Chapter 17
Seventeen
They had not secured his feet or his hands, and even though Rhys was marched between the soldiers, he could easily get away. He knew the forest because he had walked it often since his arrival. He also knew where there was a cave where he could hide.
The only reason he did not attempt an escape was because he feared the soldiers would return to the hut and lay in wait and hope to catch him only to find Tempest and her sisters. That could not happen even if it meant that he was imprisoned.
The people in Martinique were without supplies. If they did not have their own fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken and cows they would be destitute.
In fact, he was certain that the French soldiers were suffering more than the residents of Martinique and he wouldn’t put it past the French to keep Tempest and her sisters prisoner until the blockade was removed.
At least Tempest and her sisters were safe and so long as he was in custody, they would remain that way, though he would like to know who on the ship had given away vital information.
How soon would it be before the man revealed that messages were delivered and retrieved from that portion of the island? He had to know since the cutter stopped there regularly and put a ship’s boat in the water to be rowed to him.
Why hadn’t he shared that intelligence?
Rhys also assumed that it would eventually happen and needed to be prepared, if someone had not already been told and more soldiers were waiting to take him to the gallows.
He needed to make a plan. One that would see him freed and if given the opportunity, he would take it and run all the way back to the hut if he had to and get Tempest and her sisters to safety.
That was what he focused on as they marched.
Making plans and dismissing them, unable to be certain of anything until he knew where he was to be held.
If it was going to be in the fort, there would likely be no escape, but if he was to be charged with theft, maybe it would be the local gaol, which gave him an advantage.
Rhys glanced around, taking note of where they were, which was not the path he usually took, and longer than the one he used, which meant he would make it back to the hut quicker than anyone who followed.
That was good to know.
He also remembered that he had been in much tougher and dangerous situations than this, and had managed to escape, just as he would from wherever the soldiers were taking him.
* * *
It had been easy to catch up to the soldiers because they did not move very quickly, nor were they quiet, which made it easy for Tempest to follow from a distance.
She tried to plan for what she would do to rescue Rhys but until she arrived in Fort-de-France, she would not know what options were available to her.
Thank goodness she remained in trousers, which were much more comfortable when walking in the forest, but she had brought her dress in the event she needed to come out of hiding and try and blend in. As for her reticule, she had that, along with her funds, which were generous.
She would bribe the soldiers for his release, if necessary, though she hoped that it would not come to that.
As they drew nearer to town, she slipped away and removed her shirt and pulled the dress on over the trousers and left the shirt behind, then continued to follow.
As before, it was easy enough to catch up to the soldiers and she followed them right into town, from a distance, and hoped that she was not noticed.
As they marched down one of the streets, she took to the opposite side and watched while she pretended to look in the windows of merchants until they entered a building.
Thank goodness they hadn’t entered the fortress that was Fort Desaix because she would then have no idea how to rescue Rhys.
She needed a reason to remain in the town and she needed to find out what the building was. Only then could she act.
Tempest pursed her lips and glanced around. She would not walk too far away just in case they took Rhys from the building but she could not remain standing in front of it while she decided what to do. Just as she turned away, two men marched by, holding the arms of another.
“Into the gaol with you until a magistrate can hear your case.”
She glanced over her shoulder and watched while they entered the same building that Rhys had been taken to.
The gaol. A jail.
Now to determine how many guards were on the inside and come up with a reason to enter.
Tempest caught her reflection in the glass of the window. She was dressed in her simple, deep rose gown, which was not alluring, or even spoke of wealth. Her hair was still twisted in a chignon behind her head, but several curls had escaped and framed her face.
While she did not look a fright, her appearance would not distract anyone either, which was her first idea to gain access to Rhys.
Therefore, she set out to determine how she could improve on her appearance and perused the various shops through their windows, which were lacking of goods and empty of people shopping, likely due to the blockade.
There was little to buy and likely few funds to make purchases.
And then she spied a golden corset and gloves.
Gloves!
She looked down at her bandaged hand. That would draw the type of attention that she did not want. She wanted it elsewhere on her person.
She may have never been kissed, but she had been to enough entertainments that she knew where men tended to look, and it wasn’t at a woman’s hands or her face, but a bandage may be a distraction.
Taking a deep breath, she entered the shop to examine the gloves.
“May I help you?” the woman asked and Tempest easily slipped into the French dialect spoken in Martinique.
“I am looking for gloves,” she explained.
The woman frowned when she noted the bandage.
“I burned myself and would rather cover the bandage than explain.”
The woman smiled in understanding as Tempest selected a pair of gloves then wandered around the shop that seemed to carry accessories and undergarments before she stopped beside the gold corset and sighed.
“It is lovely but not practical for something that would be seen by few,” the woman said.
Except Tempest intended for it to be seen by many, her reputation be damned. And, why wasn’t this woman trying to sell it to her?
“My husband would like it,” she said as she imagined Rhys seeing her in such, and her face heated.
“Are you newly wed?” the woman asked.
“Qui.” She ran her hands along the silken material. “May I see if it fits?” she asked quietly, as if she were embarrassed.
“Of course. Come along.”
The woman directed Tempest to a changing room then left her alone to change. Only then did she remember that she had trousers on beneath her skirts and hid them beneath her folded dress and stood only in her shift when she asked the woman back in and asked her to fasten the garment for her.
It nearly cut off her breath, but Tempest needed this piece of clothing.
“How much?”
The woman named a price that was likely twice as much as such would cost on Dominica, but they also weren’t suffering.
“I will take it,” she said. “I will also wear it home.” Her face heated again.
“I will leave you and calculate this with the cost of the gloves.”
Tempest hastily dressed, once again pulling on her trousers, then returned to the main shop.
She needed a shawl to protect her shoulders until she was inside the gaol and a skirt because her dress simply would not do, especially since the corset was hidden.
If she could not find what she needed elsewhere, Tempest would return, but she did not want to buy everything in one shop.
She thanked the proprietress then continued walking and looking in different windows until she came to a dress shop.
She wanted a skirt, except dresses were the fashion.
What she needed was a place that sold clothing more for the working class. They did not dress in fashion but for practicality.
Were there such shops?
It was something she had never considered and assumed such clothing was hand sewn, but perhaps not.
Tempest moved away from the shops that would have welcomed a wealthier client and entered an area that catered more to trades and that was when she found a Cast Off shop.
The items of clothing inside the shop were not necessarily fashionable, but were previously owned and no longer wanted, or sold for funds.
She perused the clothing until she found a full skirt of burgundy, which would compliment her gold corset.
Tempest held it up against her body and determined that it would not be too large or too small.
She then searched for shawls, which were organized in a separate area, and found a perfect one made of delicate lace and ecru in color, then brought both to the proprietress for purchase.
The woman smiled and then told her that they were new arrivals from a husband who had lost his wife and had brought in the clothing that she had kept for years.
While she enjoyed the story, Tempest was just grateful that she had found what she needed. Now all she needed to do was wait and plan to rescue Rhys.
She had to save him.
She loved him and needed him safe.
Tempest’s heart nearly stopped when she realized the thought that had crossed her mind.
When had she fallen in love with Rhys?