The muffled sound of hooves slowly faded away. Gus waited as long as he could—until the air in the box was hot and heavy—before finally daring to lift the lid. He shifted it open just a crack.
“What happened?” whispered Evangeline.
Gus didn’t reply. He had no answer to her question. Claude had seen them. Could have easily killed them both, and yet he hadn’t.
He lied to Vincent.
Recalling Alain’s words about Vincent’s second in charge, a surprising thought sprang to his mind.
There was dissention in the ranks of the Lamballe gang. If they could find a way to exploit it, they might stand a chance of overthrowing Vincent. The notion was a tempting one. Monsale would most certainly approve.
Don’t be a fool. You have to get Evangeline out of the country. Let the French sort this out between themselves.
Rough fingers curved under the lid of the box, and it lifted fully open. Alain’s friendly face appeared. “I told you Claude wasn’t completely bad. It is a brave man who dares to lie to Marec.”
Gus took in a long, deep lungful of the sweet, fresh air. He wanted nothing more than to sit up or even climb out of the cramped box, but he wasn’t about to tempt the gods. He and Evangeline might well think they had been spared, but who was to say that Vincent was not waiting for them around the next corner?
Only a fool underestimated Vincent Marec.
“How much longer before we reach Binic? I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I would prefer we kept moving,” he said.
“Yes, the sooner we make it the better. Then perhaps we will have time to figure out what Claude is up to,” added Evangeline.
They jammed a blanket in the end of the box, allowing air and light to filter in through the other two sides, then loosely set the lid on top. At the first sign of trouble, Evangeline could pull the woolen cover free and let the top fall.
There was silence between them. Gus forced himself to focus on the worry of getting theNight Windout of the harbor. He could well imagine Evangeline was pondering how she could use Claude to get even with Vincent. His fiancée, the master schemer.
Sometime later, she lifted her head and sniffed. “Salty air. We must be getting close to Binic.”
When the first cry of a seabird reached his ears, Gus took a hold of Evangeline’s hand. “I’ve never been so happy to hear the sound of a gull before in my entire life. That is the last time I ever curse one of them for stealing my bait.”
They were going to make it.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The cart pulled into the rear yard of number 12 Rue Wilson and came to a halt. Alain’s boots clattered on the stone paving as he jumped down. When Evangeline gave him an expectant look, Gus put a finger to his lips. Until Alain gave them the all-clear, they were to remain silent and hidden in the box.
They endured a long ten-minute wait before the lid finally drew back. The face which greeted him was one he had thought he may never see again.
“About bloody time,” said Captain Grey.
He held out his hand and pulled Evangeline up and into a seated position. Gus shuffled back in the cramped space. He rubbed his legs, working out the pins and needles as he righted himself.
The simple joy of being able to see above the rim of the box had tears pricking his eyes. “That was the worst experience of my whole life. I never thought swimming ashore from a French fort in the middle of the night could be beaten, but I would undertake that any day over being entombed.”
Evangeline leaned over and slapped him on the arm. “I was with you the whole time. Are you saying my company was that bad?”
“I couldn’t have made it without you, my love.”
Captain Grey cleared his throat.
Steadying himself against the back of the cart, Gus got to his feet and climbed out. After carefully navigating his way between the milk pots, he climbed over the side and jumped. He staggered a couple of paces as he landed on unsteady legs.
Once he was able to stand properly, Gus helped Evangeline out of the cart and set her onto the ground. She wobbled, and he quickly put an arm around her waist.
“We did it. You are the bravest man I know for having gone through all that,” she said.
Gus turned to the captain. “How soon could we sail?”
