“Yes. For a bad situation, it apparently happened at the best time, if that makes any sense.”
“It does.”
Silence fell for a while as the land rose a little and their pace declined as it did so. The lanes were now slippery as well as muddy and both carriage wheels and horses’ hooves had to work hard for a grip.
It seemed like days to Adalyn, but in reality was probably no more than an hour or so before they slowed.
She heard Daniel call to Jeremy. “That way?”
The horses turned onto a narrow and rutted pathway as branches and shrubbery smacked against the side of the carriage. They drew to a halt and Adalyn opened the door, jumping out and sinking into sodden turf. She could hear the river running fast somewhere, but couldn’t get her bearings.
“Where is it?” Giles demanded of the others. “Where’s the sluice gate? Or whatever’s holding the river where it is?”
“I don’t know, let me look…” Daniel took off into the undergrowth, followed by Jeremy and Evan.
She surveyed their surroundings. They stood in the centre of what might have been a front garden. There was a pile of rotting timbers further back and several scraggly trees had grown through and around them. This must have been where the original cottage had been built. She could see the little lane quite clearly, but road beyond was hidden. It was private, probably lovely in good weather, and she could understand Old Harry’s desire for peace and tranquillity in his declining years.
But the river would indeed have been a threat.
“Anything?” Giles shouted.
“Not yet,” answered Evan from one direction.
“Nor here,” said Jeremy from another.
Daniel was silent.
“Daniel?” Adalyn called, a shiver of concern running over her spine. “Daniel? Did you find anything?”
More silence… then “Here. Over here.”
She heaved a sigh of relief as she heard his voice and joined Giles as they headed toward the spot it had come from.
Pushing aside two large rhododendrons, Giles let her through and they found themselves on the river bank, looking down at the fierce torrent that was the Wolf river in spate.
“Be careful,” he automatically extended a hand to Adalyn.
“I’m not moving,” she replied firmly.
They were still several feet above the waterline, so flooding here was no danger at the moment, but it was slippery and dropped off very sharply. She meant what she said. Moving would be a bad idea.
But it didn’t stop Daniel, and Jeremy and Evan were soon standing beside him.
“It’s a runoff, all right,” called Jeremy. “Set deep into the bank.” He pointed off to his left. “If we can open this gate, there’ll be a place for some of the river to go…”
“Follow that channel,” ordered Giles. “Stay safe but see if you can find out where it leads. I don’t want to avert one flood and then start another…”
The three moved onward, and Adalyn guessed that they were now off Wolfbridge land. She couldn’t recall who owned this portion of the countryside, or what the landscape looked like. Most likely there were more gentle hills, since the natural curve would take them that way. The trees were just too tall for her to make out what lay on the other side of them.
Impatiently, she waited, while Giles stared both up and downstream.
Finally he spoke. “It looks as though the rain in the hills is every bit as heavy as it is down here. Which explains how bad the flooding is.”
Feeling helpless, she could do nothing but nod, and worry about the other three. They had yet to return.
“Giles,” she spoke his name, more for comfort than anything else. “Will they be all right?”
“Of course,” he answered. “They are simply doing reconnaissance.”
