The loud voice shattered the intimate moment.
"I've caught you!"
Agatha jerked straight and frantically threw her plate into the basket, as if that would help the situation any. Thomas Dalton walked straight up to the cove from further down the beach, his eyes fixed on his sister. Those eyes grew wide when Celian stood, his head almost reaching the top of the rocks sheltering them. Thomas stopped short, but jabbed an accusing finger at him.
"You! You're the one who's been sneaking around with my sister?"
Agatha stepped between them, still clinging to Celian's hand. "Thomas," she struggled to keep her voice calm, "it's not like that. We aren't sneaking—"
"What else would you call it?" Thomas demanded. "Leaving the house without telling anyone—"
"Pearl knows!"
"Pearl?" He spat. "Since when do we have to go to a maid for information? You and your high and mighty words, telling mother you're too good for that Jacob Martin—" He finally inched close enough to grab Agatha's free wrist. "You're in such big trouble! Just wait till Father finds out!"
Agatha struggled against her brother's grip. He was younger, but he also had her at a disadvantage, with her heeled boots finding less purchase in the softer sand. "Thomas, let me explain! Celian—" as she said his name, she glanced back at him.
Celian stood transfixed, seemingly unaware of Agatha's absence.
"Oy! You!" Thomas yanked his sister to the other side of the stream, heedless of the way she tripped over her skirt and went sprawling toward the sand. He hopped back over to the other side and advanced toward Celian, keeping a wary eye on the long arms and large hands. "How about you tell me who you are and what are your intentions with my sister!"
Celian blinked rapidly. His lips trembled as his voice came faintly. "My... my... Agatha—"
"Eh?" Tom advanced closer. "What's that? What do you want?" He stood well within reach, but Celian had not yet made a move toward him.
"I... I want—" Celian still stammered under his breath.
Agatha recognized the strange light in his eye, the deep grimace forming on his face. It was the same way his face had changed before he had rampaged the general store. Her terror built as she knew what would follow.
"Thomas!" She warned. "Don't hurt him! Leave him alone!"
"Shut up, Aggie!" Thomas snapped. He reached out and shoved Celian, taking care to scramble back away before the tall man could react. "What's it to be, then, hey? Have you touched her?"
Celian trembled all over. Agatha saw the way his eyes darted from one end of the cove to the other, like a cornered animal looking for escape.
Still, Thomas slung handfuls of sand at him. "Oy! I'm talking to you, Lurker! DID YOU TOUCH MY SISTER?"
Celian snapped. His body bent forward and his arms snapped straight, striking Thomas squarely in the chest and sending him flying back across the sand.
"NOOO!" Celian roared, and charged past the stricken youths and out of the cove, toward the incoming tide.
Agatha finally kicked free of her boots and scrambled to her feet. She screamed "Celian, wait!" after the retreating figure, but turned to beat her brother with her fists and palms. "You brute!" She shrieked, tears mixing with the sand and sticking to her face. "You utter monster! Now look what you've done!"
The blow from Celian had knocked some sense into the lad, and now seeing his sister so furious deflated most of the vengeance he had felt.
"Leave off!" He snapped, scrambling away from her and up to his feet. "I was only trying to protect your honor!"
"Protect my honor?" Agatha snarled at him. "You bloody idiot! You know nothing about honor!"
She glanced toward the surf. Celian had reached the water, but he wasn't stopping. Deeper and deeper he waded, till the waves overtook him and she couldn't see him anymore.
Thomas tried to take her hand again. "Let's go—"
"No!" Agatha slapped him away and crossed her arms. "You go home! I will not go anywhere with you!"
"Agatha, stop this nonsense—"
"GO. HOME. THOMAS!"
There was nothing else for it. He shrugged and ambled down the beach toward the path he had used to reach that spot. "Suit yourself..." he muttered.
Alone on the beach, Agatha removed her stockings and staggered down to the edge of the water.
"Celian!" She called. "Celian come back! It's all right! Tom's gone!" Her searching eyes did not see the flash of his shirt or his slacks. The waves lapped around her bare ankles, chilling her to the bone. Her anxious eyes searched the waves for any sign of him. "Celian!"
Several minutes passed, with no sign of the man. Her heart beat in her throat. He had been under the water far too long. She could almost picture his long, lean body drifting limply below the surface. The water reached her hemline by the time she reached a decision. Resolutely, she reached up and began unfastening her collar. She made her way further up the bank to where she had left her boots. Working methodically, she removed her dress, stripping down to her chemise and drawers. Resolutely, she returned to the crashing water.
The full impact of what she was doing washed over her at the first slap of the waves against her ankles. A spray of water across her shoulders prompted Agatha to glance to the sky and hug her arms across her chest. Rain began to fall—but Celian had not returned. Agatha waded into the churning water up to her waist. Something wide and flat brushed against her knee. Agatha reached down into the water and pulled up a piece of something wide and flat.
A piece of kelp dangled from her hands. Agatha dropped it back in the water and began calling once more. "CELIAN!! CELIAN!"
The waves had nearly reached her shoulders. She lifted her feet off the sand and stretched her arms into a swimming position. She blinked against the rain as it poured
