He seemed to understand I couldn’t swim and talk and said nothing more. Without another person to weigh me down, we made steady progress, although my arms and legs soon ached. With each stroke they seemed to grow heavier in the water. If the ocean here hadn’t been so flat, I doubted I would have made it at all. I mentally kicked myself for not taking the time to scavenge for further wood.
For some reason, the closer we got to shore, the harder each stroke became until I felt as if we were making no progress at all. Looking up, I saw that Marcus and Delphine’s brother had already made it and were climbing dripping out onto the sand. Cassian had also nearly reached dry land, assisting a clearly protesting Celine. I could well imagine she would reject the idea that she needed help.
But the other girls, weighted down by their dresses, still struggled in the water. Like Celine, Shantelle had outstripped the others, assisted by the second crew member. And Delphine’s sister had somehow found a small piece of wood and was making extremely slow, but unlabored, progress toward the shore. Her sister, however, and Monique appeared weak, their forward progress almost entirely halted, and their heads sometimes slipping under the water.
My brows drew together in disgust as I looked again at the two young men already safe on the sand. I paused in my stroke. “They need our help,” I said to Frederic.
He nodded silently and immediately took off for Delphine. I was too exhausted even to groan as I made my own slow way toward Monique. I paused next to her as I had beside her brother.
“I’m going to help you, but not if you try to drown me. Don’t pull me under.”
The sight of me seemed to have given her a tiny fresh burst of energy, fueled no doubt by her rage, but she reluctantly nodded. The silent action softened my heart a tiny bit. She must be full of fear to acquiesce so easily.
“I’ll swim in front, and you can hold onto my shoulders. Help as much as you can by kicking.”
I maneuvered into position, and she clasped her hands onto my shoulders, immediately propelling me under the water. But the moment my head submerged, the pressure lightened, and I pushed myself upward.
“I didn’t mean—” she panted out the words, stopping when I shook my head.
“I know.”
Neither of us spoke again as we crawled toward the shore. I could only be thankful she had already made it so far. I couldn’t have gone long in such a way. Cassian and the second crew member had deposited Celine and Shantelle in safety and were wading back in our direction when we paused our progress, and our questing feet found the sand. For a moment we both stood, letting the slight swell carry us up and back down, relishing in each connection of our feet with the bottom.
I was the first to move, but Monique wasn’t far behind. Frederic and Delphine had made better progress and were stumbling forward ahead of us. I could see Monique glaring daggers at Delphine’s back. Every now and then she would turn her anger-laden eyes sideways at me. I ignored her. I couldn’t even blame her for wanting to be saved by the crown prince rather than her worst enemy.
Frederic helped Delphine all the way onto the sand, out of reach of the lapping waves, before turning back to us. Monique’s expression immediately transformed, but he didn’t seem to see her. Walking over to me, he slipped an arm around my back, and I guiltily let him take some of my weight.
“So…tired.” I muttered. “Just…going to…have…a little…rest.” I dropped to my knees on the beautiful, wonderful, delightful, blessed sand and flopped on to my back.
Celine crawled over to lie beside me. “I told Cassian he should help Monique instead of me.”
“You’re his sister,” I said, when some of my breath had returned. “And he was coming back for her.”
Celine propped herself up slightly to survey the others. “I don’t think Monique appreciated being rescued by you of all people,” she whispered.
I smiled weakly. Looking sideways I saw several others sprawled on the sand, while the rest of the group stood and watched the sea. Forcing myself to stand, I followed their gazes. The beautiful, still blue of the ocean no longer held any trace of the catamaran. The only disturbance to the serenity of the water was the two crew members now both involved in pulling Julian toward land.
Monique stood with her hands on her hips, trying to hide both fear for her brother and her unladylike attempts to regain her breath. I had long ago learned to easily read her emotions—the result of years spent in a state of constant wariness around her—so they presented no challenge to me now. The other faces varied between numb exhaustion and deep concern. And, to my astonishment, Marcus’s face carried the gravest look of anxiety as his eyes tracked his cousin’s progress.
I narrowed my eyes. I had spent more time avoiding Marcus than observing him in my stay on Catalie, but I knew enough of his psyche to anticipate glee at Julian’s injury, not concern. Yet no hint of hope or pleasure showed in his countenance or posture.
Without discussion, Celine and I both drifted toward Frederic and Cassian. After a moment, I realized that without any stated intention, the three of us had formed a shield around Frederic. The thought had no sooner entered my mind than Cassian spoke in a lowered voice.
“Well, we have been waiting for trouble. It looks like it found us.”
No one replied because no one needed to. In the frenzied moments in the cabin as I tried to free Julian, there had been no room for anything but terror. But in the seemingly endless swim to shore, one thought had dominated. I didn’t need any expertise on catamarans to know that sinking had not been natural. Someone had just tried to murder Julian. And possibly the rest of us in the process.
Chapter 11
None of us moved or spoke as Julian was finally dragged to shore, Delphine’s brother and Marcus rushing forward to help once the swimmers were in close enough to walk. The pale noble, who hung limply between his crew, roused himself to push his cousin away. Frederic raised his eyebrows, but still none of us spoke.
Delphine’s brother helped one of the exhausted crew members lay Julian on the sand, out of reach of the water, while the other crew member pulled out a small knife and cut away the cloth from around his injured ankle. The wet material of the man’s shirt provided a bandage which was tightly wrapped around the jagged gash. Julian groaned once but otherwise lay on the sand, unresponsive. He had lost a lot of blood.
Monique and Shantelle kneeled on either side of him, although there was nothing they could do to help. The crew member who no longer had a shirt looked up and asked if anyone had located any water. Marcus started and announced he would find some, leading Delphine’s siblings across the sand.
Still the three of us grouped around the crown prince remained in place. The two crew glanced our way and then began to talk in voices too low to hear. Finally, one of them peeled away and approached us.
“Your Highness’s safety is our first priority.”
Frederic nodded once, his eyes cold. “That much you have demonstrated.” For some reason the man looked nervous at this response instead of pleased. He clearly knew he had displeased the prince in some way. “But can you say the same for the rest of the party?”
“Your Highness…” said the man uneasily before trailing off with a helpless shrug.
Cassian glanced across the sand at the others. “What happens now?”
The man shrugged. “We wait.”
“I would prefer to start back toward the viscount’s manor across land,” said Frederic. “We have no way of knowing how long it will take someone to come looking for us. If they even know where to look.”
The man instantly became animated, his distress obvious. “Your Highnesses must not attempt such a thing! The way is impassable! You might suffer any number of injuries far from assistance. Here we are safe. Here we know rescue will come.”
Frederic moved restlessly. “But are we safe here? Can you guarantee such a thing?”
“With my life,” said the man with an earnestness that made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want anyone laying down their life for me.