Free The Merman and the Barbarian Pirate by Kay Berrisford

too. For tonight, he would become human again, and at last, reveal himself to Lord Haverford.

    "I suppose I must find clothes," muttered Raef to himself at dusk. In human form, he trotted up the shingle, toes wriggling as the sharper stones bit his soles.
    He'd spent the last few hours waiting, but Haverford had not come to his cave. Raef couldn't blame him, after that terrifying encounter with Kemp. Nonetheless, Raef hadn't the patience to wait 'til the morrow. His close encounter with death had made him bold. Now he'd placed some distance between himself and Kemp, he'd renewed his dislike for kluggites. The emotion was somewhat short of the loathing he sought, but it fired his need to see Haverford. Once Raef laid eyes on Haverford again, he'd think of Kemp no more.
    Raef picked his way up the side of beach, keeping as far as he could from the cluster of fishermen's cottages. One of the boats was still out, and he discerned the silhouette of a bonneted woman at the window, watching and waiting for her husband to return. He felt sorry for her, understanding how longing ailed one. But tonight, maybe his wait would be over. Despite the jagged shingle, he upped his pace. Savoring the feel of Haverford's knife handle in his palm, he hardly cared if his feet were cut and bled.
    The steps up from the beach were nothing more than a few pieces of flat stone jutting out from a wall, and they were slippery with slime. Raef negotiated them with care, and found himself at the start of the path up to the castle. Light blazed in the large windows, and smoke spiraled upward in dark plumes from the chimneys behind the crenellations. A flag flew from the highest turret, twitching in the breeze. The same wind lashed his damp skin, making him shudder. Clothes became imperative, though he daren't take anything from the fishermen's dwellings with that fishwife on watch.
    He started up the track, entranced by the vast complex before him. As he got closer, he spotted many smaller buildings surrounding the castle that he'd never noticed from the sea. The path soon widened, joining up with a driveway that wound down from the north. He had to tread carefully to avoid the grooves left by the wheels of carts. A small flock of those white fluffy animals blocked his way up ahead, worrying him. Would they bite? It seemed not. As he grew close, they bleated, then scattered like herring would. The driveway took him over a ditch and then through an unmanned gateway, flagged with posts topped by sculptures of roaring dragons.
    He was almost at the castle, as far as he'd ever been from the shore. Too near this human dwelling place for comfort, although his curiosity flared. A crow cawed and flapped overhead, and Raef hurried from the path to edge along the side of an orchard. A man and woman were standing out on the castle's veranda, and more shadowy figures could be seen through the windows, moving as if dancing. There was music too, soaring strains from instruments quite alien to his ears. The tingle of laughter was familiar enough, and he battled a jolt of envy. Haverford had company in his house tonight, plenty of it. Would he ever get a chance to see his lord alone?
    Raef tiptoed between fragrant herbs and sleeping flowers 'til he reached the first of the outbuildings—a large suite of rooms that stretched around three sides of a square, fronted by an archway topped with a tower. Though unlit, save a lantern at one window, Raef discerned snorts and scuffles. He spotted a long-nosed beast swaying its head through the gap above a half-door.
    Ah, horses. He'd learned about these in the schoolroom, and had seen men riding them near the castle as well as Haverford driving one in his gig. This was a stable. The horses were a bit large for him to wish to get too close. He'd seek his clothing elsewhere.
    The next outhouse was smaller and displayed no lights. The first door was shut fast, but the second was left unlocked, so he swung it forward and stepped into