Page 121 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
Briony cleared her throat to get Cardoso’s attention. He twisted around quickly, his hands twitching as he looked down at her.
Briony smiled. “Aye, Comodoro. I think I can do that.”
Taking Sides
“We’ve been at sea for two days, but your wound is healing at an incredible rate. I’ve never seen anything like it!” exclaimed the naval surgeon.
Well, you’ve never treated a selkie before, have you? Is it normal to heal this fast? Now that Niall’s gone, I don’ have anyone I can ask…
Or maybe ’tis just because Costa was na actually trying to kill me.
She sighed, wondering if the other ship had already reached land. By all rights, theSão Nicolaushould have, but perhaps they’d run into the same nasty fog that was holding up Cardoso’s ship.
When they’d first left Everton, Cardoso had pushed the men almost to their breaking point, hoping to get a glimpse of theSão Nicolau.But sometime during the night, fog had rolled in, veiling their path.
Visible from the window in her room, the fog was so thick it was almost tangible. Briony easily felt it when she reached out with her mind.
I’m confident that I could make it vanish if I wanted to, but part o’ me is glad we haven’ spotted theSão Nicolauyet. I don’ want Santiago to be caught.
On the other hand, she also feared what would happen if they didn’t catch up to them soon, for Cardoso didn’t seem like the sort to take her back home.
And what o’ the captain? He said he plans to marry Lucia, but I don’ know what he intends to do with Santiago. Comodoro Cardoso already believes Santiago is guilty o’ treason, so I don’ know how Costa plans to take him back into society… Or maybe he does na intend to do that at all?
Briony released a feral snarl. Ruminating on these questions was giving her a colossal headache.
The naval surgeon jumped in surprise. “Senhorita, are you all right? Do you need something to drink?”
Briony groaned and shook her head. “Nay, ’tis na something a doctor can fix. I appreciate yer concern though. And what you’ve done to help me recover.”
If only he were as good at fixing my sealskin.
The pelt lay behind Briony’s pillow, its warmth radiating like a comforting hand upon her back. Her soul ached at the thought of never wearing it again, never again riding the currents as a seal. She knew she should have left it safely at home, but after so many years of not knowing it even existed, she couldn’t bear to part with it.
Briony smiled a bit to allay the man’s concerns, grateful that at least one person on the ship cared about her well-being. Most of the men were suspicious of her, perhaps because it was considered unlucky to have a woman aboard. But she still preferred their company to that of Cardoso, who openly despised her.
She’d tried to explain to him what happened on the beach with Costa, sans the selkie part, but the commodore would hear none of it. Santiago hadn’t denied the charges, so Cardoso had no reason to believe the merchant innocent.
The “biased” testimony of a common Orcadian woman was not going to change his mind. To him, she was merely a tool for bringing a criminal to justice. When she’d called Cardoso out for his definition of “justice,” the man had barely restrained himself from slapping her across the face. Her ears still stung from his bellows of her stupidity and naivete.
Unless Santiago changed his plea or Costa freely admitted guilt, the commodore would be returning Santiago to Portugal, where he would stand trial.
Suddenly, a shout came from the crow’s nest: “São Nicolau!”
Briony frowned at the sound, her emotions a mixture of hope and dread.If I can get Costa away from Lucia, maybe, just maybe, I can convince Santiago to tell the commodore the truth. Then—She blushed.
Let’s na get ahead o’ ourselves, Briony. Dreams o’ the future can wait. If this does na go well, neither o’ us may have a future o’ any kind.
Briony shivered. She’d woken that morning in a cold sweat, her mind replaying the moment she’d been shot.Every decision Costa makes is to his own benefit; there’s no reason fer him to keep me alive anymore, so I’m sure he’ll kill me this time if he gets the chance.
I’ll just have to make sure he never gets that chance.
Briony and the surgeon both rose, but the man instantly ushered Briony back to bed. “I’ll return to check on you in a little while. Stay here where it’s safe.”
As soon as he was gone, Briony slowly stood, bracing herself against the bed. There was no way she would be staying inside, regardless of how safe it was.
Without warning, the cabin shook with the impact of what could only have been a cannonball!
BOOM! The sound rang in Briony’s ears for several seconds after the hit, reverberating through her mind and filling her with terror.
