Sacrifices of the Siren [Sirens and Sailors 6] (Siren Publishing Allure) (12 page)

Blandon swallowed hard. Marinos flung his head back while Delmer slumped onto their gorgeous lover. All three panted hard. Blandon slammed the door shut to make them aware of his presence.

Marinos’s head jerked back and he gave him a wicked grin. “We didn’t expect you back yet,” he told Blandon with a smirk.

Delmer managed to lift his body slowly from Sapphire’s and he smiled over at Blandon. “Hey, bro.” He took a nearby towel and covered their girl’s modesty, while he stood up, proudly showing off his ripped body.
These guys have no shame!

Sapphire sat up, hugging the towel to her body.

“Let’s go take a swim,” Marinos suggested and stood up to take the rest of the towels which were waiting on the table. He winked at Blandon as he passed him. Sapphire blushed, not daring to look at him on her way past, and Delmer just sauntered out like the cat that got the cream.

Blandon rolled his eyes and propped the door open to allow the evening air to freshen the room. He went straight to his bedroom to formulate the plan which he had been hatching earlier.

* * * *

The young sailor waited outside Rechavia’s hut early the next morning. As the sun began to rise, Rechavia appeared, just as Aitan came out of the hut next door.

“I need your help,” Blandon explained. The two slightly older sailors were more than happy to support him in his venture, and Rechavia went back inside to fetch the islanders’ only camera before they all made their way to the ship.

“Morning, doc.” Aitan greeted Dr. Jay who was waiting for them at the harbor.

“Mind if I join you?” Dr. Jay smiled warmly at them.

“The more the merrier,” Rechavia said with a grin and they all made their way onto the large vessel.

“Did you hear anything?” Blandon asked the doctor once they had set sail.

“It was the early hours before Dr. Ernaut managed to message me,” Dr. Jay told him with a nod. “Mel wasn’t too well last night. Her health isn’t too good and she’s majorly depressed. She doesn’t want to speak to anyone. Even the counsellor had a hard time getting anything out of her. Dr. Ernaut said she’s become even more withdrawn than ever. I haven’t told Ademia—she was upset enough as it was.”

“We’ve got to do something.” Blandon pouted. “I’m going to try and find out where her son lives. If I can at least get a photo of the house to Mel she might stop worrying so much.”

“You think she’s worried about the baby?” Dr. Jay asked thoughtfully.

Blandon nodded. “I know Mel. There won’t have been a day gone by that she hasn’t worried about her son.”

“Did I hear that right? Her son?” Aitan’s eyes were wide as he joined them on the bench. Rechavia looked around quizzically.

Dr. Jay sighed. “You did,” he replied, and went on to explain to Rechavia and Aitan about Melantho and the secret pregnancy. Both men were clearly shocked and horrified for the poor girl.

“No wonder she’s always so quiet,” Rechavia said with a whistle.

“What can we do to help?” Aitan asked.

“We’re not actually sure yet,” Dr. Jay told him. “I’ll find out more when I see Dr. Ernaut this morning. He had a short shift last night so he should be back on duty by the time we get there.”

“Well, you just let us know, bro,” Rechavia called over from the helm.

The rest of the journey was spent discussing poor Melantho and what she must have gone through at the mercy of Hermandine. Blandon became more and more determined that Hermandine should pay for what she did to his beautiful girl.

By late morning they had arrived at Eastland’s harbor and helped Rechavia and Aitan to unload the flowers. Blandon and Dr. Jay made their way to the hospital while the other two sailors dealt with the payment and discussed future orders of the flowers.

Dr. Ernaut’s face looked worried when they arrived in the corridor near the little side room. “Come into my office,” he beckoned the doctor and Blandon.

A nurse arrived with coffee and cookies for the sailors while Dr. Ernaut clicked some keys on his computer.

“The counsellor came back to see Melantho this morning,” the elderly doctor began. “Melantho is worried about the baby. She knows she can’t see him, but she really needs to know that he’s all right. When he was born he was jaundiced and, although he had to stay in hospital for a few days to recover before his adoptive parents could take him, Hermandine insisted that Melantho wasn’t allowed to see him again after one brief hold of him. All she remembers is a weak little baby with a shock of dark hair and a very yellow face.”

“How awful!” Blandon sighed.

“The Midcounty Maternity Hospital has given me details of the adoptive parents, and their address at the time. I think that if we can just establish that the little one is healthy and happy, it would help Melantho enormously. At least it might afford her some sort of closure.” As he was speaking, the doctor’s printer whirred into action and he stood up to retrieve the address which he had printed out for them.

Dr. Jay immediately stood and took the information from him. “We’ll find out what we can,” he promised as they shook hands.

“Thank you,” Blandon murmured as he got up and followed Dr. Jay out of the room.

“It’ll take a couple of hours to get there, I reckon,” Dr. Jay said as they raced down the corridor. “We need to let Rech and Aitan know and borrow some money.”

Blandon felt hope brewing inside him as they rushed out of the large building and out into the bright sunshine. Rechavia and Aitan were walking up the street toward them.

“We’re going to find the baby,” Dr. Jay told them and briefly explained what had happened.

“You’ll need this,” Rechavia said, handing him a pile of banknotes which he had just received for the sale of the flowers.

“Thanks. You go on without us, and explain to Farris and Ademia where we are, will you? We’ll have to stay here overnight.” Dr. Jay replied, stuffing the money into his pocket.

“We’ve got another load to bring over in the morning, so we can fetch you back then,” Aitan told them.

“Great, we’ll get back as soon as we can,” Dr. Jay promised.

They said their good-byes and Blandon followed the doctor to the train station. They didn’t have to wait long for a silent, electric train to pull up on their platform and they stepped into a clean, air-conditioned carriage. Blandon clutched the camera which was hanging around his neck. His mind whirled with ideas of how the little boy might be living.
Please let him have been adopted by a loving family.

“Will we get to see him, d’you reckon?” he asked the doctor, hopefully.

“I don’t know. The best we can hope for is that they’ll speak to us. If they feel threatened that Mel might want him back they might not want us there at all.” Dr. Jay sighed.

“She hasn’t said anything about wanting him back,” Blandon protested.

“No, she hasn’t,” the young doctor agreed.

“Do you think he will be OK?” Blandon chewed his lip.

“They wouldn’t have discharged him from hospital until his jaundice was better, and if he hadn’t made it there would be a death certificate, so we know that much,” Dr. Jay said thoughtfully.

“Thank goodness.” Blandon suddenly felt sick, thinking of what they would tell Melantho if her little baby had died.

“She named him Owen,” Dr. Jay offered after a short silence.

“She named him?” Blandon felt a lurch in his heart as he imagined her lying in a hospital bed with her baby boy in her arms, deciding what to call him.

“Yep. It means ‘young warrior’ apparently,” Dr. Jay said with a slight smile.

“I like it,” Blandon said, sniffing back a tear. He could visualize Melantho giving her baby a good, strong name.
She would have been hoping he would grow up living up to his name, too, knowing Mel.

“I hope the adoptive parents kept his name,” Dr. Jay said with a frown.

“Me too,” Blandon said. “Surely it was the least they could do for her?”

“Let’s hope so,” Dr. Jay said with a sigh.

The train whizzed through the city and out into green countryside. There were some pretty houses away from the built-up areas, and Blandon couldn’t help hoping the baby had been brought up in one of those. His thoughts drifted as he watched the scenery change outside the large window. He hadn’t been aware that he had actually been on the train for nearly two hours when Dr. Jay nudged him.

“This is where we get off,” the doctor told him with a smile.

Blandon’s heart was hammering as he clutched the camera and joined the line to leave the train. They were in a tiny station which appeared to be in a small village. He followed Dr. Jay over to a large wall-map of the area, and the doctor frowned as he studied the address in his hand.

“There we are,” Dr. Jay said triumphantly and his finger traced a line on the map. “It’s not far.”

Blandon followed, taking in the sights of the little houses and shops. The area was very green, with trees and grass between each building. There was a floral scent in the warm air and the whole place felt inviting. Blandon felt relieved. This was the sort of place Mel would want her son to live if she couldn’t have him with her.

A winding path led to two neat little cottages with large front gardens. Dr. Jay knocked on the door of one of them. The grass was slightly overgrown, but there were pretty flowers in the borders all around the edge. A swing with a child’s seat stood in one corner and Blandon couldn’t help smiling as he thought of little Owen playing there. He quickly took the camera and starting snapping photographs of the house and garden.

After a few minutes Dr. Jay knocked again. Pretty Chintz curtains framed the windows, but thick lace prevented them from seeing inside. It was very quiet.

“They must be out,” Dr. Jay said with a sigh.

Blandon looked all around the side of the house but there was no sign of anyone about. He heard voices around the front and went to find out who Dr. Jay was talking to. He saw a middle-aged, friendly-looking lady in a red pinny walking toward the doctor.

“Did you say you were looking for Gechina and Danel Oramuno?” she asked cautiously.

“That’s right. I’m Dr. Jasun. We’ve found the right house then?”

The lady frowned a little. “Well, yes, but…”

Blandon walked up to them. “Do they have a little boy, Owen?”

The lady looked sad. “Well, yes, they did, but…”

Blandon felt his face glow bright red.
Did?
Oh no!

“Has something happened?” Dr. Jay asked calmly.

“Yes, dear, I’m afraid it has.” The lady swallowed, staring at the doctor with wide eyes.

Blandon wished he had the doctor’s patience. He was desperate to press the lady for details, but bit his tongue, taking his lead from Dr. Jay.

“There was a road accident. They died instantly,” she explained as tears welled in her eyes. “Such a lovely couple, too. Did you know them?”

Bile rose in Blandon’s throat and he really thought he was about to be sick. He felt himself getting hotter by the second.

“I’m so sorry. No, we didn’t.” Dr. Jay held the lady’s arm as she began to shake.

“I’ve got some tea on if you’d like some,” she offered.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Dr. Jay replied.

Blandon was horrified. His instincts willed him to run into a quiet corner somewhere and sob his heart out.
Melantho will be devastated! How can we tell her this?
Life seemed such an awful thing right at that moment.

He felt Dr. Jay tug at his arm, as he ushered him into the cottage next door. It was small and tidy, and smelled of lavender. There was a small sofa and two comfy chairs in the lounge, and he followed Dr. Jay through. He looked around the airy little room. It felt homey. There was an array of photographs in various frames on the wall, and even more on the top of the mantelpiece and the sideboard. His eyes were drawn to one of the old lady with a young couple and a dark-haired little toddler. Another close by showed the same couple with a baby in the arms of the woman. He felt his heart lurch as he recognized the little boy. It had to be Owen. His eyes were the same as hers, and he had a beautiful smile. He tried to remember when he had last seen Melantho smile. It had been the night they had made love. He swallowed hard to quell the massive lump in his throat.

“That’s them.” The lady arrived with a tray of tea and cake, and smiled at Blandon.

“It must have been an awful shock to you,” Dr. Jay said kindly as he removed a cup and saucer from the tray.

“It was. They were so young, too. And neither had any family.” The lady sniffed.

“A road accident you said?” Dr. Jay continued as he took a slice of cake from the tray.

“Yes. Their car ploughed into an articulated lorry on a wet road. They didn’t stand a chance. Tea, dear?” She offered a cup to Blandon who was still staring at a photo of the little boy. He couldn’t speak as tears welled in his throat. He turned to her, nodded, and took the cup. It was then he realized his hand was trembling as much as hers.

“I’m sorry, I should have introduced you. This is Blandon, a friend of mine,” Dr. Jay interjected with a weak smile.