It was only a half-hour minute ride to Huntlaw, even with a rather tired Coffee. Alexander made it into a bit of a race, nearly steeple chasing his way across the countryside in a manner that, frankly, I had not thought him capable of. He only slowed down when Mr Ormiston rode into our path, a short distance from Huntlaw.
'Where are you two going?' Mr Ormiston asked.
'We're going to help Father,' I said.
Mr Ormiston frowned. 'Maybe Colligere is, Miss Hepburn, but this is no place for a young lady. It could be dangerous. These are desperate people in there.'
'It's no more dangerous for me than it is for a man,' I said, stupidly. Of course, I knew that women were not as strong as men, or as skilled with weapons. All the same, I was too inquisitive to be left out.
'Ormiston is right,' Al
