Sweet Release (53 page)

Alec guided his gelding through a maze of tangled vegetation behind tree roots, careful not to lose his sense of direction. The marsh was a different place in the winter, the chirping and squeaking of birds and insects replaced by silence. A wet breeze blew over the water, seeping through the greatcoat he had stolen from the poor surprised gaoler, but Alec found the cold exhilarating. After so many weeks behind bars, it felt good to be in the open. He’d come far closer than he’d wanted to the hangman’s noose. He owed Carter a life debt and intended to repay him tenfold as soon as he returned to England. His time spent with Carter talking horseflesh had given him the measure of the man. Carter was an honorable man, but he had a stubborn streak. And he enjoyed taking risks. Alec had known Carter would protect Cassie, and he hadn’t been surprised when Carter had shown up at the gaol to make certain he was being treated fairly. Alec had taken advantage of the opportunity to ask Carter for help with his will, explaining that he wanted to make sure Cassie and the baby were well taken care of should he be executed. That had led to Carter’s hiring counsel and having Alec fitted for new clothing. The two had begun to talk, and slowly this plan—or wager, as Carter called it—had developed. Carter had agreed to help Alec stage his escape by acting as his hostage, gambling that Alec was who he said he was and would not slit his throat once they were safely away. Alec had wagered the escape would work. At stake were both men’s lives—as Carter had said, the greatest wager of all.

Alec wondered again what was happening in Williamsburg. Had Zach and Luke been able to distract the sheriff as planned by making it seem as if he’d broken into Carter’s house? Had they been able to keep Cassie safe after the alarm had been sounded? Cartel assured him that no one, not even the governor, would dare to move her from his house. But Alec was not so certain. It was one thing to gamble with his own life. It was something else entirely to gamble with hers and the baby’s.

A baby. How strange it was to think that he was going to be father. A father. Were it not for Matthew, he’d have no idea what that meant. Whereas Alec’s father had rarely smiled at him or offered him a word of encouragement, Matthew lavished affection or his children, played with them and read them stories. Alec was determined to be like his brother-in-law, and not the cold, hearties; taskmaster his own father had been. He thought of Jamie and Blackbeard and smiled.

How difficult this must all be for Cassie. He and Carter had agreed it was best to keep her in the dark, lest the escape plan fail. Alone and locked up in that house, she must have felt that God had forsaken her. While Alec had scarcely seen the light of day these past weeks, she’d been exposed to all the vilification the townsfolk had to offer. He had watched them stare at her over the tops of their Bibles at church and point fingers at her outside. Women looking at her with scorn, men’s glances colored with lust. Cassie had held her chin high, ignoring them all.

And in the courtroom… She’d stood up to the governor, defied them all, bravely taking the stand and declaring her faith in him in no uncertain terms. He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his passion for her had deepened though he hadn’t held her in his arms in more than two months.

“What think you of being a father?” The sound of Alec’s voice startled the silence.

“So that’s what you’re thinking about,” Carter said with a chuckle, which quickly became a deep cough. “It’s a great thing, though I must say I didn’t think much of it at first. All that crying, those foul smells. But I came to enjoy it. I’ve been a better father to Betty’s children than I was to Judith’s. As with most things, one improves with practice.”

Alec had gleaned that Judith was Carter’s first wife and Betty his second. Only seventeen when she’d married him, Betty had died atage thirty-six, weakened by the birth of their sixth child, leaving her husband a widower for the second time—and the father of ten. For the first time all day, Alec tasted fear. What if Cassie, too, were taken ill? What if she died in childbed? It was something he’d not considered until now, and the thought that she might perish to birth his child sickened him. He remembered well what Rebecca had endured. Would Cassie die? No, that could not happen. He would not let it. Cassie was strong and healthy, braver and more stubborn than any woman he had ever known. She’d survive. He’d do everything in his power to make sure she survived. He’d hire the best physician. Hell, he’d hire a team of physicians.
Best not to think of such things now,
Alec told himself, determined to brush the worry from his mind. His first task was to make sure lassie had a husband, their baby a father.

“God forbid you have daughters,” Carter said.

“Why do you say that?”

“If they’re anything like their mother, you’ll have to keep them under lock and key.”

Alec couldn’t help laughing.

The two men rode onward, the silence interrupted only by occasional fits of coughing. Alec began to worry that Carter was truly ill, though the man had yet to complain. Perhaps Takotah could brew one of her frightful potions and ease his breathing. Ahead in the dark the trees thinned, and beneath the horses; hooves mud gave way to sand. A shape moved in the darkness, a man holding a musket.

“We’re here.”

Matthew peered through the darkness, watching the young woman who would soon become his sister-in-law. Easily the best rider among them, she sat a horse as if she’d been born to it, her motions blending effortlessly with those of the mare beneath her. Riding slightly ahead of them all, her relentless pace challenging them to keep up, she seemed certain of her direction despite the darkness. If she was tired or cold, she certainly didn’t show it. , “I should like to wait until dawn,” Governor Gooch said.

“If we do, we’ll lose him,” she called back over her shoulder. “He’ll have left by first light.”

“But surely we’ll lose our way in the dark.”

“Not if you stick with me.”

Matthew admired Miss Blakewell’s spirit and had grown surprisingly fond of her already. He should have known Alec would fall in love with such a woman. Brave and determined, she was also quite pretty in her own way, and intelligent, too. She was precisely the breath of fresh air Alec needed, not at all the type of grasping, shallow creature he’d met far too often in the ballroom.’ of London. Though Matthew had not yet had time to hear the entire story of how she and Alec had come together, he knew from hi’ conversation with Governor Gooch that Cassie had braved dishonor and worse by testifying at Alec’s trial. As far as Matthew was concerned, her devotion to Alec made her a jewel beyond price. She had insisted they leave Williamsburg last night as soon a she’d regained her breath, ignoring those who’d wanted to wait until morning before setting out. Men with dogs were still tracking Alec, she argued, and, until they found him, both his life and Robert Carter’s were in danger. Her logic had prevailed. Their small party had sailed north to her father’s estate, where, after a brief reunion with servants who obviously adored their mistress, they’d set out on horseback.

Their little company was as odd a mixture of people as Matthew had ever seen. Beside him rode the governor and two sheriffs, one called Hollingsworth, who was as big around as a tree, and one called Connelly, who, though young and energetic, was none too bright. Behind them followed the two young Carter lads, Charles and Landon, both full of restlessness and vigor. Beside them rode two men with fresh black eyes, a bondsman Miss Blakewell called Zach and a big slave named Luke.

Matthew was grateful for their presence, as they’d made it abundantly clear they did not trust anyone with the safekeeping of their mistress and would keep a close eye on them all. There were the governor’s hired hands as veil, each armed, bringing their number to just over a dozen. It was not yet dawn. Hardly a star shone in the cold, dark sky. Already they’d followed Miss Blakewell over fields and through a forest, and now she was leading them into what seemed to be a thickly wooded marsh. Towering conifers stretched into the darkness above their heads, their roots a tangle in the muddy, kneedeep water below. Slick mud, dead branches, and vegetation tangled to slow the horses as they fought for footing. But the terrain hadn’t hindered her progress. Matthew realized she had ridden his way many times before and knew every tree trunk and branch by heart. Twice now she’d had to stop to allow the rest of them to catch up with her.

“Where on earth is she taking us?” muttered the governor.

“To hell, I’d warrant,” grumbled Sheriff Hollingsworth.

“It’s not far now,” Miss Blakewell assured them, circling back from the darkness to rejoin them.

Elizabeth would adore her, Matthew thought with satisfaction. Lord, how he missed his wife and children. It had been more than ix weeks since he’d last seen them. He hadn’t explained to Elizabeth his reason for coming here, not wanting to raise her hopes. He’d told her only that it had to do with bringing Alec’s killers to justice, though he himself had been all but certain that he’d find Alec alive. The letter that the magistrate at Newgate had shown him, together with the mysterious letter that Philip had intercepted and burned, had convinced Matthew Alec had been spirited to the colonies against his will and that Philip was somehow behind it.

When Matthew confronted Philip in private, he had at first denied knowing anything about the letters. But when faced with the signed missive he’d sent to Newgate, Philip had reacted like a cornered man, confessing nothing, but vowing to kill Matthew. Fortunately he hadn’t had time to make good on his threats, as the justice the peace arrived shortly thereafter to arrest him on the grim charge of conspiracy. When he finally did confess, sick and trembling for lack of drink, the horror of what he’d said had left Matthew shaken. He’d never intended for Alec to be kidnapped, he’d said laughing darkly. He’d meant him to die. That was what he’d paid the men to do. But they had double-crossed him—and doubled their profits—by selling Alec to a sea captain who’d found himself with a useless corpse instead of a full cargo. They’d paid the ultimate price for their betrayal.

How would Matthew tell Alec about Philip? Telling him he had been betrayed was the one part of this trip that Matthew had been dreading. Elizabeth hadn’t taken the news well. As far as she knew she’d already lost one brother. Losing the other had been devastating for her.

Matthew put his worries aside and looked ahead through the trees to where the sky had begun to lighten. The forest thinned. He felt his horse’s step grow steadier. They were now riding on more solid ground. Peering through the ghostly half-light, Matthew thought he saw some kind of clearing.

“The sun is almost up,” said Miss Blakewell. “We must hurry.”

Alec slipped on his boots, eager to get under way. As promised, Takotah had awakened them before first light, leaving steaming mugs of tea and breakfasts of cornmeal mush on the roughened table. Nearby, Carter lapsed into another fit of coughing. It had been a restless night for all of them, but especially for Carter, who to his credit, had not complained. Takotah had given him one her concoctions to help his breathing and relieve the ache in his stiff limbs, and Alec knew he had gotten at least some sleep. As if on cue, Takotah appeared through the door of the little cabin with another steaming mug, which Carter accepted with grateful nod, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

“This just might cure me if it doesn’t kill me first.”

“You think that’s bad.” Alec grinned. “You should taste what she gave me.”

Accustomed to being teased about her potions, Takotah smiled back, the tattoos on her weathered face seeming to come alive. “It is good to have you home,” she said, resting her hand on Alec’s shoulder before slipping quietly outside again.

Home.
Alec liked the sound of that. But he wasn’t home yet. Home was still a month long voyage away—if he managed to survive the next few days.

He poured water from a pitcher into the washbasin and splashed it over his face, grateful for its bracing chill. How strange it had been to arrive here in the dark of night. Micah had emerged like a ghost from the shadows and had seen to their horses. Takotah had ushered them indoors by the fire, where a warm meal awaited them. Never had a simple stew tasted so good, nor a bed felt so soft. Having spent many long weeks sleeping in straw on a dirty, wooden floor, Alec was sure he could have slept on stone. Best of all had been seeing Jamie again. The boy had been kept away until the meal was finished so as not to disturb them. But as soon as the empty bowls had been cleared, he’d come bounding through the door, Pirate at his heels. The pup had almost reached its full size, and Alec had found himself juggling a lapful of wiggling boy and overgrown puppy.

“Tell me how you saved Cassie from the bad man,” Jamie had demanded, throwing his arms around Alec’s neck and giving him a big hug.

“That’s a long story, Jamie.”

“Where is she? When do I get to see her?”

Alec had seen that these weeks away from his sister had been hard on the child. How he’d wished he’d been able to walk through the door with Cassie in hand, and end this nightmare for all of them. But he hadn’t. She was little better than a prisoner in Williamsburg, and the only way he could help her was by leaving her far behind and returning to England. How could he explain that to a child?

“Cassie is safe in Williamsburg now,” Alec had told him. “She’s staying at Master Carter’s home. Do you remember him?”

Jamie had glanced over at Carter and nodded. “She isn’t coming here?”

“Not yet, tadpole. But I hope to bring her to you before spring comes.”