Page 32 of A Secret Cornish Wish
We all crowd round to look at the barrel.
‘There!’ Rob points as Eddie turns the barrel around. ‘On the bottom. There’s some numbers.’
‘I think it says . . . something 1824.’ Eddie squints at the barrel. ‘But some of the letters and numbers have rubbed off, so it’s a bit difficult to see properly.’
He lifts the barrel again to get a better look, and something rattles inside.
‘What was that?’ Suzy asks. ‘It doesn’t sound like liquid.’
‘I’m out!’ Mandy says, sitting back down on the rug. ‘If there’s no alcohol left inside, what’s the point?’
‘Can we prise it open, do you think?’ I ask. ‘Then we could see what’s inside. I don’t suppose anyone has a penknife or something similar on them?’
‘Funnily enough, no.’ Eddie grins at me. ‘Knives aren’t something I usually carry.’
‘Don’t touch it!’ Claire suddenly announces this in a commanding voice, very unlike her usual tone.
We all turn to look at her.
‘What’s wrong, Claire?’ I ask. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost!’
‘Not a ghost,’ Claire says, her voice trembling now. ‘But I think we might have seen a mermaid . . . ’
Nine
‘What on earth are you talking about, Claire?’ Suzy asks. ‘There’s no such thing as mermaids.’
‘Claire, come and sit down,’ I say gently. Claire is looking very pale and I’m quite worried about her. Perhaps she’s had a bad reaction to the alcohol?
Claire does as I suggest and sits herself down on the same rock we were rehearsing on only a short while ago.
‘Now what do you mean you think we’ve seen a mermaid?’ I ask, sitting down next to her.
‘Not seen exactly, more been in the presence of one.’ Claire still looks shocked. ‘Haven’t any of you heard the story about the Mermaid of St Felix?’ she asks, looking round at us all. ‘No? Not even you, Rob?’
Rob frowns. ‘Why would I know anything about it?’
‘The Merry Mermaid is called what it is because of this story. I thought you’d know it since your parents run the pub now.’
Rob shakes his head.
‘I can’t believe none of you know this,’ Claire says, looking surprised.
Mandy folds her arms. ‘For the love of St Piran, will you just tell us, Claire!’
‘I’m just about to, Mandy!’ Claire gives her a look. ‘If you’ll just give me a minute!’ She takes a breath. ‘So, the story is, that one night a maid who worked at Tregarlan Castle – that’s the big house up on the hill above St Felix Bay,’ she explains for Rob’s benefit.
Rob nods. ‘Yes, I know it.’
‘The maid stole some jewellery from her bosses. She was stealing to order for a gang of pirates, and she was supposed to float the stolen jewellery out to the pirates’ boat in an empty whisky barrel in exchange for payment. But the story goes she couldn’t find an empty barrel, so she stole one that was half full from the local public house, rolled it down to the beach, then drank the contents so it would be empty enough to float the jewellery in.’
‘Why didn’t she just tip it out?’ Suzy asks, ever practical. ‘If she was by the sea, why didn’t she just tip it out instead of drinking it all.’
‘Thatwould have been such a waste,’ Mandy says. ‘She probably did the right thing – double bubble for her.’
‘Hardly,’ Claire says stoutly. ‘She drowned.’
‘Oh no!’ I’m totally caught up in Claire’s tale. ‘Really?’
