But one arm had much less power than two, and the current was dragging them farther from shore. Raised beside the sea, he’d respected the water but never feared it. He became grimly aware that he was slowly losing his battle against the cold, rushing current. They might both drown within sight of land.
It was a damn fool way to die.
Chapter 15
Signy hardly had time to register that a kelp cutter was in danger before Ramsay was off, throwing aside his coat and boots so they wouldn’t drag him down in the water. He’d always loved the water and was a strong swimmer, but her breathing almost stopped when she recognized the power of the currents he was battling. Though the tides were always strong here, today the waves were fiercer than usual.
Drummond and Axel and the kelp cutters looked worried and a woman was weeping, but no one wasdoinganything. What was needed was a life boat, and there were none available.
Ramsay had caught up with the girl and was trying to return to the shore but was making scant headway against the increasing currents. Panic threatened to paralyze Signy when she thought how quickly a swimmer would tire in the cold water.
Her mouth tightened. She didn’t have a boat but she had Thor, and Thorsayian horses loved the water. They were also larger and stronger than humans. As soon as the thought formed, she gave an ear-splitting whistle.
Thor had been only lightly tethered, and when he heard her summons, he jerked the reins free and raced down the beach toward her. The simple shed used for resting between tides was nearby, and she saw that a fishing net had been hung to dry on the outside wall.
By the time Thor reached her, she’d yanked the net from the wall. The stallion skidded to a stop beside her, kicking up pebbles from the shingle beach and looking pleased with himself.
“Good boy!” she exclaimed as she swung up into the saddle. Luckily the stirrups were only a little long for her. They’d do.
She’d seen this shore at low tide and knew that at the far right end of the beach a sand bar ran out to sea. It wasn’t visible in this high water, but she thought that if she and Thor followed it out, the water would be shallow enough that the horse would be able to keep his footing for a good part of the distance to the swimmers.
Praying to God that she was right about the location of the bar, she urged Thor into the water as she shouted, “Kai!Kai!”
Thor plunged into the waves happily, enjoying this new game. She yelled Kai’s name again, and this time he heard her. He shifted his direction so that he was moving toward her, though with painful slowness.
The water was getting deeper, up to Thor’s back, and Kai and the girl were about to be swept past Signy. If that happened, they’d be lost. Praying that she could throw the net far enough, Signy hurled one end toward Kai while hanging on to the other end.
Kai lunged toward the net, his long body and right arm outstretched. For a horrifying instant Signy thought he’d missed, but then the net jerked with a ferocity that almost yanked her from her saddle.
Heart hammering, she pulled Thor to a stop. The water was up to her hips and the net was swinging to her right from the weight of the two people on the other end.
So far, so good. Carefully she turned Thor and headed back to shore at a walk as they hauled the net and its precious cargo behind them. She didn’t realize how exhausted she was until Thor scrambled onto the shingle beach.
Drummond and several cutters had caught up with her, and they took over the job of pulling the net ashore. Drummond himself caught Tilda in his arms and carried her out of the water. “Someone get a fire going in the rest shed!” he barked.
Ramsay staggered to his feet and lurched over to Signy, collapsing onto Thor’s neck. “Best. Horse. Ever,” he gasped.
His shoulder was by her knee, so she put a hand on it, chilled to the heart by the knowledge of what a near-run thing it had been. “How are you?”
“No damage done, but I may never go swimming again.” He raised his head and gazed at her with exhausted gray eyes. “Rán is the Norse goddess of the sea, isn’t she? If I recall correctly, she had a net she used to catch people. Apparently she’s your goddess.”
Signy laughed and brushed her fingers over his saturated hair, intensely grateful that he was alive. “You remember well. I’d have preferred a nice dinghy, but a net was all that was available.”
Axel Ramsay’s cool voice said, “A fine job of swimming, Cousin. And a very fine horse. Is he for sale?”
Ramsay shook his head. “I think he’s probably part of the estate’s entail. He belongs to Skellig House and the lairdship.” He patted Thor’s neck. “Amazing, as is his rider. We would have drowned without Signy and Thor.”
She slid off Thor on the opposite side from Ramsay. “It’s pure luck we were here. The next time, we won’t be here and someone will likely drown. Axel, I think you should keep a couple of dinghies here as a safety precaution. One at the pier by the warehouse and another down at this end of the beach.”
“We have no dinghies to spare,” he protested. “This sort of thing doesn’t happen regularly.”
“No, but it has happened before and it’s God’s mercy no one has drowned yet,” Drummond said as he joined them. “Having a pair of dinghies is an excellent idea, Miss Signy. With a life buoy attached to a rope in each of them.”
“Sounds like a waste of money,” Axel grumbled. “And unnecessary.”
“People drowning unnecessarily is wasteful too,” Drummond said in a steely voice.
Signy sensed the underlying tension between the men, with Drummond concerned about his people and Axel about his profits. Which man would Roald support? He was more pragmatic than his son, and a better businessman. A couple of life boats wouldn’t cost much and would be good for his reputation.
