Levi flicked his gaze toward the gap in the rocks that he could see better now. The opening ran all the way to the ground at an angle that made it impossible to see until you were standing directly in front. Sunlight and muddy ground appeared through the sliver of opening—the courtyard the man had spoken of.
He handed the rifle over, and the fellow snatched it away. Levi kept his voice friendly. “My intentions are peaceful. I mean no harm.”
The man ignored his words, motioning for Levi to proceed through the opening. He called out in French to someone on the other side. “The stranger enters.” That must have been a French accent Levi had detected before.
Levi led Chaucer forward. Surely the man realized the gun wasn’t Levi’s only weapon. Any person traveling through this wilderness would need to carry at least one knife. Three were concealed on Levi’s person, but only the hunting knife would be easily found. The guard must feel confident in however many armed men stood on the other side of that wall.
As Levi turned to maneuver through the sideways opening, the first of the armed men appeared in the courtyard ahead. Then two more. Yet something seemed unusual about those two....
His mind took a second to interpret what he saw. The one in front appeared to be a woman, though she was dressed like a man with her bow drawn and an arrow aimed at him. Behind her stood Evan MacManus, musket pointed at Levi’s head.
He halted in the middle of the opening, his hands sliding away from his body in an automatic reaction to show he had no weapon at the ready. “I mean no harm.” His gaze lifted to MacManus, eyes locking with the enemy spy.
One look at the man’s expression made it clear he’d not forgotten that bit of intelligence Levi had overheard. The information that had given the major the upper hand. Well, the dislike was mutual. He’d never forget the day MacManus had led a wagon full of explosives into a fort full of not only soldiers, but women and children. Only a man with no conscience would do that.
The war may have ended, but some things were impossible to forget.
Levi shifted his focus back to the other armed guards. MacManus may hold sway among these people, but the villagers still possessed greater numbers. If he could convince them he wasn’t a threat, maybe they would give him a chance to talk peaceably.
The woman stepped sideways to stand by herself, drawing Levi’s attention to her. She spoke with bold command. “Who are you? What is your purpose here?”
Levi dipped his chin in deference to her. “My name is Levi Masters. I’ve been traveling northward, and I saw horse tracks leading this way. My curiosity bid me follow them.” None of that was a lie exactly, but it didn’t match what he’d told Audrey Moreau. How could two completely different statements stem from the same reality?
Because neither were the full truth. This lying had to stop.
Maybe he could steer the conversation to topics that wouldn’t require hard answers on his part. “Can you tell me where I am exactly?”
The woman’s chin lifted, and she motioned to the ground in front of her. “Come farther in.” Her voice held an indisputable command. No invitation to tea, this.
As the old saying went, in for a pence, in for a pound. He took three strides in, nearly to the place she pointed. Chaucer, ever the obedient steed, trailed along behind him.
“Andre will care for your horse.” A lad of around a dozen years stepped forward and took Chaucer’s reins.
Levi allowed him to pull the leathers from his hands but raised a palm to stall the boy. “Let me take off my packs first.” Apparently they were allowing him to stay—or maybe holding him here? It might be a while before he was allowed to retrieve his things if he didn’t take them now.
“They’ll be safe. And your horse well cared for.” At her words, the young man turned and led Chaucer away. The gelding’s obedience no longer felt like a blessing to be thankful for. A bit of loyalty might have been preferred.
“Where have you come from?” The woman’s sharp tone pulled his attention back to her.
Should he say Washington? If MacManus didn’t already suspect he’d been followed, that would seal his opinion. “From the States. America.” He did his best to sound like a Yankee, but it came out sounding more like he was speaking with food in his mouth. He’d never been good at taking on the American drawl.
An older man stepped beside the woman. “You’re from England, aren’t you?”
A knot formed in Levi’s belly. If he told the truth now, what would they do to him? As far north as these people were, maybe they held British sentiment. Though if they spoke French, they might be bitter about Britain taking over the French colonies of Canada. And if they gladly harbored an American spy...
Still. He’d already come to terms with the fact he might not make it out of this place alive. If he died today, he’d rather do it with a clean conscience.
He met the man’s gaze. “I’ve not had what I’d called a real home with roots for a while. I mostly travel with my work. But I grew up in Yorkshire, near Kettlewell.”
There. They could run knives through him for his ties to Britain if they wanted to.
The older man responded, “We’re not accustomed to visitors. In the past, our experience with people from your homeland has been deadly. For that reason, sir, you will understandwhy we have questions for you before we can allow you to roam freely among our villagers.” The fellow nodded toward the woman, which appeared to be a sign for everyone.
Two men stepped forward on either side of Levi, and one at his back.
“To the assembly hall with you.” The fellow on his left motioned for Levi to step forward.
If they were simply cautious about strangers, maybe it wouldn’t take long for him to set their minds at ease. Whatever had happened to them in the past was unfortunate, but he certainly didn’t plan to hurt these people. His only goal was to find out what MacManus had learned and exactly how the US thought it would give them so much power.
