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lashed to the stump. The rest of the ship was sadly battered also; there were gaps in her railing, hasty
patches on her sides and her deck; most of the forward cabin had been torn away, and canvas sheeting
turned the remains into a sort of tent. The men who manned her were ragged and hollow-eyed, nor were
there many of them; but they stood to attention with a pride that showed in their faces and in their
bearing. Several men from the shore came hurrying up to the one who had just stepped off the ship. They
made a curious contrast: These men were stout and healthy, and well-dressed. The man they confronted
was much taller than they, but thin and pale as if he had been very ill recently and had not yet fully
recovered. His black hair was streaked with white.
 Please excuse me, masters, he said;  we lost both our skiffs over the side during storms. I thought it
would be best to tie up at the dock rather than trust to luck in hailing another ship in the harbour. You
see, he added with a grin,  I m afraid we ve lost our anchor also, and the old tub is leaking so fast that I
thought it would be well that my men be near enough to leap ashore when the time comes. We re not fit
for much swimming.
I recognized the grin when I hadn t recognized the man. It was Robbie.
 But who are you, sir? said one of the men who approached him.
 My name is Robert Tucker, and my ship what s left of her is the White Raven. I sail or I used
to for Roderick Huston. I set out six years ago with three other ships: the Stalwart, the Windfleet, and
the Fortune s Chance. I m afraid we ran into rather more trouble than we were expecting. I couldn t
see the faces of the men he was talking to. One young lad, dressed like an office boy, detached himself
from the group and ran off to spread the news. After a pause, Robbie went on:  Can you tell me what s
become of the other three? We lost track of them entirely, four years ago, during a storm the first
storm, he said wryly.  And where might I find Mr. Huston? Things have changed, I see, since we ve
been gone, and he nodded towards the warehouse I had noticed.  He must have written us off long
since. We ve not been anywhere that we could well send a message from. I tried, once or twice, but I
don t suppose they ever arrived.
And then the mist obliterated the picture once again, and I found myself staring at the top of a table in
a dark room in the Beast s castle,  Robbie, I said.  He s come home he s alive! And Grace doesn t
know oh dear Beast, I said, turning to him,  is what I m seeing happening now? Has Robbie only
just docked? And Grace only just had her conversation with Hope?
The Beast nodded.
 Then it s not too late, I said.  Yet. Oh dear. If Robbie sets out for Blue Hill today it ll take him
nearly two months and he wouldn t, besides: He ll stay and see to the ship, and his men. And he s not
well you can see that just by looking at him. I wonder if he ll even send a message. You can never tell
with these desperately honour-bound people; he may think he has to put it off for some reason. Oh
dear, I said. I walked away from the table, and paced up and down the room several times. The Beast
wiped a cloth carefully over the table and then sat down in the big chair near it, but I was preoccupied
and paid him little attention.  Grace must be told. If she gets herself engaged to that young minister if
she even feels that she s encouraged him to believe that she would accept his suit she ll go through with
it. She ll feel she must, Robbie or no Robbie.
 Beast could you send her a dream telling her about Robbie?
He shifted in his chair.  I could try, but I doubt that I would be successful. And even if I were, she
would not believe it.
 Why? Father believes.
 Yes, but he wants to and there are the roses that remind him that there is some magic at work.
Grace often dreams that Robbie is safely home. She knows that the dreams are wraiths of her own love,
and so she has trained herself not to believe. She would not believe any dream I sent. And well both
your sisters minds are strongly pragmatic; I m not sure I could send them anything at all. Your father is
different so is Ger, for that matter; so is Mercy. But neither your father nor Ger would mention
dreaming of Robbie, you know, to save your sister pain; and Mercy is too young.
I paused in my pacing.  You know a great deal about my family.
 I have watched them many hours, since your father rode home alone. They have grown very dear to
me, perhaps for your sake; and I have watched to see that they were well.
 Then let me go home just for a day an hour to tell Grace. She mustn t marry Lawrey she ll
be miserable for the rest of her life, after she finds out that her heart was right about Robbie. And then
they ll know too that I m all right, that I m happy here, that they needn t worry about me anymore. And [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]