The Merman and the Barbarian Pirate by Kay Berrisford

here," snarled Simpson. "Going to help your pock-faced pirate friend, were you, my seedy fellow?"
    Pock-faced? Was Simpson blind? And what was wrong with his face? Up close, Raef could see red blisters covering Simpson's left cheek and chin.
    "He must be one of Kemp's men," said a yeoman, who shoved his weasel-like visage so near Raef saw the hairs sprouting from his nostrils.
    Fear paralyzed Raef; he couldn't breathe. And before he could muster any kind of answer, the baton smashed into the back his skull, pain split through him, and everything went black.

Seven
    Consciousness returned to Raef with an unkind promptness. He was grabbed from all angles, shaken and hustled. Hostile shouts blended with the screeches of a gull, and he feared his brains would explode. Blood trickled from a wound on his head, his neck ached, and his stomach… Ugh. It pitched and churned like a stormy ocean. When he finally pried his eyes open, he found himself ensconced in the none-too-gentle grasp of a couple of yeomen, one of whom had him by the hair. It took effort not to be sick all over the quayside.
    Lord Haverford had arrived, mounted on a white horse and sporting an enormous feathered hat. He looked magnificent and terrible, his handsome countenance bent into an ever-changing mask of malice. A few paces away from Raef, he towered over his other prisoner—Kemp.
    Kemp was flanked by a couple of hefty dragoons. He had been disarmed, though he stood tall and unflustered. "Well, well, well," he said. "It's the great nip-farthing himself. Have you come to pay back all you've thieved from the folks of Lilhaven? Or are you here to confess that you sent your yeomen to commit murder?"
    Murder? The new accusation shocked Raef, but he was starting to believe Haverford capable of anything dastardly.
    "Silence, scum." Haverford spat in Kemp's direction, but fell short. Kemp laughed with a defiant air.
    "M'lord," shouted one of Raef's captors, joggling Raef 'til his brains seemed to rattle. "We got another of the rogues. He were running to help."
    Haverford slid his gaze onto Raef, his viciousness shadowed by a glimmer of surprise. "Good God, that young scallywag? Yes, he's one of the pirate's band for sure."
    Kemp blinked hard at Raef, as if trying to clear his vision. For the first time, he looked ruffled. Despite his spinning head, Raef managed an apologetic cringe. It exacerbated the ongoing pain of being held up partially by the hair.
    "I've never seen this man before either," protested Kemp. He'd have sounded convincing if his voice hadn't cracked.
    "Codswallop!" bellowed Haverford. "This little blighter thieved from my stable this morning. Threatened me with my own knife, which you stole." He shouted over Kemp's ongoing protests. "Right, men. Put Kemp in the lockup here for the night, and my yeomanry cavalry will take him to my castle for tomorrow afternoon, when I will assemble a special assizes." He sneered at Kemp. "But don't you worry, my sentence is already decided. You'll be subjected to the cruelest form of execution the law allows."
    Kemp merely quirked his brows. Raef's heart clenched, though he clung to hope. Maybe Kemp would get away. He couldn't see George and Peffy anywhere, so Kemp's dramatic intervention had allowed their escape, at least. Above all, he prayed he and Kemp would be imprisoned together. He'd confess… well, explain everything he could to Kemp, save his real identity. If he had Kemp at his side, it might make the experience more bearable, whether they were thrown in this lockup or the county jail.
    "As for this little devil!" Haverford bared teeth at Raef as if he wanted to chew him to bits. "As Lord Lieutenant of the County, I reserve the right to deal with him personally. Take him to my carriage."
    "No!" Raef's protest went unheeded, except perhaps by Kemp, who called his name. But they had already been swept out of each other's sight. A horrible sense of desolation seized Raef.
    The yeomen frog-marched him along