“Just wondering if the storm has cost us anything,” Brian said, and then frowned.
The moment the words left his mouth, Brian recognized the large possibility that there was some truth to them. When the storm had struck he had cursed the wet and chill of the rain and wind. Now he considered the fact that what had been annoying to them on land could be treacherous, even deadly, out upon the water. It would not beggar them if they lost the cargo, but several plans he had made to improve Scarglas would have to wait until the next shipment, which could be a long time in coming if he had to make new arrangements for his cargo.
It would also grieve him if the men he had come to know and trust were lost. He hated to think of the men losing their lives to the sea they had all loved so well. Brian pushed aside a pinch of guilt. He had not forced Captain Tillet to join him, nor any of the sailors with him. They had all wanted the coin such trade could earn them as badly as he did and had been happy for the work.
Brian shook away his dark thoughts. They would soon arrive at the small cove and he would have his answers, good or bad. He could only pray they were good ones.
“Weel, it appears God didnae listen to me today,” Brian muttered when he dismounted on the small beach and surveyed the unmistakable signs of a shipwreck.
“Jesu, Brian, do ye think anyone survived?” asked Simon as he stepped up to flank Brian.
“There is always that chance. Search the beach,” he ordered, and joined the eight men with him as they spread out to begin the search. “Look for both men and goods.”
For two long hours they searched the shoreline as bodies and wreckage continued to wash ashore. The pile of salvaged goods grew but Brian’s pleasure in that was severely dimmed by the number of dead they retrieved from the water. They found only five men alive, the burly Captain Tillet amongst them. The bruised and weakened men had been given blankets and were settled by the horses. For now, they would stay at Scarglas.
It was as he walked toward Captain Tillet, intending to ask the man what he wished to do with the bodies of his crew, that Ned grabbed him by the arm. He frowned at the youth, irritated by the interruption. Aside from the care of the dead, Brian needed to ask the recovering Captain Tillet what he had meant when he had claimed they had been attacked.
“Look there, Brian!”
The excitement in Ned’s voice was enough to make Brian look where his brother was pointing. “At the rocks?”
“Aye, but I saw something moving there. S’truth, I did! I am certain I caught a wee peek of someone watching us.”
Brian bit his tongue against the urge to scold Ned for having too much imagination. The rocks were too far from the water for any of the crew to have hidden there. Nor was there any reason for one of Tillet’s crew to hide from them. There was a very small chance that someone spied on them, but the cove was so well hidden, the nearest cottage too far away, for that to make sense. When Ned began to stride toward the rocks, however, Brian followed. As they rounded the rocky outcrop, Brian came to a halt and cursed.
“I told ye I saw something,” said Ned.
“Aye, that ye did,” agreed Brian. “A shame ye didnae see those knives, though.”
Two young boys, wet, shivering, and wearing little more than rags, stood over a body sprawled face-down on the rocky ground. Both boys looked terrified but they held the knives in steady hands. Brian knew he could easily defeat them but he held his hands out to his sides and smiled at them. The way they protected what appeared to be a woman’s body deserved such respect.
“We are nay here to harm, but to help,” he said.
“Why should we trust ye?” asked the taller of the boys in an interesting blend of French and Scottish accents.
“Did ye trust the captain of the ship ye were on?”
“Aye, he was a good man.”
“If ye look toward the horses ye will see how he fares.”
“Michel, have a look, and tell me what you see,” the boy ordered the smallest one in French.
Michel peered over the rocks and answered in French. “The captain is alive as are some of his men. These men have given them blankets, talk to them, and smile. The captain smiles, too.”
“The captain was delivering goods to me. We are partners,” said Brian, and then looked down at the body they guarded.
It was definitely a woman. Now he could see the long matted hair and the feminine curve to the legs bared by the torn clothing. Her arms were splayed out, reaching above her head, and Brian suspected the boys had dragged her up from the shore. One of them had obviously been clever enough to hide all signs of that, however, or they would have been found sooner.
“Is she dead?” he asked, and then cursed his bluntness when both boys lost what little color they had in their faces.