“It kills me, but I’m going to jump first,” he told me.
“Yes! Go!” I told him, only considering his life. To put him before myself.
“Only so I can catch you!” he called to me, even though I was at his side. “You must jump, Dianna. You swear?”
I nodded.
“Dianna!”
“Yes! I swear, I’ll jump. Just go!”
Like a wild animal, Henry grabbed hold of the sill and slipped through the window with such ease. I immediately went to the opening and peered down, hoping he was alright. He stood on the ground, arms stretched up and open. Waiting to catch me.
“Jump, Dianna! I swear to catch you!”
It was only one story. I knew I could do it with as much ease as Henry. But now I carried a life inside me, and I panicked at the thought of missing my aim and meeting the ground. My body smacking against the hard dirt alley behind The Kraken’s Den.
“Dianna!” His voice was drenched in desperation and helplessness.
I promised.
So... I jumped. I had to trust that Henry would catch me. And when I felt the hard smack of his strong arms underneath my body, a relieved cry sprang from my throat and I wrapped my hands around his neck like a vice.
“Shh, it’s okay,” he said against my ear as I helplessly sobbed. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
With me still in his arms, Henry took quick strides out of the alley and around to the front of The Kraken’s Den. I heard the cries of people in the street, howling through the early morning fog. And then the sound of my name.
“Jesus Christ!” Lottie yelled and ran toward us. “Is she alright?”
“Yes, she’s fine. Just shook up,” Henry replied and then set me down. “Dianna are you alright to stand?”
I hadn’t even realized my eyes were clenched shut until then. I pried them open to see my friend, her alabaster face smudged with soot. My arms found her, and Lottie hugged me back.
“Where are the others?” I asked her.
“Helping to put the fire out,” she replied and pointed to where the remainder of my crew, clad in nothing more than undergarments and shirtless torsos, tossed large wooden buckets of water at The Den.
But it did nothing.
Like the beast of its namesake, The Kraken’s Den became tangled in flames and threatened to take the adjoining building. Tentacles of smoke wrapped in and out of windows as they smashed from the heat. A loud, thunderous boom shook the air as the second-floor ceiling finally gave way and collapsed. Mister Cresley nervously walked through the crowd of shaking guests as locals brought blankets to wrap them in. He seemed to be counting.
“Mister Cresley!” I called and ran toward him. “Is everyone accounted for?”
He appeared solemn. “Without my ledger, I’m not certain, but I believe everyone is here. He shook his head, seemingly disappointed in himself. “Perhaps I’ll count again. I feel as if I’m off.”
“What happened?” Henry asked him. “How did such a fire start?”
“No one knows,” the sweet old man told us. “Often, it’s a chimney fire.” He glanced toward what remained of the brick stack on the side of the tavern. “But I don’t think that’s the case. We just had them cleaned. The source of the flames seemed to have come from upstairs.”
Just then, something in the first-floor picture window caught my eye. A shadow. A movement that passed over the light of the flames inside. I strained to see, as well as hear for anyone inside. And then the shadow moved again, closer to the window. It was a person.
“There’s still someone inside!” I called and pointed to the window. “Look! Near the front desk!”
“Oh, dear heavens,” a trembling Mister Cresley said. He took a step toward the tavern, but Henry grabbed his arm, holding him back.
“Don’t,” he told the man. “I’ll go. Stay with Dianna.”
The innkeeper hesitated, but only for a moment. He knew that Henry, a strong, able-bodied young man was far more capable of getting in and out safer than he. But I wouldn’t have it.
“No!” I screamed and gripped the sleeve of his shirt. He peered back at me over his shoulder. “Please! Don’t leave me. Don’t go in there. Y-you’ll be killed.”
With a deep sigh, Henry took me in his arms and kissed me quick and hard.
“I can’t bear the thought of losing you again,” I whispered.
“You won’t,” he assured me. “I’ll come back.”
Before I could answer, Henry was gone. My eyes, unblinking, followed his figure as it busted through the once beautiful front door and ran through the ground floor of The Kraken’s Den. The floor above burned with an unceasing fire and I yelped as another chunk of the structure came crashing down. Lottie’s arms found me, and we held each other tightly as her borrowed blanket covered us.
“Bloody Christ!” Finn churred, suddenly at my side. “Did I just see Henry run inside?”
“Yes,” I replied and swallowed hard against my smoke burned throat. “There’s someone still in there.”
Just then, the picture window that faced the front of the tavern exploded with an ear-piercing crash, shards of hot glass spilling into the street. The crowd, like a wave, moved back and shielded themselves. Gus and our deckhands dove away and dropped the buckets as they ran over to where we stood, huddled together.
“It’s no use,” Gus said as he coughed into his hand. “It’s beyond saving.”
“Henry’s still in there!” I yelled and broke free of the safe cover Lottie’s blanket provided to run for the Den.
Finn yanked back on my arm. “Oh, no ye don’t! I’ll go.” He looked to Gus. “Watch them.”
And, again, I watched helplessly as one of the people I loved most in this world ran head-on into a building blazing with smoke and flame. I held my breath in wait, eyes scanning back and forth through what openings still remained. My heart beat wildly as my lungs burned with lack of air.
Suddenly, a form moved in my vision and a bulky black figure moved toward the opening of the front door. I struggled for air as I watched, waiting, hoping. The massive figure morphed with color and shape as it met the light of day which seeped through the smoke.
Finally, it emerged, three bodies draped over one another, coughing and wrenching the smoke from their lungs and collapsed on the ground just as the last of the structure caved in. Mister Cresley swiftly moved to fetch an old woman from Finn’s one arm. One more burst of flames shot up in the sky and smoke billowed up in dark grey poufs.
“Henry!” I called and dove for the man lying in the street. He was unrecognizable. Covered in black soot, half his blonde hair singed up to his ear, and unresponsive. I dropped to my knees beside him and pushed at his chest. But he didn’t react. “Henry!”
I whipped my head up to find Finn on his knees, coughing. But he seemed alright. Our eyes met. Surely, mine full of the worry I felt fill my body.
“I-I have to… he’s not breathing,” I told him.
“Have to what?” His voice lowered so only I could hear. “Can you save him?”
“Yes,” I replied, thinking of the reactions I’d get when people saw me perform CPR, a method unknown to this time. But I didn’t care. I had to save Henry. “Just keep eyes off me, okay?”
Finn nodded dutifully and moved to kneel between me and the crowd, his massive frame surely covering me from their prying eyes. I tipped Henry’s head back, chin up, and checked for any obstructions in his throat. None.
My hands, shaking from the cold winter air and the adrenaline that coursed through my body, pumped his chest as my mind silently counted. My lips around his, and I forced air into his lungs. Pump. Breathe. Pump. Breathe. I worked tirelessly on his body, refusing to give up. Tears streamed down my soot covered face, pooling at the corners of my dry mouth, the salt stinging the skin there.
I pumped his chest harder. “Henry, God damn it!” No response. “Please! You promised! Come back!”
“Lass,” Finn called over his should
er. “We best move. We’re too close to the fire.”
He gently took my arm, but I swat it away. “No! I’ll save him. I have to save him.”
The fire raged just a few meters away and I could feel the heat burning my skin. I clenched my fingers together in one massive fist and raised it above my head before bringing it down to Henry’s chest in a final act of desperation.
“Breathe, Henry!”
His body jolted to life and my heart banged against the inside of its cage. I helped him sit up as he barked a continuous stream of coughs. His eyes, confused and concussed, stared up at me.
“Dianna?”
I couldn’t form words; relief flooded my body and I wrapped my arms around the man. But he winced in pain and I pulled away to find that his shirt was gone. Had been burned way by the fire that scorched his skin. Reddened and charred flesh swelled on his upper chest by his shoulder.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” I said, still trembling.
Henry gripped my fingertips and coughed. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You… you saved me.” Despite the agonizing pain, he managed a smile and muttered as he fell back to unconsciousness, “Again...”
“Captain,” Finn said once more. “We must leave. Now.”
My head shot up and glanced around at the onlookers. The faces ridden with disbelief at what they witnessed me do. Despite the cover of Finn’s body, I’d created a scene and they all watched with a mix of horror and wonder.
Just then, a racing carriage pulled up, casting a cloud of dirt over us. The door swung opened and Roselyn Wallace poked her head out.
“Get in!” she called to us. We all hesitated, and my crew looked to me for an answer. “I can help him!”
“There’s not enough room for all of us,” I told the woman.
“That’s fine, Dianna,” Gus said as he came to my side. “Take Henry. I’ll make sure the rest of us gets to The Siren’s Call safely.”
“Are you sure?” I pleaded.
“Yes! Now, go! Get out of here before the questions start.” Gus and Finn helped Henry into the carriage, and I jumped in behind him, turning to my friends and willing them to be safe before closing the door behind me. And we were off, bound toward The Siren’s Call with a half dead Henry in my arms and my world turned upside down.
Chapter Eleven
Isat by Henry’s bed, in some random guest room at The Siren’s Call as he slept. Wallace had sent for a doctor who had come with haste to clean and wrap Henry’s burns. Finn and Gus, my brave men, had checked in and then headed back to the docks, to our ship where our trunks had thankfully been left behind after the wedding.
At least we hadn’t lost everything, which is more than I can say for poor Mister Cresley. I made a mental note to find him after this was settled and offer our help to rebuild The Kraken’s Den. Lord knows we had more than enough money to build ten taverns.
“Dianna?” Wallace spoke from the doorway. I lifted my head from the side of the bed. “They’re back with the trunks. You should come and get cleaned up. Get out of those clothes.”
The woman seemed sincere. No malice or deceit hidden in her tone, and I began to rethink my view on Roselyn Wallace altogether. I knew she harbored feelings for Henry, but that didn’t make her a bad person. And he’d told me she’d met someone. That she was happy and had moved on. I was reluctant to believe it. But now I wanted to give her the benefit of a doubt.
“Thank you,” I told her. “For everything.”
“It’s no trouble at all, really,” she replied. “Not for an old friend, anyway. I had slept at The Den last night and had been on my way home this morning when my driver glanced back and spotted the smoke in the distance. I rushed back as fast as I could.”
I stood and walked toward the door where she waited.
“You should let my doctor have a look at you,” she added. “And the baby.”
I wanted to decline the offer, she’d already done enough saving us from the street and tending to Henry’s wounds so quickly. But I did worry for the baby. I’d inhaled so much smoke. And then the fall from the window. Henry had caught me, but my body met his a little too hard.
I rubbed a hand over my belly. “Sure, that would be… that’s very kind of you.”
She brushed off my words. “Please, no need.”
“I insist. I can’t repay you enough for your kin–”
“No.” Her brown eyes flashed with impatience. “Please. I don’t… it’s the least I can do.”
I gave her no reply. I left it alone and followed her through The Siren’s Call, an awkward silence holding us together. Exhausted, I fetched some things from my chest and went to soak in a warm tub. As the layers of caked soot and smell of singed hair leeched from my pores into the water, I cried into my wet hands. Not tears of sadness but cries of relief. Of the adrenaline leaving my body.
The events of the morning came rushing back and I realized how close we’d come to death today. If I hadn’t woken when I did. If Henry’s quick thinking didn’t get us out of the building before it came crashing down around us. And then his unresponsive body lying limp in the streets. My heart squeezed.
With great effort, I got up in the tub and stepped out, careful of my wet feet on the slick floor. I dressed in a simple grey skirt and white blouse, refusing to even attempt to strap my massively pregnant body into a corset. What was the point? I tucked the loose ends of my blouse into the long skirt and hoisted the waist up over my belly before venturing out the massive house in search of my friends.
I found them, in Wallace’s office, the room where I once draped over a chaise after nearly fainting. Gus, Finn, Lottie and our three young deckhands. All freshly clean but heavy with defeat and exhaustion.
“Dianna,” Wallace said by way of greeting. “Come in and sit down. I was just inviting your crew to stay here at The Call for as long as they may need. That invitation, of course, extends to you and Henry.”
“Oh, thank you,” I told her. “But there’s really no need. I don’t want to put you out. We’ll find another tavern once Henry is feeling better.”
Her brow raised in challenge. “I have more than enough room to accommodate all of you. And the medical means to tend to Henry’s wounds.” She glanced at my stomach. “Not to mention you and the baby. You’re far along, Dianna. You need medical care.”
With a sigh, I glanced around at my friends, their faces drooping with fatigue, and I nodded. “Okay, we’ll stay.”
“Excellent,” she replied and stood from her desk. “My doctor is ready and waiting for you in the room Henry’s in.”
I followed Wallace back to the room where Henry lay in bed, awake now. He tried to sit up at the sight of me, but winced in pain, forcing himself back into the bed. I ran to his side, slipping a hand into his.
“Dianna,” he said in a raspy whisper. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” I assured him and forced a smile. “Nothing a good bath didn’t help. How are you feeling?”
“Like a burnt roast,” he replied jokingly and then cringed as he glanced down at his own chest, wrapped in white dressings.
“Are you in pain?”
Henry’s hand squeezed mine. “Don’t you worry about me. Was that old woman alright?”
“The one you pulled from the fire?” I confirmed. “She was fine. A few burns. But she’s alive thanks to you and Finn.”
He closed his eyes and pressed his head back into the pillow behind it.
“Don’t you ever do anything that stupid ever again, do you understand?” I demanded.
Henry’s eyes opened and gleamed up at me. “Yes, ma’am.”
A single tear slipped down my cheek and I leaned over to place a gentle kiss on his lips before speaking softly against them. “I can’t bear to lose you again.”
“You won’t,” he mouthed against my trembling lips.
Behind us, Wallace cleared her throat. I’d forgotten she was even in the room. I pulled free of Henry and looked over my shoulder.
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“The doctor is here to examine you, Dianna,” she said and motioned to the single cot that sat on the other side of the large guest room.
As I laid in the tiny bed, letting the strange man run his cold fingers over my pregnant body, I stared at the ceiling and dreamed of home. Of the open meadows and the crash of waves in the distance. Of warm tea as the sun set on the horizon. But, I realized, after a moment’s thought, it wasn’t a Newfoundland of now. It was the home I came from. The one that wouldn’t exist for another three hundred years, and the realization stunned me.
“There’s not much movement,” the doctor pointed out and pulled me from my daydream.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Is that bad?”
“It can be,” he replied, his wrinkled face worn with years of a stressful occupation. He stuffed some tools back into a large leather bag. “In this case, I think you’ll be just fine with some rest. The baby is slightly distressed. Could be from the fire. Could be from lack of proper sleep and food.”
“Well, I’m eating just fine,” I told the doctor. “But I have been very tired. All the time.”
He patted my hand. “Then I suggest you stay in bed, get some sleep. Don’t do anything too strenuous. Listen to your body.” He quirked an eyebrow and grinned. “And your doctor.”
I thought of all we had to do, how we’d yet to track down my sister and that our mission had barely begun. My crew would need me soon. I couldn’t just leave them with the burden of it all. Although, I know they’d do it in a heartbeat. But I’d pulled us along on this ridiculous journey of stopping Maria Cobham and I wouldn’t stop.
I promised the good doctor to get some rest, and I would. For now. He left, followed by Wallace, and I laid there, holding Henry’s gaze from across the room as we each yearned to be next to one other.
“The baby is fine,” I assured him. “The doctor is just taking extra precautions. I can feel it moving around as we speak. Nothing feels different. Don’t worry, alright?”
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