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“Take half in ours,” I said, and quickly shuffled children out so they could take residence in our relatively empty coach. It wasn’t perfect, but we managed to fit everyone. Thank God we left Much’s makeshift wagon in the square to make room.
Within minutes, we were moving again.
Gracie was in our carriage, and I smiled at her. “Your sister can’t wait to see you.”
She smiled back. “Thank you, ma’am. You’re Lady Robin, aren’t you?”
I nodded.
“She always talked so much about you when she’d come to the almshouse to visit.”
My smile grew on my face. It was a sad smile, because Gracie was representative of the three of us all having to leave Nottingham together. It was no longer safe for any of us—Alan had apprised me of the situation that three children had gone missing from there over the past fortnight.
Dark times are afoot, for sure. What does it mean? What is going on here?
Our convoy creaked on. Will murmured, “If we’re stopped this close to an exit gate, we’ll have to fight.”
“We’ll be ready,” I said, fingering the haft of my bow hidden under my cloak.
He nodded curtly to me.
Everyone fell silent as we continued. I felt I could hear the communal thumping of their little hearts in the cargo bay, nervous and fearful for how the next half hour would play out. If we made it past the gate, I would finally breathe again.
I made sure not to even glance out my window as we began passing the Wilford estate. As much as my heart wanted me to look, I knew I would only be disappointed and broken at whatever I saw. Nothing good could come of it. It’s likely been washed of any sign of my family. Plus, if there were guards there and they recognized me, we’d be fucked.
I fought back a sniffle, flaring my nostrils.
“Not many soldiers over here,” Will said absentmindedly.
I could tell he was trying to steal my attention away from where we were, and I appreciated the small kindness. “Aye,” I said, voice cracking as I looked at him over the heads of the seven whelps we had stuffed into the bay. “Much did a fantastic job rounding them up at the square.”
Will sighed. “Even if he announced a slogan on the way out, I have to give credit where—”
A whistle split the night, with nearly the exact same pitch and sound as Will’s whistle that signaled Much to leave the square.
I furrowed my brow, sharing a look with him. Then I squeezed over to the carriage door, which faced opposite the estate, looking out over the barleygrass fields.
“Wait, Robin! It could be a—”
I swung the door open.
“—trap,” Will finished with a heavy sigh.
The high barleygrass shivered . . .
As Rosco and his friend Tick pushed their way through, approaching the caravan.
“Rosco,” I said, going to the stair of the carriage in the doorway. “Jamie, hold!”
The carriage wheeled to a stop.
“How’d you find us?” I asked. “We’ve been looking for you.”
The tall, lanky lad had grown his hair. He was starting to adopt a thin beard, too. “Hoy, tiny lord,” he said with a wink. “Been tailing you ever since you put that wagon out on the streets. Bold move, aye?” As Will’s face appeared over my shoulder, he added, “Penny-snatcher, too? How about it?”
Will frowned at the boy. “Feeling tittled, Rosco?”
“Positively tittled, mate. Positively. What we got here?” He poked his head into the carriage. His eyes blew wide when he saw our cargo of little humans. “You’ve got some right shit in your bowl, I—”
