Ian threw a clean, but threadbare shirt into his small bag. He fingered the linen, his face heating. There had been a time when he was well known throughout London for his fashion sense. He pinched the bridge of his hose between his thumb and forefinger. He had been known for many things.
He tossed a tin of tooth powder and a small chunk of soap into the bag and fastened it shut. He just needed to get the estate in order and then he would be able to sell it and get back to his previous lifestyle. He tugged at his collar thinking he must have tied his cravat too tight.
Glancing around the sparsely furnished room, Ian shrugged into his coat and grabbed his bag with one hand, while the other fastened up his buttons.
Docherty was already in the stables, hitching his two large horses a long wagon with no sides, only holes spaced down each side of the bed. There were several thin logs, not much longer than Ian’s legs, stacked and fastened to the wagon bed. Ian had never seen anything like it. “How are we to bring logs back if the wagon has no sides?”
The old man smiled. “Don’t you worry, lad.”
Ian’s brow crinkled. ‘Lad’? He had noticed both the Docherty’s had begun to call use the term. Ian knew he should correct the indiscretion, but he found he liked the intimacy it inferred, so he said nothing of it. “How long will it take us to get to the timber groves?”
Docherty scratched at his bearded chin. “The wagon will slow us down slightly. I suspect we will be able to make camp there tonight.”
“Make camp? We are not to be sleeping in an inn or structure of some sort?” Every new thing Ian learned about this adventure seemed intent on testing his resolve. The idea of him not only making the repairs but also felling the trees himself, still seemed a bag of moonshine.
Taking a deep breath, Ian mounted his horse, while Docherty lumbered into the wagon and took up the reins. They moved out, Ian falling in behind the wagon, his horse walking so slowly Ian could likely have walked faster on foot.
Once they made it onto the main road towards town, the wagon picked up speed. Still, his horse was not even at a full canter.
They got to the ferry dock as the sun began to climb over the horizon, shining brightly and burning off the morning fog.
Ian looked at the wagon and then at the ferry. His brow furrowed. He moved his horse toward the front of the wagon. “I believe the wagon is longer than the ferry. Are you sure we can take it across?”
The old man smiled. “I know what I am about, lad.”
Ian shook his head, breathing in through his nose, heat climbing up his neck and face. The tone of the old man’s voice sounded as if Docherty thought Ian an imbecile. Someone not smart enough to understand, even if things were explained to him.
Reigning in his horse, Ian guided it back to the rear of the wagon. He would stay back here and watch the old man drive the wagon into the Sound of Mull. And then perhaps the old man would give Ian a little more respect.
Docherty talked briefly to the ferryman before he began to slowly guide the horses forward. The end of the ferry sunk a little deeper into the water as the horses stepped onto the wooden deck.
Ian sat back in his saddle, this arms crossed over his chest and a smug smile on his face.
Soon the front wheels of the wagon touched down on the deck of the ferry. The horses continued until they made it past the midpoint, at which time Docherty pulled them to a halt. He got down from the wagon and began to unhitch the team, leading them off to the side. Docherty and the ferryman then began to pull the empty wagon the rest of the way onto the boat. The front wheels sat only inched from the edge, each being braced to keep it from rolling forward any farther. The back wheels were a similar story. Each end of the wagon hung out over the water.
Ian shook his head. Had he not seen it himself, he would never have believed it possible. Although, he couldn’t imagine how they would manage on the return trip when the wagon was full.
Once Ian had his horse secure on the ferry, the ferryman began to push them away from the dock.