Ben was enraged; his words came out in a sort of hiss, for they were all muting their tone. I supposed the men who sought them might be close at hand.

“This is complete folly! Forget the girl; she’ll do well enough here, and if not, what of it? Her kind are no more than savages, killers every one. How many good men have been lost in those accursed woods, or come home mere shells of their former selves? I don’t know what chivalrous impulse has got into you, Red, but I know I’m not risking my hide for her. As for you, John, your brains must be addled to let him get away with this. It’s insanity.”

Red took no notice of him, but hefted his pack onto his back and held out a hand to me. “Come on,” he said, snapping his fingers, and I stared at him. I would not be treated like some hound that would follow her master’s every bidding. “Come,” he said again, and this time he gripped my arm where he’d hurt me before, and I sucked in my breath.

“She’s got a few bruises,” remarked John. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Red.”

Red looked at him. “I do,” he said. “Now we split up, so my good friend here can’t complain about the girl slowing him down. You two will take our original path back down to the cove. You should keep ahead of them if you go now, and the boat should be ready to pick you up before they get there. With luck.”

“What about you?” inquired Ben.

“I’ll take the girl, and come around by the bluffs and down the cliff path. More dangerous, perhaps, but more direct. They’re more likely to follow you, I think. I’ll skirt the river as far as I can. If I’m not there in time for the boat, don’t wait. Cross over to safe mooring; I’ll meet you at the priory.”

“How?” said John, scratching his head. But there was no reply, and nobody was going to argue. That seemed to be the way it was. Red made the choices, and the others accepted them, even when, as it seemed to me, they were foolish beyond belief. How could a man who acted so unpredictably, who made such erratic decisions, be their leader? If it had been Liam, now, he would have consulted his men and reached a sensible compromise. Here there was no more discussion. Ben and John shouldered packs and disappeared between the bushes, silent-footed, and Red grasped my wrist and pulled me after him, back down toward the river. I resisted, tugging hard enough for him to turn back, exasperated.

“We’re not going to get far this way,” he said. “I—” He saw where I was pointing. My bag, with its cargo of starwort, still lay where he had dropped it under the overhang, near the smothered remnants of our small fire.

“All right,” he said, scooping it up and throwing it to me. “But you carry it.”