Page 68 of The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds
Thane said, “Listen. I know Sloan well enough to know he’s one of the craftiest men around. If he and Eva are there, and I think they are, then let them make the first move. They can both swim, and they’ll help the others. My guess is they didn’t return last eve because they were both inside and found the bairns. Even if they had gotten them away from the captors, they didn’t have the boats to row all of them back. Their only hope is for us to see them and attack from here. Both can easily swim from that distance and that’s on both of their minds. They know we have the archers and the men. We just have to plan our approach carefully and be ready to assist them.”
“A long way out, and the larger ship is on its way,” Connor said, pointing off into the distance. “Quite a ways away yet, but I see it.”
“Shite,” Maitland said, tugging on his hair. “Dyna, can you see anything with your visions? Anything at all?”
Connor moved back to the curtain wall with a few of the others. “Aye, let’s allow you some peace to see if you can discover anything through your visions, Dyna. We need to know how many are on the boat, and I’d like to know with some certainty if Eva and Sloan are there.”
Maitland stepped back, moving over to a shaded tree on higher ground, peering across the water and praying that his wee son and wife would be safe soon. He had to have faith in what everyone else advised and not do what his reactions told him to do.
He was prepared to swim to the boat on his own and grab Maeve and Grant before they saw him, but it was too risky.
Dyna sat down on the beach and closed her eyes, trying to reach out to Tora. A few moments later, she said, “Eva is with Tora and Sandor in one boat and Sloan is with Maeve, Grant, and Lia in the other one. And Tora said not to worry. Eva and Sloan will fix everything.”
“Eva?” Maitland asked, stunned by the reply. “How is Eva going to fix everything?”
Thane smiled when he peered through an odd-looking piece of glass. “I’d wager that she has a great idea.”
Connor said, “Eva’s the one who fixed Gwyneth’s contraption. Give them a chance.”
Thane held an object in his hand and stared at the far grouping. “In fact, I believe she just went overboard with Tora and Sandor, and they’re swimming this way. It’s nearly low tide, so they may only have to swim about half the distance, and she’ll be able to touch.”
“How could you know that from this far away, Thane? And what is that you’re holding?”
Thane handed it over to Alasdair. “It’s something we found on an abandoned Viking ship. It oddly makes anything in the distance appear larger.”
Alasdair held it up to his eye and whistled. “I agree. That is Eva in the water with Dyna’s two. Get ready, Chief,” he said to his uncle.
Connor grabbed Dyna and held her back. “Not yet. Let them get a little closer, lass. Eva’s got them. And I see no ruckus on the ship yet to indicate they’ve noticed their departure. Don’t give them away.” Then he looked at Alasdair and nodded toward Maitland.
Maitland couldn’t stop his tears from falling as he ran toward the beach, but Alasdair pulled him back, though it took Thane’s assistance to hold him tight.
“She’s got them, and Sloan will handle Maeve. They are both excellent swimmers.”
Maitland muttered, “You don’t know how hard it is to stand here.”
Alasdair said, “Alaric, Thane, and I will man the boats. Be ready to move. Archers, stay back. Connor, you can swim too, to back up Dyna.”
Maitland said another prayer, wiping the tears from his eyes.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Eva
So far, all had worked out exactly as they’d hoped. Eva was with Sandor and Tora in one boat with two of their captors while Sloan was in the other boat with Maeve, Grant, and Lia, also with three men. She and Sloan were both at the end of the boats, easy enough to slip over the side.
Their captors busied themselves with the view of the large galley ship in the distance, which helped their escape plans because they paid them no mind.
Sloan had fashioned two loops of cloth from the dirty blankets to hold Sandor and Tora close to Eva’s body when she climbed into the water with them.
Tora said, “I can swim. Sandow swim with you, Evie.”
She prayed Tora could keep herself above the surface until she was able to get in the water with Sandor. She noticed people on the beach, praying they were from Thane’s castle, but Sloan, Maeve, and the children blocked the view of Eva in the water, something she needed, before the men in the boats noticed them. Dyna was on the far bank observing, if Eva guessed right.
The plan was for Sloan to start a disturbance to distract the men so Eva could slip over into the water. Maeve was petrified of a rocking boat, but she’d tied Grant to her chest the same way Eva would do with Sandor.
As soon as the boat stopped to await the approach of the larger boat, Sloan pointed to the farthest boat and told them it was sinking, his planned distraction, and then nodded to Eva. She set Tora in the water and grabbed Sandor, slipping him inside the tight loop and climbing over the edge to drop into the sea, her breath hitching at the temperature change.
She took Tora’s hand and pulled her close, slipping the loop over Tora’s head and chest, then Eva rolled onto herback, swimming for all she was worth, one arm after the other reaching over her head and keeping her kicks underwater as fast as she could, hoping she had enough time before the men noticed.
