A Hero for Christmas

She had no doubt who had bullied the Demaines. “Why would the smugglers do that?”

“To keep them close to their cottage,” Cousin Edmund replied. “It happened last night. The lad was so terrified to leave his mother alone that he didn’t come to tell me until after dawn. He knows the smugglers usually seek their holes as soon as the sun rises, so he believed that she should be safe. I am not as certain as Alfred is that the smugglers are abroad only after dark.”

“If he spoke with them...” Jonathan began. The smugglers were becoming too bold. Maybe their overconfidence would be the route to their downfall.

He looked around the table. Both Cat’s and her sister’s faces were blanched. Meriweather’s mouth was a straight line, and fury radiated from him.

“I know what you’re hoping, Bradby, but no,” Meriweather said. “He cannot identify them by either their voices or by their clothing. There were four men. They wore work clothing, but with kerchiefs pulled up over their faces, and their caps drawn low. Alfred said one man spoke in a low growl that sounded more like a beast than a human.”

“To frighten them more.” Cat fisted her hands on the table. “This must stop!”

“I agree.” Meriweather’s face was grim. “I know your father tried to work out an agreement with them to stay off the lands of Meriweather Hall, but that failed. Even if it had worked, it is not my intention to let bullies have their way.”

“So what do we do?” asked Miss Meriweather.

Cat got up and went around the table to give her sister a hug. Jonathan sighed. No wonder Miss Meriweather was distressed. She had nearly had a run-in with the smugglers a couple of months ago, and the incident had scared Cat’s usually courageous sister who had feared for Northbridge and his children.

“That is the question, isn’t it?” asked Meriweather.

Jonathan clenched his hands in his lap. They had reached the impasse again; the place where his friend needed to make a decision, and he was unable to do so. Wishing he could think of something to say to help him, Jonathan looked away.

His gaze connected with Cat’s. She was as discouraged as he was about Meriweather, and he wished he could offer some solution.

Lord, he prayed, Meriweather is a good man. Help him trust himself again.

“What about going to Sir Nigel?” asked Miss Meriweather.

Jonathan looked reluctantly away from Cat as Meriweather said, “He has offered to help, but he has not done anything.”

“Maybe if he learns of this threat to our people, he will consider doing more,” Cat said. “It could be his people next.”

“What do you think?” Meriweather asked Cat and Sophia. “Is it worth talking to Sir Nigel again?”

“We must take care that no one belonging to Meriweather Hall comes to harm.” Miss Meriweather glanced at her cousin, then back at Cat. “Unless you have a better idea, I say we should reach out to Sir Nigel one more time. Perhaps Lord Ashland, as well.”

“That sounds like a good idea, though I have no eagerness to call upon Sir Nigel again so soon.” Meriweather looked relieved that someone had made the decision for him. “I shall give Lord Ashland a call in the coming week. Maybe he will have some good ideas.”

“We could,” Jonathan said quietly, “pray that God freezes the sea, and that will keep the smugglers from their nefarious deeds.”