Page 64 of The Housebreaker's Assistant
Penny nodded, his heart too much in his throat to say anything. Greer joined him on pushing the boat out farther, and as soon as it floated completely, though only on inches of water, Greer went back to fetch Lord Fabian.
Bringing the distressed young nobleman to the boat was more work than it should have been. Greer tried to help the young man to his feet and coax him to walk out to the boat at first, but Penny saw quickly that wasn’t going to work. “Lift him!” he called out as Greer grappled with the man.
Greer nodded and swept the young man into his arms. As he did, Dalhurst rolled to his hands and knees behind them, then pushed himself to stand with a grunt.
“Hurry!” Penny called out, holding the boat as it lifted over a wave, his heart beating so wildly he could barely draw a breath.
Greer splashed through the surf, reaching Penny and the boat just as another wave lifted it and threatened to turn it sideways again. He dropped Lord Fabian unceremoniously in the middle of the boat, then joined Penny in pushing it through the rolling, salty waves as they broke and rushed ashore.
They made actual progress, and once the water was up to Penny’s calves, Greer motioned for him to get in the boat and grab the oars. Wordlessly, Penny did as he was told, scrambling for the oars and bumping into Lord Fabian as he tried to make sense of what he was doing.
Lord Fabian continued to be more of a hindrance than a help. He refused to sit still, clawing his way to the side of the boat like he wanted to get out, which tipped it to the side and let water from the waves in.
“What are you doing, man?” Greer shouted at him as he pushed from behind to get the boat farther from the shore. “Stay still!”
Penny had just positioned himself correctly to row when he saw exactly what Lord Fabian was doing. Dalhurst had recovered and was charging through the surf toward them. He had one arm outstretched, and Penny caught a flash of metal as the moon flickered out from behind a cloud.
“Dalhurst!” Penny shouted, pointing at what Lord Fabian saw.
Greer turned to face the man and there was a click, but no explosion or shot fired.
Dalhurst paused, his eyes going wide. He tried to fire again, but for the second time, nothing happened.
Greer let go of the boat and turned to face the man, but Lord Fabian splashed into the water before he could do anything. Penny fought to keep the boat steady, but it bumped against Greer, causing him to lose his footing.
For one horrible second, Penny believed all was lost. Then, almost inexplicably, Lord Fabian stood from the water, the bedsheets that had been tied around him loose and sodden, and roared. He charged at a stunned Dalhurst, his otherwise beautiful face contorted in rage.
Lord Fabian slammed into Dalhurst, and the two of them disappeared under the water. Penny jerked to the side of the boat, but he had enough on his hands trying to keep each successive wave that rolled toward them from toppling the boat entirely. Greer had lost his footing and now struggled to stand against the tide, using the boat as an anchor.
The spot where Dalhurst and Lord Fabian had disappeared roiled with froth and foam as the relentless sea kept sweeping over it. Penny could just make out the billowy white of the sheets around Lord Fabian under the surface. The water couldn’t have been any deeper than his knees, but the depth didn’t matter.
“He’ll drown!” Penny shouted, finally finding his voice.
He had a feeling that was the point. For both men.
Greer had found his footing and lurched toward the mass of billowing sheets. As he thrust a hand under the water, Penny caught sight of lights on the top of the dunes from lanterns. He couldn’t make out whether the people carrying them were servants or Hammond and the guard, but it hardly mattered.
“We have to leave!” he shouted.
Whether Greer heard him or not, he remained focused on his task. He pulled up, bringing Lord Fabian’s head and shoulders with him. The desperate gasp of Lord Fabian sucking in air had Penny grimacing. The young man struggled feebly against Greer, but what strength he had had been depleted. Greer was able tolift him easily into his arms and carry him back to the boat, even as the wet sheet dropped away.
Penny kept his eyes pinned to the water in the space where Lord Fabian had been. There was a shadow there still, but Dalhurst didn’t emerge to gasp for breath the way Lord Fabian had.
“Hurry!” Greer shouted as he dropped Lord Fabian into the boat, then climbed in after him. “They’re coming.”
Penny nodded and pulled as hard as he could on the oars. He had very little idea what he was doing. The only rowing he’d ever seen had been from boats on the Thames and regatta teams. The motions seemed simple enough, but he knew his attempts to imitate what were only vague memories weren’t as effective as they could be. Partially because all he really wanted to do was watch for Dalhurst emerging from the waves.
Except he never did emerge. Penny lost sight of the dark shape as they moved farther and farther out into the midnight ocean. The spots of light flooded out onto the shore, one making its way into the water near the spot Penny thought Dalhurst was.
“My turn,” Greer said, nudging Penny once they were out beyond the point where the waves broke as they raced to the shore.
Without question, Penny gave up his seat by the oars and shifted to check on Lord Fabian, who huddled in a ball in the back of the boat. The poor man was shaking so hard Penny was afraid he’d come apart. Penny threw his arms around him, for his own comfort as much as Lord Fabian’s.
Greer was much more competent at rowing than Penny was. He took them farther and farther away from the shore, to the point where the lanterns became little more than indistinct dots. Then he turned them toward the south and continued rowing.
They were too far from the shore to tell for certain, but Penny never saw Dalhurst emerge from the waves. “Did he drown?” he asked.
“I killed him,” Lord Fabian whispered as he turned to huddle against Penny’s chest. “I killed him. I killed him. I killed him.”
