Read Online Candles in the Storm by Rita Bradshaw - Free Book Online
Authors: Rita Bradshaw
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Enid realised she was talking to the wind a moment later when everyone was in place and holding fast to the rope, and Daisy was wading waist-deep in the water. And now the older woman’s heart was beating fit to burst as she thought, Our Alf will blame me if anything happens to that lass, they all will. Why couldn’t Daisy be like any other girl anyway? None of the others would have dreamt of doing this, not for a minute, and she’d no hope of reaching the poor so-an’-so on that bit of wood.
Daisy was thinking much the same thing. She couldn’t believe how cold the water was, she had never felt anything like it before. As a wave knocked her off her feet for the second time in as many seconds and she struggled desperately to right herself, keeping her head above the surge, the futility of trying to pit herself against an enemy who was a hundred times stronger than her overcame her for a moment. And then she glanced back to where Jenny, Maggie, Molly and Lorna had followed her as far as they dare, and to the other women behind the quartet, and took heart.
The tide was coming in. Already the man - because she could see now the figure lying across the spar was a man - was nearer, and she couldn’t have just stood by and done nothing. She wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. What if her da or Tom or Alf had been in similar trouble, and a bunch of women had just watched them drown when there was a chance they were near enough to reach them? She blinked the blinding salt water out of her eyes for the umpteenth time and raised her arms high as she tried to jump another pounding wave. She was so deep now she could only just touch bottom with her toes and keep her head out of the water - and then she watched in horror as the slumped figure seemed to slide off the plank when the last wave covered it.
As the swell with its crest of white lather hit Daisy she lost her footing again, and by the time she had struggled, gasping and panting, to right herself all that could be seen a few yards away was the wooden spar floating unencumbered now. The man hadn’t come up. Oh, God, God, help me. He hasn’t come up! Let me find him, let me reach him.
Daisy wasn’t conscious of launching herself towards the spot she had seen him last, but as her feet searched for solid ground and found only water the sea closed over her head and she took a great mouthful of salty iciness, flailing wildly as she realised Alf’s mam’s prediction was in danger of coming true and she would lose her life in this vain rescue attempt. She opened her eyes as she rose upwards and there, just in front of her, eyes closed and looking as though he was dead, was the body of a man, her man.
Instinct made her reach out and grab, and as her frozen fingers found a hold in the man’s thick hair Daisy hung on for dear life, feeling as though she was being torn in half as the rope jerked madly round her waist. It was drowning her, she thought desperately, taking another mouthful of the disgustingly briny water as she fought to rise up for precious air against the pull of the rope which was curving her in two and keeping her head below the surface.
Daisy was aware of being towed through the water and that she, in turn, was towing the body of the man. As she kicked desperately with her legs she knew she couldn’t hang on to consciousness much longer.
And then she was being hauled up by strong arms and when her mouth opened again it pulled in air instead of choking salt liquid. She still retained her hold on the man, even when Molly and Lorna lifted him up and Daisy found herself being carried back to the shore by Jenny and Maggie. They all fell in a heap on the wet sand once they were clear of the waves, Daisy immediately rolling over and emptying the contents of her stomach while one of the women, a sturdy female with forearms like a circus strongman, worked on the inert figure a few feet away.
‘By, lass, if
Enid realised she was talking to the wind a moment later when everyone was in place and holding fast to the rope, and Daisy was wading waist-deep in the water. And now the older woman’s heart was beating fit to burst as she thought, Our Alf will blame me if anything happens to that lass, they all will. Why couldn’t Daisy be like any other girl anyway? None of the others would have dreamt of doing this, not for a minute, and she’d no hope of reaching the poor so-an’-so on that bit of wood.
Daisy was thinking much the same thing. She couldn’t believe how cold the water was, she had never felt anything like it before. As a wave knocked her off her feet for the second time in as many seconds and she struggled desperately to right herself, keeping her head above the surge, the futility of trying to pit herself against an enemy who was a hundred times stronger than her overcame her for a moment. And then she glanced back to where Jenny, Maggie, Molly and Lorna had followed her as far as they dare, and to the other women behind the quartet, and took heart.
The tide was coming in. Already the man - because she could see now the figure lying across the spar was a man - was nearer, and she couldn’t have just stood by and done nothing. She wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. What if her da or Tom or Alf had been in similar trouble, and a bunch of women had just watched them drown when there was a chance they were near enough to reach them? She blinked the blinding salt water out of her eyes for the umpteenth time and raised her arms high as she tried to jump another pounding wave. She was so deep now she could only just touch bottom with her toes and keep her head out of the water - and then she watched in horror as the slumped figure seemed to slide off the plank when the last wave covered it.
As the swell with its crest of white lather hit Daisy she lost her footing again, and by the time she had struggled, gasping and panting, to right herself all that could be seen a few yards away was the wooden spar floating unencumbered now. The man hadn’t come up. Oh, God, God, help me. He hasn’t come up! Let me find him, let me reach him.
Daisy wasn’t conscious of launching herself towards the spot she had seen him last, but as her feet searched for solid ground and found only water the sea closed over her head and she took a great mouthful of salty iciness, flailing wildly as she realised Alf’s mam’s prediction was in danger of coming true and she would lose her life in this vain rescue attempt. She opened her eyes as she rose upwards and there, just in front of her, eyes closed and looking as though he was dead, was the body of a man, her man.
Instinct made her reach out and grab, and as her frozen fingers found a hold in the man’s thick hair Daisy hung on for dear life, feeling as though she was being torn in half as the rope jerked madly round her waist. It was drowning her, she thought desperately, taking another mouthful of the disgustingly briny water as she fought to rise up for precious air against the pull of the rope which was curving her in two and keeping her head below the surface.
Daisy was aware of being towed through the water and that she, in turn, was towing the body of the man. As she kicked desperately with her legs she knew she couldn’t hang on to consciousness much longer.
And then she was being hauled up by strong arms and when her mouth opened again it pulled in air instead of choking salt liquid. She still retained her hold on the man, even when Molly and Lorna lifted him up and Daisy found herself being carried back to the shore by Jenny and Maggie. They all fell in a heap on the wet sand once they were clear of the waves, Daisy immediately rolling over and emptying the contents of her stomach while one of the women, a sturdy female with forearms like a circus strongman, worked on the inert figure a few feet away.
‘By, lass, if
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