“Four. The hoofprints are clearer outside this area and it shows four horses entering this clearing from the road and only one coming from the direction of our camp. All five horses, when they went off, were carrying a man’s weight, one just a bit more awkwardly than the others. I think they tossed Bened over Mercury’s back and the way so much of Bened would be dangling and moving around made the horse’s gait far more awkward. But they hurt Bened.” She shifted and looked at it from another direction. “One of the men came up behind him.”
“That is impossible. No one can come up on my brother from behind. That is also part of his gift. He can feel the enemy, feel them and know where they are and how many there are.”
“I cannot explain how his gift failed him this time but it did. These prints say that someone came up behind Bened even as he faced off with the other men. It could be that he simply was too busy fighting off one threat to face the one he knew snuck up behind him.”
Bevan sighed. “I can see it now.” He carefully stood up and walked until he located a clear trail of the horses leaving the clearing. “They have made no attempt to hide their trail so we should be able to track them down.”
“Just allow me to collect my horse,” Primrose said.
“Wait!” Morris called, and she halted to look at him. “This could be dangerous. I do not think you should go with us.”
“I see. So you think it better if I, a woman with only a tiny dog, sit here in the wood, in the dark, and hope no one comes along to cause me trouble? That is better.”
“Oh, very good, m’lady,” Morris grumbled. “Go get your horse.”
As Primrose left she heard Bevan say, “What?! Are you mad? Why did you agree to that?”
“And what would you say? Everything she said was right. There are no choices. She goes with us, which could be dangerous, or stays here, which could also be dangerous. So she goes with us and at least we can set her someplace safe while we help your brother.”
“Set me someplace safe, is it?” Primrose grumbled as she collected her things and packed them on her horse. “Men, Smudge. They can be such a nuisance. You are lucky to be surrounded by geldings.” She mounted and hurried back to join the men.
“That was quick,” said Morris.
“You sound so surprised,” she said.
“I am. Women . . .” His words ended on a loud oof as Bevan swung his arm into the man’s stomach. “What did you do that for?”
“To stop you from digging a grave for yourself. We will follow the trail now, m’lady,” said Bevan.
It took all her willpower to smother a laugh despite the fear for Bened eating at her. It was evident that Morris and Bevan had known each other for a while or, like a very fortunate few, had become lasting friends within moments of meeting. They would work well together and that could only be good for Bened.
The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon when they paused on a small hill overlooking a very small village. It was so small that Primrose was able to see Augusta’s carriage for it sat behind the inn. It was obviously too large to fit into the stables and there was no appropriate carriage house for it. A river already busy with barges shone under the rising sun. What Primrose did not see in any abundance was sheep, or cattle, or crops despite many open fields.
“There is something odd about this town,” she said.
“Smugglers’ town,” said Morris.
“But it is on the river.”
“Not all goods are smuggled only by sea and, if a deal has been made, the smugglers will get their goods wherever they are being asked and paid for. Taken from a ship and put on a barge.”
“How very industrious. So, do you think she has Bened in that inn? That would seem risky.”
“Not if this town is what I am thinking it is.”
“You mean a town full of men my aunt would like to hire.”
Bevan chuckled. “More or less. I suspect she would not be trusted or would even want to approach many of these men.”
“So what do we do now? I cannot get near the inn as she and her men, if she still has the three I saw, will recognize me.”
“One thing we need to do is wait until it is dark again. This is not something to do in broad daylight when one will stand out as a stranger in town anyway. There is a chance she is not even at the inn.”
“Her carriage is there.”
“I think it is because that is the only place that could house the horses as she wanted. I will have a look, though.”
“Now we find a place to camp.”
“Good plan, if we can find one where we will not be discovered.”
Bevan found a perfect spot within the hour. His only warning was to stay out of sight of the river as much as possible. No going down to the river’s edge unless the waterway was completely empty of boats. Primrose had only just gotten settled when Bevan disappeared. He returned two hours later and then Morris disappeared. It went on like that until the sun started to go down and she wondered when one of them might think to tell her what they had been up to.
“You have been very busy spying out the town and, I suspect, the inn. Perhaps even the little homes scattered just outside the village as well. I would have looked at them, too. Have you seen my aunt or caught sight of Bened?” she finally asked when Morris finished sharing out the food he had bought at the inn.