Read The Heart is Torn for Free Online Page A

they picked their way through the puddles, aware of the hostility that was never far from the surface of everyday life in Polgarron.
    ‘Thomas,’ Adam called, and a tall man, dressed as a seaman, paused in the act of entering an alehouse and glanced over his shoulder at them.
    He nodded when he saw Adam, and came towards them briskly, his face set in grim lines.
    ‘Captain, I’ve got bad news,’ he greeted. ‘A band of men boarded Seagull last night and tried to take her over. We were hard put to beat them, but saw them off in the end, although they killed Tredgett and William.’
    Adam’s expression hardened at the news, and Beth experienced a cold thrill as she imagined what had occurred. She watched Adam’s face, fascinated by the knowledge that he held the power of life and death over his crew and the men opposing them.
    ‘So we were right to take precautions,’ he observed.
    ‘Aye, Captain. There are some dogs on the shore who plan to steal your profits. But we have their measure and they won’t catch us napping. I’m returning to Falmouth within the hour. Have you fresh orders for the crew?’
    Adam looked down into Beth’s taut face, shaking his head and sighing.
    ‘It looks as if the fates are against us at the moment, Beth,’ he said. ‘You’d better return to the coach and go back to Sedge Manor. I have to sort out this business in Falmouth, but I’ll come straight back to you the minute I’m able. I’m sorry for this, but there is nothing I can do.’
    ‘Your ship comes first,’ Beth said firmly. ‘I’ve waited three years for you, Adam, and a few days longer won’t be a great hardship now that I know you’re safe. But please, take care.’
    He kissed her lightly on the cheek. ‘Shall I walk you back to the coach?’
    ‘No. You do what you have to. I’ll be waiting at Sedge Manor for you.’
    ‘Tell the coachman to return for me after he’s dropped you off, Beth.’
    Adam grasped the seaman’s arm and strode off along the street with him, their heads close together, and Beth watched until they entered an alehouse, her disappointment complete and a niggling fear rising in her breast.
    She began walking back along the street to where they had left the coach, and had barely covered twenty yards of the muddy thoroughfare when Martin Cresse appeared at her side like a black shadow. She started nervously at the sight of him, and he grinned.
    ‘You should be nervous, mistress,’ he said heavily. ‘Jonah is not pleased with the way you are reacting. If you think the Trahernes can save you you’d better start thinking again. It’s time you heeded the warnings I’ve been giving you. If you want to save your father from what’s facing him then you should start doing as you’re told. There’s much going on in the background that you know nothing about, and although you don’t believe me, I’m only trying to save you trouble. I’m about the only friend you have, believe it or not, and soon you’ll be needing all the help you can get. Don’t make the mistake of relying on the Trahernes. They can’t help you.’
    Before Beth could reply, Cresse lengthened his stride and departed, and she gazed after his powerful figure, filled with a coldness that had nothing to do with the weather. Her steps faltered as she considered, and she was relieved when she saw the Traherne coach and found the coachman sitting inside. Her relief swelled when she was conveyed out of town, but her happiness at seeing Adam again had vanished completely.
    Rain was slanting down again, and Beth gazed worriedly out over the Channel as the coach jolted along the cliff road to Sedge Manor. The sea was rising, the roar of the waves and the wind growing louder.
    The branches of the trees surrounding Sedge Manor were whipping and waving furiously in the grip of the tenacious wind howling across the Channel. As she alighted from the coach, Beth instructed the coachman to return to Polgarron and wait for Adam. She felt