Page 100 of Valour

Crack.

“Yes!”

The seal fell dead.

Charlotte hurried forwards, dropping the rifle and crashing into Arnold, holding onto him tightly. Her heart beat so hard against her ribs it might have burst through. “I thought it was going to eat you!”

“I think it was. Good thing you shot it.”

“Eventually.” Charlotte covered her mouth against the rising nausea, the sky spinning overhead.

“It’s huge. Hell. I thought I was a goner.”

“I thought you were too.” She pulled back from his arms, looking him over, checking him for injury.

“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

Charlotte blushed and dipped her head, but he pulled her closer. What would she have done if it had eaten him? Tears sprang to her eyes. She wiped them away with shaking fingers.

“Charlotte.” He grasped her hands. “Charlotte,” he said again, his eyes shining, full of longing.

Charlotte gasped, because she could see what he was thinking about saying, but there was no way he was going to say it before she did. And she wanted to explain first. Wanted to tell him everything, in case he changed his mind. She raised a finger to his lips. “Wait! Don’t say a word.”

His smile faltered, and she hated to do it when she couldn’t tell him why. She squeezed his hands and pulled him towards the seal. “Let’s get it back to camp.”

“Right,” he said, his voice flat.

They loaded the seal onto the sled and made their way back to the cluster of tents. She was going to tell him, but she wanted to be alone, where no one could see or hear her.

“Wow, that’s a sizeable beast, well done Arnold,” Winston said, clapping Arnold on the back. He drew out a knife and set about cutting the beast’s stomach open to catalogue its diet as part of the scientific recordings.

“Not me,” Arnold said, “Charlotte saved me from its grizzly maw.”

Winston raised his eyebrows. “My apologies for presuming! Well done, Boss.” A deluge of undigested fish slithered out of the seal as Winston tore his knife away. “Wow! Fish supper for us!”

Charlotte grimaced and mustered a fake yawn. “I feel awfully tired after that. I think I’m going to go to bed.” She hoped Arnold would take the hint and follow her.

Arnold frowned and took out his pocket watch. “It’s only seven o’clock. Isn’t it a bit early? Besides, I’d love a bit of fish.”

Maybe he needed more of a hint. “You look tired too.”

“I do? Thanks…”

“No, I mean. Oh, fine, let’s go and sit with the others.” She knew it had been silly to think a man could take a hint. She felt a little guilty, because he looked ready to drown his sorrows. Not that there was any alcohol left.

They walked to sit in the middle of the tents, where the crews were gathered, some kind of argument going on.

“It’s time. Everyone is on the verge of starvation. We can’t keep feeding them when we need the food ourselves,” Septimus was saying, to the nodding heads of some of the crew. Hester was seething next to him, her arms folded, face red.

“What are you talking about?” Charlotte asked, trying to make sense of the words.

“I’m for it,” Rufus said. “I’m starving to death here. We could eat them.”

“I agree,” Frank said.

“I absolutely refuse! If you shoot Snowball I will never speak to you again,” Hester said, folding her arms, her chin jutting forwards. “Satan, though, you have my wholehearted approval. How that wretch has survived the ice, I have no idea.”

Septimus hesitated. “It’s for the good of the crews, Hester. We have to act in their best⁠—”