They attracted little notice while being led to one of the private dining rooms, ate quickly, and were off again as soon as the horses had been adequately tended.
A light mist began to fall as they crossed into Scotland. Syd scooted over to sit by his side as soon as they crossed the border. “Octavian, how far now?”
“Only a few more miles. We’ll reach Gretna Green within the next hour for certain, even if the road turns to mud. But let us hope it stays nothing more than a drizzling mist.” It was the middle of the afternoon and there was still plenty of daylight remaining, but any pleasured anticipation fled when he heard a rumble of hooves behind them. “Syd, I’m sure there is nothing to be alarmed about…however, just as a precaution.” He reached over to the seat bench she had just vacated opposite his and raised the seat. “Spare compartment. All these Carville coaches have them. Climb in and get down. Sorry, but you have to get flat on the floor and curl up in a tight ball. We’re about to be stopped.”
She inhaled sharply. “Sir Henry and his men?”
He stopped her when she attempted to poke her head out the window to get a better look. “Syd! I don’t want them to see you.”
“Sorry.” She nodded and climbed into the spare compartment. “There must be at least thirty of them, if the thunderous sound of those horses is any indication.”
“Yes, no less than twenty men for certain. But it isn’t Sir Henry, I’ll wager. That old goat would not have chased us with so many men. It is likely Scottish reivers. I’m going to throw this blanket over you, too. Stay hidden. Do not move a muscle and do not talk.”
“All right, but give me a weapon.”
He hesitated a moment, then handed over the pistol he always kept hidden in the lip of his boot. “You are not to use it unless they fire first and actually shoot me.”
She gasped. “That is ridiculous. The entire point is to prevent your getting shot.”
“No, the point is to keepyoualive. They will shoot us both if you fire at them.”
He carried another pistol in a sheath within his uniform jacket, not to mention the knife he also carried in his other boot, but he had no intention of drawing either weapon.
His Royal Navy uniform was his best protection.
If these were common reivers, he hoped to talk his way out of any trouble. He was in a uniform familiar to these men. Many of the Highland clans had fought alongside the British during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon had long ago been defeated. Octavian had been but a boy at the time and too young to be sent off to fight.
However, he had engaged in many battles during his time as captain of a first-rate naval vessel. He was still in active service in the Royal Navy, for once a naval officer always a naval officer. He had made his fortune capturing enemy vessels and pirate ships, but was now assigned by the Admiralty to supervise the building of the next generation of battle ships for the royal fleet.
He was familiar with the Scots and their sometimes odd ways since a large number of his crew happened to be from Scotland. In fact, several of his officers went by the name of Armstrong, Rutherford, and Kerr.
He would toss out their names and hope someone among the reivers acknowledged a connection. All he needed was for Syd to keep her composure and not go at them like a raging banshee. “Get down now, Syd. I’m closing you in.”
“If I were a man, you would have me fighting beside you,” she muttered while obeying him.
“But you are not a man. Need I warn you what these oafs might do to you if they are of a mind to be craven? Death wouldbe the easy way out. For the love of heaven, just keep quiet no matter what you hear.”
It was the firebrand Syd who glared back at him as he tossed the hideous bonnet in with her, placed the blanket over her head, and then put the seat bench back in place.
Lord, just shut her up and keep her safe.
He commanded Henshaw to stop the carriage and not draw a weapon. “M’lord, they’ll shoot us down like dogs if we don’t fight back.”
“We cannot take down all of them. Just stay calm, Mr. Henshaw. These are reivers, just looking to rob us. Give over whatever they ask. I’ll reimburse you for any loss.”
“What of Lady Thorne?”
“My wife is hidden. You and I are traveling alone, assuming they bother to ask. Let’s hope they did not see us at the coaching inn where we last dined.”
Octavian tamped down his frustration as he waited for their leader to approach him. For good measure, he sat atop the bench where Syd was now hiding because he did not want her lifting that lid for any reason.
These border reivers now surrounded his carriage and two of them took hold of the reins so that Mr. Henshaw would not be tempted to drive off. They ordered the frightened driver down from his perch. “Do as they ask, Mr. Henshaw. It is all right.”
A big, red-haired man swaggered toward Octavian. “I’ll be askin’ ye to get out, too.”
“As you wish,” Octavian said and promptly complied. “Just be aware you are interfering with Royal Navy business. I am on my way to Greenock to meet with your shipbuilders.”
The leader took another moment to inspect him. “Ye’re a calm one, ain’t ye?” he muttered after walking around him.
