The coach swayed as he climbed aboard to sit beside Jenkins and set the horses into motion. They rolled forward, the wheels clattering roughly over the cobblestones, and out through the already raised portcullis. The conveyance splashed through puddles as it picked up speed, rocking back and forth. She remembered hearing the rain during the night and was thankful it had stopped some time ago.
Vance's voice echoed as he shouted commands to the horses.
The speed of the carriage continued to increase at an alarming pace.
"Good lord!" Elspeth had wanted him to rush, but this was overdoing it. Staring horrified out the window, she grabbed onto the leather strap as the coach careened around a curve. A loud crack echoed and the coach hurtled onto its side.
She screamed as she was flung off her seat and toward the roof.
∞∞∞
Having no luck in their hunt for mountain hare and grouse, Cyrus and his brothers, along with Rebbie, Dirk, and their guards, halted their horses at the crest of the hill. Wheels rolling over cobblestones in the distance reached his ears upon the swift wind. He stared downward, toward Castle Rebbinglen.
Two horses and a small coach sped away from the castle.
Cyrus frowned. "Who is that and why the devil are they in such a hurry?"
"'Tis Lady Grey's coach," Rebbie said. "I wonder if she received some bad news."
"The driver is traveling dangerously fast!" Dirk said.
When the horses took the curve at too brisk a pace, the coach toppled over with a great crash. The driver and another man sailed through the air.
"'Slud!" Struck with a sudden cold flash of alarm for Elspeth, if she was indeed inside, Cyrus kicked Goliath into a gallop down the hill. The other men followed, the horses' hooves pounding behind him.
The pair of bays reared and tried to drag the overturned coach forward. Had something spooked them, causing them to bolt?
Reaching the accident, Cyrus leapt off his horse and ran forward, his friends following. Cyrus grabbed one of the spooked horses' bridles while Dirk snagged the other. Rebbie and Dermott hastened toward the driver and the armed guard where they lay sprawled on the wet grass.
"Hold this horse and keep him calm," Cyrus told Fraser. After handing off the bridle, he ran to the coach, climbed onto the side facing upward and yanked open the door. Elspeth lay motionless on the opposite door.
