Suddenly, a burst of fiery animation came tearing into the room. ‘I’ve seen them. They’re about half an hour out. The storm is worse and they’re really struggling against it.’ Emilia was panting, her hands on her knees. Babushka, who had not been able to understand anything anyone had said so far, was immediately at her side, and the girl started to explain in Russian what little she knew as best she could.
Aleksey groaned to his feet and swept Molly up, gripping the canister in his hand. But not too tightly.
Enid was very still in her chair, her intelligent, bright eyes watching everything. She declared distinctly and calmly, ‘Don’t worry about me. You get the children to safety.’
Aleksey glanced to the door and ushered the girl and her grandmother ahead of him.
He quietly showed the canister to Ben. Rachel saw the movement and her hands flew to her mouth and she moaned. It didn’t do much for the others. Once more everyone seemed to be talking at once. Aleksey pulled Ben to one side.
Heads together over death itself, although Aleksey tried to tell himself it was only blue paint, he murmured, ‘Options.’
He sensed more than felt Ben’s heart rate calm a little, the old habit of selecting courses, weighing obstacles, seizing opportunities coming back to the soldier in the man, this part of his personality re-emerging from the other: the doting father; the spoilt, adored boyfriend. ‘What’s our aim? Keep the canister from the nutters, right? So it either stays here or comes with us.’
‘It can’t go with our family.’
‘No. Okay then. It stays here. What about us? We all go, or we split.’
‘If we all go, and they find the island entirely deserted, what would they do then, Ben? Return to their insanity and make more? Maybe they already have more. Maybe now they know how, it would be very easy to reproduce it. Perhaps they would assume we have taken it with us, and they would pursue us and this would never end. Here, on the island, we can contain this—we can contain them.’
Just at that moment a huge gust swirled around the house and the sound of creaking and breaking reached them from the dock. Squeezy took off so fast Aleksey could barely follow his movement through the trees.
When he returned, he shook his head. ‘Your boat’s fucked.’
‘Yours?’
‘In the boat shed.’
Just as they were about to return to their private huddle, Harry spoke up. ‘Best we be getting along now. Get the little ones out of danger and the ladies. I’d suggest we tack up the north coast, away from our friends, and out to sea a ways before we turn and fly down the wind to safe harbour.’
Molly, who was now hanging onto Ben’s leg, clutched harder at this suggestion. ‘I’m staying with Daddy.’
Harry blew out his cheeks, as if deeply concerned. ‘Then who’s going to be my First Mate? I took my lad to sea when he was only five. He was at the helm through the Bay of Biscay. You must be at least six!’
‘I’m three and three quarters.’
‘Well, there you are. Three would be far too young, but with the extra three quarters it’s entirely the best age to learn.’ He held out his hand, and she just went to him. Squeezy watched this childlike faith, his dark brown eyes fixed on the old man. Harry slowly switched his attention. ‘But in this weather, I’ll need a Second Mate, son, if you think you can trust this old sailor.’
Squeezy pursed his lips, blew his cheeks out then turned and dashed back into the house. When he returned, he had Enid wrapped in a blanket in his arms. He beckoned to Miles with his head. ‘Go open the shed, start the engine. You know how.’
To Emilia he snapped, ‘Dogs.’
She nodded and darted back into the house.
He was about to say something to Babushka, but she just produced a carving knife she’d liberated from the kitchen. Squeezy nodded approvingly. ‘You keep doing what you’re doing.’
He turned to them. There didn’t seem much to say. Harry had Molly in his arms, and he was telling her all about Snodgrass, what the little chap liked and didn’t like, and that it was apparently First Mate’s job on any boat to stay in the cabin with all the official ship’s dogs.
‘I really do think I should stay here.’ Enid seemed quite determined to make the final sacrifice. Aleksey reckoned she’d have made a good solider.
Rachel was wringing her hands. It was clear she was staying, but she looked as if she’d give anything to be leaving in the boat with the others.
He went up to Squeezy. It shamed him now to see a darkening bruise on the other man’s jaw. ‘Look after them all for me.’
Squeezy nodded. ‘Kill them all for me.’
Aleksey’s brows rose. ‘Okay.’
* * *
