Page 132 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
But a small voice in his mind told him that Cardoso was right.I’m no murderer, and I’m not going to let my hatred turn me into one.
With a sigh, he released Costa, who promptly dropped to his knees as he attempted to catch his breath.
“Answer this for me, then, Costa. Why did you want to marry my sister in the first place?” Santiago asked.
Costa looked up with overt disgust. “For your title, of course. The one you wanted to pretend didn’t exist. After the attempt on the king’s life failed and my family was executed, I knew I’d lost all chance of coming into my birthright as a Távora. My only other option was to marry into nobility, and your sister was the most obvious choice. You didn’t want to be noble, so I figured I could convince you to give up your rights and hand them over to the two of us once we wed. Or I could just kill you if you didn’t agree and the title would transfer over anyway.”
Santiago gritted his teeth, part of him regretting having asked the question.It’s not that surprising, but it just sounds so heartless coming out of his mouth. How did I ever mistake him for a friend?
Santiago turned away, but his gaze happened to land upon Lucia again, which made the lump in his throat return full force. He shut his eyes tightly, unwilling to allow any more tears to fall in front of the man who’d stolen his entire family.
A hand on his shoulder startled him, and he jumped away before realizing it was Cardoso. Santiago had been so entrenched in his grief that he hadn’t even registered the sounds of the commodore’s boat approaching or even of the commodore joining him in Costa’s vessel.
There was pity in Cardoso’s eyes as he said, “We’ll get your sister aboard theSão Nicolau. Then you can take her home.”
Home. When Santiago heard the word, Briony’s face filled his mind. He knew Cardoso had been speaking of Aveiro, but without Lucia there, all his ties to the physical place had snapped like the broken ropes of his ship. Now, more than ever, he knew that Briony, and Briony alone, was his home. His eyes shifted back to the spot where she’d been, but it was just empty sea. The seal was nowhere to be found.
*
Briony slipped away, overwhelmed with guilt at the death of yet another person she’d cared about. And this one was someone Santiago held dear, making it all the worse. She took one last glance at him, unable to cry in this form but still feeling the urge to as she watched Santiago mourn his sister. Briony had no words to comfort him, no solution to ease his pain.Especially na when I was the cause o’ it.
At least Costa’s true self had become known and he was now in custody. After everything he’d done, Comodoro Cardoso would make sure the man came to justice, and that also meant that Santiago’s name would soon be cleared. He would be able to live freely again without fear.
So there’s no reason fer me to remain any longer.
Perhaps it was a blessing to be in seal form at that moment, for even though she couldn’t shed tears, she also didn’t have to try to find a way to say goodbye. It was incredibly difficult, but she knew that was what she had to do. After failing to protect Lucia, she didn’t have the strength or courage to face Santiago again.
Santiago may think he loves me, but what if he starts to resent me over time? And what if my “otherness” becomes too much fer him? Nay, ’tis far better fer him to forget about me and leave all these bad memories behind.
With a heavy heart, the selkie submerged once more and started her journey back to Everton. Back to a small town that most people wouldn’t give a second glance. A town that she’d grown to love more than she’d ever thought she would. A town of stubbornness and pride but also resilience and determination. Briony was sure the village would recover, and she would be right there to help it in every way she could.
Epilogue
Six weeks later
“Are you ready, Mistress Fairborn?”
Briony blinked a few times and turned to Vicar Peterson, who held out the cog[40]expectantly.
“O’ course!” Briony grabbed it and took a great swallow of ale. She blinked a few times as she tried to recover, unused to such a strong brew.
“Here you go, Mr. Levins.” Everyone cheered as she passed the drink to the old man, who chugged it for so long that everyone thought he would pass out.
But then he burped and muttered something about poor-quality ale.
Briony laughed, for once enjoying his cantankerousness. After all, a wedding was too jovial of an occasion to be anything but happy.Especially one this important.
Briony’s gaze slipped to Adaira and John Burgess, both of whom were glowing with happiness as all of Everton rejoiced in their nuptials. They would no doubt be the talk of the town for several weeks, and for good reason. It wasn’t every day that someone in a town this small got married.
Soon Mr. Levins passed the cog along to the next person sunwise,[41]which continued until the rest of the town had gotten a swig.
Once that tradition was out of the way, everyone rose to dance by the light of the fire. Other towns would have held their gathering indoors, but here in Everton, people preferred to do their dancing outside, where they could see the sky.
Briony thought back to how worried Adaira had been a few hours before, talking of her dress and hair but mostly about the food.The poor dear got herself so worked up that I wasn’ sure she’d make it through the ceremony without fainting.
But Adaira’s stress had melted away as soon as the vicar had pronounced them husband and wife.
Briony smiled as she watched Adaira twirl in her new husband’s arms.Aye, how could anyone na be happy while watching those two dance?
