“We are tired,” one of the seated women said.
Ruby straightened and grabbed the shoulders of the woman beside her. She gave her a little shake. “Please, you must help me to get us out of here.” Turning her chin so their eyes met. The woman didn’t seem able to focus. Ruby slapped her. She blinked several times, then shook her head.
“You must get them to follow me. We need to escape now.”
“Is it possible?” The whisper was desperate now.
“It is,” Ruby said, sounding stronger than she felt. In fact, the thought of retracing her steps terrified her, but she knew there had to be a way out and was determined to find it.
The woman pulled the others to their feet with Ruby’s help.
“Everyone hold hands and walk behind me,” Ruby ordered.
She walked to the door and opened it. The man was still lying there. Bending to search him, she found a pistol and a knife. Pushing them down her bodice, she grabbed the keys again.
Handing the candle to the woman, Ruby climbed over the man and made for the stairs. In single file the girls followed behind her. Taking a deep breath, Ruby opened the hidden window beside a door, slightly. It was empty. She began going through the keys to unlock it. The fifth one worked.
Entering the room, she hurried to the door and unlocked that too. It took them out into a hall. One way had a window, the other stairs. She ran to them. The woman at her back now gripped her dress. Ruby didn’t mind. She felt steadier knowing she was not alone now.
Her head still felt a bit woozy, but if they could get outside, the fresh air would help that. At the bottom, she heard voices coming from a room to her right. She took the left turn and reached the kitchens. Pulling out the pistol, she pointed it before her and walked through. There was a woman cooking over a stove, and a young boy peeling potatoes. He saw them; the woman was singing loudly. Placing a finger to her lips, she told him to be silent. He looked at the pistol and nodded.
Ruby hurried out of the kitchen and to a door off a small entry. Opening it, she stepped outside. Standing to one side, she motioned for the girls to hurry.
It wasn’t dark, but it was close. Looking about, she searched for a place to hide. A place that would help her get these women to safety. A short distance away, she spotted a large outbuilding.
“Run now,” she said. “They will know soon we are gone. The boy will inform them we are escaping.”
Ruby started running with the others following. All they had to do was stay safe and hidden until Forrest found her. He would, she knew that.
They reached the buildings, and Ruby motioned for the women to stand beside it.
“I am going to enter. Wait here, and I will come back for you.”
She crept inside and found it was stables. Walking down the row to the end, she saw the horses in each stall. At the end was another set of doors. A carriage stood there, with two horses in their traces. Clearly someone was leaving soon. Before the carriage was a set of doors.
Ruby looked around for a driver or stable hands. She found a set of stairs leading up. Were they up there? Could she take the carriage? Was she brave enough? Could she drive it? Her stomach dropped at the thought. Surely, she just needed to point the horses in the right direction. But would the stable hands hear her taking them?
Stop thinking. There is no other option.
She hoped the doors were oiled. Her father had horses, so she’d been raised around them and even learned to ride. Once, she’d taken Adam in a cart to the village while the rest of the family was on an outing.
She could do this. Had to do this.
Raising the latch on the huge doors, she slowly pushed the first one open. It rolled easily enough, for all that it was heavy.
“Stay,” she whispered to the huge black horse who was looking at her.
She then pushed the second one open. It made a squeaking sound, like a rusty hinge. Ruby didn’t wait; once it was open, she got in between the horses and led them slowly outside and around the stables. The women were where she’d left them.
“Get them inside!” Ruby climbed onto the driver’s seat and gathered the reins in her hands, praying she could do this.
The woman whose name she really must learn sprang into action and opened the door, and the others climbed inside.
“You come up here with me. I may need your help.”
Soon she was settled beside her, and Ruby did the only thing she knew how; she made a clicking sound and slapped the reins down on the rumps of the two horses. They started moving.
Her companion muttered something.
