Page 89 of The Gift of Patience
Manners saw him and made a welcoming sound. He was just beneath a tarp on the next ship over. Ashley climbed aboard and joined him, both lying flat on their bellies.
“Where is Fielding?”
“In the shed on the other side of the ship. Is all going according to plan?”
“Yes, and no. Devil reunited with his gang, and made contact with the gentleman, but he took off in a hurry towards London instead of coming here.”
“What do you think it means?”
“He was taken aback, not only by Devil’s escape, but he also had no notion of the shipment drop tonight. I can only surmise he had to leave to make arrangements for a crew.”
“If that is the case, the goods will not be leaving tonight.”
“Unlikely,” Ashley agreed. “Devil will not be pleased if they arrive to find the ship deserted. They can hardly load it themselves.”
“Though they can hardly sit here with a wagonload of cargo, can they? But we need the excise man to wait until we have our man. I pray they wait for Renforth’s command.”
“I wonder what Renforth has discovered. He was following our man back to London.” Ashley could but wonder.
“Who can say if he even caught up with the man in a hired hack?”
“We won’t know until he arrives. I will go and speak with Fielding now. I have no idea how long it will take for the gang to steal the cargo and deliver it here.”
“Excellent. What’s another hour or two of waiting?” Manners drawled.
Ashley climbed out from under the tarp and kept to the shadows, just in case, as he made his way towards a small wooden shed on the pier. Fielding saw him coming and opened and closed the door quickly behind him. Ashley filled him in on everything he had just told Manners as they settled in to wait. Occasional ships would pass through the deeper waters of the river, but this far out of London there was not much river traffic at low tide.
“Vessel approaching,” Fielding alerted him as his thoughts had begun to drift off.
“Is it the gang?” Ashley asked as Fielding used a spyglass to look through the small window.
“I’m not certain what I am seeing. It’s appears to be a ferryman and several large sacks of something. Perhaps some sort of cargo.”
“We will keep alert.”
The barge pulled alongside of the pier and the ferryman secured his boat with a rope. They could hear the man speaking quietly with someone, but could not see the recipient.
“Dare we enquire?”
“He does not appear to be related to the shipment we’re awaiting.”
Ashley cracked the door open. “May I help you?” he asked, startling the ferryman.
“Psst. Ashley.”
Dear God in heaven. He looked up at the night sky. If that was Patience Whitford, he was going to wring her neck right then and there.
“Ashley!”
“As I live and breathe, Patience. Can you not use the sense that the good Lord gave you? You should not be here, and certainly not alone!”
“I’m not alone.” She lifted the large canvas that covered her and the other lumps to reveal several familiar faces: Carew, Montford, Cunningham, and Rotham, who looked less than pleased to be in his current state. “Do not blame them. We found them outside the tavern and needed to find you.”
“I take it none of you can gainsay a slip of a woman?”
“Have you tried to say nay to the lass? Besides, I think she’s found your man for you,” Carew drawled.
“What do you mean?”
