Page 31 of The Swan Syndicate #1
She pulled out pots and pans, a stack of ingredients, coffee beans, and the coffee pot and went to work.
If the sailors hadn’t already completed the task, she would have scrubbed the deck.
Busy work was what she needed, and since it was close to lunchtime, she didn’t wait for Cook as she started cutting turnips for the stew.
While she sliced and diced, she mentally created a list of all the reasons it made sense for her to remain aboard the ship. She grinned. Beckworth just loved her lists.
L ando crawled to the boulder Beckworth was hiding behind. He wiped his brow and, staying low, turned his back on the three men loading kegs and crates into the back of a wagon.
Beckworth continued his watch, and when the men returned to the old barn, he stayed low as he worked his way back to their horses. Lando didn’t make a sound, but he knew the big man was behind him.
Once they reached the horses, Beckworth rubbed his forehead. “Do you think they’re part of Cheval’s crew or MacDuff’s?”
Lando shrugged. “Could be either or someone else.”
“Your merchant friend seemed to think it was Cheval.”
He nodded. “And most of the time he’s right. But he’s been wrong a time or two.”
“He wasn’t wrong about the barn or the firearms.”
“We’re not sure about the weapons.”
“Those weren’t kegs of whiskey or ale.”
Lando grinned. “Maybe they were filled with mead.”
Beckworth laughed. “You’re right. They could have been filled with anything, but a smuggler is still a smuggler. And even Cheval knows the value of carrying more than fine lace or Irish whiskey.”
Lando ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “That doesn’t help us. Do we follow?”
“We haven’t been out here long. Even if Jamie gets a response from Hensley today, I doubt he’ll want to leave before morning.”
Lando nodded. “What are you thinking?”
“They don’t have many options with a wagon. I doubt they’re taking their cargo back to the docks, but it’s possible.”
“You think they have a ship nearby?”
“How well do you know the area?”
Lando scratched his chin then turned in a half circle.
He pointed to his left, which led to the road they’d traveled to get to where they currently stood.
“Let’s get the horses well off the road.
They should come this way. There’s a narrow path that veers to the right about a mile before town, just wide enough for a wagon. It leads down to a small cove.”
“It’s worth checking out.”
They walked their horses deeper into the woods.
With it being winter, the trees were bare, and it required a longer walk than he preferred, but it wouldn’t take long to catch up to a wagon once it passed.
They settled the horses by a patch of winter grass to keep them quiet and found a spot to wait.
“Did any of those men look familiar to you?” Beckworth hadn’t recognized them.
“Maybe. But not anyone I would have considered following.”
“Probably a quick pick of sailors happening to be standing by the captain when he gave the order.”
A half-hour passed before they heard the wagon. Once it passed and the sound of the hooves and a squeaky wheel faded, Lando took off on foot. He was back in five minutes.
“They took the road to the cove.”
“Let’s give them another fifteen or twenty minutes.”
Once enough time had passed, they mounted and followed the trail.
The path curved around a scattering of trees before sloping down to the cove.
They tied the horses in the trees and slowly worked their way toward the edge of the road where it began its curving path around boulders to the shoreline.
There was a wide section of dirt where a wagon could turn around.
The men were already loading the cargo onto two jolly boats. Beckworth and Lando were close enough to easily make out the ship, but Beckworth pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look at the men onboard.
“Cheval?” Lando asked.
Beckworth nodded. “And I recognize one of the men from the pub. He might be the first mate.” He passed the binoculars to Lando.
“I’ve seen the one next to the first mate. He was on the boat at the cove where they loaded the crates they traded to MacDuff.”
“Looks like they’re getting ready for another trade.”
“Stay put. I’ll be right back.” Lando handed him the binoculars and crawled away.
Beckworth resumed his watch with the glasses, taking in the men on the beach and those watching from the ship. Was this the last of their cargo, or did they have more stops to make? If they were working their way north, then chances were likely the meeting spot would be north, but not a guarantee.
He watched for another five minutes before he heard the snap of a branch and froze. It might be Lando, but it was rare for the big man to make a sound while on surveillance. When he heard another rustling of feet stirring up forest debris, he put the glasses away.
The sound of a flintlock being primed made him turn. A man, not more than twenty feet away, pointed a pistol at him. He should have moved when he heard the twig break.
“Who are you?” the man asked.
“Just someone out for a ride.” Beckworth stood and shifted his weight to his left foot, rubbed his hands together, and shrugged. “I must admit, I’m a bit of a curious sort and saw a wagon head down this path. I thought there might be another dock I wasn’t aware of.”
“Unfortunately, your curiosity has gotten you into some trouble.”
Now that Beckworth had time to get a look at the man, he was one of the men at the pub.
Not good. And he appeared to be smarter than the average sailor.
Probably the second mate or perhaps Cheval’s muscle.
Neither he nor Lando had considered there might be a fourth man.
He might have been returning from town on another errand and it was just their bad luck.
Beckworth spread his arms wide. “If you just let me on my way, we’ll just call this a misunderstanding.”
“I wish I could do that, but you don’t appear to be the trustworthy type.”
That hurt. He’d shared his best smile. “I assure you, I’m known to be quite trustworthy.”
The man seemed to consider it for a moment, but Beckworth knew it was a ruse. The man was going to shoot him. No doubt about it. So, without hesitation, when Lando swung his rifle, slamming it against the man’s head, Beckworth dove to his left.
The man pulled the trigger as he fell, but the shot went wide in the opposite direction of Beckworth, who rolled and came up in a crouch.
He glanced up at Lando. “How did you know?”
The big man shrugged. “Just had a feeling.”
They looked down at the man.
“Someone will be coming,” Lando said.
Beckworth checked the man’s jacket and pulled out a piece of paper from an inside pocket.
“Look at this.” He passed the paper to Lando, who took a few seconds to look it over before handing it back.
Beckworth folded it as he’d found it and tucked it back in the pocket then tugged the jacket in place.
“Shall we leave him alive?” Lando asked.
Beckworth nodded. “Let’s go.”
The two ran for their horses. They didn’t mount but walked the horses north of their position, taking the long way around before mounting at the main road. They raced the horses toward town, though the wagon would never be able to catch them.
They slowed as they approached the first buildings.
“He’s seen your face.” Lando turned down a street that led to the stables.
“And he knows there were two of us, but we could have been anyone,” Beckworth said.
“Was he at the pub?”
“Yes, and he’s likely to remember when he has time to think it over. Worse case, they change their plans. If they assume we ran before checking pockets, they might consider themselves lucky, though they’ll be more cautious.”
“Let’s see what Jamie makes of the map.”