Failed.
Adèle didn’t speak a word for the next three hours. She hardly moved, hardly breathed. She must have been terrified. All the trust, all the reaching for him and knowing he would keep her safe had been undone.
And Céleste watched him warily too. Had he lost her faith as well?
When they reached a small village, he stopped on the roadside to talk with a woman who was sitting outside her home. “What is this village?” he asked.
“Ponts-et-Marais,” she said.
“How many days’ journey is it to Le Tréport?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Depends whether you’re driving or floating.”
Floating.“The river’s deep and wide enough here for barges?”
She nodded. “The river can take you to Eu and from there to Le Tréport.”
“And how long does that take?”
“You’d be there tonight.”
Tonight.They’d cut days off their journey.
“Where can we get on the barge?”
The woman gave him directions. He thanked her and set the wagon into motion once more.
“The woman at the farm yesterday did say her friend arrived from Paris far faster than we did because he took a river ferry.” It was the first thing Céleste had said to him since they’d left the barn that morning.
He nodded. Hers wasn’t a declaration of trust or forgiveness. It was almost a question.
“We need to get out of France.”
She didn’t answer or argue but simply sat calmly while holding Adèle. The little girl also wasn’t speaking.
This is my fault.
They arrived at the spot on the river the woman had indicated, and as she’d promised, there was a barge there.
He alighted and approached the man he assumed to be the captain. “There are three of us wishing for passage to Le Tréport.”
Captain looked at Céleste and Adèle, then back at Aldric.
“We’ve space enough.”
At last, a spot of luck. The man quoted a price, and it was within their means, but barely. If they reached Le Tréport by nightfall, they’d need a place to stay. In the morning, Aldric could find a ship on which they could get passage. He wasn’t certain he had enough money for both.
He could offer to trade labor on board the Channel ship to get them across or attempt to convince the captain of that ship of the truth of his identity and that he could pay him handsomely upon reaching England. But that was a risk, as he was known to the people who were chasing them.
The General was supposed to be able to strategize any situation, but this one continued to thwart him.
“Would you consider the wagon and horse in exchange for passage?” Aldric asked. Céleste’s approach had worked at the inn two days earlier. “The wagon has seen better days, but it’s sturdy. And the horse is a strong and reliable animal.”
The man wandered over to the wagon and slowly walked around it. Aldric kept a close eye on him and could see that Céleste and Adèle did the same. But the items Aldric was offering to trade were the focus of his interest.
“I’ll take the exchange,” the man said.
Aldric reached into the back of the wagon and pulled out their bag, Céleste’s violin, and the basket containing only a few more bites of food. They’d have to ration it until they reached Le Tréport. Then he’d have to discover what food he could obtain inexpensively.
