Chapter Thirty
Evangeline woke to a hand over her mouth. She was on the verge of screaming when she realized it was Gus who held her. He leaned in close and whispered, “Shh. There are horses on the road. I can hear men talking.”
She sat up, peering through the bushes in the direction of where Gus pointed. There was no mistake—four horses were on the road. They were a good hundred yards away, but the riders were making no effort to speak softly.
“When I get into Saint-Brieuc, I am going to eat half a bloody horse.”
“Bugger that. I will eat a whole one. I am starving.”
The rider at the front of the group turned in his saddle. “You won’t get a damn thing to eat until we catch up with that bitch and her fancy Englishman. So shut your mouths and keep your eyes peeled. They can’t be far.”
Gus rested his hand gently on Evangeline’s shoulder. They both knew that voice. It was Vincent Marec. He and his men had rightly guessed that Evangeline and Gus had taken the back road to the coast.
They waited. Evangeline silently prayed to every saint she knew that the horses would stay quiet and not alert their pursuers. If she and Gus had to make a run for it, they would have to go across country. They wouldn’t stand a chance out in the open.
It was a good ten minutes before Gus finally spoke. “Marec and his men are now ahead of us on the road. They only have to lay in wait to attack and overwhelm us. We must find a way to get to Binic without being seen.”
The orange and yellow of sunrise was but a thin line on the horizon. Until she could see the surrounding area clearly, they couldn’t risk moving from this spot.
“Come and rest. When it is light, I will do my best to figure out where we are. Then we can look to make a plan,” she said.
She nodded in the direction of the horses. “The biggest problem we have is Gobain. There are not many horses like him in this area. Anyone who recognizes Gobain will know to whom he belongs.”
They could alter direction and head north toward Jodoc’s house, swapping their horses for his, but that would put them a good half-day behind. And possibly endanger their friends. The sooner they reached Binic, the better.
As they settled back to their sleeping places, Evangeline set her mind to work.
There has to be a way for us to get to the coast without being seen. But how?
There was a weird noise coming from the left of him. Gus cracked open an eyelid and turned his head. Then he squealed like a frightened little child.
Not two feet away stood a huge black and white Pie Noir cow. Its curved horns filled his entire field of vision. He rolled over onto his bad side, winced, but kept going. He struggled to his feet.
“Where did you come from?”
He looked around. And more importantly, where was Evangeline?
His heart had been racing at a fair clip already at the sight of the cow, but Evangeline’s absence sent it to a full gallop.
Without a moment’s thought, he picked up his tricorne hat and put his hand inside. The lining was cold. The last time he had seen Evangeline, she had been resting her head on it. If she had only left to go down to the river and attend to her ablutions, it should still be warm.
Fear gripped him.
You had better not have gone off to do something brave and foolish.
He couldn’t bear it if Evangeline had decided to sacrifice herself in order to save him.
Hurrying down to the river’s edge, he quickly scanned the surroundings. Both horses were still there, happily nibbling on grass. She hadn’t taken Gobain and dashed off somewhere. That was a small relief.
“Where are you?” he muttered.
Returning to the place they had slept; he encountered more cows. A dozen or so appeared to have found his saddlebags to be of great interest.
That’s all I need—cow slobber on my things.
Waving his arms about, Gus shooed them away. As the herd parted, Evangeline appeared walking toward him. She pointed at one of the nearby beasts. “That one has your wig.”
He glared at her, not giving a damn about the hairpiece. “Where have you been?” he demanded.
