“Ye should be wary about creeping up on people,” Nigel said quietly.
“Old habit,” Duncan replied, then he nodded toward the too thin man at his side. “This shadow of a mon is Colin, my cousin. I thought I might need a hand getting the two of ye through the crowd of carrion gleaning the area for you.”
“I thought a lot of them looked like DeVeau men.”
“Near half, if I guess right. Can the lass make herself look more like a lass?”
“Aye,” Nigel answered cautiously. “Ye need her to do so?”
“Well, if we can make ourselves look like a few drunken men and a whore as we weave through the crowd, we may get to the ship without having to hack our way through Frenchmen.”
“It might work.” Nigel’s appreciation of the plan was clear in his voice, but then he looked at Gisele and frowned. There is no place for her to safely change into the gown and cloak we have in our saddlepacks.”
“There is no one at the back of these buildings. Everyone is in the streets where the market is. I didnae want anyone to see me steal three horses any more than ye want someone seeing ye and the lass.”
“You will be there,” Gisele said quietly, knowing his idea was a good one but uneasy about changing her clothes with two strange men near at hand.
“Well, now, lassie, it seems to me that ye have to make a choice. Do ye fret o’er your modesty or your life?”
Gisele stared at Duncan for a moment and then at his silent cousin, a little annoyed at the amusement in their eyes. She then looked at Nigel, who was frowning at her in apparent indecision. He obviously did not like the idea of her changing clothes in front of the men any more than she did, but clearly saw the merit of Duncan’s plan.
“Well, if one of you can hold up a blanket, I believe I am small enough to shelter behind it.”
Duncan guffawed, then quickly swallowed his laughter when she glared at him. Without another word, they all moved to the rear of the buildings where Nigel had tethered the horses. She reached for the pack that held the gown Vachel had given her but Nigel stayed her hand. Gisele frowned in confusion as he pulled a gown from his saddlepack, pausing to put away something wrapped inside of it. It was not until he handed it to her that she recognized it as the gown she and Guy had tried to bury by the river.
“What are you doing with this?”
“I didnae see any reason for ye to throw away a perfectly good gown,” he replied.
She shook it out, a little surprised that it was in such good condition after being stuffed in his saddlepack for so long. “It is somewhat wrinkled,” she murmured.
“It is better than marching through a town filled with DeVeau men wearing a gown their lord gave you. I wouldnae doubt that he gave his men a verra good description of it.”
“Aye, and it looks fine enough for a whore to be wearing,” said Duncan. The man shrugged when both Nigel and Gisele glared at him. “In truth, it looks a wee bit too fine,” he muttered.
“If that was an attempt to take back any insult you might have inflicted, it was a poor one,” Gisele said.
“Do ye ken, I thought it a wee bit odd when they added that ye had a sharp tongue in the description of ye. Doesnae matter to how ye look. I begin to see why they did, though.”
“They said I had a sharp tongue?”
“Aye. Ye are being described as a wee lass, black curls, thin, and with a sharp tongue. Oh, aye, and dressed in ill-fitting lad’s clothes.” He glanced at Nigel, ignoring Gisele’s gasp of outrage. “Ye are described as a fine, braw Scot with red hair. ’Tisnae that red.”
“It only has some red in it,” muttered Gisele. “It is more of a golden brown.”
“This is all most interesting,” Nigel snapped as he held up the blanket. “But, I think we had best get out of here, dinnae ye?”
Standing between the blanket and the horse, Gisele struggled out of her clothes and then hurriedly donned the gown. The way Nigel was intensely watching the other two men to be sure they did not peek at her insured her almost complete privacy. Once she had dressed, Nigel did not give her much time to think. He threw her cloak over her shoulders and took her by the arm. Duncan stopped him from walking toward the ship that way, however. Gisele briefly feared that now they would suffer the man’s betrayal, then felt deeply guilty when Duncan revealed that he was simply thinking of the best way to protect them on their dangerous walk to the ship.
“She must needs go along on my arm, or Colin’s, if ye prefer,” Duncan said.
“And why is that?” demanded Nigel.
“Because it be the two of ye together that they are all sniffing the ground for. ’Tis wise to separate the two of ye until we can get to the ship.”
“It makes sense,” Nigel replied cautiously, then nudged Gisele toward Colin. “Your cousin is the better choice, for he has dark hair. A woman and a red-haired Scot would still raise an eyebrow or two, and we dinnae want those dogs to come anywhere near us.”
“What about the horses?” Gisele asked, as Colin took her by the arm and they started out of the alley.
