Demons of the Ocean Read Free

care for some water, Mr. Busby?" she asked at last. She poured a glass and passed it into the bank manager's clammy hands."Thank you, most welcome, most welcome," he said. "Did I hear you singing something just now? A strange tune. I didn't quite catch the words. I'd love to hear it if you felt like singing it again."Connor shook his head and Grace decided it was best to proceed with caution. Clearly, Lachlan Busby was not a man who would climb 312 steps purely for a social visit.
    "It's an old sea shanty our father used to sing to us," she explained politely."A shanty, eh?"
    "He used to sing us to sleep with it when we were small."
    "A lullaby, then, a pretty song of calming things?" Grace laughed lightly.
    "Not exactly. In fact, it's about pain and death and horrible things."The bank manager appeared alarmed."The point is, Mr. Busby, to remind you that however bad your life appears, things could be far, far worse."
    "Ahh, I think I understand, Miss Tempest. And, well, may I say how impressed I am at your... stoicism, in the current situation."Grace attempted a smile, though it came out as more of a grimace. Connor looked at Lachlan Busby with undisguised hatred. He was also trying to remember what stoicism meant."You two have experienced a loss that no child, no person of your age, should have to deal with," Lachlan Busby continued. "And now you find yourselves with no parent and no income and no home!"
    "We have a home," Connor said, breaking his silence. "You are standing in it."
    "My dear boy," Lachlan Busby said, reaching out a fatherly hand to squeeze Connor's shoulder, then thinking better of it, "if only this were still your home. But, without wishing to pile misfortune upon misfortune, it's my sorrowful duty to tell you that your father died with many debts. This lighthouse is now the property of the Crescent Moon Bay Cooperative Bank."Grace frowned. She had suspected as much, but somehow hearing the words made her fear more tangible. "Then we'll live on our boat," Connor said."Also now the property of the bank, I'm afraid," said Lachlan Busby, his eyes sadly downcast."Your bank," said Grace."Indeed." Lachlan Busby nodded."What more have you to tell us, Mr. Busby?" Grace decided it was best to hear the worst and be done with it.Lachlan Busby smiled, his perfect white teeth glinting in the sunlight. "I'm not here to tell you anything, my dears, just to make you an offer. It is true that, as of this moment, you have nothing and no one in this world. But I have many things. I have a beautiful home, a thriving business, and the most super wife a man could wish for. And yet, the tragedy of our lives is that we have never been blessed with--"
    "Children," interrupted Grace. Everything suddenly became horribly clear. "You have no children and we, we have no parents."
    "If you came to live with us, you would enjoy every advantage that being a Busby in this town can afford."
    "I'd rather die," Connor said, his eyes blazing.
    Lachlan Busby turned to Grace. "You seem more rational than your brother, my dear," he said. "Tell me what you think of my little proposal."Grace made herself smile, even though she felt sick inside. "It is very, very kind of you, Mr. Busby." The bile rose up in her throat and she struggled to swallow it back down. "But my brother and I do not need new parents. It's very generous of you to offer us your home, it really is, but we'll do just fine on our own."Lachlan Busby stopped smiling."You will not do just fine. You are merely children. You cannot live here by yourselves. In fact, you cannot live here at all. At the end of the week the new lighthouse keeper will arrive and you will have to pack your bags and leave."Lachlan Busby stood up to go. He turned to Grace one final time before departing."You are a clever girl," he said.
     "Don't be too quick to dismiss this offer. Others would give their eyeteeth for it."As their unwanted guest disappeared down the stairs, Grace put her arm around her brother's