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lies between the northern and the southern point.’’ Her finger with a torn fingernail traced a short line over the said ridge.
‘‘It’s less than three miles, but unless you’ve walked this straight line, or seen the map, you would never guess you could skip so far downriver so quickly.’’
Ren cursed softly and tapped the downriver part of the U. ‘‘I don’t suppose the river is shallow here?’’
Eldest shook her head. ‘‘Fairly deep. If they brought the guns to here, it would be easy to load them onto another boat.’’
‘‘Why move them at all?’’ Corelle asked. ‘‘Seems like a lot of work for nothing, when they could hire a boat to go upriver and unload the barge.’’
Eldest threw her a disgusted look. ‘‘It would have been stupid to leave them stranded with the princesses somewhere close behind them. Secondly, this confuses the trail. Think of the trail they would have left if they had hired a boat to go upriver to the stranded barge. Every ship captain they tried to hire, the crew of the ship they finally hired, any passengers already on the boat, any ship that passed while they were transferring the load, and Holy Mothers knows who else would have known what ship the guns are now on. The princesses could go downriver until they saw that ship and stop it. If the thieves had managed to already off-load the guns, there would be witnesses to where and when.
‘‘By moving the guns, they’re no longer linked to the 50
Wen Spencer
barge. Picking up cargo is so common it’s invisible in comparison to a salvage job. And, unless you’ve seen a map of the river, it seems unlikely that anyone could move a dozen heavy crates so far downriver in a span of a few hours.’’
‘‘We’ll never find them again,’’ Ren whispered.
‘‘They’ve only had one day to secure a ship. The guns might still be here.’’ Eldest reached over to the gun rack and took down a rifle. ‘‘If they are, we can stop them.’’
The other Whistlers took this as a signal and armed themselves, down to the little ones, excluding only the boys. For one panicked moment, Ren thought she might have the whole clan ride out with her. Eldest Whistler, however, motioned to the middle and youngest sets of Whistler sisters to put up their rifles, with a firm, ‘‘You stay here and guard the boys and Princess Odelia.’’
‘‘You don’t have to come.’’ The Queens Justice’s opinion aside, Ren wasn’t sure the farmers were up to riding with her guard.
‘‘I’ve spent my whole life learning how to fight,’’ Eldest stated. ‘‘Once in my life, it would be good to actually ride out to battle. I don’t think the chance to ride in the Princesses’ Guard will come around twice.’’
Certainly, it would help to have someone who knew the lay of the land to guide them.
‘‘Glad to have you, then,’’ Ren said, and earned a wide grin from the woman.
They surged out of the house, carried along in a wave of excited, and thankfully now unarmed, children. While saddling their horses, Ren caught sight of Jerin helping his older sisters saddle up. He moved with assurance among the horses, handling the bridles and saddles with ease. As she watched, he kneed a black mare in the middle to make her suck in her stomach. He clinched the saddle girth tight, tied it, and then looked up to meet Ren’s gaze.
He wanted her. She knew the look now, having seen the physical evidence of his desire paired before with his A BROTHER’S PRICE
51
level blue gaze. Just knowing that he wanted her did magic to her body. She dropped her eyes before anyone noticed the exchange. The Whistlers would not be so happy to ride beside her if they knew what she had done with their little brother in the kitchen. Suddenly the idea of them at her back with rifles did not seem so wise. She glanced at Eldest Whistler, wondering if this was an exercise in revenge. You’re crazy, Ren told herself as she swung up into her saddle.
‘‘It’s less than three miles, but unless you’ve walked this straight line, or seen the map, you would never guess you could skip so far downriver so quickly.’’
Ren cursed softly and tapped the downriver part of the U. ‘‘I don’t suppose the river is shallow here?’’
Eldest shook her head. ‘‘Fairly deep. If they brought the guns to here, it would be easy to load them onto another boat.’’
‘‘Why move them at all?’’ Corelle asked. ‘‘Seems like a lot of work for nothing, when they could hire a boat to go upriver and unload the barge.’’
Eldest threw her a disgusted look. ‘‘It would have been stupid to leave them stranded with the princesses somewhere close behind them. Secondly, this confuses the trail. Think of the trail they would have left if they had hired a boat to go upriver to the stranded barge. Every ship captain they tried to hire, the crew of the ship they finally hired, any passengers already on the boat, any ship that passed while they were transferring the load, and Holy Mothers knows who else would have known what ship the guns are now on. The princesses could go downriver until they saw that ship and stop it. If the thieves had managed to already off-load the guns, there would be witnesses to where and when.
‘‘By moving the guns, they’re no longer linked to the 50
Wen Spencer
barge. Picking up cargo is so common it’s invisible in comparison to a salvage job. And, unless you’ve seen a map of the river, it seems unlikely that anyone could move a dozen heavy crates so far downriver in a span of a few hours.’’
‘‘We’ll never find them again,’’ Ren whispered.
‘‘They’ve only had one day to secure a ship. The guns might still be here.’’ Eldest reached over to the gun rack and took down a rifle. ‘‘If they are, we can stop them.’’
The other Whistlers took this as a signal and armed themselves, down to the little ones, excluding only the boys. For one panicked moment, Ren thought she might have the whole clan ride out with her. Eldest Whistler, however, motioned to the middle and youngest sets of Whistler sisters to put up their rifles, with a firm, ‘‘You stay here and guard the boys and Princess Odelia.’’
‘‘You don’t have to come.’’ The Queens Justice’s opinion aside, Ren wasn’t sure the farmers were up to riding with her guard.
‘‘I’ve spent my whole life learning how to fight,’’ Eldest stated. ‘‘Once in my life, it would be good to actually ride out to battle. I don’t think the chance to ride in the Princesses’ Guard will come around twice.’’
Certainly, it would help to have someone who knew the lay of the land to guide them.
‘‘Glad to have you, then,’’ Ren said, and earned a wide grin from the woman.
They surged out of the house, carried along in a wave of excited, and thankfully now unarmed, children. While saddling their horses, Ren caught sight of Jerin helping his older sisters saddle up. He moved with assurance among the horses, handling the bridles and saddles with ease. As she watched, he kneed a black mare in the middle to make her suck in her stomach. He clinched the saddle girth tight, tied it, and then looked up to meet Ren’s gaze.
He wanted her. She knew the look now, having seen the physical evidence of his desire paired before with his A BROTHER’S PRICE
51
level blue gaze. Just knowing that he wanted her did magic to her body. She dropped her eyes before anyone noticed the exchange. The Whistlers would not be so happy to ride beside her if they knew what she had done with their little brother in the kitchen. Suddenly the idea of them at her back with rifles did not seem so wise. She glanced at Eldest Whistler, wondering if this was an exercise in revenge. You’re crazy, Ren told herself as she swung up into her saddle.
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