Chapter 3

The night passed slowly for Jane, and in spite of Evan’s confidence that there was no way they could reach land before daylight, she spent the last hours of darkness peering in all directions, more aware than she’d ever been, just what it meant “to sail blind.”

As dawn spread across the sea, Jane scanned the ocean, looking for a trace of their enemies. There was none. Evan was feverish, muttering in his sleep. Except this time she wasn’t sure he was asleep at all; she feared he was unconscious rather than asleep.

Ahead of her she could see the coast still ten miles or so distant. Jane wracked her mind, trying to place herself. She’d ridden along here a dozen times, sailed along the coast twice.

There! That was Gorse Hill! And if that were Gorse, then there would be Finian’s Rill! And yes, there the valley that led inland! At the foot of the Rill would be Finian’s itself, a village of about six hundred farmers and fishermen. She judged the slack wind, where she thought the wind would come up.

Leave the centerboard down, she thought.

When the wind came up, they crabbed across the waves again. She watched carefully, measuring her progress. Ten miles, she thought. Perhaps four miles an hour. Nine in the morning. What could she do to shorten that? She couldn’t think of anything, so then she worried about what she should do first when she got in. A doctor for Evan and then someone to arrange for a carriage, or if Evan couldn’t sit up, perhaps a wagon.

Should she take off her wig? Jane shook her head in disgust at the thought. She should. Except if she did, people would talk. And if any of the talk reached the Shastri ... why, they’ll come for her with as many men as they could muster. It was still a long way to Shelm.

No, Evan was the son of an important duke. It would be correct and proper for her to have rescued him. The local leader would have to get Evan to Shelm by the fastest means available. And if the Shastri heard about the son of a duke, a minor son, who had escaped the battle, they probably wouldn’t respond with overwhelming force. Take no chances, she thought, not until she was safe.

Of course, Shelm himself had been at the palace along with everyone else of importance in the Land. Who would hold Shelm in his stead? Evan had ticked off a lot of the realm’s Great Captains and other senior Captains; she’d seen many of them at court the night before the attack.

Who would be left? She’d probably know whoever it was; she did pay attention to those lessons. And odds were he’d know her, at least with her wig off. Jane giggled at the thought. It had been a wicked pleasure, one she’d been indulging herself for nearly three years now. And her mother had known? That passed her ability to imagine; she was sure her mother would never, ever, permit such a thing!

She surveyed the coast, then by habit, checked behind her. There, near the eye of the wind, was a dark smudge.

So, they were coming! Did they pick up their boats? Evan hadn’t said anything about that; maybe they should have made some noise deliberately, to shear some of their men away from them? No way to tell, not now. Eight or nine miles — call it three or four hours behind her after she made landfall.