Heart of the Ocean Read Online Free Page A

at the
constable. “Now, sir. You can’t believe this poor girl is a murderer.”
    He turned his gaze on her. “Maeve O’Brien’s skull was
crushed. I aim to find who did it to her, even if I have to imprison a few
people to do it.”
    Eliza covered her mouth with her hand. Ruth rushed to her
side and spoke quietly, as heaving sobs tore at Eliza’s chest. “How could this
happen?” Eliza cried out. Disbelief and anger and horror coursed through her. Hours
before, Maeve had been telling her a ghost story, cozy in the hearth room,
sewing on her lap.
    Ruth sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around Eliza.
“Hush, dear. The constable will find whoever did this.”
    “Thou are correct. I will find the culprit.” He cleared his
throat. “Thou wilt have to come with me, miss.” He took a step forward. “Thou
are under arrest for the murder of Maeve O’Brien.”
    Ruth rose from the bed. “Sir, is that really necessary?”
    The constable said nothing, merely stared Eliza down.
    Ruth reached out and patted Eliza’s hand. “Go along now.
Thou wilt be cleared soon.” But her trembling voice betrayed worry.
    In a daze, Eliza rose from her bed. This can’t be
happening. She stepped on the cold floor, and pain shot through her sore
ankle.
    “Wear these,” Ruth said, handing over the shoes that Eliza
had been wearing the night before. They looked like they’d been cleaned.
    “This way,” the constable said.
    Eliza followed him, her mind numb as they left the house and
walked to the waiting buckboard. Ruth followed and placed a cloak about Eliza’s
shoulders before she climbed in.
    “Thou are making a mistake, sir,” Ruth said. “The girl’s
harmless.”
    The constable turned and faced the woman. “Are thou willing
to stake thine own reputation on it, woman?”
    Eliza’s heart sank as Ruth took a step back, shaking her
head. Eliza hadn’t really expected Ruth to risk anything for her, but the woman
knew the town and the law better than Eliza did—where would she be without her?
    “Jonny will tell thee—” Ruth began.
    “Jon has to worry about his own neck right now,” the
constable interrupted. “Until I know why he was at the O’Brien house last
night, he’s a suspect as well.”
    Eliza stared at the constable. He’d arrested that man who’d
helped her too? Panic shot through her. She couldn’t go with the constable. Her
parents knew nothing about this. She had to send a message to them. How could
she face jail? She gripped the seat and made a move to stand, but the constable
climbed in next to her and urged the horse into motion.
    She fell back against the seat. It was too late.

Three
     
    Eliza stared through the dark iron bars. The cold cellar was
damp, with water dripping from the ceiling in a rhythmic fashion. This crude
jail is no place for a woman, she imagined her father saying. She pulled
the cloak given to her by Ruth around her shoulders. Shivering, she thought of
how last night she was snuggled in her warm bed; tonight she was surrounded by
concrete walls.
    A low curse from the next cell reached her ears. It had to
be Jonny. When she arrived at the jail, she’d been led past his barred cell,
feeling his eyes watching her. The constable already arrested Jonny before going
to Ruth’s place.
    Eliza let out a breath, gathering her courage. “Are you all
right?” she called.
    Silence greeted her.
    She tried again. Maybe he hadn’t heard. “Are you ill?”
    “I’m in jail,” he said with a scoff. His deep voice seemed
to fill the small space with an echo.
    Eliza bit her lip. It was her fault he was here. “I’m
sorry.”
    He spoke again. “Did you kill her?”
    She drew a breath in sharply. “No.” How could he accuse her?
Because she lived with her aunt? How did he arrive so fast at the cottage—how
had he known to come? Suspicion knotted inside her. “Why were you riding by the
cottage in such a storm?”
    There was a brief moment of silence, as if Jonny had
realized what