“Never,” Oliver answered over his shoulder. “Aside from the Wednesday races, he won’t even leave the house before nine these days. Says such hours are for youngsters and fishermen.”

Bram would get along with him well, then. Though it was hardly time for thoughts of her brother. “So both . . . of them?” She’d meant to say more than that, but they were back to the descent to the beach, and she opted for paying attention to her feet’s purchase in the sand instead.

Oliver offered her a hand, and then held on to it again. His dark eyes were troubled. “I do wonder if it’s related. Tas-gwyn Gibson is the only one Mamm-wynn trusts to take her on the water these days, other than Beth and me and maybe Mabena. They joke that he is the little brother she didn’t know she had until their children married.”

But surely Mr. Gibson wouldn’t take Mrs. Tremayne out on the water before dawn without telling Oliver. Would he?

He must have been wondering the same. His face moved to the sea again, and he tugged her toward the boathouse. “We’ll take a gig to it. I daresay it will be quicker, given how low the wind is right now, even with only one at the oars.”

“I’ll help row.” The words were out before she could stop them, though she wasn’t exactly surprised when Oliver shook his head.

“Not necessary, my lady.”

And they were back to that. “I know how. There’s a small lake at Telford Hall, and we went out on it frequently with rowboats. Nothing so grand as to allow for sails, but Bram always made me pull my own weight.” Unlike Edith, who swore such sport was unladylike—though Bram had always teased that it was just her excuse for not wanting to exert herself. “Let’s strike a bargain, shall we? Test me for a minute, and if I make the going slower, I’ll stop. But it seems to me that speed is of the utmost interest just now, so if I can help us along, I should. Don’t you agree?”

Though it was fleeting, he sent her a smile. “Your logic is unassailable.”

And more importantly, he wasted no more time arguing about it but simply slid a small gig out of its rack and grabbed two sets of oars. Within a few minutes he was pushing them into the water, leaping in without even wetting his shoes.