isn't she?'
    Elender did not reply. She could only wonder
how Jenny had turned out the way she had. She is so unlike me,
Elender thought. How did that happen? I've tried to do
everything for her. Give her everything. Is that the problem? Or is
it because the child has no father?
    Everyone in Quebeck knew that Elender Hannah
Clowney was a spinster and that Jenny was her orphaned
niece—because that was what she had told them when they had first
arrived. It was the first and last lie she had ever told.
    Spinster. Well, it wasn't far from the truth.
After all, she didn't have a husband. But Jenny wasn't her
niece.
    She was her daughter.
    Elender had not planned to have a child,
certainly not out of wedlock. She'd just turned sixteen when it had
happened. When Arthur Jason Cromwell's parents had sailed for
Europe. She had been one of Mrs. Cromwell's chambermaids, and the
night of the sailing, she and Arthur had been alone in the big
brick house on Boston's Beacon Hill. He'd given the rest of the
servants a free night out. And told her to stay. She'd never forget
that night as long as she lived.
    She was in the kitchen when he rang for her.
She glanced up at the bell register, surprised that the ringing did
not come from the public rooms or his own. It came from his
father's bedroom, which was just next door to the missus'.
    She hurried upstairs and knocked on the
door.
    'Come in!'
    Slowly she opened the door. The room was dark
and warm, and he was sprawled in a tufted armchair in the corner,
his