but he obediently left a small gap. It should be enough for them to hear any movement, but not to attract the notice of anyone glancing up the stairs for some reason, even in the light of the moon, which was shining over everything once more.
They waited in silence. Occasionally, someone shifted their position to a more comfortable one, or gave a soft sigh, but there were no words exchanged. It seemed as though they sat there for hours, but it could only have been about twenty minutes later that they heard the sound of people walking beneath them, as the small procession left the building.
As soon as the door below them was closed, they were on their feet again. Quietly, they made their way back down the stairs, and went on down into the lower reaches, along the passage and through the chapel.
Gregory, who had not seen the sight before, stopped in surprise, and had to be hustled on, as they went through the chapel, and along the second stone passage, sloping down to the river. Aaron was leading them at an ever faster pace, and they almost ran along this second passage, still lit by the flambeaux which had shown them their way as they entered.
Aaron found himself praying under his breath, in the hope that the boat might still be there, in the reeking inlet, where they had left it. When he saw that it was, he almost shouted with joy. The little boat must have been held in place by heaven knew what strange currents from the river.
He urged the others on, with a gesture of his hand, and was down the steps and into the boat in two great leaps. It rocked violently under him, and he grasped at the weed on the wall to steady himself, as he helped first Gregory and then Benjamin to step in. They made their way past him to the stern, while Walter and Hubert stepped in after them. The little boat sank lower in the water, with the extra weight, but it was well built, and seemed safe enough still.
"Push against the walls!" said Aaron, in a low voice. "We must leave as silently as we came."
Three of them Aaron, Walter and Hubert pushed in
unison,
and they felt the boat
move away from the steps. They edged their way out, and tried to round the corner of the wall.
The tide, which had been in their favour as they came down river was now against them.
As they came out, the stern was first to catch the flow, and swung round. Walter, who BOSON BOOKS
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Belaset’s Daughter
was in the prow of the boat, felt the drift away begin, and grabbed at the weed. They held for a while, but he could feel them begin to tear away.
"Hang on!" came Aaron’s whisper behind him. "Just for a moment!"
Walter struggled desperately to find some weed which would hold, or to find a projecting stone. It was no use: the wall had been too well built, and the surface was as smooth as the mason could make it. There was nowhere for him to get a purchase, and his grasp slowly slid down the weeds, until he was gripping only water and the last fronds.
They were out on the river, where anyone might see them, if they glanced down from the Tower walls.
There was a moment of fierce activity in the boat, then the oars were out and the blades in the water with barely a splash. Hubert and Aaron, side by side, began rowing as hard as they could. Slowly the boat began to edge its way upstream. Walter sat down hard, panting with exertion, and feeling the sting in his palms where something had scratched them among the weeds. In front of him, the two backs bent forward and straightened in a kind of mad, rhythmic dance.
They made a sort of progress for about three minutes, then the shout they had dreaded to hear rang out. They had been seen. Now that the worst had happened, there was, at least, no more need for caution and silence. Aaron and Hubert rowed even faster, sending the oars splashing into the water, and swinging them in a great arc, through it and out, before bending forward again to repeat the stroke. There were arrows now, dropping into the water on either side of them.
"Duck, duck!" gasped Aaron, and the three others crouched down.
The moon, which had been an ally until this moment, now became an enemy,