“Of course you can’t,” Petra retorted, too angry with their predicament to offer sympathy. “Didn’t you hear me calling to you to stop? Of all the bloody stupid things to do. You don’t run toward the water, you run away from it. Don’t you know anything?” Fear infused her anger but when she saw the terror in Clothilde’s eyes her anger died. The poor woman hadn’t known which way was up under the gulls’ attack and she wouldn’t know the dangers of this beach anyway.

“Help me,” Clothilde begged in a voice of such terror that Petra forgot everything that lay between them. She looked sideways and saw that Guy, also shoeless, was only a few feet away, still holding the life ring. Considerably heavier than she, he was having more trouble getting to the dinghy, but somehow he twisted his foot onto its side so that he was walking only on its edge and with a curious set of hopping movements fought through the mud. At last he was able to grab the side of the boat and haul himself forward until he was beside Petra.

“The tide’s coming in,” Petra told him succinctly.

“Yes, I saw.”

“What are you doing here anyway?” She couldn’t help herself from asking the question despite the urgency of the situation.

“I missed you and I needed you,” he stated flatly.

“Oh.” There seemed no answer to a comment that filled her with warmth. Instead Petra leaned over to look into the boat. A thick rope lay coiled along the bottom. “Do you think she could catch the rope if we threw it to her? Then we could pull her through the mud.”

Guy looked grim but he didn’t answer, instead turned toward Clothilde, who still stood frozen so far and yet so close to them. “Clothilde, I’m going to throw you a life ring,” he called, his voice calm. “Catch it and slip it over your head. The tide is coming in.”

“But if she’s stuck firm the tide won’t float her off, it’ll drown her,” Petra said in an undertone.

“That’s not helpful,” Guy snapped, the moment of warmth forgotten. “Get in the boat and uncurl the rope.” He gave her an undignified boost over the side of the dinghy and she fell in a heap on the bottom.

“Ugh.” Petra righted herself. The bottom was covered in a greenish sludge. She examined the rope. It was wet and coiled tightly. She perched astride one of the thwarts and pulled it toward her.