Chapter 17
Two days slipped past like the banks of the river. Thomas and George had presented Eileen with the clothes they’d found for her at the market, and she almost forgave them. The next morning the three shared breakfast with the Gloust family, then brought their food and bags aboard and settled themselves into the corner of the raft they had been given as their own.
The four sons had undone the ropes that held the barge to the dock and pushed it away from the banks with long poles. The river had a strong current, and once away from the dock, the barge moved at a good clip downstream. Thomas sat at the side of the barge, watching the shore drift past for most of the first morning. Sometimes the road was in sight, sometimes it vanished behind the trees. Occasional farms broke the ed
