As often happened, Alex seemed to read her thoughts. “Before you leave for home, you must ask people for the news and find out if you’re still being hunted. But I feel sure that T.C. has already taken care of that.”
“How could he do that?”
“There are a lot of ways. He could have told them you were meeting someone and got caught in the chaos caused by a prison break. When your family gets to Charleston, they’ll verify that you weren’t there when I was with Lilith. In fact, you’d never met me.”
“So they’ll think it was just a coincidence that Uncle T.C. visited you in jail, and that I, his goddaughter, was with you when you escaped?”
“Maybe he could say that you were riding out to secretly meet one of the many men who asks you to marry him. I don’t know. I’m sure T.C. could come up with a hundred stories.” Alex had to take a breath to calm himself because his voice was betraying his worry. “What I do know is that they’ll have fixed it and it’ll be safe for you to return home. If I wasn’t sure of that I’d not let you go.”
“But you aren’t safe.”
“I don’t have a home anyway,” he said softly, but he managed to smile at her. “Think of the good, lass. You’ll get to see your family again, and you’ll get to see the men you love.”
“Oh. Them,” Cay said without much interest. “I’ve been thinking and I believe I should look around some more. Maybe I should look outside Edilean.”
“That’s a good idea,” Alex said. “Maybe you could even look outside Williamsburg.”
“What am I going to do without you to make fun of me?”
“You’ll find out soon,” he said cheerfully.
She gave him a sharp look. “You’re looking forward to traveling into this jungle, aren’t you?” It was beautiful around them, with palm trees, shrubs bright with blooms, and large birds such as she’d never seen before.
“I do believe I am,” Alex said. “When T.C. first told me his idea, I was in a jail cell, and I couldn’t imagine being on a boat and floating through what he said was a paradise. But now that I see this land, I think I would like to see more.”
“Who’s going to take Uncle T.C.’s place as recorder?”
“I don’t know.”
Cay’s mind began to form an idea. “Has Mr. Grady been told that Uncle T.C. won’t be going?”
“I don’t know. I assume T.C. wrote Grady a letter telling him he’d need a new recorder, so maybe Grady will arrive with one.”
“But we came too fast. If Mr. Grady was also traveling here, no letter could have reached him.”
“That’s not my concern. I’m sure he can find someone else to draw the plants and animals. How hard could it be?”
Cay nearly launched into a long explanation of what went into preparing to be an artist, but she didn’t. Instead, she was quiet as she began to think of another possibility. It was an idea much too far-fetched to be possible, but still, she liked what was in her head.
An hour later, they rode into the settlement, and Cay looked around her. The few houses were plastered over with what looked to be whitewashed mud, and the roofs were covered with dried palm fronds. Cay thought that the structures were enchanting. To the right was a long, low building that she assumed was the boardinghouse. Two adolescent girls were outside in the shade, one shucking dried corn, the other using a big mortar and pestle to pound the corn into meal. They paused in their work and looked at Alex and Cay with interest.
Alex nodded toward the house. “Let’s get you settled first.”
“No!” When he looked at her, she said, “I mean, let’s see where you’re to meet Mr. Grady. He might be waiting for you and wondering if you’re going to show up.”
“We’re here a day early, so I doubt if he’s hired someone else yet.”
“But we don’t know that, do we?”
Alex tried to repress a smile. “What’s frightening you the most, lass? The thought of being alone, or the fear of how much you’ll miss me?”
“How will I get out of bed in the morning without you pulling me up by my breeches? And how will I live without the scent of jasmine around me at night?” She’d meant her words as a joke, but they fell flat, for she really would miss those things.
Alex smiled sympathetically at her. “All right then, lass, let’s go find where I’m to meet Mr. Grady.” He reined his horse away to the left and Cay was glad to follow him. She didn’t want to be stuck inside some boardinghouse. The air was balmy and warm and fragrant, and she wanted to stay outside as long as possible.
It was easy to find the rendezvous site, as there was a wharf projecting into a calm, placid river. There were piles of wooden boxes, and two men were looking through them. One man looked to be in his forties, and was short, stout, and had neatly trimmed salt and pepper hair. The other was a boy, tall, thin, with straw-colored hair, a big nose, and freckles. He’d never be handsome, but he was appealing in a way. And he had a swagger about him that reminded her of Tally.
“Are you T.C.’s friend?” asked the older man, looking up at Alex. “The one who works magic on animals?”