The Daughters of Caliban
by
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There were still rumors that Argo Lane had once been married to Austin Bayard. Her studio and residence in the large gatehouse of the old ruined estate seemed friendly to this speculation, though no one could remember a ceremony or announcement. She had simply been noticed one day inhabiting the gatehouse, and she'd remained there ever since. Not long after her appearance there, she began taking new students for art and design lessons. Now Emma said, with a tightening rise of resentment, 'Why in the world would I want to start her on that subject? She's got her own memories of him. We should let her be.'
'Well, for openers, that little skeleton washed up a couple days ago-- it's one of the girls, ain't it?' the big woman leaned forward and whispered greedily. 'Once, lately, when I drove by there, I seen a glow.'
Emma frowned her to silence. 'Hush now, Sheila. Who can say? There's no way for us to know-- you and me, I mean. Sooner or later the police will come in and maybe we'll find out. Till then, people who remember-- they'll say it's one of the girls anyway. And those who don't-- they'll say it too. It makes good talk.'
'Well, I think the flood's too much on their mind right now, but if they do start to talk about those sweet children, they can kiss my titty, pardon my French.' Shiela Panternot wiped the length of the counter with a clean, sweet-smelling cloth, lifting the bud vases of silk asters. She whacked Desmond expertly on the head to move him out of her way. 'This all's for us were a part of it.' She shook her head, 'But I would've swore all three of them girls got sent away, Miss Emma. I would've swore they'd all be grandmas theirself by now.' She paused, then rose again with a faint color of irritation in her voice, 'Pardon me for sayin', as a matter of fact, but me and the help's been talkin'-- oh no, not Sarah, I never mentioned a word to Sarah Wirsap-- and as we recalled, since you and Miss Ruth was baby-sittin' in those days, you was the ones most like to know the inside of it. I disremember for certain, but I do think it was you who told us-- all three of them children got sent away.'
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About the Book
As their benefactor is brought down by the sex-phobic elders of a spiteful town, a mother and her daughters seek comfort and love.
The widow Seldy arrives in Eula, Pa., with her two young daughters as World War II comes to a close. At the same time, the wealthy and enigmatic Austin Bayard comes to town and builds his estate, changing the tone and tempo of Eula forever. As the girls grow, they are pulled into Bayard's orbit, and there, they shape their own use of him.
Now Eula's old-guard powerbrokers conspire in Bayard's arrest and trial for carnal knowledge of the minor children. Bayard flees to Italy, abandoning his estate and those he leaves behind. Years later, a child's bones are discovered on property next to Bayard's. The skeleton has been there for forty years and belongs to one of the children named in Bayard's trial. The mystery revives the town's pain and draws the principal actors back to the past with fatal consequences.
The Daughters of Caliban is a small-town Gothic story. It says that miracles come from the heart, and love is neverending, that bitter lessons learned from betrayal and revenge are redeemed by trust and love.