Shipwreck Read Online Free PDF Page B

was quite content to sit with Boots in front of her cartoons. He had been right to fear that his story was too grown up for her. She’d made a good choice.
    Bill went back upstairs to Wendy. She sipped some of the coffee, then leaned back in bed. Bill remembered again how he had read stories to her when she was a little girl. Watching her with her rumpled hair and her nose already getting red from her cold, his heart melted.
    She smiled at him. “Go on, Dad. I’m ready. We left off where the poor girl has died.”

    Father Keegan gave the young woman the Last Rites, the final ritual of prayer for a dying person. Then he got to his feet.
    “Mrs. Cameron,” he said to the midwife, “I will leave her to you. Come, Will. We have not yet finished.”
    William followed the priest back into the hall. He felt as if his heart was in a vice. Seeing the death of such a young and beautiful woman moved him deeply.
    A soft hum of conversation rose from the end of the hall. Will saw his mother, and she smiled at him. He felt proud that she would see him performing such important tasks.
    “We had better look for that money and make sure it’s safe,” said Father Keegan.
    The two of them went over to one of the silent mounds. The priest removed the blanket that Saul had put over the body of the blond-haired man.
    “Let’s get the coat off him first.”
    Will had never touched a dead body before, and the feel of the cold, clammy skin almost turned his stomach. He was glad he’d had nothing to eat.
    Underneath the coat, the man was wearing a thick woollen jersey and black serge trousers. Their damp sea-soaked smell filled Will’s nostrils.
    “This man is dressed like a sailor,” Will said to the priest.
    “Indeed he is.” Father Keegan turned the man’s hands palms-up and ran his finger over the rough skin. “He certainly has worked like one.”
    He felt along the hem of the coat, then quickly tore open the seam. Will held back his gasp of surprise. Gold coins flowed out onto the floor, more than he had ever seen in his life.
    “No wonder he was such a heavy burden,” said the priest. “And here we have something more.” He removed a small purse of purple velvet. He untied the string that kept it closed and held the open purse out for Will to see. It was filled with diamonds. “This man did hard work. He could never earn this much wealth in ten lifetimes.”
    “Father, I don’t understand. The lady said he saved her. You asked if the blond-haired man was her husband, and she said yes. She told us his name was John. But she is well-born. How could she marry a rough sailor like him?”
    Father Keegan’s expression was kind as he glanced at William.
    “Such things do happen, my son, but in fact, she never answered my question. I noticed that at the time. I also thought her worry about whether we had spoken to anyone on board was strange.”
    Will stared at him, not entirely sure what this meant.
    The priest continued. “I would bet that her real husband is lying right over there.” He made his way over to the last body at the end of the row. He pulled away the tarp. The dead man was plump, with a neat beard, black as ink. It was an unnatural colour. He was dressed only in a shirt, vest, and trousers. Will noticed his boots. They were made of fine leather, with fashionable square toes.
    “This man dyed his hair,” said Father Keegan. “And he has the soft chin and round stomach of a well-fed man. He was no sailor. I would say he was the merchant who paid for his and his wife’s trip.” The priest leaned forward. “Look, Will, look at his shirt. What do you notice?”
    They seemed to have slipped into the role of teacher and student, and Will liked it. Liked being able to please this sharp-tongued man.
    Will moved in closer. “The cloth is of fine quality. It feels like pure linen.”
    “Yes, but more important, see the tear in that fine shirt.”
    The priest unbuttoned the man’s vest and opened the front of