Martin squeezed her hand, then walked over to his table for breakfast. Abi was just about to join him when there was a cough behind her. She turned to see two hulking men facing her. Abi didn’t know their names, although she’d seen them around the place, and they were both scarred and rough-looking. One of them folded his arms over his chest.
Her stomach tightened in alarm. What did they want? Had they forgotten Reid’s warning to leave her alone? Or did they just not care?
She took a step back, bracing herself to run or scream or possibly both, so she was inordinately surprised when one of the men reached up to rub his head and said, “Er, we were wondering what ye wanted us to do?”
She stared at him. “I’m sorry?”
The man rubbed his balding head again, seemingly uncomfortable. “We were told to come ask ye what duty we have today.”
They were? Huh?
Her mouth was hanging open, so she shut it quickly and recovered her composure. “Right. Good. Um.” She glanced around and spotted her rota pinned to the fireplace. “This way.” She led the two men over to it. “What are your names?”
“Gareth and Patrick.”
She ran her finger down the rota until she found their names. “You’re due in the kitchen helping cook today.”
The men nodded. “Right ye are. Thank ye, mistress.”
They headed towards the kitchen, leaving Abi staring after. Those two scary fighters had justthankedher?
She looked around the room. Perhaps these men weren’t so bad after all. Perhaps she’d been judging them before she knew them—just as she had with Reid.
But her good mood evaporated as her eyes settled on Malcolm, seated with another man across the hall. The other man was unkempt and wild-looking, with a mat of greasy hair. What had Reid called him? Domnall Maguire? Both men were glaring at her, clearly not pleased to see her giving orders to the men. Without a word, both men pushed to their feet and stalked through the door.
She knew she’d made some enemies there. Perhaps she shouldn’t have called Malcolm an idiot in front of everyone that time, but sometimes her mouth was two steps ahead of her brain.
Doing her best to put them out of her mind, she walked over to the table where Martin, Clyde and Thomas were tucking into their breakfast and slid onto the bench next to them. The youths greeted her warmly and Abi doled herself some porridge from the big bowl in the middle of the table and set to with a vengeance. She was famished.
“Right then, ye young landlubbers!” boomed a voice behind them, making Abi jump. “Are ye ready to find yer sea-legs? Or yer river-legs at least!.”
Abi slewed around in her seat to see the barge captain who’d arrived yesterday stomping towards them. Thomas and Clyde shot to their feet.
“Aye, my lord!” Thomas said in a breathless voice. “We’re ready!”
“It isnae ‘my lord,” he corrected them. “It’s captain.” He winked at Abi and gave her a cheeky grin. “Captain Lloyd Drummond at yer service, my lady.” He bowed, took her hand, and kissed the back of it.
“I...” Abi stammered, a little flustered by his mannerism. “Abigail Fenton. Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine, I assure ye. Stand to attention!” he barked at Clyde and Thomas. “Dinna slouch!” Then he grinned at Abi. “Lord Reid badgered me into agreeing to take these two out on the barge today, begin turning them into sailors. Although,” he rubbed his whiskers and looked at the two youths critically. “It looks as though I’m going to have my work cut out, making something out of these gangly young whippersnappers.”
Ah, so that was the source of Clyde and Thomas’s excitement. They were getting out of the castle and out of their chores for the day, although if she was any judge of character, she suspected Captain Drummond was every bit as hard a task master as Reid.
“May I join you?” she blurted.
Captain Drummond’s eyebrows rose. “A stinking barge is no place for a lady.”
Abi climbed to her feet. “Well, it’s a good job I’m no lady then, isn’t it?”
He barked a loud, booming laugh. “In that case, who am I to deny a beautiful woman? I would be glad to have ye aboard.”
It turned out that Captain Drummond’s description of his barge had not been an exaggeration. It definitely stank. In fact, from the stench, she guessed his last cargo had been fish or something that smelled remarkably like it. She did her best not to wrinkle her nose as she climbed aboard the wide, flat-bottomed wooden craft, although it was a near thing. Still, she was not about to pass up this chance for freedom just because the vessel of her escape was a bit smelly.
As Captain Drummond cast off and sent Clyde and Thomas scurrying about the boat on various tasks, Abi stood in the prow, keeping one hand on the rail, staring downriver. As they got underway and moved into the middle of the flow, the castle was soon left behind. Ahead stretched the long, empty landscape of the river valley.
Freedom, Abi thought. If she could convince Captain Drummond to take her far enough, there was a chance she’d be able to reach Kalmack Castle and the arch that brought her here. She could be home by this evening!
She ought to feel exhilarated by that, but instead one thought kept running through her head.I didn’t say goodbye to Reid.
