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Mary calmed some though her eyes remained misty.
As soon as Bliss released Mary’s hand, her senses were bombarded with warnings. She hurried up alongside Trey, and whispered, “Soldiers draw near.”
Chapter 17
Allena was quickly handed over to her mother, and Bliss walked a few feet away to talk with Trey.
“How many?” he asked.
“Too many for you to battle on your own,” she advised.
“We’ll have to hide—”
Bliss didn’t let him finish. “No time to find a hiding place.” She grabbed a handful of dirt and turned it palm up close to his face and blew.
He coughed and sputtered and rubbed at his burning eyes. “What the—”
She grabbed his arm. “Don’t argue; do as I say.” She took the bedroll off his back and shook the blanket open, then draped it over his head. “Keep your head down and cough frequently when the soldiers draw near.”
She tugged at him to follow her back to Mary and Allena. “We must appear sick,” she said, and did the same to Mary as she had done to Trey though she didn’t wrap a blanket around her. She smeared dirt on Allena’s cheeks, and it wasn’t necessary to make her eyes red as fearful tears were already beginning to do that.
“Say nothing, just cough and keep your heads bent,” Bliss ordered, and did the same to herself, her eyes turning red and watering as the first soldier appeared.
Bliss stepped forward, her head slightly bent, her shoulders slumped and in between coughs, she begged, “Help us ... please.”
“Back away,” the soldier demanded.
“Please,” Bliss said, reaching out to him with her dirt-covered hand, to which she added a slight tremble.
“Be on your way,” he ordered sternly and pointed to his right. “I’ll not have you crossing paths with the soldiers.”
“But—”
The soldier moved his horse closer to Bliss. “I’ll not contaminate my sword on your putrid blood, but I will have a skilled archer take aim if you do not move on.” With that said, he gave her a kick, sending her sprawling to the ground.
Bliss’s first thought wasn’t of the pain that tore through her chest but of Trey. She feared he would not contain his anger, and so she scrambled quickly to her feet though the pain robbed her of breath.
She nodded repeatedly and shuffled over to Trey and Mary and, with great effort, managed to say loud enough for the soldier to hear, “We must move on.”
Mary bobbed her head and coughed. Even Allena gave a cough though she kept her head tucked in the crook of her mother’s neck, Mary hugging her tightly.
Trey’s head didn’t bob, and his cough sounded more like a snarl. Bliss was quick to wrap her arm around his back and give a pat, hoping it would reassure him that she was fine even though she wasn’t. And she worried that he just might sense the truth and jeopardize their safety though that would be a foolish move, and Trey was not a foolish man.
They walked slowly though their feet wished to take flight and run from potential harm. That their cautious actions proved wise was made obvious when the large troop became visible through the trees as they made their way through the woods away from the soldier.
Mary gasped though quickly turned it into a hacking cough, and they heard the soldier Bliss had spoken with yell, “Keep your distance from the sick peasants.”
Bliss felt the muscles in Trey’s back grow taut beneath her hand, and, once again, she gave it a pat, hoping to calm him.
It took time to pass the long line of soldiers, which seemed never-ending, and it wasn’t until hours later that they finally felt safe enough to stop for a rest.
As soon as they did, Trey threw off the blanket and turned to Bliss. “How badly did he hurt you?”
“You showed remarkable restraint,” she said rather than answer him.
“He kicked you awfully hard,” Mary said, Allena clinging to her leg.
“How badly?” Trey repeated more firmly.
