Chapter Twelve
The acrid smell of smoke drifted to Gus’s nose not long after theNight Windsailed into the mouth of the Gouët river. He glanced up at the medieval ruins of the Cesson tower which overlooked where the bay of Saint-Brieuc and the Gouët met.
He sniffed at the air. It wasn’t uncommon for the locals to set fire to parts of the overgrown woodland around the base of the tower in order to clear land for their livestock. But the odor which sat on the wind was not one of burning trees or grass.
“The château is ablaze!”
Gus turned his gaze to where the member of his crew was pointing. A thick, black plume of smoke filled the sky above where Château-de-La-Roche stood. The sickening boom of explosions reached his ears.
“I hope that is not anywhere near where Armand has hidden the gunpowder,” he muttered.
Brandy was bad enough, but if the flames got into the powder store, the whole place could go up. And if it did, anyone within a hundred yards would be in peril.
Evangeline. Where in the middle of all this are you?
A horrid, sinking feeling settled over him. Knowing Evangeline La Roche, she would be right in the thick of fighting the blaze. She would be tossing buckets of water on the flames with no regard for her own safety.
“Sails. I want every sail aloft!” he bellowed.
For a moment, he was tempted to leap overboard and swim to shore, but the yacht was still too far from land.
Captain Grey came to his side. “We have every sail in the wind. I cannot bring the boat in any faster. And besides . . .”
An anxious Gus glared at him. He never liked it when the captain added abesidesto his comments.
“What?”
The other man sighed. “The last time you went racing up the path to the château, you returned with a bullet wound and I had to cut it out of your chest. Or have you forgotten the long night you endured on the way back to England?”
Gus would never forget that night. “I won’t go dashing into anything. If the château is under attack, I would be a fool to blindly step right in the middle of it.”
And he had made a promise to his father not to die a hero.
The captain nodded his agreement as the crew of theNight Windscrambled around the weather deck, shifting canvas about in the wind as fast as they could.
Gus stayed well clear. He was a good sailor, but in this sort of situation he would only impede their work. His injured left shoulder made him more of a hindrance than any help.
It was a tense few minutes before the boat finally drew up alongside the quay. As several of the crew, ropes in hand, made ready to jump over the side and moor the yacht, Gus considered where he was best to head once he set foot on dry land.
From the riverside it was obvious the château was well alight. Nothing and no one could save it.
His hand had just settled on the top of the gunwale when a sickening boom reverberated through the air. The sky above was suddenly full of burning wood, splinters, and stones; they rained down upon the crew. Everyone on board the boat ducked for cover, but several men were hit by flying debris.
Staggering to his feet, Gus took in the disaster. The water around the jetty was full of floating flotsam and jetsam. Injured crew members sat bloodied on the deck. The truth of Armand’s reckless plans lay in front of him.
Oh Armand, why store it in the house?
Gus squinted, straining to see, but the gray cloud of dust and smoke which enveloped the area surrounding the château was impenetrable. A hand on his arm had him meeting the worried face of the yacht’s captain. “Mister Jones, you aren’t going ashore, are you? Who is to say that the last of it went up in that explosion? There might be more gunpowder still ready to blow.”
Gus nodded. “I hear you, but I have to go. My friends. I must find out what has happened to them. Stay here and render whatever assistance you can to the crew. Then you need to sail clear. I won’t have these men dying today.”
“But what about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. Get the boat away. We have all those crates of gunpowder on the deck and below. The last place theNight Windshould be is anywhere near fire. And some of the men need medical attention.”
The captain sighed. “Alright, we shall head back to Binic. One of the churches in the town has nurses serving in the hospital annex. I’ve had to avail myself of their services in the past.”
Gus patted him on the arm. “Good. Stick to our bargain. A week from today, if I haven’t made it to Binic, you sail for England. You go to the Duke of Monsale and tell him what happened.”
