“Thank you, but—what is it?” Fynn turned the handkerchief in his hands.
“Knots for wind.” I smiled as he continued to look at the bundle, puzzled. “Keep it with you whenever you’re on the boat, and the wind will always be at your back.” I toyed with one of the knots I’d tied the night before.
“Did Morag teach you that?” He gave a faint smile before tucking the handkerchief away.
“No, every girl on the Isle knows the magic knots. I made one for Da when I was small. He still carries it.”
Fynn leaned in for one last kiss, and seconds later, he and Da trudged out the door armed with fishing rods, tackle boxes, and a hamper packed by Mam—all the things Da didn’t keep stored in the boat with his nets and traps.
I joined her in the doorway, watching as Da and Fynn disappeared into the heavy mist.
“Cair vie!” I called as soon as I could talk around the lump in my throat. Da acknowledged the words with a wave, but Fynn paused.
Mam rested a hand on my back. “Use your English, bird.”
“Fair winds!” I shouted. But they had become nothing more than two blurry shadows fading into nothingness.
There was nothing to do now but wait for sundown.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Liss didn’t return home by noon. Or even more than an hour later. I huddled on the sofa with Grayse, watching Mam tread a path from the kitchen to the main room and back. Her pacing made my head spin.
“I could go to the Wattersons’ and see if she’s there,” I offered for what felt like the hundredth time. If Mam didn’t agree soon, I resolved to go anyway. There was nothing else for me to do until sundown, in any case.
Mam paused by an armchair, blinking at the dish rag she’d been clutching for an hour without using it. “No. Thank you. I’d best fetch her myself.” She started toward the peg that held her cloak.
“Don’t be cross, Mam.” Grayse nibbled the ends of her fingernails between words. “Liss probably forgot the time. Maybe she’s running home now.”
Mam turned, halfway through shrugging on her cloak. “Of course, little fish.”
Grayse might not have glimpsed the lie in Mam’s eyes, but I did.
Perhaps Liss was in danger. The thought made my skin crawl. But she had no reason to go near the sea today, not when she was so excited to meet her secret beau at his da’s shop. Liss was on an adventure with Martyn somewhere, no doubt, and things would go much better for her if I found her first.
“Watch your sister, Bridey,” Mam said, ushering me back to my senses.
I leaped up. “Why not take Grayse with you? You can search faster with my help. I’ll start at the Wattersons’ while you try elsewhere, and we’ll meet in the market.”
Mam’s shoulders slumped. “Very well. Grayse and I will go ask at the neighbors’, and we’ll meet you at the fountain in an hour. And Bridey—” She waited until I raised my eyes to hers. “No delays.”
I hurried north, my skirt swishing around my knees. An hour wasn’t long to check all the trysting spots Mally used to frequent, so starting at the Wattersons’ house seemed a sensible plan. Liss and Martyn might have mentioned something to his family about where they were off to.
Town was quiet in the afternoon gloom, but fires cast their ruddy light in the windows of most homes.
I rapped on the Wattersons’ door and fixed a pleasant expression on my face, turning my back to the sea. I could hear muffled voices inside, before heavy steps trudged toward the door. Seconds later, Martyn’s face appeared.
When he saw me, he smiled warmly. “Afternoon.” He clapped me on the shoulder, shooting pain through my bandaged arm. “How’s your wound?”
“Grand,” I gritted out, “when no one’s touching me.” Martyn’s smile turned sheepish. “Where’s Liss? She needs to come home now. She’s over an hour late!”
But Martyn’s brow furrowed. “She isn’t here.”
I stared. Was he always this thick? “Of course she is.” I peered into the house. “Li-iss!” I called in a singsong, my pulse quickening. “Do you have any idea what time it is? Mam’s beside herself!”
Martyn’s face slowly turned the color of clotted cream. “I haven’t seen her today,” he insisted. “I waited at the shop for hours, but she never came. I thought—I thought she was busy and couldn’t come. She’d warned me your mam might not let her out, given the news of those poor folk at the harbor.”
My fingers worried at my Bollan Cross. “When has Liss ever been too busy to keep her word? You didn’t think to look for her?”
“I didn’t think—”
“Didn’t think at all, did you?” The harshness of my words startled even me. I offered Martyn an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. Liss left at dawn and … if she’s not here …”
Martyn rubbed the back of his neck. “What can we do?”
I jumped off the front step and started running. “Go. Tell everyone Liss is in danger,” I called over my shoulder. “They won’t believe me, but they might listen to you!”
“Wait!” Martyn shouted. “Where are you going?”