“We go.” Bill motioned for his friend to follow.
James opened the door, but he did not leave with them. Instead, he came back inside.
“What will we do?” he asked Arran and Semple.
All Arran could think about was Eleanor and Miriam. They must leave today, if possible. “You must not wait to go,” Arran said to Semple. “You must leave for York Factory today.”
Semple frowned. “Leave? Now? I cannot leave the fort when I know there is imminent danger.”
Panic seized Arran. “There has always been imminent danger.”
“Until now, it was only rumors. You heard the man. Cuthbert Grant is only fifty miles to our west, with over a hundred armed and mounted men with him. I could not leave my post now, no matter how pressing my business in York Factory.”
“But what of Eleanor’s and West’s plans to leave?”
“They will have to stay and help protect the fort.”
It was impossible. Arran could not allow it. “They are innocent.”
“As are we all.” Semple took a seat behind his desk. “None of the settlers deserve this treatment. We will put a stop to it once and for all time.”
He was right, none of them deserved it, but the only two truly defenseless people were Eleanor and Miriam. All the other women and children had husbands and fathers to offer protection. Arran had to do what he could for the woman and child he loved. There had to be some way to get them out of Assiniboia. “I will gather a group of voyageurs to oversee their journey.”
“No.” Semple took out a piece of parchment paper and his pen. “We need all the men we can muster. I will not allow anyone to leave the fort until this trial has passed—including you.”
Sweat began to gather on Arran’s brow. Eleanor was stuck in Assiniboia. He should have found a way to send her to York Factory sooner.
“I have letters to dispatch, gentlemen,” Governor Semple said. “Please send a few runners in to me. I want to get these sent out to Jack River House and toward Montreal as soon as possible. We will need all the help we can get.”
Arran’s brain continued to work at a sluggish pace. He couldn’t think. There had to be a way to send Eleanor to safety—but how?
“Come,” James said to Arran. “Let us fetch runners.”
Arran followed James out of the office and into the blazing sunshine. It made his head pound even harder than before.
“I canna let Eleanor and Miriam stay in the fort.”
“You dinna have a choice.” James’s voice was weary and troubled. “All you can do now is pray they stay safe.”
Arran hated to feel powerless. He had felt it when his mother had died and each time the settlement had come under attack.
But this time, it was infinitely worse.
Two days had gone by in a flash of preparations, and yet they had dragged on as no two days ever had. Just after the sun set on the second day, Eleanor stood at the window of the governor’s house, watching and praying. Nicolette had taken Miriam to their room to put the baby to sleep, but the men were nowhere to be seen.
Moments after Governor Semple had told them the news about the impending attack the day before, William had gone to offer his assistance, and that was the last time she had seen him all day. He had been up and out of the house before Eleanor had risen from her bed this morning. Arran had not returned after breakfast yesterday, and the governor had been in and out of his office from the moment the Cree Indians had visited.
While the men prepared the fort, Eleanor, Nicolette, Fiona, and the other women had prepared as best as they could with food, extra water, and bandages. There was no way of knowing what might happen, or if they would need the supplies, but it had given them something to occupy their time.
Now, as the last rays of sun fell behind the western horizon, Eleanor could not help but wonder what the morning would bring. Governor Semple had said that it was too late to leave Fort Douglas, and even if they had wanted to go, there would be no guides to see them to Jack River House and then on to York Factory.
For all intents and purposes, they were prisoners of Fort Douglas.
A familiar figure appeared in the dim fort yard and Eleanor’s pulse sped at the sight of him.
Arran walked slowly toward the governor’s house. The invisible load he carried was almost palpable. As his steps brought him closer and closer to her, Eleanor’s breathing became more and more labored. They had not spoken since their encounter in the watchtower, or since he had learned abouther engagement to William. What would she say to him? What might he say to her?
She stepped away from the window and went to the fireplace a moment before the door opened. Though she knew it was him, she turned at the sound and caught her breath at the look in his weary, sad eyes.
