In the end Noah and Hal tied him up and we took him with us, uncertain what else to do with him. No one tried to stop us, which at first surprised us but then did not. Hilliard was not well thought of and by the look of some of their expressions, he would likely not have fared well had we left him to their mercies. None showed any desire to come to his aid, either, with the overseer clearly away from the plantation. Slaves would see nothing defensible in stealing a child when their own were stolen with impunity.
We had all removed our coats and folded them into saddle bags in the still heat of the afternoon, even the wind off the sea seemed to have died. My hair, tied at my neck, felt heavy and damp. I pulled the string from it, letting it fall loose around my shoulders. Penny rode in fro
