It was only then that Abi realized Bo and Whitefoot were here as well, tied securely to a tree with a thick rope. They waggled their backsides and whined in greeting. Abi sank to the ground, utterly exhausted, and allowed their doggy kisses to wash away the terror.
Reid clasped hands with Martin. “I willnae forget this, Martin.”
The old man waved away his thanks. “Just get the Lady Abigail to safety and that will be thanks enough. But ye’ll have to go quickly. They’ll be after ye the second the guard changes and they realize she’s gone.”
Abi rose to her feet. “What about you?” she asked Martin. “Surely you’ll get into trouble for helping us? And Clyde, Thomas and Cook? What about them?”
“Dinna ye worry about us, my lady. We’ve managed to survive this long, havenae we? We have a few tricks up our sleeves yet.”
Abi felt tears filling her eyes again. She pulled the old man close and hugged him fiercely. “Thank you, Martin. For being my friend.”
She stepped back and there were tears in Martin’s eyes, too. “Go on now,” he said. “Before we’re all caught.”
Reid untied the hounds and Abi and Reid mounted the horse. Then they were turning away, leaving Martin behind and riding through the trees and down onto the river road.
Abi couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder at the bulk of the castle behind. She felt exposed on the road, as though unseen eyes were watching. But Reid kicked the horse into a gallop, one arm holding the reins, the other around her waist, and as they sped away, she heard no sound of an alarm being raised or of pursuit.
But that didn’t mean it would remain that way for long. She had no doubt that as soon as their escape was discovered, they would be hunted. Although they had a horse, it was carrying two and so could not run as fast as Laird Campbell’s warhorses undoubtedly could. How were they going to get away?
Her question was answered a short time later when they rounded a bend out of sight of the castle, and Reid slowed the horse to a walk and guided the beast off the road and down the riverbank through a thick copse of willows and right to the water’s edge. She could barely make out anything in the darkness, but up ahead, a blocky shape bobbed on the silver ribbon of the river. There was a sudden rustling, and a face materialized out of the gloom.
It was Captain Drummond.
The smuggler grinned at Reid. “Well, I’ll be damned. Ye actually did it! When ye brought me in on yer crazy plan, I was sure ye’d get yerself killed or the rest of us caught and hanged.”
“Then why did ye agree to it?” Reid asked.
Drummond shrugged. “Maybe I’m as crazy as ye are.” The captain took the horse’s reins whilst Reid swung his leg over the saddle and slid easily to the ground. He reached up to help Abi down. She was glad he did because she doubted her legs would hold her up. Her pulse was still all over the place, and her emotions were alternating between fear and hope, determination, and despair. This was all happening so quickly she could barely take it in.
“Quickly now,” Drummond said. “Onto the boat and keep quiet. If God is smiling on us, we might get away without anyone spotting us. If he isnae,” he shrugged again. “Well, I never did think I’d be dying in my bed an old man.”
Reid turned the horse around and slapped the beast on the rump, sending it cantering off down the trail.
“Hopefully they will follow the prints along the road and not think to check the riverbank.”
Abi nodded silently and followed the dogs as they bounded aboard Drummond’s barge. It was heavy with cargo, so there wasn’t much space, but they managed to find a spot between two large barrels tied down with rope.
“There shouldnae be much traffic on the river tonight—only a madman would try to sail at night after all—but keep out of sight anyway,” Drummond ordered. “We dinna want a farmer or a crofter who’s out for a piss catching sight of ye and telling yer friends up at the castle.”
They did as instructed. The space was small so Abi and Reid were forced to sit squashed up side by side, their backs against the barrels, the hounds flopped at their feet. Drummond pushed off and the barge moved away from the bank and into the current, traveling swiftly downstream.
Abi let out a long, deep sigh as Dun Treve was left behind them. Soon it was completely out of sight in the distance. Nobody spoke. Drummond warned them that sound carried a long way over water and they needed to travel as silently as possible. Even the dogs seemed to catch the mood as they made not a sound, lying with their heads on their paws.
Reid stared out at the river sliding past on either side, icy blue eyes studying the riverbank. Tension radiated from him, from the way his shoulders hunched to the way his jaw was set, to the way he gripped the handle of the dagger at his waist, as though eager to draw it.
Abi concentrated on trying to slow her breathing, on trying to calm the erratic thumping of her heart. Eventually, her terror began to subside in the monotony of the journey and she began to drowse.
A gentle bump woke her. She raised her head and realized they were no longer in mid-stream but had put in at a rickety pier that stuck out into the river like a skeletal finger. Dawn was beginning to dust the sky with pink and in its light she saw that the terrain had changed as well. The gentle valley was gone and instead they were surrounded by a series of broken hills, scoured clean by time and the elements.
Reid was standing with Drummond at the prow, their silhouettes outlined against the dawn, but he turned when he heard her moving and came and knelt by her side.
“How long have I been asleep?” she asked.
“A couple of hours, perhaps.”
She climbed slowly to her feet, her back and legs protesting from the cramped position. “Do you think they’re looking for us?”
“Undoubtedly. But Drummond has given us a chance.”
