Page 48 of A Castaway in Cornwall
She smirked at him. “How gallant of you, though I know you only offer as an excuse to see Miss Roskilly again.”
“Yes, Kayna Roskilly has many charms—two thousand of them a year, as a matter of fact.” He exhaled deeply and turned to her. “If only you were not a poor orphan, Miss Callaway.” He tweaked her chin. “I like you much better.”
She huffed, torn between offense and amusement. “At least you are honest.”
“When I can be, Miss Callaway. When I can be. Though I have my secrets.”
“That I can well believe,” she replied, thinking of the late-night cargo landing she had witnessed. “Thank you for the offer, but I want to talk to Mr. Lucas first, and—”
Eseld stepped out and, seeing them together, hurried to join them. “What are you two whispering about? Come, no secrets.”
“Secrets are exactly what weweretalking about, Miss Mably,” Treeve said.
Eseld looked ready to pout, so Laura deftly reassured her. “Mr. Kent is teasing you. He was just offering to drive us to Pentire House on Saturday.”
Eseld sucked in a little breath of surprised pleasure. “How kind. We accept.”
Treeve bowed, his gaze holding Laura’s. “Until then, ladies.”
When they returned to Fern Haven, Laura found Mr. Lucas with Perran Kent, the latter removing his stitches.
The patient winced.
“Am I hurting you?” Perry asked, brows furrowed in concentration.
Alexander gritted his teeth. “Stings a bit—that’s all.”
Seeing Laura, he managed a smile. “Ah, my angel of mercy.” Noticing her tense expression, he said, “Is something amiss?”
“Em, no. Just some news. It will wait until Dr. Kent finishes.”
“Ah, I suppose you heard about the second survivor?” Perry asked. “I was just about to mention it to Mr. Lucas.”
“Another survivor?” Alexander’s face tightened with strain as well as pain.
“A Frenchman,” Perry said. “Even so, that is good news, is it not?”
“Of course,” Alex replied between stiff lips, his tone not very convincing.
The young doctor finished. Packing up his supplies, he said, “I was surprised to find him in such good health, more than a week after the wreck, cast ashore in a small cove without food or water. But he was remarkably unscathed. I gather he drank rainwater collected in leaves and managed to spear a few fish.”
“Very resourceful,” Laura murmured.
“Yes, a natural-born survivor.” Perry looked from one to the other, as if becoming aware of the tension in the room but not understanding it. “Well, I will leave you.” At the sound ofEseld’s laughter floating up the stairs, he bowed and quickly departed.
When they were alone, Alexander asked, “What is the man’s name?”
“François LaRoche. Says he’s a Frenchémigréliving here legally. Treeve wondered if you might be able to confirm the veracity of his claim.”
Alex laughed, but it was not a pleasant sound. “François and veracity do not belong in the same sentence.”
“You know him?”
“Yes. We ... shared a cabin on the ship.”
“Do you want to go and see him?”
“Where is he?”
