“Aye,” Logan agreed. “My guess is that they were sent to each port in hopes of intercepting you.”
Panic shimmered in Marie’s eyes. “What are we going to do?”
“We shall find a way to slip past them,” Colyne stated.
Her lower lip trembled. “Can we set sail and anchor farther down the shore?”
The captain shook his head. “We have already moored. To depart without unloading any cargo would raise suspicion.”
“We will have to disembark here,” Colyne said.
“How?” Marie asked.
“We shall hide you both inside our cargo,” Logan explained. “When we unload the ship, I will have my men set the crate you’re hidden in at the end of the wharf, behind several other supplies. Once the knights have departed, my men will take you to wherever you need to go.”
“A fine plan,” Colyne agreed. Danger would exist, but without the threat of the English duke’s guard, ’twould be lessened substantially.
A sailor slid to a halt at the entry. “Captain.”
Logan whirled toward his man. “Aye?”
“Several knights are on the gangway demanding to search the ship.”
“They can kiss the devil,” the captain growled.
“’Twas my exact thought as well,” the sailor agreed with a dry look, “but they are sporting King Philip’s seal.”
“Which gives them explicit authority to make a thorough check of every vessel arriving,” the captain spat, “including the right to break open and inspect any sealed cargo.”
A sword’s wrath! They couldna take the risk of hiding inside a crate and being discovered. “The duke must have spoken with King Philip.” Underscoring the reason they needed to reach King Philip without delay. Colyne prayed time remained to undo whatever treachery the English noble might have spawned.
“Aye,” the captain agreed. “You can be assured if Renard’s men find you, they have orders nae to be handing you over to King Philip.”
Or Marie, Colyne silently added. They would kill her as well, and then return her body to the Highlands to be found as proof of their foul accusations.
“I will have to allow them to board.” Logan gestured to his man. “Go above and ensure ourguests,” he drawled, sarcasm lacing his words, “are nae allowed on the ship until I arrive.”
“Aye, Captain.” The sailor hurried out.
Worry clouded Marie’s eyes as she glanced from one man to the other. “What are we going to do? We cannot stay here, but there is no way to escape.”
Logan hesitated. “There is another way for you to reach shore.”
“Nay.” Colyne understood his friend’s intention, but he refused to jeopardize her life. “She has barely recovered and is too weak to try.”
“Too weak to try what?” she demanded.
Colyne scowled at Logan. “Naught.”
“Unless you wish to be caught or we fight and try sailing from port, ’tis your only choice,” his friend insisted. “I did nae say that you had to like it.”
Marie straightened her shoulders and glared at the two men. “If there is another way off this ship, we shall take it.” She shot Colyne a challenging look. “Whatever it involves, I will hold my own.”
Chapter 17
By Colyne’s dark scowl, he understood exactly what method of escape the captain was suggesting and didn’t like it. But with English knights on deck demanding a search, it mattered little what he approved of. She narrowed her gaze. “Tell me.”
At Colyne’s stubborn silence, the captain cleared his throat, his face grim. “You must escape through a hatch on the side of the ship using a rope ladder. I will have one of my men secure a small boat at the bottom to—”
