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It looked so pretty, blue and glittering, sun dancing on the surface. Who would believe it was so dangerous, so deadly?
The coastguard was throwing raw fish to the dolphins; they leapt out of the water to take it, silvery and lithe, swallowing the fish whole, their white teeth visible briefly in that friendly grin of theirs.
‘Thank you, thank you,’ Miranda called and they looked at her as if understanding, grinned up at her, made more of their strange chuckling noises, swam once around the boat in a pair, nose to nose, then leapt out again, flicking their tails, before sinking back into the water and disappearing.
Miranda was sad to see them go – she wished she spoke their language, could tell them how she felt, but her head was going round now, she was sick and dizzy.
Neil carried her limp, shuddering body into the little cabin and laid her down on a padded bench, pushing a cushion under her head.
He looked down at her, frowning. ‘You have terrible sunburn.’
‘I know.’
Her face was blotched red, her eyes half-closed, swollen like boiled eggs, the irises mere slits between those puffy, dark red lids. Neil grimaced. ‘Is it painful?’
She was shivering violently. ‘I feel weird. I’m very hot, but I’m so cold, too. How can you be hot and cold at the same time?’
He gently laid a blanket over her and the warmth was marvellous; it seeped into her very bones. Even this rather hard bench felt wonderful under her.
‘Would you like a hot drink? Chocolate? Are you hungry? I could get you a sandwich. We have ham, cheese – what would you like?’
Her lids were closing now that she no longer needed to stay awake and aware. She was weary, dying to sleep, to give up, give in, let go of everything.
‘Chocolate, yes,’ she whispered. ‘Lovely.’
‘Sandwich?’
‘No.’ She made a disgusted face. ‘I feel too sick.’
‘OK, I’ll be back in a minute. There’s instant chocolate in the galley, we had some earlier. Will you be OK if I leave you alone?’
‘Mmmm . . .’ she said, almost asleep.
He went away. So did Miranda, sinking into warm, soft sleep and dreaming of dolphins and blue seas and fear like a poison in her blood.
Neil talked on deck to the coastguard. ‘We must get her to a hospital. She’s in shock, that could cause serious worries. She also has bad sunburn and hypothermia. Is there a hospital on the island?’
The coastguard shook his head. ‘We have a small clinic, attached to the doctor’s surgery, that deals with minor medical problems. Cuts and bruises, that sort of thing. But for anything serious people have to be taken to the mainland. We have a helicopter. I’ll get on to them right away, tell them we’ll need them as soon as we land.’
Neil went back with the hot chocolate a moment later, but found Miranda asleep, breathing heavily. He put a hand to her forehead and winced at her temperature.
The sooner they got her to a hospital the better.
After contacting the helicopter, the coastguard talked to Alex on the radio, too. ‘She isn’t injured, but she’s been in the water for hours, she’s in shock – in fact, she’s sleeping now, and she’s suffering from sunstroke, and hypothermia. She needs immediate treatment for both, which means going to the mainland, to hospital. I’ve been in touch with the helicopter, Georgio will take her at once, as soon as we make land.’
‘Wait for me to get back, Stathatoo,’ Alex urgently said. ‘I should be there in half an hour.’
Alex ended the call and put on more speed, bouncing over the water, his body tense with the drive to get to her. He had been so sure she was dead, that he would never see her again alive.
But she was alive, thank God. And not seriously injured. But she had obviously had a bad time; she must have been scared stiff. The bastards. How could they do that to a woman? It was barbaric, inhuman. If he found out who had done it, he’d kill them – and not quickly, either. No, he would cut their throats and let them bleed to death.
It took longer to make land than he had anticipated. At last he got there and tied up at the harbour only to see the helicopter taking off.
The coastguard met him as he climbed the ladder on to the harbour wall.
‘I’m sorry, the English policeman insisted on leaving at once, he wouldn’t wait for you. He said he was worried about shock – she was getting worse and he wanted her to have medical help as soon as possible.’ A pause, the coastguard was embarrassed, couldn’t meet his eyes. ‘And he said . . . said he would rather you did not see her just yet, anyway. She needed complete rest.’
Alex held on to his temper, refusing to let other people see how he felt. His teeth gritted, he gave a curt nod and said quietly, ‘Well, thank you, for all your help. We’re very grateful. You probably saved her life.’
