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Willis dropped the rug back into place and gripped Joseph with a stare that chipped a corner of his courage. “Be careful. I’ve had a foreboding…an ominous feeling that refuses to leave me.”
“About tonight?”
Still they spoke carefully, saying so much more than their words. “I worry. They are everywhere.”
Joseph neared, inclining his head as he placed a hand on Willis’s shoulder. “Everything is planned to the moment. Worry not. You shall not be taken.”
“’Tis not for myself I have concern.”
The comment sat hard in Joseph’s gut.
Willis went on, his voice stringing tight enough to snap. “If tonight goes awry…you must be ready. She will need you.”
A chill dashed over Joseph’s skin. He must get Hannah from here as soon as possible. Though she was two miles away at the house in town where the evening’s gaieties were taking place, should the intended raid go bad, such a distance was still close enough to… A curse cut over his tongue. If only he could race there now and snatch her from that den of lions. But no matter how he wanted to, he couldn’t arrive until after the dinner had ended. Higley had insisted Joseph’s name would be on the list, but arriving then without an invitation would have him thrown out. Arriving during the dancing, when the wine was draining their sensibilities, would provide at least a measure of the cover he needed to take her to safety.
“I shall protect her—I promise you that.” Joseph dipped his head and stopped at the door before exiting. “Thank you, Willis. You have been a good friend.”
Willis didn’t smile, hardly spoke for the undercurrent of caution that swept through his tone. “God be with you.”
Quiet carried the words for a moment before Joseph could answer. “And you.”
He stepped away and patted the horse before bounding up to the wagon seat, his earlier anxieties colliding with his newfound worries.
Joseph bent and readjusted the lantern at the side of the wagon when the horse’s ears perked, a sure sign he heard someone—someone near.
“Who goes there?” Instantly straight, Joseph reached for the pistol inside his jacket, when a man stepped cautiously from the wood.
Joseph jumped from the wagon and rushed forward, his blood racing hard through his limbs.
The figure stopped at the edge of the trees, one hand raised, the other at his mouth.
The signal alone was enough to flick Joseph’s memory to light. He took several more steps, glancing left and right before whispering. “Nathaniel?” Stopping beside his friend, he gripped the man’s arm. “What in heaven’s name are you doing here?”
Nathaniel’s volume was nearly inaudible. “I thought I heard your voice.” He motioned behind him with his head. “Donaldson and I came before the others. We want to be sure what we are up against before we descend on Willis. He is ready?”
“Aye.” Joseph turned, looking to the home across the yard he’d just left. “I saw no one, though that means little. There is talk of one who might be preparing to do you ill. Where is Donaldson?”
“Around the other side.” From the wan light of the wagon’s lantern, Joseph could see Nathaniel’s jaw tick. “We will return again in half an hour to—”
“Are you mad?” Ire twisted through Joseph’s chest, and he pointed right. “You cannot come here again until you are in greater numbers. That barn is massive. There could have been a dozen soldiers in there, and you would have been walking into a trap—”
“Aye, but there aren’t, and we are not.” His silence scolded Joseph’s reprimand. “We do what we must regardless of the risks.”
“Do not balance your lives on such fragile luck.”
Nathaniel’s grin slid sideways, and he tapped Joseph on the shoulder. “There is no luck when God is at your side.”
Joseph huffed and shook his head, the comment wriggling down his conscience. Without God they would surely lose at this devilish game. All those he cared about were suffering from it. If anything were to happen to these men…to him…what then? His stomach lurched. It was too much. Dear Lord, help us all. I must get Hannah to safety.
“Where is Hannah?”
Nathaniel’s inquiry brought to life the chimera that ate Joseph from within. His mind was stolen away, and he stared toward the road. What was she doing? How was she doing? He thought of what he’d learned before she’d left. Her face had gone so white when she saw him…
“She is well?” Nathaniel neared, his brow plunging low. “Has anything happened?”
Joseph nearly laughed aloud, but he ground his teeth together. Had anything happened? Everything had. And nothing. His legs began to twitch. “We cannot stand here talking like mindless women.”
A rustling in the snowy wood axed their words, and they whirled toward the sound.
