Death in the West Wind Read Online Free PDF

the Apothecary, and stripped off his clothes, feeling the sun warm on his skin. Then he ran into the sea and swam naked, luxuriating in the sense of freedom this gave him. If he had been with Coralie, John thought, she would have joined him, rushing into the waves beside him, tumbling and turning in the surf, as bare as himself. But though Emilia did follow him into the water she was clad in long drawers and a flowing chemise.
    Even as he compared the two women, the Apothecary felt guilty, sick with himself for doing such a thing. It was cruel to his bride to liken her to the woman whom he had both loved and lost.
    “I must never do it again,” he said aloud to the tranquil sea, and turned to see that Emilia was swimming towards him. He swam back to make sure that she did not go out of her depth, then took her hand, pointing to the far reaches.
    “See, there’s more wind out there.”
    “Is it blowing from the west?”
    “It must be. It’s still so warm.”
    “Can we stay here as long as the weather holds?”
    But John did not answer, his attention caught by something else. Very faintly, almost as if it were an illusion brought about by the water in his ears, he caught the faint sound of voices.
    He turned to his wife. “Can you hear anything?”
    She stood listening, the sea covering her breasts, the chemise she wore clinging to, them transparently. “No, I don’t think so.”
    But there was something, John heard it again, blown inshore by the breeze.
    “I must get my telescope.”
    “But you’ve got nothing on.”
    “Neither have you — much.”
    And he gave her a loving squeeze to make the point, then swam back towards the shore, scrambling to his feet in the surf and heading for where their basket sat neatly on a groundsheet. Rummaging in its depth, John found what he was looking for and put it to his eye, training the instrument towards the horizon. Sure enough, two fishing boats were coming into sight, immediately behind them a much larger ship, a square-sailed schooner under full canvas. The Apothecary adjusted the lens to maximum strength and saw that the two smaller vessels had tow ropes leading from them, each fastened on either side of the schooner’s prow. The smacks were bringing the larger vessel into shallow waters, rowing for all they were worth and straining with the effort. Of the crew of the schooner there was no sign, the decks clearly empty and devoid of life except for the helmsman who John recognised as one of the locals gone aboard to steer her.
    Certain that something was wrong, the Apothecary threw on his clothes, shouting to Emilia to get out of the water. But she was already hastening through the waves. The sight of that size of vessel coming so close in shore was somehow both menacing and sinister, and the poor girl was acting as if it were coming straight for her. She ran into her bridegroom’s arms.
    “What’s happened? Why are they towing it in? Has there been an accident?”
    “I imagine so. Dress quickly. We might have to help.”
    So saying, he ran to the water’s edge as the first of the fishermen jumped into the shallows and started to secure their smack, followed closely by the crew of the other. “What’s going on?” John asked.
    The man turned a taciturn face. “That’s what we’d like to know.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “The bastard ship nearly ran us down, came within a few inches. We only saved ourselves by rowing out of its path and by Christ that nearly killed us. Anyway, there’s no one aboard. We hailed her, then went alongside and got a rope on a grapple to her. Jeb shimmied up it, but called out that he couldn’t find no one, so I went up after him. It was true enough. The whole great hulk was empty yet there was every sign of life. Clothes in the cabins, even a pot of tea warm on the” table. I tell you, guv’nor, it fair scared the shite out of me.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “Anchor her up, then send for the quay master from