Beti leaned against the wall and crossed her hands in her lap. “It is tempting. To go to a new place where no one knows Red. A place to be anonymous. I think I would like that.”
“And I think Tom is sweet on ye.” Aggie smiled.
“Aye. But he did not mind the attention of Charity Edwards. I think Thomas is sweet on the idea of a wife.”
“Ye could do worse.”
“Aye, and I can do better, especially since I am not sweet on Thomas.” This little conversation with Aggie was doing the trick. Her nerves were calming down, and she’d solved one of her problems. She was not interested in Thomas Swift, therefore she would not accompany Alice and her brother to Pennsylvania. It was the smallest question to be sure, but somehow, having decided that one she felt more equal to that task of deciding the others.
She shrugged her arms through Zeke’s coat and his scent wrapped itself around her in comfort like his arms in the woods. His steady presence on the bench tethered her thoughts and helped keep fear at bay.
“And shall ye continue to Kentucky then?” Aggie took a spot near the porch railing.
“I have told the group that I would leave them. I feel like one lie is enough for a lifetime.”
Zeke turned his head towards her. She continued.
“Changing ye mind does not mean ye lied in the first place. A lie is a deliberate falsehood designed to mislead.”
“Aye, however. Controversy like this is not good for a group of people that must rely on one another.”
“She is right about that Aggie,” Zeke piped up. Beti cast him a sideways glance realizing that she did in fact want to stay with this group if she could work it out. She didn’t wish to leave Aggie or Mrs. Curd. Most of all she did not want to leave Hezekiah Smith. The man who’d made her laugh. The man who came to her rescue time and again. And yet, would it not put him in more danger if she stayed?
“Captain Taylor said I could stay?”
“He did.”
“That does not mean it would be wise.”
“Are ye willing to give up ye dream so easily?” Zeke countered.
“No. There will be other wagon trains. Perhaps it would be wise to stay here until another set of travelers comes. Spring is coming. And I cannot forget Hagbard and his offer to go to my mother’s kingdom, though it’s so wild an idea that I can hardly countenance it.”
“What of the men who accosted ye?”
“What?” Aggie gasped.
Alarm spiked through Beti’s mid-section. Of course she must be prepared for the return of those men. If only her father were here to wink and her and wave his Bible one more time as he wandered off to answer the questions of the treasure seekers.
“I found her outside holding them off with her rifle.”
“And they are still here?” Aggie placed a hand to her bosom.
“Aye. They’d not done anything exactly wrong. But it felt wrong, so I protected myself.”
“But we cannot call the magistrate because they did not actually do anything,” Zeke added.
“Ye will stay with her tonight,” Aggie ordered.
Zeke rolled his eyes. “I cannot stay with her any night. But I will keep guard.”
“Those men said they would keep guard as well.” Aggie pointed her finger at them.
“That gives me no comfort,” Zeke retorted.
“Me either,” Beti whispered.
After leaving Toby on guard at Beti’s wagon, Zeke sought Isaac in the tavern. He found him flanked by the two so-called emissaries. Music still filled the air, and hardy dancers twirled about. Morning would come early for some of them, and yet laughter was always a good thing when shared in congeniality.
“Ye have saved me a trip.” Isaac said. “These gentleman are requesting to join us on our route.”
The two men stood on either side of his old friend. They were as he remembered them. The older man looked like he could crack a log in half with his forehead should he wish to do so. Tall and barrel chested, he had eyes the color of glacial ice. They glowed with challenge as he approached. The younger man was of slighter build, but equally tall. Sharp features honed the dagger looks he aimed at Zeke.
“I thought ye came to take Miss Boatman back with ye to her mother’s kingdom.”
“That is not precisely our aim.” The older of the two men spoke. The younger shot daggers.
“Then just what is yer purpose here.”
“That does not concern ye. It concerns only the granddaughter of our king.”
“What makes ye so sure ye’ve got the right person?”
“I have ‘got’—as ye say—the right person.”
“Why do ye wish to go to Kentucky?”
