“Do not touch that boat,” Rhys yelled.
“Why?” another demanded.
“I just patched it and the tar is still wet.”
“Why do you have a boat?”
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“On the beach. It was washed up so I decided to fix it.”
“This hole?”
“The tar is not dry.”
“Answer the question,” someone ordered.
“Yes, that hole. It was upside down when I found it and dragged it up here.”
Oh, she hoped that they believed his tale and went away.
“It is just like the boat that the man described,” someone said.
“If it had a hole that big it would have sank and they would have drowned.”
“The man said they wanted to find this section of the beach.”
“Maybe they knew it was abandoned,” someone suggested.
“Or they knew someone would be here waiting.”
Tempest held her breath as her heart hammered as sweat broke out on her brow.
“It was not me!” Rhys insisted.
“It does not look like anyone else is here or has been,” another soldier said.
It was the first time she had heard his voice so he must have searched the area with others.
“No women or children?” someone asked again.
“No. I would have known if there was a woman around.”
“They must have drowned,” another person determined.
“This still wasn’t a wasted visit.”
“Why?” Rhys asked slowly.
Oh dear, what if the man who said that they were here had also identified Rhys as a spy?
“We are here to also arrest you.”
“For what?” Rhys demanded.
“Theft of lumbar and the tar. You were seen and identified. After the man we fished out of the sea talked, we decided that we would come get the woman, children and the thief.”
