Page 80 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
Briony put a hand over her mouth, ignoring the moisture threatening to overtake her eyes. She shook her head again, firmly this time. “Nay, I can’ be sure. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Wait here.” She spun around and hurried to the bedroom. She pushed on her bed as hard as she could, not caring that it must have looked very bizarre.
Once the bed was out of the way, her hands slid across the wooden planks below, seeking the loose boards she knew she would find.
There!She yanked one free, and her eyes drank in the sight before them: a dusty, folded bit of gray material, large enough to cover a person. Exactly Briony’s size.
My sealskin.
A flood of emotions swept through her when her fingers brushed it. This was a part of her identity that she’d never known before, yet her soul had been missing it all the while. She wanted to laugh and cry and scream, but she held all of it inside.
Her fingers clasped the pelt tightly, tenderly, knowing that what she was about to do could change everything.
Briony carefully removed the shoes from her feet, praying her fears wouldn’t keep her from being brave.
She came out of the bedroom, sealskin in one hand and shoes in the other. Santiago stood in the kitchen, leaning against his cane with a nervous, impatient expression. When he saw her, his eyes locked onto what she held, confusion seeping into his features.
“Briony, what—”
“There’s something I need to show you, though I fear you won’ believe me. And even if you do, you won’ look at me the same way.”
Santiago’s brow furrowed. “Briony, I told you before that nothing you tell me will change how I see you. I meant it then, and I mean it now.”
Briony turned away and stared out the window, wishing she could believe him. “Nay, once you find out…” She swallowed a thick lump in her throat.
She felt his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it softly. “Please don’t cry. Amorzinho, I can’t bear to see it.”
“What is ‘amorzinho’?”
“In English, I believe you would call it ‘sweetheart.’ And that’s what you are: the kindest, sweetest heart I’ve ever known. How many people would still be so kind after all the suffering you’ve endured? When we first met, I didn’t know why you were so guarded, but when we encountered Laird Oliver in the market, I started to realize you had good reason for it. When he came to my room later for money, he was so adamant about how horrible of a person you were… I knew then that you were being mistreated. And since then, I’ve seen how your neighbors act toward you. Only a few show you any compassion and yet… How could anyone good enough to help a prejudiced fool like myself be worthy of such hatred?”
Briony let out a humorless laugh. “Be careful o’ what you say. You may wish to take it back soon.”
“Briony, just tell me what’s bothering you.”
She sighed, but she didn’t turn from the window. She couldn’t bear to look him in the eye, couldn’t bear to see his face once he knew the truth.
Instead, she chose to focus on the cool waves, undulating softly in the breeze. Briony wished with all her being that she could freeze this moment in time.Then I could hold on to the love shining in Santiago’s eyes, the warmth o’ his hand upon my shoulder, the tenderness o’ his voice.
But like glass when it drops, she knew the moment was about to shatter.
“Santiago, I’m more different from you than you realize. I’m different from everyone in this town. I’m na even hum—”
Santiago gasped, making Briony lose her train of thought and, with it, the truth she was about to utter.
“Santiago?” She spun toward him. The man’s visage bore sheer panic, so much so that she grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?”
Has he figured out what I am?
And yet he didn’t flinch from her grasp. He didn’t even seem to have heard her; his gaze was on something else entirely.
“What are you looking a—”
But as she turned, she saw the answer to her question: a large ship on the horizon, one bearing white flags with red crests.
Santiago released a series of short, angry whispers in Portuguese, making Briony all the more curious.
