Mercy drove from the front bench, humming as though she carried an ordinary laundry load.
Elijah sat beneath the canvas with Naomi and the children, listening for every change in pace.
A stopped wheel might mean mud, a broken axle, or a patrol.
Each possibility drew a different picture in his mind.
Ruth squeezed Samuel’s hand whenever the wagon jolted.
Naomi kept one arm around both children without speaking.
Near the first bridge they heard horses approaching.
Mercy pulled the wagon to the side and greeted a rider carrying a lantern.
The man asked whether she had permission to travel after dark.
She answered that the linen belonged to Doctor Vail’s infirmary and had to arrive before morning.
He leaned toward the canvas and complained about the smell of damp cloth.
Mercy laughed and told him he was welcome to help lift the heaviest basket.
The rider declined and moved on.
Elijah understood that Mercy had relied on the man’s vanity and impatience, not on any guarantee that he would behave kindly.
Once the hoofbeats faded, she urged the horse forward without turning her head.
They reached Miriam’s workshop at dawn.
Lydia came down from the loft when she heard children’s voices, and Elijah watched her recognize Naomi by the strip of cloth tied around her wrist.
Lydia thanked them for helping James and Thomas, but Naomi interrupted.
“Where is James?” she asked.
Miriam answered that Abigail had taken him to a family shelter farther upriver while messengers searched for Sarah Bell.
The news brought relief, though not certainty.
Ruth wanted to know whether the boy had a blanket.
Miriam smiled gently.
“He has two,” she said.
“He was worried someone else might be cold.”
Rebecca brought food to the table and listened while Elijah described Richard’s threat.
She offered money and a carriage to move the family farther away.
Alden warned that traveling with papers naming Elijah as a free man could create additional risk if the documents were challenged.
Lydia suggested remaining in the workshop until witnesses could accompany them to a safer jurisdiction.
Naomi asked the question nobody else had spoken.
“How long will you ask my children to hide while the men who caused this continue to eat dinner at Riverbend?” The room fell quiet.
Alden admitted that legal action might take months or years.
Naomi looked at Elijah, who nodded.
“Then we must plan a life, not just an escape from one night.”
That evening the children slept in Miriam’s loft, and Elijah walked with Lydia to the back steps.
