Outside the house, Harriet looked around for the direction the man may have gone. She finally spotted him some distance away, walking quickly with the horse by his side.
“Stop! Good sir, I beg of you! Wait!” she called out, pleased when the man turned and looked in her direction. She hurried to catch up to him, smiling with relief by the time she came near.
“Ah, good sir. It’s surely a wonder you stopped for me!” Harriet began, laughing lightly while catching her breath. “I know of your plan…”
“You do?” the man asked, too stunned to conceal his surprise.
“Yes, good sir. And I wish for you to take me too.”
“Begging yer pardon?”
“You’re taking that horse to my sister. I wish to join you. I will go with her anywhere that she might go.” Harriet smiled proudly and waited for the man to respond.
It took only seconds for Thomas to return her smile with a leer of his own. “Ah, yes! Of course. I’m more than happy to take you too. Come along, dear girl.”
Harriet happily obliged, walking alongside the man as they left Windle Manor behind. Soon, they arrived at a wagon and team where Thomas had stowed it.
“What’s this?” Harriet asked, her eyes wide. “Why ever would you leave your carriage in such a lonely place? A thief might have chanced by and stolen it!”
“Yes, a thief,” he said with a mirthful laugh. “I’m none too worried about that. Up you go, so I can take you to your sister.”
Harriet climbed into the wagon and settled herself on the seat while the man tied Valiant to a ring protruding from the side. He climbed up beside Harriet—startling her with how close he sat—and drove them away.
“So where is Marjorie staying?” Harriet asked politely, but the man furrowed his brow.
“Who?”
“Marjorie?”
“Don’t know anyone named Marjorie, I’m afraid,” he answered without thinking.
Harriet went still. She looked around her in fright, only now realizing the gravity of her situation. She knew not where she was nor whom she was with, and now this person turned out not to be as he’d seemed.
“Where are we going?” she demanded, clinging to the sides of the wagon seat. “Where are you taking me?”
“To yer sister, just like you said!” Thomas answered. “After we stop off for a while somewhere else.”
“Stop and let me out at once!” Harriet yelled, hoping that her voice was filled with authority, as Marjorie’s often did, instead of filled with fear. To her complete dismay, the man only laughed.
“I’ll do no such thing, thank ye. You have my leave to jump, if it pleases ye. If you survive the fall, which is not likely, you’ll have to hope there are no scoundrels in these woods.”
Harriet went pale, overcome by the fright. What had she done? Who would ever find her now? She shuddered in fear, watching the long winding path carry her farther and farther away from home.
It took some time, Harriet knew not how much, before the man stopped the wagon at a ramshackle cottage. By then, the sun had already set and darkness was imminent. This gave Harriet the only advantage she could think of, the faint glow of lights of a yonder village flickering through the trees. The moment the carriage stopped and the man turned away, Harriet kicked his backside with all of her might, sending him toppling head-first from the wagon.
She jumped down and ran, not daring to look behind her. Thomas called out and began to give chase, which only caused Harriet to run even harder. Her long dress and delicate slippers proved to be a burden at first, but the thought of being dragged into that cottage made her lose all care. She dug her toes into the ground and hoisted her skirts so that she might run faster.
“Stop, girl! Come back here ‘fore I have to run you down!” Thomas called frantically.
“Stay back! You have no right!” she screamed, hoping someone might hear her anguished words.
“Come on now, girl, you’ll not make it far out here! Stop where you are!”
It sounded as though the man was gaining ground, so Harriet strode even harder. She managed to see only well enough to avoid any trees and roots that jutted up from the ground. There was no path, and the terrain hindered her slightly, but it hindered her aggressor as well.
As she broke through the ring of trees and into the village proper, Harriet ran towards the building that offered the most light. It was a squat building with numerous windows, each with a faint glow about them.
“Please let it be an inn filled with people,” she whispered as she gasped for breath. Chancing a look behind her but seeing no one, Harriet entered through the nearest door and stood still, cautiously taking in her surroundings.
