“Did Daniel find you, my girl?” Barney asked loudly as she entered.
“Don’t you ever send him after me again!” Arabella said hotly.
“Why ever not? Daniel’s a fine lad.” Barney’s words were slurred slightly from the drink.
“I think Daniel was taking liberties with Bella,” Brian said dryly before Bella could open her mouth.
Barney nodded his big head and smiled. “Jumpin’ the gun a bit, eh then. What did you tell him, Bella? Aye or nay?”
“I didn’t tell him anything except to never touch me again,” Bella shouted at Da.
“That’ll be a might difficult once you’re married to him.” Barney’s head nodded on his stout neck.
“I am not marrying Daniel, not now, not ever. Even if he were the last man on earth.” Bella enunciated every word carefully and loudly. “Do you understand me, Da?”
“You’ll do as you’re told, girl. You’re a good girl. Not like your mum.” Barney peered at Bella through bleary eyes.
Brian reached out and put his hand on Bella’s arm as she prepared to start a roaring fight with Da. He caught her eye and shook his head slightly. Barney’s forehead dipped down and rested on the table. In another minute his cheek was flat against the oilcloth and he was snoring gently.
“Let me speak to your Da when he’s sobered up some, Bella,” Brian said gently.
“There’s no chance that you could fancy Daniel, then?” Eileen looked anxiously at Bella.
Bella shook her head emphatically. Shudders ran through her as she recalled the incident in the front hall. Daniel was the most repulsive man she could imagine; the thought of being married to him and having to allow him those liberties as his right was more than she could bear to think about. Bella would sooner throw herself off the cliffs of Lamorna Cove than live like that.
“He’s not as bad as all that, you know. He can be a right good bloke when he wants,” Brian tried again.
“Not so bad! He had his hands pawing all over me just now, heaven only knows what would have happened if you hadn’t come out into the hall!” Bella was enraged.
“Maybe I should have just stayed put then,” Brian said quietly. “If he’d had his way with you it would have been all settled just like Barney wants.”
“If he had, I would be throwing myself off the cliffs come morning!” Bella headed for the door with her head held high. She would not cry in front of Brian and Eileen so they could go home and tell Daniel all about it.
“Don’t be so dramatic! It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in the village, you know.” Eileen tried to defuse the situation.
“That doesn’t make it right though. I won’t stand for it, and I won’t be party to it!” Bella marched out the back door into the rainy night and stopped in the middle of the yard.
“Now what?” Bella muttered. “I will not sleep under Da’s roof another night if he thinks so little of me that he would sell me to the highest bidder like a prize broodmare!”
Quickly, Bella roused Raven and saddled her. She waited until Brian and Eileen left by the front door and then sneaked back into the house, being careful not to wake her snoring Da. Every little sound made her jump; Bella was sure Daniel was lurking behind every dark door and hiding in the heavy shadows of the hall. She packed what she felt were necessaries and tucked the precious King’s College acceptance letter inside her blouse. Bella snatched her waterproof coat and a hat from the mudroom and fished out some gloves from the pile by the door. With one last look around the only home she had ever known, Bella turned on her heel and firmly shut the door on the kitchen leaving her da face down on the table.
It was a long cold windy ride out to Sarie’s but Bella’s anger kept her from feeling the cold too much. Bella was glad when Raven turned up the long narrow lane to the Waters’ farm, the brambly hedges cut the wind and the footing was marginally less mucky than the verge of the main road that Bella had followed northeast out of Penzance. Bella headed straight for the low stone barn behind Sarie’s house before going to the kitchen door. Once inside the shelter of the barn Bella stripped off Raven’s tack and settled her for the night in an empty box stall. Gradually Bella’s hands stopped shaking with cold and she felt some warmth sneaking back into her chilled body. With the warmth came the tears. Bella sank down on a bale of hay and buried her face in her hands. How could Da think that she would want to marry Daniel? Da had never talked to her about the possibility at all, and why would Daniel be so interested in her. Bella had never given him any encouragement, none at all.
Bella remembered something Da said just before he passed out, not like your mum. Bella snorted through her tears. Did Da really think that she was going to run off and get pregnant with someone she hardly knew at some dance? Hadn’t Bella heard enough about how her mum had trapped Da into marriage from her Gramma Angarrick, and from Grampa Raginnis all she heard was how Da had ruined Grampa’s darling Lily by getting her with child and forcing her to live on the wages that a fisherman brought home. As far as Bella was concerned she thought that the house they lived in was fine and they always had plenty of whatever they needed. Besides, it was her mum that had dumped Bella, and her da that looked after her. Which made it hurt all the more! Tears ran unchecked down Bella’s cheeks, making cold shiny tracks where they fell onto her jacket. A cold blast of night air swept across the barn floor as the door opened quickly. Bella looked up into Sarie’s concerned face.
“I thought it must be you when I saw the light from the house,” Sarie said simply as she sat beside Bella on the bale of hay.
“I need a place to stay tonight, and then tomorrow I’m going up England to London and ask Head Sister if I can start a week early,” Bella said through her tears.
“What’s happened then after I left?” Sarie sighed.
“Daniel. Handling me in the front hall like he owned me.” Bella shivered at the memory.
“What did your da have to say about that? Didn’t he set Daniel straight?” Sarie frowned.
“Da wants me to marry him. He promised Daniel I don’t know what, and Brian and Eileen think it’s a good idea too.” Fresh tears ran down Bella’s cheeks.
“My stars! I can’t believe your da would do that without talking to you about it first.” Sarie was dumbfounded.
“Well he did! Can I stay the night here? Da is passed out on the kitchen table so he won’t be coming out to look for me until morning,” Bella pleaded.
“You know you’re always welcome here, Bella. Come up to the house and get warm. Mum was wetting the tea when I left.” Sarie put her arm around Bella and pulled her to her feet.
The bright warmth of the Waters’ kitchen was wonderful after the howl of the wind and the bite of the rain. Sarie and her mum exchanged worried looks over Bella’s head as she huddled in front of the hearth trying to get some heat back into her bones.
Sarie explained everything that Bella had told her to her mum in quiet whispers as they prepared the tea and set out some biscuits.
“Did you have any supper, child?” Mrs. Waters asked Bella.
“No.” Bella shook her head.
“Would you like some tomatoes and toast with cheese then?” Mrs. Waters offered.
When Bella nodded, Sarie got up and got the makings out of the cupboards and soon had a pile of sandwiches on the table. Mrs. Waters sat with Bella and then gently took her hand. With her other hand Mrs. Waters gently took Bella’s chin and tilted her face up to the light.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened, child,” Mrs. Waters invited. Her fingers gently probed the purple bruise on Bella’s jaw that Daniel’s heavy fingers had left.
By the time Bella related to Sarie and Mrs. Waters everything that had happened and been said, the plate of sandwiches and the teapot were empty. Bella felt better for talking about it all, but was still adamant that she was never going home again. Mrs. Waters allowed that she couldn’t blame her at all. Sarie sat with a thunderous look on her face that didn’t bode well for Barney Angarrick or Daniel Treliving the next time she ran into them.
“I don’t think that you should go up London tomorrow,” Sarie said suddenly into the silence.
“Oh I’m going, and the sooner the better.” Bella said emphatically.
“Sarie may be right, Bella. The first place your da will look for you is at King’s College,” Mrs. Waters told her.
“Da doesn’t know about King’s College,” Bella said, startled.
“Mrs. Bude told your Da this afternoon that you had a letter from King’s College Nursing School last week and wasn’t he proud. You know there’s nothing that goes through the post office that she doesn’t scrutinize.” Mrs. Waters smiled slightly.
“The old bag of wind! Now she’s ruined everything! I bet that’s why Da made whatever deal he made with Daniel. He doesn’t trust me to be in London on my own.” Bella was furious.
“Maybe you could just hide out here until next week, Bella,” Sarie offered.
“This is the first place Da will look!” Bella snorted.
“What if you’re not here, exactly?” Sarie smiled.
“He’ll be off up to London to King’s College quicker than you can say Jack Sprat,” Mrs. Waters said.
“Exactly, but what if Bella’s not there either? You haven’t rang Matron yet, have you, Bella?” Sarie said.
“Well, no. I was going to ask if I could use your phone,” Bella said.
“That’s brill, then. Matron will honestly say that she hasn’t heard from you about coming up to London earlier and that she is still expecting you next week,” Sarie said.
“But where will I be?” Bella was mystified. She hadn’t a clue about what Sarie was planning in her devious little head.
“You could hide in that cave out by Lamorna Cove, you know where we like to picnic? It’s big enough to keep out the weather, the winds are strong enough that no one will see or smell your fire,” Sarie said.
“It’s easy enough to get to that Raven could stay there, too. I can use her to pack in what I’ll need. It would only be for a few days. You’d come out and visit me and bring me the news, wouldn’t you?” Bella was beginning to like the idea of camping out and scaring her da silly.
Bella was thinking of Vear as well. She had forgotten in all the upset of the evening that she agreed to meet him at Lamorna Cove on Saturday. Well, this way she could see Vear again before she went up England to London. A pleasurable shiver ran through her as Bella thought about Vear’s big strong gentle hands on her shoulders. Having him touch her in the way Daniel attempted to would be as different as night and day from the mauling Daniel thought passed for lovemaking.
“We need to go early tomorrow before first light and we’ll have to take the long way around. No need for anyone to see us and happen to mention it to Barney or someone,” Sarie planned.
Morning came sooner than Bella would have thought possible. She was stiff and sore from her escapades of the previous night. In the pitch black of early morning Sarie and Bella packed up Raven and Tristan with supplies. When the girls pulled on their dark coats and mounted the black ponies they were all but invisible in the windswept pre-dawn. They set off a brisk trot and were soon passing to the west of Penzance with no one being the wiser. Once they were well past the towns they cut back to the east and followed the coast down to Lamorna Cove. The steep track down to the cave was fairly dry and they managed it without incident. Once inside the big cave the wind was considerably less and Sarie found a couple of big iron rings embedded in the wall of the cave. She used them to tether the two ponies while she and Bella sorted out the things they had brought. There was an old ring of blackened stones near the back of the cave and when the girls lit a small fire there they found that there was a natural fissure in the rock above that drew the smoke out and away from the interior of the cave. The floor of the cave was deep with sand and Bella had brought lots of quilts to keep out the damp and chill. There were even a couple of makeshift shelves at the back of the cave for Bella to store her things up off the floor.
“I wonder if this was a smuggler’s cave,” Sarie mused as she finished placing the last of the food on the shelf.
“As long as they aren’t using it in the next week, who cares?” Bella dropped down on the sand by the fire.
“Do you want me to stay and help you gather some driftwood for the fire? I should be getting back before it gets really light out.” Sarie looked worriedly at the increasing light coming into the mouth of the cave.
“It’ll give me something to do.” Bella laughed. “Lord knows it’s a good thing your mum lent me some books and I have the nursing texts that I got from Joseph.”
Sarie untied Tristan and hugged Bella before she headed up the steep track back to the headland. She used a bit of gorse to wipe out her tracks and then headed in the opposite direction from home. Sarie wanted to be seen heading back towards Long Rock from a totally different direction, just in case someone was watching and remembered seeing her when the news got out that Bella was missing.
It rained the next day, all day. Bella was warm and bored. The rain fell in sheets outside the cave and the rocks vibrated with the impact of the huge waves crashing against the foot of the cliffs. With a blanket around her shoulders Bella sat just inside the cave entrance and watched the patterns the wind created in the heavy rain as it blew it up the face of the cliff and then caught it in a downdraft and threw it back at the foaming waves below. There was no way Sarie would be able to come and see her today.
Hopefully Da hadn’t stormed out to Sarie’s and created a scene; with any luck he’d jumped the next train up England. There was no going back now, she had defied Da and there would be no reasoning with him. If he caught her, there would be no King’s College Nursing School, she’d be married to Daniel before she was old enough to do anything about it. No sense in thinking bad thoughts, Bella reasoned. She got to her feet and gathered the blanket around herself. Shivering, she threw some more wood on the smouldering blaze and settled herself close to its warmth. Out of the big satchel she had loaded on Raven, Bella pulled out one of the nursing texts and spent the rest of the day happily reading about the proper way to make a bed and take a temperature. In between, Bella dreamed about the dashing and handsome young doctors who would be so admiring of her nursing skill that they would fall immediately in love with her. Raven stood by the back wall with one hind leg resting while she browsed through the pile of hay Bella had put out for her. Raven didn’t care if she was in a proper barn or a drafty cave as long as Bella was with her. Bella glanced up from her place by the fire and smiled at the big black mare. A frown creased her forehead; hopefully Raven would be happy at Sarie’s place. If all went well, maybe Bella could come down and visit her on her days off.
It was getting dark outside the cave and the rain showed no sign of letting up. Bella sighed and laid her book down beside her, drawing her knees up and she rested her chin on them while gazing into the fire. It would be so brill to have Sarie to talk to, she could always make sense of things when the world got crazy. But maybe it was better if Sarie wasn’t seen heading this way for a bit. No sense giving Da, or worse Daniel, a path to follow straight to her.
Presently Bella got up and shook the sand from her clothes, picking up some dry driftwood that she and Sarie gathered last time they were at the cave and pitched some onto her fire. The flames burned bright and almost smokeless. Her stomach rumbled, reminding Bella she should see about getting some dinner for herself. She opened a can of pork and beans and set the tin in the ashes at the edge of her fire to warm up. There was plenty of water from the little spring Bella discovered earlier at the back of the cave. If this was a smuggler’s cave, hopefully it was no longer in use. The last thing Bella needed was a visit from some blokes who would be very unhappy about finding their hideout occupied.
Bella glanced out the cave entrance at the rain and the darkening night. There wasn’t much chance of any fishermen returning to Penzance harbour being able to see her fire from the sea in the driving rain. Hopefully, if someone did see something they would just think it was one of the ghosts or haunts the old fishermen were so fond of telling tales about. Bella took an old wool sock and used it shield her hand from the heat of the can as she pulled the tin of beans out of the fire. The liquid was bubbling and the beans smelled delicious. Lord, she must be really hungry if a can of slightly charred beans smelled like a feast. Bella used the fork from the pile of supplies she and Sarie dragged down to the cave to shovel the warm food into her mouth. The beans tasted inordinately good for such run of the mill fare. Bella giggled. Just as quickly the smile faded from her face. Raven pricked her ears and shifted to look out the front of the cave. There it was again! The unmistakable scrape of boot leather on rocks accompanied by a small scatter of rocks falling from the ledge above the cave mouth set her heart racing. She gathered a large handful of sand to throw on the fire and then in the next instant let it slide through her fingers. Whoever was coming had already seen the fire anyway. Instead she hurried to the back of the cave and hid in a deep fissure in the cave wall behind the few piles of hay and straw she and Sarie managed to get into the cave.
Bella’s breath caught in her throat and she fought to control it. Whoever was coming down to the cave entrance could surely hear her panicked gasping. Raven shifted again, blocking Bella’s line of sight. Her hand flew to her mouth, boots crunched on the sand and rocks at the very entrance to the cave. Bella pressed herself as far back into the split in the rock as she could. What if it was Da? Please God, don’t let it be Daniel come to find her all by himself. She would jump from the cave into the cove below if it was Daniel. She would rather risk life and limb than have him touch her with his filthy hands again. A shudder of revulsion ran through her at the memory of his pawing. Her thoughts skipped to the unspeakable things he would do to her if he found her alone her. Bella would have no one to call for help. There was no way to fight Daniel off, not when he was a good two stone heavier than her and full of muscle from working the boats and helping Brian with the carpentry business.
Raven seemed to be relaxed though and only mildly interested in who was slowly walking across the deep sand toward where she was tied at the back of the cave. Bella allowed herself to breathe a little; at worst it must be Da. Raven knew him. That would be horrible enough, but so much better than the thought of Daniel being only feet from where she was hidden. A pair of boots came into Bella’s line of vision and the bottoms of blue denim trousers; wet halfway to the knees from the walk down from the top of the cliff. Bella’s mind spun in circles; how could he know where she was hidden, the light from the fire didn’t reach this far back. Suddenly, Bella forgot to breathe altogether. Oh my Lord, it must be a smuggler who was familiar with the cave and knew about the hiding place! She was trapped by her own stupidity. She and Sarie should have figured out an escape plan from day one. Now it was too late and there was no telling what was going to happen to her.
Bella stuck a fist up to her mouth to keep a wail of panic from escaping her lips. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, maybe if she couldn’t see who it was they wouldn’t find her. Bella nearly jumped out of her skin and swallowed her tongue as a large rough hand closed over her forearm. She tried to struggle but her arms and legs wouldn’t work. She kept her eyes screwed tightly shut as her assailant pulled her out of the hiding place and around the warm comforting bulk of Raven. Raven! Why wasn’t the mare trying to protect her? Raven, her best friend and the one had put her hooves to work on more than one person who thought that a girl riding alone on the moors was fair game for a bit of fun. As long as she stayed on Raven’s broad back, the horse’s hooves and teeth always kept Bella safe. The light of the fire shone red through Bella closed eyelids and its heat was warm on her face. She flinched and flung her head back as far as she could as a rough hand caressed her cheek. To Bella’s dismay tears escaped from under her lashes and slid down her cheeks.
“Ah, Bella,” a soft voice crooned. “Don’t cry, aren’t you going to at least open your eyes before you give up all hope?”
Startled Bella opened her eyes quickly and blinked in the glare from the fire. A tall man with a shock of dark hair stood facing her with his back to fire. The fire’s brightness made it difficult to see the man’s features.
“Have you forgotten me already, Bella?” The man’s voice was gentle with laughter. “I know we weren’t planning to meet until Saturday, but I saw the light from your fire and thought I would bring you some company on this stormy night.”
“Vear?” Bella could hardly believe that he was standing right in front of her.
“The same!” Vear laughed and wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs as his hands encircled her face.
“How did you know it was my fire?” Bella worried someone else would figure it out as well.
“It’s all over the village, my girl. You disappearin’, and your da over to the Waters’ railing at the woman of the house and her daughter for aiding and abetting a minor in running away from her duties,” Vear informed her.
“And you just knew that it was this cave I was hiding in?” Bella was suspicious.
“Erm, well no. I saw you and Sarie early the other morning on the headland, and then I saw Sarie heading off across country to return home from an entirely different direction. I put two and two together and got four.” Vear smiled at Bella.
“You didn’t tell anyone, did you?” Bella asked anxiously.
“Course I didn’t. You’re my friend and if you feel you need to hide then I will keep your secret and help you hide,” Vear said simply.
Bella collapsed on the sand in relief. Vear settled his long frame beside her and poked at the logs in the fire pit. He pulled a pipe from the breast pocket of his shirt and tamped some tobacco into it with his thumb. The smell of the pipe tobacco filled the cave and made Raven snort. Bella inhaled deeply, the scent made the place smell nice and homey. Maybe Vear would stick around and keep her company for a while. The wind wailing and howling past the front of the cave was giving her the willies.
Vear noticed Bella was shivering and handed her the blanket that was lying near the fire. Bella smiled at him in appreciation as she pulled the cover up around her shoulders and folded her arms around her knees so that the blanket blocked the wind that found its way to the back of the cave. Vear stretched himself out on the sand by the fire and rested his head on his bent arm. His eyes followed the dance of the flames in the fire pit.
“So are you going to tell me why you’ve got yourself tucked away in this bolt hole?” Vear asked casually.
“Because I refuse to marry Daniel Treliving and Da has promised that I will,” Bella said mutinously.
“But surely your da would take your feelings into consideration?” Vear said calmly.
Bella shook her head and drew the blanket closer around her. Tears of betrayal blurred the firelight, and no matter how hard she tried to will them away, the tears persisted and dripped down her face. Vear folded himself back up into a sitting position and moved nearer to her. Hesitantly, he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Vear was totally unprepared for Bella to hurl herself into his arms and bury her face in the crook of his neck. Bella threw her arms around Vear’s strong neck and held on as if he was the only solid thing in her world. Vear sighed and gently stroked the girl’s bright hair, presently he drew the blanket up over Bella’s shoulders to keep off the draft.
“How could Da just promise me away without even talking to me about it?” Bella hiccupped.
“I don’t know, my rose. He must think it’s in your best interests,” Vear said dubiously.
“He just doesn’t want me to go up England to London. He thinks that I’ll be just like my mother!” Bella snorted.
“Why is it you want to go to London so badly, then?” Vear asked, his breath warm on her ear.
“I want to train as a nurse at the King’s College School of Nursing. I don’t want to stay in Penzance all my life with everyone knowing what I’m going to do before I do,” Bella told him.
“Oh, well then,” Vear said simply and let the subject drop and the silence take over.
The fire warmed and comforted her. Bella snuggled closer to the big man who held her so gently. Suddenly Raven threw up her head and snorted loudly. Bella heard Vear chuckle against her ear.
“So you’ve found me then, you,” Vear said good-naturedly.
Bella pushed herself upright in a hurry and turned to see who Vear was talking to. She wondered for an instant if it was Sarie, and then rejected that idea. There was no way Sarie would come all this way in the rain, especially this late at night. Bella’s gaze raked the cave entrance but couldn’t see who Vear was talking to.
With a start, she realized that he had his head turned towards the back of the cave where Raven was stabled. Bella’s breath stopped in her chest and she clutched the wool blanket. Sitting on Raven’s broad back was a small sticklike figure of a man. He had a thin frame and his tattered brown clothing fluttered around him, the buckles on his small black boots shone in the firelight. On his head, he had an old brown cloth cap like the one her da liked to wear. The small man realized Bella had noticed his presence. He stood up on Raven’s back as if he was standing on solid ground and tipped his hat in her direction. His long hair fell forward over his face and almost hid the fact that his nose was inordinately long and thin and his ears were slightly pointy. Bella tore her gaze from the little man and looked at Vear for an answer. Vear smiled back at her with his big lopsided grin, and his laughing eyes were so black that Bella wasn’t sure that he even had irises around his pupils.
“Who is that?” Bella whispered.
“This is Gwin Scawen, Bella.” Vear’s smile widened slightly.
“And you are Bella, the Bella that this one cannot stop talking about since he met her.” Gwin Scawen slid down Raven’s tail and capered across the sand to stand in front of Bella.
“Here you! Do not be telling all my secrets!” Vear admonished the little brown man.
“But you’re a piskie!” Bella blurted out and then clapped her hand over her mouth.
“I am that,” Gwin agreed as he pulled a piece of driftwood closer to the fire to sit on.
“How do you have a piskie for a friend?” Bella asked Vear.
“Why shouldn’t he have a piskie for a friend? We are related in a way, both of us born from the spirit of the land,” Gwin said before Vear could answer.
“What does he mean?” Bella demanded of Vear.
Vear coughed, looked very uncomfortable and scowled at Gwin Scawen.
“Ahh! You have not yet told Miss Bella your secret I see,” Gwin Scawen said with more than a little amusement.
“Told me what?” Bella scrambled to her feet and backed toward where Raven stood.
“Bella, come sit down again,” Vear coaxed.
“Tell me what secret?” Bella persevered.
“Come and sit, Bella. It’s a long and complicated story,” Vear said with a sigh.
Slowly, Bella crossed the sand and perched on a big driftwood log on the other side of the fire from Vear and Gwin Scawen. She gauged the distance between her and the cave entrance. If she needed to, she could make a run for it. Lord only knew what she would do once she was out in the dark blustery night, but she figured she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
“Well?” Bella challenged Vear.
“Yes, yes. Well, Vear Du what will you tell Mistress Bella?” Gwin Scawen was enjoying himself immensely at Vear Du’s expense. This was better than he had hoped, he was sure that the big idiot would have told Bella his secret by now. Gwin settled down and waited to see what would happen next.
“Bella, you’ve lived all your life in Cornwall, surely you must know that there is more to the living than what meets the eye. You’ll have heard the stories about the piskies, and the seahorse, and the talking dolphins, and the selkies, I’m sure,” Vear began.
“Mrs. Waters tells stories about them by the fire at night,” Bella agreed with a nod of her head. Where the hell was he going with this?
“Well,” Vear hesitated. “Well, I am not what I seem either.”
“You are a smuggler!” Bella bolted to her feet and raced for the entrance of the cave.
Bella almost made it to the ledge when she was sent flying into the soft sand floor. She struggled to get up and disentangle whatever it was she had tripped over. Bella blinked sand out of her eyes and spit it out of her mouth. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and then started violently as Gwin Scawen unwrapped himself from around her ankles. He gallantly handed Bella his handkerchief to wipe her face and hands with.
“Please don’t run away, Mistress Bella. The big one is not a smuggler, he wouldn’t know what to do with treasure if he had it.” Gwin waved his hand dismissively in Vear’s direction.
“Then what is he? How does he know about this cave?” Bella still sat in a heap on the sand.
“Come back to the fire. Don’t be running out into the wild night where you might come to harm. Nothing will harm you here.” Gwin pulled at Bella’s hand and smiled imploringly at her.
Bella allowed herself to be led back to the fire, wondering if she had taken leave of her senses and wishing with all her heart that Sarie was there to help her make some sense out of all this nonsense.
“I am a creature from the Otherworld. I am a selkie.” Vear spoke thickly and looked intently into the fire never meeting Bella’s eyes.
“You’re a what? You’re one of those immortals that Mrs. Waters talks about, the one who can change from a man to seal?” Bella was incredulous.
“I am.” Vear turned his large luminous black eyes on Bella.
“So, you’re not a smuggler,” Bella made the question a statement.
“I am not a smuggler,” Vear affirmed with a smile of relief.
“What do you want with me, then?” Bella asked him.
“That is the question, is it not, Vear Du?” Gwin Scawen broke in giggling with glee.
“Company, human company. I yearn for the contact with the mortals of this countryside. It makes me feel more connected to the land and gives me a sense of time passing. Humans feel things so strongly because they have such a short time to experience life and they spend their emotions so extravagantly. It is most attractive to me,” Vear said humbly.
“You just want to be my friend?” Bella found that revelation somewhat disappointing.
“Do you object to that?” Vear held up his hand.
“Not really, I guess. I just kind of hoped that you liked me in a different way, you know,” Bella said truthfully.
Gwin Scawen snickered behind his hands. This was too good, the young Mistress Bella calling Vear Du’s bluff and challenging his gentlemanly effort to take their relationship down a different path.
“Ah, Bella. If only you knew,” Vear said in defeat and lowered his head.
“Knew what?” Bella spoke softly as she scooted around the fire pit on her knees and rested her hand on Vear’s large thigh.
“I like you more than one of my kind should like a human. It only leads to heartbreak and disaster,” Vear said without raising his head.
“Why is that?” Bella asked gently.
“If I let myself love you, I will burn with all your human passion and desire. You will grow old and eventually leave me, and I, I will be left to grieve for you for all eternity. To actually hold the flame of your human heart and warm my soul in its light and then lose it … it would be more than I could bear.” The flames of the fire reflected in Vear’s dark eyes as he looked at her.
“Have you loved a human before?” Bella wanted to know.
“No, but I have seen those who have. They carry the sadness forever,” Vear stated harshly.
“But do they not also carry the joy and the love forever as well, my friend.” Gwin Scawen smiled at Vear’s dark face.
“You forget that it was me who held you together when you lost your human lover,” Vear snarled.
“You did and I owe you a great debt. But I wouldn’t trade my memories for anything. Nor would I chose a different path if I had it to walk over again,” Gwin said solemnly.
“Why don’t we just be friends then and see where it goes?” Bella said.
“You will be content with that, Bella? You are all passion and fire.” Vear looked at her hopefully.
“You forget that I am going up England to study as a nurse. I am going to marry a doctor,” Bella said confidently.
“So you are. Then let us be friends.” Vear’s smile chased away the dark shadows from his face. “It is late, and I should be going.” Vear rose to his feet.
“You’re not staying to keep me company. It’s still pouring out there!” Bella spoke quickly. She really didn’t want to stay alone in the cave all night.
“Don’t tempt fate, Bella. It is best if I leave you now,” Vear said while dark lights flickered in his eyes.
“I will stay and keep you company, Mistress Bella!” Gwin Scawen offered. “Your virtue is safe with me, not like with yon big one.” Gwin indicated Vear with a flick of his long fingers.
“I will come tomorrow, or if not then, the next day for sure,” Vear promised as he disappeared into the storm.
Gwin made himself a nest in the straw at Raven’s feet and was soon snoring gently. Bella put some more wood on the fire and snuggled down in the pile of blankets and quilts that she had brought. Before too long the only one remaining awake was Raven.
Gwin Scawen was gone when Bella woke up the next morning, but he had left a bowl of porridge warming in the coals of the fire for her. She sat up and wrapped her hands around the warm pottery bowl. Bella set the bowl down and stirred up the fire to boil some water for tea. Then she sat cross legged and spooned the porridge into her mouth. Sarie appeared in the entrance of the cave just as Bella was scraping the last of the porridge from the bowl. Tristan followed closely on Sarie’s heels and Raven whinnied in welcome. Bella was glad to see that the weather had broken and the sun was shining strongly on the blue sea outside her hiding place.
“Morning, Bella!” Sarie greeted her.
“Sarie! I’m ever so glad to see you!” Bella jumped to her feet and hugged her friend tightly.
Sarie dumped the knapsack she had slung over her shoulder onto the sandy floor with a thump; then turned and undid the ties on the packs lashed to Tristan’s saddle.
“I brought you more supplies and some chocolate cake Mum made special for you last night.”
“Thanks ever so much. I’m so glad the bloody weather has cleared. I really need to talk to you,” Bella said earnestly.
“I have lots to tell you as well. Your da has been raising Cain all over the village. Mum had to get Sam Pritchard over from Mousehole to calm him down and get him to quit lurking around our place looking for you, “Sarie said laughing.
“I’m so sorry you have to deal with him. Maybe I should just go home and have it out with the man,” Bella said.
“Well, you might want to know Daniel has been giving out all over the village how you’re promised to him and that he’ll keep you in line once you come home with your tail between your legs begging forgiveness,” Sarie said grimly.
“Bother and damn!”
“I thought you might feel like that.” Sarie grinned.
“Somehow I’ve got to get on the train and away to London without him or Da finding out,” Bella said desperately.
“We’ll work something out,” Sarie assured her. “We don’t have to worry about that until next week, thank God.”
“I suppose that’s true. I have so much to tell you,” Bella changed the subject.
“How much can there be? You’ve been here in the cave for the last two days, haven’t you? You didn’t risk going out did you, Bella?” Sarie’s forehead wrinkled with concern.
“No, no. I’ve been ever so good. But I did have company.” Bella’s eyes sparkled.
“Who?” Sarie worried her bottom lip between her teeth. There was no telling what Bella might have been up to.
“You remember I told you about that man, Vear, the bloke I met when Raven picked up a stone, and who I have a date with for a picnic on Saturday?” Bella grinned.
“He was here? How did he know to find you here?”
“He knew somehow and showed up here, and there was a friend who followed him as well.” Bella was enjoying drawing the telling of the story out and teasing Sarie.
“Oh, Bella! Half of the Hundreds of Penwith will know where you are! The next thing you know you’ll have your da and Daniel pouncing on you.” Sarie was exasperated with Bella’s foolishness.
“No, Sarie. It’s ever so exciting. Vear is actually a selkie! You know a seal man, those who can change into a man or a seal whenever he chooses.” Bella sat back on her heels and studied Sarie’s face.
“Did you find some rum in this cave, Bella? You’re talking nonsense,” Sarie said acerbically.
“It’s true! His friend Gwin Scawen is a piskie and he stayed the night with me for company,” Bella asserted.
Sarie snorted and led Tristan to the back of the cave to tie him beside Raven.
“Look, right there! That’s where he slept in that little nest in the straw!” Bella pointed at the depression in the straw where Gwin Scawen had curled up.
“Bella, supposing what you say is true. You know that no good can come of a relationship between fairy people and mortals,” Sarie said.
“That’s just what Vear said.” Bella nodded her head.
“Well, at least he has some sense and isn’t bent on seducing you,” Sarie said.
“But I think I’d like to be seduced by him,” Bella said softly. “He’s ever so handsome, and big muscles and all.”
“Don’t go down that road, Bella. It only leads to heartache, you know that. Hasn’t Mum told you the old stories often enough?” Sarie warned.
“Gwin Scawen says it’s worth all the risk and the pain afterward for the joy that you share while it lasts., Bella said.
Sarie gave up trying to talk sense into Bella and set about unpacking the supplies from the knapsack.
Bella decided she would let the subject of Vear and Gwin Scawen drop for the moment and went about helping Sarie put the supplies away. It took longer than either girl thought it would, but soon they were sitting by the fire and waiting for the water to boil for tea. Bella was mad to catch up on all the happenings in the village since her disappearance and plied Sarie with questions.
Sarie filled Bella in on Daniel’s rantings and how Brian had to drag him forcibly from the Arms the night before last because Daniel was wanting to start a fight with anyone who questioned him on why he thought that a smart girl like Arabella Angarrick would ever marry someone like him. Bella giggled when she heard that. Got it in one!
Sarie went on to relate how her dad and grandpa had a huge argument on the high street yesterday afternoon. Standing in the rain like a couple of right loons going on about how the one spoiled the grandchild and how the other had chased another woman from his home by his high-handed actions. Sarie said it was the main topic of conversation all over town with each teller adding their own embellishments and thoughts on the right and wrong of the combatants.
“Poor Da.” Bella sighed. “He just can’t get it through his head that I’m not my mum. Hell, I don’t even really remember her really, just stories from Gramma and Grandpa Raginnis, and those Christmas trips to London. I’ve the sense to know that if she really was the saint they paint her to be she would never have gone to London one weekend and never come back.”
“I suppose it’s very hard on him with you getting all grown up and looking so much like your mum and all,” Sarie said.
“But I am growing up, and I can’t stay a child forever, even if I wanted to,” Bella said in exasperation.
“The grown-up world is way more complicated than it seems once you have to live in it,” Sarie said.
“But way more exciting too, with all sorts of new possibilities.” Bella’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s the look in your eyes that has your da in fits.” Sarie laughed at Bella’s expression.
“Just you wait until you meet Vear. You’ll see. He’s ever so yummy,” Bella told Sarie.
“Supposing that he is real, how do propose that I go about meeting him?” Sarie laughed.
“He said that he’d come and visit today, or the next day. Maybe he’ll bring Gwin Scawen with him, you’ll like him, but he’s not all gorgeous like Vear, though,” Bella told Sarie.
“Well, my surprise is pretty tame compared to your wild tales. I’m planning to spend the night with you and keep you company. Mum has agreed to take care of my riding students for me tomorrow so we have all today and tomorrow to visit,” Sarie said.
“That’s brill! It does get pretty lonely here with only Raven for company,” Bella admitted.
“Oh, yes! So lonely, what with lovely, gorgeous seal men coming to court you every night,” Sarie teased.
“Well he is lovely.” Bella smiled. “But I’m scared too.”
“You’re scared he’ll do something you don’t want him to?” Sarie was concerned.
“No, I’m afraid he won’t.” Bella muttered and hung her head so her hair fell forward across her face.
“Bella! Think of King’s College, how could you go and train there if you got knocked up. Don’t do something stupid,” Sarie warned her. Silently Sarie added to herself, like your mother did.
“I know, I know! It would prove Da right, wouldn’t it? I would be just like my whore of a mother,” Bella wailed.
“Bella, when did you ever hear anyone call your mother a whore?” Sarie was shocked.
“Da calls her that every time he gets drunk. He never remembers what he said the next day. He just makes a point of telling me how lucky he is to have a good upstanding daughter like me,” Bella said.
“From the gossip I’ve heard your da took it pretty hard when your mum left. Folks say the only thing that kept him sane was having you and fighting with your mum’s parents to keep you with him,” Sarie told Bella.
“I’ve only heard a little of the gossip. People tend to shut their traps when they realize I’m listening to their gossip,” Bella admitted.
“He’s going to take it hard when he finds you’ve gone to London and left him too,” Sarie warned.
“But it doesn’t have to be that way! I’m not going to London to lark around and spark with men. I’m going to train to be a nurse. Once I graduate I was even thinking of coming back to Penzance and working with Doc Ely,” Bella cried. “The chances of me marrying a doctor are slim to none.”
“Have you talked with your da about that?” Sarie asked gently.
“Not a chance!” Bella shook her head. “The minute I mention London or King’s College he just shouts me down and I can’t get a word in edgewise.”
“I have a plan to get you to London. Tuesday next there’s a train leaving early for London from Penzance, I already bought two tickets, I made a point of talking really loudly about how excited Mum was about going up to London to do some special shopping. The whole station heard about the great exciting trip Mrs. Waters and her daughter have planned. But it will be you and Mum that are leaving in the dark Tuesday morning. I’ll stay at the cave until the day after Mum comes back.” Sarie smiled at Bella.
“But won’t they notice when only your mum comes back and not the both of you?” Bella thought she saw a flaw in Sarie’s plan.
“Mum is going to put it about that an old friend of hers wanted me to see some of her horses and that her fine and handsome son was more than willing to run me back down to Longrock the next day, seeing as how he has some business to take care of in Marazion anyway.” Sarie grinned broadly at Bella.
“Do you really think it’ll work?” Bella asked hopefully.
“I do. Although, worse luck, there really is not a fine handsome son to squire me about in his motor car. I’ll be stuck here with Raven and Tristan and the seagulls for company,” Sarie said ruefully.
“What about Raven?” Bella asked suddenly.
“She’s coming to our place. I’ll say I found her running loose on the headland near where you were last seen. Your poor da will think you’ve made good on your threat to throw yourself into the sea,” Sarie said.
“Once I’m settled in London, in a couple of months I’ll come back and see him and explain everything. He’ll be so happy to see me, and so proud of me for doing so well with my nursing studies that he’ll forgive me for running away,” Bella said confidently.
“I hope you’re right, Bella,” Sarie said.