She tipped her chin up and refused to budge. “I may not be as powerful a swimmer as you, but I am an able one. You’ll need my help. Then it’s settled. I’m coming with you.”
Since she was now giving him a stubborn look that warned he could not move her short of setting off explosives and blasting the boat to splinters, he sighed and started rowing without further protest.
It was true, Fiona was a decent swimmer. He would not call her a strong swimmer because of her lack of upper body strength. But this had never deterred her in any of their adventures when younger.
It was also possible hewouldrequire her assistance, because the boys had now reached the rocks and were carelessly scampering upon them with the agile spring of little mountain goats. “Blessed saints, are they going to jump off the rocks into the water?”
Fiona’s expression turned anxious. “Row faster, Rob. Oh, no. Their own boat is slipping back into the water and they haven’t noticed.”
“They failed to secure it properly,” he muttered.
Fiona groaned. “And now the oars have dislodged and are floating away.”
He doubled his speed, for the boat was now spinning in quick circles and buffeted by waves and the strengthening current. “Bloody hell. They’re going to drown if they jump in at that spot.”
“Why is their boat spinning so wildly?”
“There must be an undercurrent. I’ve seen it before—water’s calm on the surface, but what lies beneath is a dangerous undertow that will drag you down and hold you in its relentless grip. Meanwhile, above it, the waters remain calm and still.”
Fiona began to yell at the boys. “Stop! Danger! Sit down and don’t move!”
But the boys merely waved back and climbed higher onto the rocks, unable to understand what she was calling out because the wind, despite being light and gentle, carried her voice toward the shore and not to them.
“Sit still, Fiona.” Rob did not want her toppling into the water if a wave hit them while he rowed faster.
The sun glistened on the water, its rays shimmering all around them, but he was too worried to pay attention to nature’s beauty right now.
They were not far from the boys when one of them suddenly lost his footing and fell with a shriek backward into the water. Rob’s heart shot into his throat, for those swirling waters would spin the lad under and hold him down.
“Stay close. I might need your help.” Rob shoved the oars into Fiona’s hands and dove in after the boy before Fiona could do the same. Between her compassion and her competitive streak, he knew it was a distinct possibility that she’d intended to dive in first. Which also meant she would drown along with the boy, because she hadn’t the muscles needed to fight a strong current.
But she wouldn’t dive in now that he had gone in, for she also had enough sense to understand they could not both risk their lives, or they would help no one.
Rob felt the strong tug of the tide as he swam beneath the surface to look for the boy. The waves roiled the clear water, stirring up the bottom sand. But as he drew closer to the rocks, he saw the boy struggling and noticed blood flowing from his leg.
Doubly dangerous, for the blood would attract predators.
He grabbed the boy and shoved him upward so that his head broke through the water, and Rob soon followed.
“Grab him, Fiona,” he said between great gulps of air, his voice raspy because his lungs were burning.
She had rowed closer and now tucked the oars in so that her hands were free to take hold of the boy. Rob pushed him up into the boat and then swam to the outcropping to get the younger lad, who looked to be about eight years old. He was seated on one of the flatter rocks, afraid to move and crying. “Is my brother all right?”
Rob put a comforting arm around his shoulder. “Yes, but I think he must have cut his leg on one of those sharp rocks when falling in. We’ll get him tended and then deliver you home. Is your father there?”
The boy nodded. “Papa’s going to kill us. We’ve lost the boat.”
Rob glanced at their craft, which was now bobbing out to sea. “He’ll get over it. A boat is replaceable but his sons are not. Who was watching you? Why were you out in the cove on your own?”
The boy cast Rob a sheepish look. “Our governess refused to leave London, so…no one is tending to us at present. Well, our Papa is, but I don’t think he counts. Anyway, Papa has a meeting with several important people, so he told us to keep out of his way for an hour.”
Rob arched an eyebrow. “Did he also happen to tell you to keep out of trouble?”
The boy blushed. “Yes. He might have said that, too.”
“Come on, hop into our boat. We’ll get your brother’s leg treated and then it shall be time to face your father. I’ll have Lady Shoreham send a footman over to let him know you are both safe.”
“Is she Lady Shoreham?” The lad pointed to Fiona, who had taken off her bathing cap and was now pressing it to the elder boy’s leg to stem the bleeding. Several of her curls had blown loose and her hair had a marvelously wild look to it. “She’s beautiful.”
