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Aisley peered through the dimming light, trying to make out the guard’s features. Medium height, broad shouldered, gray hair and beard. Her heart sank. Not Brecc or Rheged. She did not know how many others were here—but if this guard had not been in the great hall when Rheged had called her to the front, the chances were good that he would not know her.

The boat touched the shore with a soft bump. Torchlight flooded the small vessel.

Edris winced and averted his eyes. “Fer goodness’ sake, stand back with yer torch. Ya know who I am.”

“Aye, but not your companion.” The light fell over Aisley. “Your name and the reason you are come, if you please?”

Aisley tensed. She could not give the guard her true name. Not with Edris listening. If Wulfhere and Rangvald were both searching for her, no one outside those living on this isolated island must know she had come here. “Avi,” she said. “Avi o’ Trowbridge. And I bear a message o’ vital importance t’ those livin’ at Athelney.”

“What proof do you have?”

“Ealdorman Brecc’ll vouch for me.”

“Ealdorman Brecc is not here.”

The unexpected blow left her thoughts reeling. Even though Brecc had told her he would be about the king’s business until Wessex was reclaimed, she’d not considered her course of action should he not be at Athelney when she arrived. “Then send fer Ealdorman Rheged,” she said desperately. “’E, too, knows me.”

“Ealdorman Rheged is not here.”

Despair was rapidly consuming hope. “Then allow me t’ wait fer ’em,” she begged. “Or take me t’ th’ gentleman in charge.” She dared not use King Alfred’s name or title. Edris may have guessed his identity, but she refused to be the one who confirmed his suspicions. “Ya may isolate me from all else on this island, but do not send me away afore I’ve spoken to one of ’em. Yer leader’s plans—indeed, ’is very life—’ll be greatly impacted by th’ news I bring.”

In the water behind her, the horse splashed, still scrambling for footing.

The torch shifted so as to illuminate the thrashing animal, and the guard issued a grunt of frustration. “Toss me the reins,” he said. “I shall assist your mount out of the water.”

Aisley handed the straps to Edris, who threw them toward the shore. The guard caught them, and within a few moments, the horse had circled the boat and was scrambling up the bank. With an anxious nicker, it reached solid ground and shook the moisture from its coat.

“What about the lad?” Edris was readying his oars. “I must get back afore it’s full dark.”

“Let him out.” There was no mistaking the guard’s reluctance, but it did nothing to quell Aisley’s relief. “I am taking you at your word, Avi, and if I find that you have deceived me, you shall suffer the consequences.”

Aisley stood. “Ya shall not regret it, sire.” She took a hasty step forward. The boat listed, and she stumbled.

“Careful, lad.” Releasing an oar, Edris placed a calloused hand upon her arm. “I’ll not move away till yer off.”

On unsteady legs, Aisley clambered over the boat’s hull. One foot sank into the boggy grass. She pulled at it. Her wet foot emerged, but Taber’s shoe was missing.

“My shoe!” she cried, bending over to retrieve it even as her other foot sank lower in the mud.

“Give me your hand,” the guard said.

The mud released the lost shoe with a squelch of protest. Aisley tossed it onto the shore and reached for the guard’s outstretched hand. He grimaced as her slimy fingers connected with his, but he gripped her hand tightly and pulled. Her feet slipped, and she found herself up to her knees in water.

“Where’s your strength, lad?” the guard grumbled. “You’re not being required to climb a cliff.”

Clawing her way onto the bank, Aisley pushed herself into a sitting position. It was the best she could manage. “Forgive me.” She reached for her shoe with a shaky hand. “I ’ave eaten very little an’ traveled a long way.”

The older man’s disdainful look would have been more hurtful had she not been too exhausted to care. For now, all that mattered was that she had arrived at Athelney. Once she’d had some sleep and—God willing—some food, she would decide what was to be done if Brecc and Rheged were not expected back in the near future.

The rhythmic splash of Edris’s oars traveled across the water, and Aisley swung back to see the gray silhouette of the boat disappearing in the distance. “Edris has left, an’ I did not pay ’im fer ’is service,” she said, tugging her satchel onto her knee.

“Have no fear, you shall see him again.” The guard crossed the short distance to where the horse was now grazing. “He makes his appearance here more often than he’s welcome.”

“I am most grateful t’ ’im.”

“So, I imagine.” He gathered the horse’s reins and started walking away. When Aisley did not follow, he turned. “Remaining there is not an option. Get up and stay beside me. There’s to be no wandering off.”

What little pride she yet retained prevented Aisley from telling the guard that in her current state, placing two footsteps in succession would be a huge accomplishment. Wandering off was all but impossible. She tugged on her sopping shoe, and then placing one hand on the boulder at her left, she pressed down and pulled herself upright. She swayed.