I grabbed him around the waist to help him balance. And to keep the cloak snugly in place. “I’m Bridey.” Warmth again spread across my skin, distracting me—at least mostly—from how near I was to the sea.
The stranger leaned on me as we carefully made our way down the beach, his breathing becoming more labored with each step. Once or twice, the heat of his gaze made my neck prickle. But each time I turned, he appeared to be watching the waves.
“What’s your name?” I wanted to keep him alert. If he fainted, I wouldn’t be able to carry him by myself.
“I don’t know.” He sounded more confused than he had earlier.
“Do you have family on the island?”
“What island?”
If I had woken up naked in a strange place, I would want to know immediately where I was. “You’re in Port Coire. On the Isle of Man.”
“Oh. No, I don’t.”
“Do you know who—or what—attacked you?”
He gave me a long look, then shook his head.
So much for conversation. Silence returned, heavier than before, as we passed the spot where I’d dropped my pail. I briefly considered claiming it, but another look at the stranger told me not to tarry.
Worrying at my lip, I considered where to take the naked, nameless lad. My first thought was the Gills’. Mr. Gill always knew what to do in a crisis, but Mrs. Gill would faint at the sight of a nude young man.
And then I realized I ought to bring him home. Mally had apprenticed as a midwife for over a year, and she knew how to clean cuts and scrapes. She’d done it for Grayse, Liss, and me countless times. And she’d been treating Mam’s headaches as best she could for years.
“I’m going to take you to my house. My sister knows some medicine. She can make you comfortable until a doctor arrives.”
He scowled. “No doctor.”
It was a relief to hear him speaking. “That will be Mally’s decision. I’m not going through the trouble of dragging you off this beach just to watch you die in our parlor.”
He arched his brows. “It’s my choice.” Judging by his wheezing, he was growing weaker. “I said, no doctor.”
“We’ll see.”
It might have been my imagination, but his next hiss of pain sounded more like an angry sigh.
We neared the tide pool in which I’d stuck my hand earlier. The sight of the path winding through the cliffs reminded me of how I’d fallen. “See there?” I pointed ahead. “It’ll be a tough go, understand?”
He nodded, looking paler than he had minutes before.
“We can manage if we go slowly. You’ll have to trust me, you, ah—you’re sure you don’t remember your name?”
“No.” He must have seen the dismay on my face, as he added, “Call me whatever you’d like.”
I shut my eyes. The black fin I’d seen in the harbor swam across my eyelids.
“Fynn.” I opened my eyes. “It’s all I can think of.”
“Fynn,” he repeated.
I took this as a sign of approval and guided him toward the path. “When we reach the top, keep my cloak around you as best you can. If we meet someone, you should at least look presentable.”
Fynn nodded distractedly.
I tightened my grip on his waist and hoped my feet wouldn’t fail me again. “Ready?”
While Mam and Mally tended Fynn’s wounds, the rest of my sisters and I were sent to Mrs. Kissack’s house, down the lane.
At dusk, Mally came to collect us, looking tired but pleased. I kept pace with her on the brisk walk home, the salty wind lifting our hair and skirts as it changed direction. “Is Fynn going to be all right? Did you send for a doctor?”
“Was he really naked?” Grayse added, eyes sparkling. She’d gleaned her information from Liss, who had eavesdropped from the bedroom when I brought Fynn home.
“Yes. No. And yes.” Mally smiled over her shoulder at Grayse. “But he’s wearing a pair of Da’s trousers now.”
“We’ve tended his fever and treated the infection,” she continued. “Now he needs to rest and let his body heal. If anyone can convince him of that.” She glanced sideways at me, her lips pursed. “I gave him something to help him sleep. He kept trying to pick off his bandages.”
“Did he say what attacked him? Those gashes looked quite nasty.” A gust of warm wind buffeted my face, bringing with it a smell worse than the decaying rubbish in Morag’s cottage. The wind was suddenly too salty, too sharp, like a freshly gutted fish. I opened my mouth to ask if anyone else had noticed the change, but the odor vanished with my next breath.
“No. He didn’t say much. He seemed grateful for what you did. You were brave today, Bry.” Mally drew me against her side, our hips bumping together with every step. “You deserve a medal.”
I only had to wait a few hours before everyone else turned in for the night. The day’s excitement had made us all drowsy, but as soon as Mam’s steps traveled down the hall to her bedroom, I slid out from beneath the covers and crept to the main room.