Free Abominations by P. S. Power Page A

anything. Mr. Vernor gave her two cards. The first would allow her to contact him, twenty-four hours a day, he told her.
      The second card would put her in touch with his solicitor.
      “He'll be able to pay your monthly stipend. It's only what Katherine had to draw on, so please don't hesitate to ask if you ever need more. Thank you.” He touched her hand gently before he left. The move almost made Gwen jump, but she suppressed the urge. He wasn't trying to hit her or anything, just be... fatherly?
      She looked at everyone left in the room and asked no one in particular why he'd thanked her after offering to give her money. To her surprise Bethany answered her with the same factual tone she used for everything.
      “You didn't blame them for what their daughter has done. If this becomes public, the scandal could ruin them socially and financially. By not blaming them, or even their daughter, you've functionally stated that you won't take this public.”
      Peals nodded. “Good show that, too. Robert Vernor is one of the largest shipping magnates in the world. Destroying him could actually harm the world economy. Much better to avoid that if possible.”
      The nurse brought some small sandwiches and tea for everyone, Gwen making sure that Bethany ate several and drank a cup of tea as well. The woman did it efficiently, staring off at the wall behind Gwen, to her right, while she chewed and swallowed more than a little mechanically.
      As they ate, Gwen looked at everyone and asked what the next step was.
      “Because, well, those SOBs have killed four people and stabbed me in the chest. I normally try to forgive and forget, but this time I think I'm taking it personally for some reason...”
 
 
 
 
Chapter five
 
 
 
 
      The next day Doctor Schmidt surprised her by having Nurse Rogers bring her some clothing to wear and telling her that she could be discharged as soon as she'd cleaned up and dressed. This idea didn't feel as good to Gwen as she thought it might, once she realized that she didn't have anywhere to go in this world. An entire planet where she didn't have even a clue about fitting in.
      It hit her all at once, a weight descended on her, nearly crushing her at first. She took a few deep breaths and straightened herself to her full height as she stood next to the bed. She noticed suddenly that she was a good bit taller than she used to be, nearly a foot, maybe more. Five-six? She looked down, seeing well-proportioned limbs and a flat stomach, her body carrying a normal appearance under the plain white hospital gown.
      After a few minutes, the nurse smiling at her encouragingly and selecting an outfit for her to wear out of some clothes that had come over night, she found herself led down the hallway to the showers. In the hall, decorated in cool blues and rich wood, polished to shining, she noticed that all the doors seemed to be well decorated with various carvings on the outside, flowers mainly with a few birds now and then, each door seemed to be unique, as if hand carved.
      The shower room itself, which turned out to be at the end of the hall and around the corner to the left, baffled her at first and she had to have Rogers show her how to turn the water on. Most of it looked normal, tile floor, dark polished stone walls of marble, but the fixtures...
      “Oh, is that different here then? You see the two indices here?” Pointing to a set of plates, built into the wall itself, recessed in a hole about two inches deep, they seemed to be made of copper or brass to her. “Just run your hand between them, from the inside out to turn the water on, and outside in to turn them off. The right side is cold water the left warm. Water, shoots out of the top there...” She pointed upward to a spigot about six and a half feet up.
      Gwen smiled and thanked her, the woman turning away so that